Ecuador
(Quito - Amazonas - Galapagos - Loja)
Jungle, Galapagos Islands,
Volkanoes - faszinating nature
[December 26, 2004] After the arrival in Quito we checked
for the bikes first. Manana, Manana is the answer. And remembering
Guatemala this could mean weeks. So we decided to use the
time and go for the jungle, a dream we all shared. After 9
hours in the bus passing over mountains of 4100 meters we
arrived in Lago Agrio, the last city of civilization for thousands
of miles of jungle or Silva (as the Indios say).
Here the oil workers come to relax after weeks in the jungle
as well as the Indios to trade goods for tools. It´s
a mix of cultures and food with the smell of adventure, we
liked it very much. The closeness to Columbia made it a little
scary and dangerous, Cocaine is the drug that causes problems
as well as money flow. We had to pass several Military Checkpoints
and drug searches to get here. The next morning we drove with
a 4x4 for other 3 hours to continue further with a local longboat
for 4 hours deep into the Selva to the camp on the Cuyabena
River direction Amazonas.
Everything seems to be green, different types of green let
all other colors dillute in it. Only after several hours we
start to see also the little bit of other tones like a red
flower here, a yellow one there, a monkey with a reddish fur,
then another little black one.
The eye starts to get used to focus in now on the differences.
It is amazing what one can see then. The same happened with
the sounds and the ear. The air is filled like in the Cologne
Zoo, only that here no fences exist. The Tucan can only be
seen from far away, but at least in freedom. The Kaiman has
red eyes at night, the monkeys and birds a more yellow tone.
And the snakes pass by noisyless through the water and the
grass nearby. There we need the eyes of our guide Diego to
point out these rare animals to us aliens. And fishing for
Pirahnas gives us the special thrill, if you have ever seen
their teeth...
The 5 days pass by quickly and we return back to electricity,
cars and nightlive with different sounds and colors, a brutal
change again. And the bureacracy at the local customs office.
After 2 days, $ 100 and a few nerves less we are happy to
receive our bikes mostly intact, only minor damage to paint
and plastic. But the more important stuff works fine. And
so we can return to our major goal, the Panamericana. We head
to the Equator, close by Quito for our Christmas fotos. After
a few more days Sander and Dirk head South while I decided
to go to the Galapagos Islands and experience nature and wildlife
by a sailing boat. Thanks guys for the last 9 weeks, have
fun and luck travelling South and Hasta la proxima.
I expected the Galapagos Islands to be much greener with
more vegetation, instead I saw some harsh, nacked Islands
of volkanic origen. Let´s see and check out the theory
of Mr Darwin. And quickly we could see the brutal reality
and the cycle of life and death, basic "survival of the
fittest" only. Thrilling nature and wildlife, untouched
and full reality. Also the snorkeling was excellent, I have
never experienced such a closeness to Rays, Sharks, Sealions
and the underwater world in total.
The week passes by too quickly, there is so much to see. And
it also was due to the good companionship of Ragnar, Hans,
Alex and Francesco and the total crew.
Finally on the 20th of December I am back in Quito, really
ready to jump on the bike and hit the road South. But I received
terrible news from home, my friend Christoph has died in an
avalanche while skiing the Arlberg, Austria. I am shocked
and cannot continue. We have had so many holidays and skiing
adventures to remember in the group, it´s hard to imagine
that he is gone now.
We will terribly miss you, my dear friend Christoph.
This terrible evening I spend with Nadine and Cello, the
Swiss couple I was travelling with in Mexico and Guatemala.
And there were many news to share what somehow distructed
me from the horrifying news from home. On the 22nd I continue
my journey South in order to clear my mind with the beautiful
nature of the Andes with up to 6300 meter high volkanoes and
a tough but still challenging vegetation for farming.
But my mind won´t clear, too many pictures run through
it. The same on the next evening in Loja, a charming town
in the southern Equador Andes. Finally I reach the small bordertown
Macara and the crossing proves to be very easy. Let´s
continue South on the Panamericana into Peru,
but being reminded of the shortness of life in general.
I am thankful for being able to continue my dream.
Yours,
Rasmus
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