Ecuador - Land of Diversity

Ecuador is a small country by Latin America standards (even though it´s bigger than the UK). But despite its size, it´s a country packed full of life and variety. In few places is it possible to go from the beach to the mountains and to the jungle in one day - in Ecuador you can.

Along with the varied scenery comes a rich variety of wildlife. Condors circle overhead, iguanas blink at you from the undergrowth and all manner of llamas stare blankly at you while chewing the cud. The country is also culturally rich and is home to a diverse mix of people. In the central highlands you can find some of the friendliest townships on the continent, while the borders are little more than hives of scum and villainy.

Welcome to Ecuador
My entrance to Ecuador therefore, was not a welcome one. Following a 21 hour bus ride from Lima I arrived bleary eyed in the dusty town of Tumbes, northern Peru. To get to Ecuador, I needed to travel 30km further north to the border at Aguas Verdes then catch another bus for 15 hours to get to Quito, the capital.

After stepping off the bus in Tumbes I was immediately accosted by a group of ten or more taxi drivers each promising to take me to the border. I was suspicious of the overly friendly characters. Their forced discussions of English football, their obviously faked IDs, and the fact that some of them had managed to get my passport details from the bus company were all warning signs. I´m not one to be riled, so I grabbed my bag off them, and marched off in search of another way to the border.

After walking several blocks into town, periodically stopping at various shops to see if there was a bus to the border, I quickly realised that a taxi was the only way forward. Bugger - I hate taxis. They´re over-priced, unsafe and are rarely used by locals, meaning they´re a prime place to scam tourists.

Looking around, I spotted a slightly better option - a solitary moto-taxi who promised to drive me to the border for one Peruvian sole (the equivalent of 25p). Moto-taxis aren´t fast but they are used by locals and I couldn´t complain about the rate. So I hopped in and proceeded to be driven around the backstreets of town, clearly not making any progress to the border.

After five minutes, I told the troublesome driver to pull over. When he did, I was only half surprised to see some of the suspicious chauffeurs from the bus terminal waiting for me. This didn´t look good. But with the whole town seemingly in on the act I grudgingly agreed to get in one of the battered looking cabs.

Before setting off I agreed a fare of 65 soles with the head honcho. That price (which accorded reasonably well with the figures in my guidebook) included driving me to the border, helping me with the (very simple) border formalities, and purchasing my bus ticket to Quito.

Initially things seemed to be going to plan. We got to the border in good (some would say dangerously quick) time, and the Peruvian customs formalities were soon out of the way. But as we entered Aguas Verdes things started getting shady. There were now three dodgy characters in the car with me - the driver, the chap who helped with customs, and the head honcho who seemed to be organising everything else. After spending a few minutes bumping over the uneven streets on the way to the frontier, we turned off into a secluded parking lot. Not good. Three reasonably big chaps in a confined space versus me with my luggage. I briefly considered making a dash for it, but with my bag I realised it was probably a fruitless endeavour. Besides, so far at least the hustlers had held up their end of the bargain.

But then the scam got going. In Spanish and pigeon English, the head honcho explained that the fare needed to be paid now and in dollars, not Peruvian soles (Ecuador uses dollars). And he wanted 35 dollars for the service. Typically you get one dollar for every three Peruvian soles, but this guy was trying to get a dollar for less than two. Being an economist, I explained to him in my best Spanish (which is more a mix of English and bad Italian) that the exchange rate he was offering was laughable. No one was laughing though, least of all me.

With the rate seemingly non-negotiable I tried a different tack - explaining that paying for the service when it was only half complete (and in the middle of a secluded parking lot) was not good from my point of view. Their counter argument was that they had to be paid here, so that they could distribute funds to everyone - including another chap and a kid who had just showed up to complete the Ecuadorian side of the deal. With five of them now, I thought better of arguing and handed over the cash on condition that they give me their word everything was legit. Smiling and looking me dead in the eye, the head honcho assured me everything was above board. The lying bugger.

As soon as I handed over the money the Peruvian side of the operation quickly dispersed leaving me with the Ecuadorian chap and the kid who was there to cart my luggage. I was bitter that I´d handed over the inflated sum (about twenty dollars over the going rate), but it was probably worth it just to get out of that parking lot. As I followed the Ecuadorians through town, the kid with my bag started lagging behind. Loathed to leave my luggage I slowed my pace and asked where the older chap was going in such a hurry. The kid assured me that he was just heading off to Ecuadorian customs and the bus terminal to finish off the deal. But in reality he was actually just making himself scarce. That left me with the kid.

Now in Ecuador, we soon arrived at the bus station where I waited for a few minutes for the older chap to return. When he didn´t I asked the kid where everyone had gone and, more importantly, who was going to pay for my bus ticket. The kid just shrugged, feigning ignorance. I was getting irritated now, so I decided to make a scene. With nothing but time on my hands, I sat myself down on the kid´s luggage cart and refused to budge until he paid for my bus ticket and went and got his accomplices. Within minutes a crowd had built up with two clear sides - the majority were locals who were almost as appalled with the scam as me, while the rest was made up of dodgy street vendors who had sided with the kid. Some of the vendors attempted to get me off the cart by force, but when that didn´t work we ended up in a bit of stand off (or sit off in my case).

After a brief wait, all the attention started getting to the kid and he paid for my bus ticket using some of the dollars I had handed over earlier. But he was adamant that he wasn´t going to get his accomplices. I can understand why - if he did, he´d surely get in trouble with them. But I didn´t want to let the kid off too easily either - he was obviously being trained to scam tourists in exactly the same way as his older pals and he needed to be taught a lesson. So I continued sitting on his cart for another half an hour until a policeman eventually showed up. I explained to the copper the situation, the scam, and about the criminali (I´m not sure if that´s the Spanish word for criminals it´s just the one I made up). The copper, who was clearly on the take, made a half arsed attempt to look apologetic, but did little else. Enough was enough. I´d got the crowd on my side, they knew the scam now and so I let the kid have his cart back, and got on my bus.

Welcome to Ecuador indeed. This wouldn´t have happenned with my bike.

The other side of the coin
Fortunately though, other than the unpleasantness at the border, the slow buses, and the occassional bit of rain, my time in Ecuador was generally a pleasant one. I was only in the country for a few days, but in the short while I was there I got to experience some of the richness it has to offer.

My first point of call was the equator - namesake of the country. The famous line was marked by a touristy monument (as is customary). But it was worth the visit. This was as far north as I´d get on this trip. Having travelled all the way up from Ushuaia (54 degrees south) it was a satisfying feeling to reach the Midad del Mundo (Middle of the World).



Next, following advice from one of my friends at work (cheers TomO), I went on a couple of mountain biking tours. The first to visit the Cotopaxi Volcano - an active volcano which has wiped out the small town of Latacunga twice already. There was no lava flowing the day I visited (nor for the previous 106 years according to historical records), but riding a bike down the steep windswept slopes was a memorable experience.



I stayed over in one of the friendly hilltop communities that night and was treated to some traditional Ecuadorian hospitality along with delicious local delicacies including fried bananas, tree tomatoes and popcorn soup. My stay was made all the more welcoming by the local dog - Rambo - who woke up early in the morning to show me round the breathtaking crater lake of Quilatoa.





Sadly Rambo didn´t fancy joining me for the scenic bike ride around the Quilatoa loop, but doubtless he would have if I´d had the Phoenix with me. Fortunately though, a friendly group of tourists and our excellent guide Fernando provided ample company instead.




Then, to round off my time in Ecuador I joined a rafting group along the Rio Blanco - The White River. The river appeared more of a coffee colour when I was there, but there was certainly a lot of white water rapids to enjoy as well. And after a full day that saw us travel 47km downstream and flip the rafts a few times, I was sunburnt to a crisp but happy.



If variety is the spice of life, then Ecuador is one of the most flavoursome countries Ive visited.