Down South

Hello from Loja,
I left Otavalo yesterday after checking out of Palmeras and packing my things. The bus ride was slightly treacherous, but what could I expect for 0.25 for a 2 1/2 hour ride. To be completely honest, I was pissed off that I was in Quito. I just wanted to avoid the craziness of a big city but that was where the airport was.

As soon as I got in, I walked to the American embassy after taking the city´s intentionally confusing trolley system. I was going to register that I was in the country. Well, it wasn´t there. Supposedly, protesters kept attacking the embassy which was right next to two universities so they moved to a bunker 25 minutes North of downtown. This was only a few months ago so the guide books all had the old address and people on the street only knew that it had moved. I went to the swankest hotel in the city and asked the concierge. He got me a cab and I arrived 25 minutes and $5 later (that´s expensive here by the way). I walked into the Consular´s section only to discover that it is only open 2 days a week for 4 hours! Here I am in Ecuador and I´m fed up with the one place that is supposed to be a constant.

Anyways, all of this driving around made me start to appreciate the beautiful complexity of Quito. The cab driver told me that the city is 31 miles long! Because of the mountains on both sides and the thin valley, it can only expand like that. That makes it almost completely unmanageable from anyone´s perspective, but they´ve adapted and evolved with what geography has allowed.

I found a hostel next to the airport. As in most cities, the area surrounding the airport is really sketchy. You can see the view from my hostel. I didn´t take any pictures inside because it wasn´t worth making everyone nauseous. It had a private bath and a cold shower, and was only a 10 minute walk to the airport. I spent last night doing reconaissance as to the safest path to the terminal for my 7am flight. I found a route that passed two police stations, the port authority, and an air force auxillary so figured I might make it without being mugged. I was right!




The flight was only 50 minutes and I was able to follow the Andes the whole time. I arrived in Catamayo. It resembled an African savannah (from what I´ve seen in movies and TV) and was truly stunning, situated in a perfect valley surrounded by green lush mountains. I then travelled to Loja which is across the mountains. It is too precarious to land planes here, so everyone flies through Catamayo.




Here are some pictures of Loja just from this morning. It looks a little like some European cities, but less afluent. I don´t know how anyone ended up here, but they´ve made it a home.

I´m going to travel around the Loja province for a week or so as there seems to be so much to see. I will do my best to blog when I am near civilization but many of the places I´ll be visiting are parks, forests, and jungles.

Love
Kent