Incan Road & Whales
By Gregg Treinish
August 24, 2007
Leaving Guamote with Deia only feeling slightly better, we continued down the tracks eventually making our way to the incredible beauty of the farmlands outside a tiny Hacienda called Merced. Atop a short climb which gifted us with several layers of rainbows, we were greeted by one of the seven families that live and work in cooperation with one another to supply nearly everything they need using only the nearby land. As we set up camp in the Hacienda, word of our arrival soon spread throughout. Family after family came to watch as the Gringos set up camp and began our usual evening rituals of cooking and preparing camp. Because we were surely the first from our country to arrive in this tiny middle-of-nowhere place, the locals were more than interested in us. Seemingly a hundred times we answered the questions about where we had been, where we come from, and how we had hiked all the way from the northern highlands to arrive in this off-the-map place. We were again amazed at the kindness of complete strangers and only became irritated as the cultural differences crossed boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. We were awakened early in the morning, first by rocks hitting our tent, then by the stranger putting his head inside of our tent and making himself comfortable while we, quite confused, proceeded to answer his questions. Soon there were crowds upwards of 50 people starring at our tent in anticipation of our exit. Perfect timing to get as ill as I have ever been. It was all that I could do to keep the children of the Hacienda from following me to the bathroom.
I had come down with whatever Deia had. After a visit to the hospital and an IV, the determination was that we had both been infected with Giardia. For those of you who don´t know, it sucks. Sparing you the details, I was unable to hike, and because Aluasí was the nearest town, it was there that we would rest while I desperately tried to regain my strength. Because I couldn’t eat, this took nearly four days. Finally on the fourth day, I was able to return to where we had last left our hike. We made our way past the Hacienda in the cover of darkness so as not to attract any more attention to ourselves. We awoke the next morning to bigger rocks hitting our tent. Cultural differences or not, I don´t like rocks hitting my tent.
Hiking again felt extremely good after taking so many days off to
recuperate, it wasn’t long before the scenery reminded us of why we are
out there, too. Reaching the end of a long plateau, the dramatic cliffs
of the 4000 ft. drop and climb that would lead us to Achupallas were
more than a welcome site. Despite the fact that we would soon be
descending and then ascending the 4000 ft. The beauty of the Andes
continues to inspire and amaze. Now there were ruins to cap it all off
too, evidence of the historical richness that can be found in the
obscure places we visit. Soon after beginning our descent into the
valley below, we were told of the impassibility of the river below and
the cliffs on the other side. After being given wrong directions for
the third and fourth times, we eventually decided to trust ourselves.
With forty mile an hour winds and one of the steepest trails we have
been on yet, we eventually arrived at a beautiful pasture next to a
river. The 90 degree cliffs that the river had carved reminded us of
working with Trailhead Wilderness School in Escalante which is one of
the more beautiful spots our explorations of the U.S. have taken us to.
The following morning, it wasn’t people who woke us, but rather the
winds. With gusts upwards of 60 mph. There was simply no way to sleep
through it. We finished our hike down the riverbed and soon arrived at
the “impassible” cliffs on the other side. We easily climbed the cliffs
and were more than happy to finally begin the Inca Road to Ingapirca.
Throughout the Andes there are the remains of the Incan roads. They
stretch nearly 4000 miles and even have some of the original stones
used more than half a millennium ago. Almost immediately, the Incan
road (which really isn’t even a trail, let alone a road) provided some
of the most spectacular hiking we have yet encountered. Climbing high
out of the village of Achupallas, we spent our first night on the road
in a thatch hut. We aren’t quite sure why the hut was there or whom it
belonged to, but none the less, at six feet high and with just enough
room for our stuff, it was far too interesting to pass up. The next
morning we continued our hike with a climb through narrow passages that
required hading our packs through giant tunnels that were situated just
over a spectacular waterfall, it only got more amazing from here. An
error in navigation had put us nearly 1500 ft. above the valley floor
and the Incan road and we both were quick to agree that our way was far
better. Despite missing a few small ruins, we were awestruck by the
endless horseshoe valley that was surrounded by high mountain lakes and
amazingly rugged ridge lines. As we made our way to almost 15000 ft, we
crossed a pass and were blown away when the other side of the ridge was
again endless and even more spectacular than our hike up. Flowers of
every color, mountains steeper and more rugged than anything in the
Rockies all around us, and the feeling of really being out there all
made the day arguably our favorite yet. The experience was only
heightened by the perfectly flat lake valley we found further in the
day. Probably carved out by the glaciers that have shaped so many of
these valleys, we could see for miles, and with only the remains of the
Incan road straddling the valley, both of us again quickly remembered
why we have chosen to embark on a journey that is longer than either of
us can even begin to comprehend at this point. We spent the night
inside a larger set of ruins after cleaning the trash that was littered
all throughout. Again, we awoke to questions of where we were coming
from and where we were going, this time it was 6 am and whomever it was
asking the questions appeared from nowhere as there simply were no
dwellings within twenty miles. I guess they will find us no matter
where we are. We chose not to pay the six dollars to go inside of
Ingapirca, as the views were impressive enough from just outside the
most famous ruins in Ecuador. Instead we continued south to the large
metropolis of Cuenca, Ecuador. For the past year and a half, Coyote, a
fellow Appalachian Trail hiker has been on a Peace Corps mission near
Cuenca. With plans to meet up and both Deia and I really starving for
some outside connection, we went into Cuenca with no idea of how we
were going to get a hold of her. We made a stop at the post office and
were on our way to the Internet when who do we see, but Coyote. In the
third largest city in Ecuador, we simply ran into her at the post
office, proving once again that “everything works out on the trail.” We
spent the next few days catching up, and learning about the Peace
Corps, and how the goals of the Peace Corps are not entirely aide, but
also spreading cultural awareness. In Jima, Coyote´s site, we were
given the rare opportunity to kill and gut both a pig and a Cuy or
Guinenea Pig. This is a very big honor in a small campo town to be
offered a Cuy. It was also one of the more memorable experiences of my
life to be able to go through the whole process of killing, gutting,
and eating my food. Too often, too many people are far removed from
their food. I feel as if I learned as much in one day in Jima as I have
in a lifetime. I highly recommend the experience to anyone willing.
Sometime during our visit with Cyote, we learned that the Humpback
Whales are currently mating and birthing on the coast of Ecuador from
now until the end of September. Knowing that it was a rare opportunity
to fulfil a lifelong dream of seeing whales close up, we decided to
take a vacation to the coast. Salinas is a medium size city on the
coast, and definitely off the beaten track for American tourists as the
more popular Montañitas is only an hour north. Our plan was to sit on
the beach for a day and go on a whale watch the next, then return to
Cuenca that night. Instead we wound up on five whale watching
excursions and staying for four days. The coast of Salinas is more than
60km further west than any other point in South America, this provides
for the opportunity to see the whales far closer to shore than anywhere
else on the coast. We quickly fell in love with the creatures in all of
their grace and immensity. We were lucky to meet FEMM researchers
Jessica and Andrea who were more than willing to share their incredible
knowledge of the species with us. We learned a tremendous amount in our
days with them and made some friends out of the deal too. During our
four days in Salinas, a place we had been told was dangerous, we were
welcomed by and shared many experiences with the locals. Brian is a
forty or fifty year old American living partially in Montana, partially
in Salinas, and Partially in Mexico. He has been on over 3000 sky dives
and clearly shares the same sort of lust for life that Deia and I do.
We were invited to dinner at his place and treated with extraordinary
hospitality. Also, our whale guide Jessica, asked us to join her for
lunch at her place, where we met her sons David and Oscar. Jorge, whose
work seems to be more talking with the people than actually working was
an incredible host, showing us all around Salinas and helping us to
find our way as cheap as possible. Throughout this adventure, we have
been welcomed and treated incredibly well by the people of Ecuador. We
are both enthusiastic about the type of people we have encountered and
the fact that so many cultural differences don´t outweigh the simple
human kindness that too many people claim is extinct throughout the
world. Please continue to write, we really look forward to reading
emails from all of you. It is hard to maintain relationships with
people we meet here as we are always moving on. It is good to hear from
everyone back home, if you want to come and visit us, we would love the
company. We are now back in Cuenca and will continue south to the
Peruvian border over the next two weeks.