Saturday, 12 October 2019
Welcome to Florencia - grandchild no 5
Friday, 30 August 2019
A magnificent panorama of volcanoes
A rare sight of El Tungurahua - normally it's shrouded in mist. Auray has found a flower. © Tom Rayner |
The park is
very well cared for with good paths and well-tended flower borders plus lots of
interesting trees and plants. It’s on the edge of the steep valley which holds
Ambato and, to get there from La Joya (where the hospital is) you have to go
through La Miraflores and Ficoa, the posh parts of Ambato, and up a very steep
road.
From Parque
de la Familia, provided it’s clear like today, there are great views of
Tungurahua and Chimborazo, which feel almost close enough to touch; also Cotopaxi,
El Altar and Sangay. It was a volcano-spotters’ paradise and the higher
peaks were all covered with fresh snow shining in the clear air.
I'm getting a little blase about El Chimborazo, but what a sight it is on a clear day. © Tom Rayner |
I’m getting a bit blasé
about El Chimborazo. It’s an awesome sight, but isn’t it strange how awe fades
into familiarity so quickly? I guess people who live here just look at it as
I’d view a familiar landmark in the Cambridgeshire Fens (although a 20,000 ft
volcano would take some getting used to).
El Tungurahua is less
familiar. Although it’s relatively close to Ambato, it seems to be hidden in
cloud more often than not, so when it does appear like a giant out of the mist,
the effect is shocking. This morning it was there as clear as day, snow capped
and with its top crater tilted ominously towards us.
We could also see some
other clear peaks, which were confirmed by a park warden who passed by and was
happy to stop for a chat. There was El
Altar or Capac Urcu (possibly from the Kichwa “kapak” meaning
great and “urku” mountain. It is an extinct volcano on the
western side of Sangay National Park, with a highest point of 5,319 m
(17,451 ft). Wikipedia says the Spanish colonists named it so because it
resembled two nuns and four friars listening to a bishop around a church altar.
I always like to know how easy it is to get to the summit and Wikipedia says El Altar is the most technically demanding climb in Ecuador. Apparently, December to February are the best months to attempt an ascent. There’s also a more accessible hike to the lake within the caldera of the mountain. From Riobamba, travel to Candelaria and then check-in at the ranger station to enter the national park.
Wikipedia
says a walk of 4–7 hours on an extremely muddy trail (knee-high rubber boots
are recommended) leaves one at the refuge belonging to Hacienda Releche, which
has many beds, and a kitchen. The hike to the lake is another two hours
from the refuge across a valley and up a steep hill. If that’s “accessible”
heaven knows what the peak ascent is like!
Capac Urcu (I’m still on Wikipedia) consists of a large stratovolcano of Pliocene-Pleistocene age (so between 2 and 5 million years old) with a caldera breached
to the west. Inca legends report that the top of Altar collapsed after seven
years of activity in about 1460, but the caldera is considered to be much older
than this (you can’t trust those Incas – they’ll tell you anything). Nine major
peaks over 5,000 metres (16,400 ft) form a horseshoe-shaped ridge about two miles across, surrounding a crater
lake at about 4,200 m (13,800 ft),
known as Laguna Collanes or Laguna Amarilla.
In the far
distance, we could also see Sangay (5300m, 17,400ft). This is another
classic stratovolcano (like Cotopaxi). I wish I had my binoculars because this
volcano, although clearly visible, was too far away to pick out any detail,
apart from its general shape.
Sangay - photo from Smithsonian Institution |
It is the most active volcano in Ecuador, despite erupting only three times in recorded history, because the eruption that started in 1934 is still ongoing. Wikipedia says Sangay marks the southern boundary of the Northern Volcanic Zone, and its position straddling two major pieces of crust accounts for its high level of activity. Sangay's 500,000-year-old history is one of instability; two previous versions of the mountain were destroyed in massive flank collapses, evidence of which still litters its surroundings today.
Due to its
remoteness, Sangay hosts a significant biological community with fauna such as
the mountain tapir, giant
otter, Andean cock-of-the-rock and king vulture. Since 1983, its ecological community has been protected as part of
the Sangay National Park.
Although climbing the mountain is
hampered by its remoteness, poor weather conditions, river flooding, and the
danger of falling ejecta, the volcano
is regularly climbed, a feat first achieved by Robert T. Moore in 1929.
I was
interested to read about the cock-of-the-rock.
When I was a little boy, I had a book about the natural word, which I loved reading.
There was a picture of an erupting African volcano with all the local animals
running away, also pictures of the Amazon river and a picture of a cock-of-the-rock. When they asked in primary school what we wanted to do
when we were older, I said I was going to go up the Amazon. Well, I did cross
the Rio Napa in a canoe a few years back and that’s a tributary of the Amazon!
I haven’t seen a cock-of-the-rock though
(perhaps there’s still time).
It was a
wonderful couple of hours and a lucky break in the weather. Thanks also to
Aureliano for being so patient (all he wanted to do was to see the turkey in
the farm park).
Thursday, 29 August 2019
My pocket is picked
Tom’s quest for Ecuadorian citizenship continues today with another trip to Riobamba. I wasn’t going – it was my job to look after Aureliano – and I was sorry to be missing the rendition of the national anthem. It’s strange that every country’s national anthem (with the exception of Japan’s) sounds more cheerful than ours. God save the Queen is such a dirge … few people believe in God any longer and fewer care about the Queen. It would be nice to have a jolly tune (like Italy’s) or something we could all get behind. Good luck with that: following Brexit, I have never known the country to be so divided.
Anyway, it
was my job to look after The Quacker and he was much better as the day wore on.
After lunch, Carlos asked me if I wanted to go to one of Ambato’s markets with
him (he needed a few provisions), so we piled into the pick-up and set off.
There are a few markets in Ambato (three I think) and I’ve been to a couple
with Tom already, but not this one.
The markets
sell different things (or specialise in different things) and they are like
old-fashioned market halls in Britain, the ones we’ve mostly knocked down.
Northwich used to have an amazing old half-timbered market with an upstairs
gallery. I can remember vividly the smells of the place when I was a small boy
going there with my mother. One corner smelled strongly of cheese and another
of fish (I hated that bit). The hall was all wonky and bent, probably due to mining
subsidence, but it had real character. The council knocked it down and built the
most awful 1970s shopping arcade and open market. It was never the same.
Ambato’s
market halls are newer than the old Northwich one, and bigger, but the layout
is the same. Perhaps the originals had been destroyed in the great earthquake,
but they’d had the good sense to keep the same design. Carlos bought some meat
from downstairs and then we went upstairs to buy a food treat that Aureliano
particularly likes. Obviously, my height, pale skin and clothes make me stand
out as a foreigner and, although it was not as marked as Tom and I in Simiatug,
I’m still easy to spot. This day, I was spotted by criminals. I’d had many
lectures about being careful of pickpockets (and heeded them) but I was still robbed.
I was carrying Aureliano, with my phone (a fairly old iPhone 6) in my zipped-up
side-pocket. As we reached the top of the stairs, following Carlos, some people
walked in front and across me, causing me to stop and step back. I was trying
not to be pushed on the stairs, but I was conscious of a slight shove behind
me. In two steps I realised my phone had gone. They’d successfully distracted
me, unzipped my pocket and lifted my phone. It was a pretty well-organised and
slick operation and I have to admire their skill.
It was a
bit annoying, but I felt bad for Carlos who had taken me for a treat but thought
he’d not looked after me properly. I’d been robbed on his watch. It was clearly
just one of those things – expect to be robbed in a poor country when you’re
wandering around with a sticker in your hat saying: “rich foreign tourist”. I
felt a bit naked without my phone, it was a link home and also my camera, so I’m
glad it hadn’t happened earlier in the holiday.
About an
hour later, Tom and Lucy phoned. They’d had a WhatsApp message from someone
claiming to have found my phone. What was my Apple ID? If we told them they’d
unlock the Find My Phone feature and return it to me. We were so relieved but,
of course, I couldn’t remember my ID or password. Just as well because it was a
scam. They’d got into my phone and found my WhatsApp contacts, but couldn’t
access other things. Had I remembered my log-in credentials, they’d have got
into my account and could have used Apple Pay, unlocked the phone and locked me
out.
We realised
it was a scam after looking on the internet. Google “stolen iPhone scams” and
it’s full of victims who gave their details to people who had “found” their
phone and wanted to return it. For once, my senior memory lapse had been a
help.
I had to go
onto my laptop to block the phone (my laptop remembers my Apple ID, fortunately),
also phone the UK to get my SIM card blocked and order a new one for when I got
home. That evening, I filled in a police report online and got a PDF of an
incident report and crime number immediately. Some things work so much better
than they do in the UK! Of course, my insurance was useless – I’d dropped “valuables
out of the home” from my house insurance to save money and my travel insurance
had a £200 excess. When I got back to the UK, I used my old iPhone 5 and then bought
a second-hand 6 on the internet for £100. A year later, I’m still using it.
On the
plane home, I sat next to a young woman, a student doctor who had been doing
her elective in Peru and she’d had her phone robbed on the first day, so
perhaps I got away lightly. The good news of the day – apart from escaping a
potentially more damaging scam – was that Tom passed his citizenship test with
flying colours.
After
around six months, he can apply for citizenship and get an Ecuadorian passport.
Little did we realise in August 2019, that the next time he was going to be in
Ecuador would be in the middle of Covid-19 pandemic!
Wednesday, 28 August 2019
The Ecuadorian National Anthem
Tuesday, 27 August 2019
Trying to get Ecuadorian citizenship
Monday, 26 August 2019
Ecuadorian birthday celebration
Sunday, 25 August 2019
Chatting with Alfonso
Chimborazo from the house this morning |
Cotopaxi with the setting sun on its western flank |
Saturday, 24 August 2019
Happy birthday, pulpo and a long drive
Scoffing pulpo |
Restaurante Margarita |
Friday, 23 August 2019
Last visit to Los Frailes
Family shot sans Julia (below) who doesn't always like having her picture taken. |
Thursday, 22 August 2019
The three tribes of Ecuador
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Whale watching from Puerto Lopez
Julia enjoyed whale watching, but couldn't stay awake for the whole show. |
Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Dry tropical forest, sand thieves and the seven-hour snake
Those jumping crabs |
Monday, 19 August 2019
Pelicans and Frigate Birds
There's a lot of land left for development |
Lots of the villas that have been built are now for sale |
Sunset over the Pacific from the roof terrace of our villa |