Getting out of Guyaquil was surprisingly easy, considering it's a city of 3 million people who seem to drive 20 million cars. We headed out into lush coastal farms where bananas are grown on huge factory farms owned by Dole and other giant food companies. We visited a smaller farm owned by a local family and got a couple of cocoa gourds for later. Gayle had a rather unfortunate encounter with the farm dogs that unsettled us. Fortunately, she seems OK.
Then, we drove into the cloud forest. It was surreal as we drove higher among thick, green, lush vegetation that swam before our sight like a mysterious dream. The clouds were thick at times, then like whispy gossamer. We broke through, continued to climb and drove between 2 cloud layers as though we were flying.
After a couple of hours of this, we arrived at the site of Ingapirca, a scaled down version of Macchu Picchu. We loved it for the extensive ruins, but also for the absence of large crowds. Pablo told us that the site was originally built by the Canari people, whose descendents live here today, then taken over by the Inca and subsequently by the Spanish. Same old story: original people try to create something unique, only to have it absorbed by other, larger and more aggressive people. The Spanish can never be forgiven for their cultural attrocities, but the Incas were no angels either, for they built their temples and trails on top of Canari structures. Ingapirca is a fine site and it reminded me of Housesteads in Northumbria, both in its appearance and purpose.
Another 2 hours on kidney-shaking roads has delivered us, weary and groggy ( altitude ! ) to Cuenca, Ecuador's third largest city and a real gem.We are in a lovely old hotel, the Crespo, where we'll chill, dine and acclimatize. The tour of this fascinating city starts tomorrow !!
Then, we drove into the cloud forest. It was surreal as we drove higher among thick, green, lush vegetation that swam before our sight like a mysterious dream. The clouds were thick at times, then like whispy gossamer. We broke through, continued to climb and drove between 2 cloud layers as though we were flying.
After a couple of hours of this, we arrived at the site of Ingapirca, a scaled down version of Macchu Picchu. We loved it for the extensive ruins, but also for the absence of large crowds. Pablo told us that the site was originally built by the Canari people, whose descendents live here today, then taken over by the Inca and subsequently by the Spanish. Same old story: original people try to create something unique, only to have it absorbed by other, larger and more aggressive people. The Spanish can never be forgiven for their cultural attrocities, but the Incas were no angels either, for they built their temples and trails on top of Canari structures. Ingapirca is a fine site and it reminded me of Housesteads in Northumbria, both in its appearance and purpose.
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