We’ve met so many interesting people in almost every place we’ve stopped and Bahia de Caraquez was no exception. Taylor, Steve and John are three gentlemen (and we really mean that) who are planning to sail around Cape Horn in a Watkins 37. Taylor and John are ex-military while Steve is a writer and ex-professor. All three are Americans. After meeting them and hearing their story, we donated our spare life raft to them for which they were extremely grateful. You can follow them on Skeleton Crew Sailing (Facebook or their website) if you are interested.

After spending a few days in the anchorage, we prepared for another in-land exploring trip. Ann and Roy left for Belgium to pack up their house and put everything into storage so we had the honor of keeping an eye on their boat, Serenity. Before catching a bus to Manta on Wednesday, March 14 we stopped at the clinic to get our yellow fever (fiebre amarillo) shots. It was fairly quick and painless…and free. Additionally, there was no cost for the international certificate. Coincidentally, the medical officer who came aboard Sheric when we were cleared in and told us we needed to get the yellow fever vaccination was at the clinic when we picked up the certificate. She was pleased to see us.

The bus ride to Manta took about two hours because we stopped multiple times to pick up and drop off lots of people. We figure you can probably do the trip in a little over an hour without stops. After spending the night in at Desireny Hostal, we took a taxi to pick up our rental car. We rented the Chevy Spark for two weeks. Little did “Sparky” know it was in for quite a ride.

It was our intention to drive to Chugchilan the first day. Well, after taking a wrong turn, we ended up having to back track…our little error took us up the side of a mountain (quite literally) and over a path that only dirt bikes and donkeys would normally travel. As dusk and an empty fuel tank were quickly approaching, we decided to turn back and re-group. Luckily, we were able to coast back down the mountain to conserve fuel. The local people, in each of the small communities we passed through, watched us with curious eyes as we bounced along going each direction. The roads (if you can call them that) were mostly brick or rock. Needless to say, we hit many bumps and potholes. The bright side…we got to see part of the country we normally wouldn’t have seen and we didn’t run out of fuel before finding a gas station. Late that evening, well after dark, we found a small hostel, Rumy Cruz Wasi, in Zumbahua…just 14 miles short of our original destination. The owner, Jaime, and his wife made us feel very welcome (even at the late hour) and their sons, John & Brian, got to practice their English with us. Jaime invited us to come to the local market that coming Saturday.

We eventually made it to Chugchilan the next day but not until after stopping at Quilotoa Lake. The lake sits in the crater of Quilotoa volcano and is quite spectacular. We enjoyed hot chocolate (it was a rather windy and cold day atop the volcano) and waffles for an early lunch after buying an alpaca shawl and sweater. The hostel in Chugchilan was quaint and the gentleman at the reception was a young American guy who had been traveling South America. He was volunteering his time at the hostel for a few weeks while he decided where his next adventure would take him. After getting settled in our rooms, we ventured off for a walk in the hills near town and came across cows, donkeys, a pack of vicious dogs (although they never actually attacked) and llamas. The llamas were pretty curious about us and came right over to the fence when we were passing by. They let us touch them and feed them flowers. Pretty cool!!

Since we had very little cash left in our wallets and the hostel didn’t take credit cards, we had to push on the next day. On our way to Banos (a small tourist town in Ecuador and, yes, pronounced just like the Spanish word for “bathroom”), we stopped at the Saturday market in Zumbahua. Although we didn’t see Jaime and his family, we enjoyed walking through the rows of vegetable, fruit, bread, clothing, shoe, sugar, wool, herb, chicken and fish stands. It seemed to be a big event for the local townspeople; the ladies were decked out in their fancy skirts, shawls, shoes and hats.

There is so much beauty in the Ecuador countryside. The hills are covered with crops of various vegetation, waterfalls appear around unsuspecting curves in the road, the Andes mountain landscape changes from large boulders delicately placed on ledges by ancient (and recent) volcanic activity to forests of evergreens with palm trees interspersed…simply incredible. The lifestyle is simple but industrious. Everyone does their part…the entire family works their business or their farm. Yes, there are cell phones, internet, television, electricity and even running water but there seems to be more neighborly socializing and community participation than we’ve seen in other places.