Southern Exposure

Monday, February 2

I have really enjoyed Cuenca. It is a very neat and orderly city with stunning architecture set in the beautiful rolling hills of southern Ecuador. It was time for us to move on and try to get as close as possible to the border with Peru.

After the usual jumble of trying to navigate our way out of the city and on to the main highway we finally got on the road south. The first hour was filled with exhaust smell from the large trucks and busses we were trying to pass.

As we left the city behind, we started climbing deeper into the Andes. We were rewarded with beautiful views of the mountains painted in brown and deep green colors, as well as mountain peaks covered in a veil of cottony clouds.

We stopped in a small town of Saraguro that our book said was known for its textiles and hats. After riding around town in circles we haven’t spotted a single store selling hats so we moved on realizing that Matt’s hat might not get purchased in Ecuador after all.

We forgot to fill up on gas in Cuenca, so were coasting for about 50 miles downhill enjoying the scenery of lush green hills, neatly manicured crop fields, roaming animals, and colorful houses set on the mountain hills in the distance.

We finally reached a one road town with a gas station. Once we filled our tanks and rode through more of the bright green hills, it started getting cooler and the clouds ahead were looking more and more fierce.

There was also some extensive road construction going on so we were moving quite slow, many times having to ride on gravel.

I was afraid we were going to have to ride in the rain again, but thankfully as we descended into the valley overlooking the city of Loja it became much warmer and nicer.

We messed up after Loja and took an alternative road towards Macara, which was longer going through a number of small towns in the mountains. We decided to press on, knowing that we will get to Macara in the dark.

The scenery however was gorgeous and despite time constraints we stopped frequently for pictures.

We were moving pretty fast thinking we had avoided the mountain passes that were soaked in clouds in the distance, but our luck was such that on the last stretch of the road we started climbing up again into a thick fog and cold nasty rain. I had to keep my visor up as it was impossible to see the road, which was covered in mud and pot holes. Finally out of the fog, we rode the last 20 miles in complete darkness. My face was colliding with hundreds of fire flies and heavy bugs, but the smell in the air was pleasantly fragrant and the thought of a dinner and a bed to come was keeping my spirits up.

We finally reached Macara and quickly found a surprisingly nice hotel with a parking garage for $20. We grabbed a quick dinner and were out cold soon there after.