1/7/18
I think Diego put it best when he said, "the best part about Guayaquil is leaving..." because we were all pretty happy to leave. It was going to be a long day of driving though. Saying goodbye to Guayaquil wasn't nearly as bad as leaving the Galapagos. Junior had us on our way, and the first stop was a cacao farm outside of the city. We passed a lot of very small homes on stilts. The people here lived in these small, one-room homes. Often times, their dogs or chickens would be laying in the shade under the house itself. They worked on small farms and sold their produce in markets. We saw people washing their clothes in rivers. Things here were just very different from the way of life in the city.
This was one of my favorite stops though. Here, we got to see where chocolate comes from, taste the beans, and try 100% cacao. We learned about the chocolate industry and how different sub-species of the fruit create different tastes within the chocolate. The flavor of the cacao fruit was very similar to that of a mango, unless you bit into the center; that's where the bitter bean is. Besides the cacao, we also had the opportunity to try mango and lychee, a spikey, reddish-orange fruit with a fleshy white inside. Our last task here was making fresh hot chocolate from cacao beans we'd helped peel and grind up into paste. It was very bitter, as it had very little sugar added. You could almost compare it to coffee, but it had a rich and noticeably fresher flavor.
The next stop was the Churute Mangroves Ecological Reserve. We had to wear our bug nets here. This was mosquito heaven. We stopped on the way in to see a sloth and her baby in a tree. Then we drove further in and took a short hike to a dock. A motorized canoe would pick us up here. Unfortunately, our canoe was almost an hour late. It took us up the river a bit. If you followed this river up for about 3 hours, you'd hit the city of Guayaquil. We only rode around for about half an hour, since we got a late start. We saw lots of birds on this tour and learned about shrimp aquaculture in the area and how it had severely damaged a lot of mangroves.
The mangroves are an important ecosystem. In more tropical climates, they serve the same purpose as the wetlands do here. They are found in estuarine brackish water. Their complex root systems help the trees to be very resistant to salt. When you picture a mangrove forest, you probably picture prop roots. There are three others called pencil roots, buttress roots, and knee roots. Each type of root system is adapted to help the trees survive best in whichever type of water it lives. Mangroves also provide space for marine life to live and hide, as well as shelter for birds.
We took a short walk to look for howler monkeys after our boat ride, but we had to be on our way. As we drove up and down through the Andes, we observed great changes in lifestyle and climate. The higher up you went, the cooler it became. When only moments ago, we had been sweating in a rain forest, we were now comfortable in a light jacket. We stopped for lunch at around 9,000 ft, about half-way to Cajas National Park. The idea was to let our bodies adapt to the drastic change for a while, but realistically, people take hours or days to adjust to such changes in elevation. Here was the first place we tries horchata, an herbal tea with a citrusy flavor that was common throughout or trip. It was delicious, but also was supposed to help with the altitude. Many of the herbs were considered medicinal. Medicinal herbs were more common as we got into the Andes.
After lunch, we arrived at Cajas National Park. Cajas was over 15,000 feet above sea level, which was a higher elevation than most of us had ever been. Each step took a lot of energy and you couldn't really push yourself. This was more of a slow-and-steady race. Every single view was picturesque and we stopped quite often to take in the scenery. There were wide open spaces and mountains, lakes and forests. Anything you can imagine that is beautiful was probably here. The hike wasn't very long, but it took about 2.5 hours to complete because of the elevation. Finishing that hike was very rewarding.
Junior and the bus met us on the other side of the trail where our hike came to an end. Cuenca was waiting for us. Cuenca is a very popular location for US retirees. The weather is mild all year due to its elevation. Hotel Victoria was waiting for us there. It was the most beautiful hotel I've ever stayed in, overlooking the river. The staff carried our luggage to our rooms for us. We met downstairs for dinner after we'd settled in. We were all very tired and under-dressed for dinner here but that didn't really matter. We were all very happy to be eating delicious food that we didn't have to pay for. And then, as if things could get better, dessert arrived and we all melted. We all went to bed very happy that night.
This was one of my favorite stops though. Here, we got to see where chocolate comes from, taste the beans, and try 100% cacao. We learned about the chocolate industry and how different sub-species of the fruit create different tastes within the chocolate. The flavor of the cacao fruit was very similar to that of a mango, unless you bit into the center; that's where the bitter bean is. Besides the cacao, we also had the opportunity to try mango and lychee, a spikey, reddish-orange fruit with a fleshy white inside. Our last task here was making fresh hot chocolate from cacao beans we'd helped peel and grind up into paste. It was very bitter, as it had very little sugar added. You could almost compare it to coffee, but it had a rich and noticeably fresher flavor.
The next stop was the Churute Mangroves Ecological Reserve. We had to wear our bug nets here. This was mosquito heaven. We stopped on the way in to see a sloth and her baby in a tree. Then we drove further in and took a short hike to a dock. A motorized canoe would pick us up here. Unfortunately, our canoe was almost an hour late. It took us up the river a bit. If you followed this river up for about 3 hours, you'd hit the city of Guayaquil. We only rode around for about half an hour, since we got a late start. We saw lots of birds on this tour and learned about shrimp aquaculture in the area and how it had severely damaged a lot of mangroves.
The mangroves are an important ecosystem. In more tropical climates, they serve the same purpose as the wetlands do here. They are found in estuarine brackish water. Their complex root systems help the trees to be very resistant to salt. When you picture a mangrove forest, you probably picture prop roots. There are three others called pencil roots, buttress roots, and knee roots. Each type of root system is adapted to help the trees survive best in whichever type of water it lives. Mangroves also provide space for marine life to live and hide, as well as shelter for birds.
We took a short walk to look for howler monkeys after our boat ride, but we had to be on our way. As we drove up and down through the Andes, we observed great changes in lifestyle and climate. The higher up you went, the cooler it became. When only moments ago, we had been sweating in a rain forest, we were now comfortable in a light jacket. We stopped for lunch at around 9,000 ft, about half-way to Cajas National Park. The idea was to let our bodies adapt to the drastic change for a while, but realistically, people take hours or days to adjust to such changes in elevation. Here was the first place we tries horchata, an herbal tea with a citrusy flavor that was common throughout or trip. It was delicious, but also was supposed to help with the altitude. Many of the herbs were considered medicinal. Medicinal herbs were more common as we got into the Andes.
After lunch, we arrived at Cajas National Park. Cajas was over 15,000 feet above sea level, which was a higher elevation than most of us had ever been. Each step took a lot of energy and you couldn't really push yourself. This was more of a slow-and-steady race. Every single view was picturesque and we stopped quite often to take in the scenery. There were wide open spaces and mountains, lakes and forests. Anything you can imagine that is beautiful was probably here. The hike wasn't very long, but it took about 2.5 hours to complete because of the elevation. Finishing that hike was very rewarding.
Junior and the bus met us on the other side of the trail where our hike came to an end. Cuenca was waiting for us. Cuenca is a very popular location for US retirees. The weather is mild all year due to its elevation. Hotel Victoria was waiting for us there. It was the most beautiful hotel I've ever stayed in, overlooking the river. The staff carried our luggage to our rooms for us. We met downstairs for dinner after we'd settled in. We were all very tired and under-dressed for dinner here but that didn't really matter. We were all very happy to be eating delicious food that we didn't have to pay for. And then, as if things could get better, dessert arrived and we all melted. We all went to bed very happy that night.