December 7th – 8th – Quito and Home

The final day of our trip dawned and our last piece of tourism proved to be somewhat of an anti-climax, as it was a trip up the TeleferiQo, a cable car running up the lower slopes of the nearest volcano to about 4000m. Unfortunately, the weather was against us, with cloud obscuring views up and down for most of the time. We also noticed the altitude, having spent the last week at sea level and although neither of us got a headache, we found the thinness of the air and the lack of oxygen a bit of a struggle. From the top of the cable car, it is possible to hike to the top of the volcano (<5500m) in about 4 hours but, even if the weather had not ruled that out, our failure to re-acclimatise to the altitude would have done anyway. A pity as, from what we could see, it would be a spectacular climb in good visibility.

Quite a lot had obviously been spent on the infrastructure, which included various shops and attractions, but apparently the initial interest from the locals had worn off and the whole place now had an unfortunate aura of neglect and decay (reminiscent of some English seaside resorts) , even though it was all only 5 years old at the most.

The cable car itself was also working at reduced speed, owing to the electricity cuts that were a common feature of life in Ecuador during our stay. This was due to the lateness of the rains in the Andes and the consequent effect on the hydro-electric stations which make up a large part of the country’s power generation. Although understandable, it still seemed odd in a country which produces large quantities of oil to have regular power cuts for several hours a day in major cities (today’s was for 4 hours, and we also experienced cuts in Cuenca and Guayaquil). The politicians seem to prefer to export oil, and subsidise the price of petrol, rather than to use it for power generation. Not surprisingly, standalone diesel powered generators had become the biggest selling product this year.
We then had a final lunch of prawn ceviche, at a restaurant recommended by William, where the self-service set-up was more than compensated by the quality of the food, and the number of locals there was further evidence of its reputation.

After packing and final souvenir shopping we had a walk round the main square before dinner in the hope of seeing the Virgin Mary on El Panecillo illuminated by the Christmas lights we had seen being prepared on our visit three weeks before. Alas, the power cuts had also taken their toll on the VM who was visible but with no special lights. So it seems the god of electricity makes no special favours for anyone, however blessed.

We bade a fond farewell to William at the airport – despite some slightly irritating idiosyncracies, he has become a good friend as well as an enormous source of information about all aspects of life in Ecuador. We are planning to send him a surprise present when we get back – a Spurs shirt for his young son!

So now on our way back home after a truly memorable trip. The original itinerary, planned many months ago has stood up pretty well to the test of real experience and we both feel that there is not much we would, even with the benefit of hindsight, have changed. We have relished experiencing a small part of South America at first hand and are happy to leave other parts, particularly Argentina, for another visit. We both return with our eyes opened (at least to the extent that tourism will allow) to a part of the world and a culture and language that we have only recently come to know. We have seen wildlife of a kind we have never seen before and in an environment which is unique in the truest sense of that word. For us, this trip has been a one-off opportunity and we do not feel we have missed many (if any) tricks. But nearly eight weeks away is a long time and we are looking forward immensely to being reunited with family and friends (not to mention pets), sharing our experiences with them and hopefully not boring them too much with our huge collection of photos. This has been an experience that will live with us for the rest of our lives and we bring back with us many fond memories as well as a taste for some more travel to exotic places in the not too distant future.

Ricardo & Susanita
8 December 2009