Headed from Cuenca to Mancora, Peru

  "Senor, I just want to buy a spare seat to Mancora, I don't want any problems." I said in Spanish, as I slowly stepped back on to the curb at the immigration office, trying to keep my (by now perfected) dopey gringo smile plastered to my face. This was a bit more difficult that usual because a man in a bullet proof vest was using his shotgun to wave me back. I called out again in decent Spanish, "Amigo, solo quiero preguntar cual es possible para comprar una silla en este bus directo a Mancora." 

He gruffly responded, and pointed his shotgun towards the sign behind me with rates to the next town, Tumbes via taxi. I usually try to be "economico" about most of my travels, but as I backed away I decided that this might be the right time to splurge $12 for a taxi. What the hell, I'm on vacation right?

        

         Don't get me wrong, Cuenca was amazing, but after a few days I had decided to leave and head south to Peru and warmth. I did my research. I saw on several travel blogs that the busses direct for Mancora only run at 7:30am and 10am. Being a gringo, I made it to the terminal with plenty of time to spare. I was just in time... to be told that the busses had changed in the last few weeks and now only ran at 10pm. Since I prefer not to cross borders at night, and I was antsy to get a move on, I decided to figure it out myself.

         I caught a bus to the border town of Huanquillas. After several hours driving through stunning mountain landscapes we descended to the banana dominated coastal plains and arrived in Huanquillas in the heat of the late afternoon sun. I decided to push on to Mancora immediately, since the soonest a direct bus left was apparently 3am. I snagged a taxi who would take me to the immigration office, where I received the usual hassel about not looking anything like my passport photo (apparently losing weight, putting on glasses, and growing a beard makes you look a bit different. Who woulda thought...). Then I went in search of a seat on a bus.... which leads me to the man with the shotgun from the start of this story.

       I ended up sharing a taxi with some Ecuadorian students who found my mishap quite amusing. We joked about it and talked about the current Ecuadorian president until we reached the terminal. From there I figured it would be an easy hop an hour down the one main road to Mancora. However, a serious official insisted that there were absolutely no busses in the history of all that was holy that went from Tumbes to Mancora. He told me I would need a taxi, but that he knew a guy that only would charge me $120. The only alternative, according to him, was a minibus that was very dangerous. I figured that even if I got robbed I would still lose less than getting bent over by a taxi. I thanked him and turned to go, and just then he called out to a departing bus driver, "Mancora? Mancora? Ok, go with him, its direct to Mancora, only 20 soles!"

         A bit annoyed, but happy to be on my way again, I hopped on the bus and asked the guy next to me how much I should pay. 7 soles maximum. Gotta love Peru. The rest of the ride was uneventful, and I arrived at Mancora in time to check in to the world famous Loki hostel (which is basically a club med/nightclub with dorms). I met a couple of my roomies, a German named Phillip and an Argentinian with a great British accent named Exequiel . We hung out that night at the masquerade party hosted by the bar, until I slipped off to bed to sleep off my bus ride and get ready to enjoy the beach! Welcome to Mancora!

The beautiful city of Cuenca, as we depart for the border.

A beautiful traditional roof, with a terracotta sheep worn down by generations of wind and rain.

A proud Ecuadorian flag guarding the mountain pass as our bus wound its way through the barren mountains.

The beautiful mountains of Ecuador, barren rock covered in yellow flowers.

The beautiful countryside right outside of Cuenca

The endless banana fields of the Ecuadorian coast. Hours and hours of bananas only punctuated by small towns and local "Nightclubs" (aka brothels)

An Ecuadorian family in a small town perched on the edge of the road, overlooking a perilous plunge into the ravine below.

A line of mixed shots, "Blood Bombs" at Loki, stretching across the massive bar, awaited me in Peru.

Cuenca, Ecuador: One Incredible City!

             Cuenca... I heard it was beautiful and charming... but I never expected to fall in love! Leaving an incredible experience in Coca (in the middle of the Ecuadorian Amazon, mind you), I headed back into the central mountains of Ecuador. The little town is only 4 hours north of the Peruvian border. Arriving on a bright sunny day, I was immediately floored by the town. The streets are clean. Like immaculately, European after a nightly cleaning, clean. The food is great. There are international restaurants that serve everything imaginable, and incredible bakeries next to hand crafted ice cream shops. Maybe it was just because I was coming from a region where most restaurants offer the mind boggling selection of lunch OR dinner, but this was amazing to me. Cuenca ranks as one of my all-time favorite cities I've visited. The cleanliness, food, friendliness, stunning architecture, artsy culture, and international community here make a visit delightful.

          Don't get me wrong. I love Coca. I had a wonderful time there and grew a lot from my experiences, but the change was nice after a month or so. I spent my time wandering the friendly streets, reminding myself what Mexican food was, and searching for decent Oreo ice cream (it kinda became an obsession after I got a craving for it in Coca, and their offerings just didn't match my expectations... thankfully I found the real stuff on the last day in Cuenca. I'm cured!). My hostel was nice, although I had to crack out the sleeping bag after freezing in the rooftop hammocks the first night.  After three nights however, my itch to get to Peru and an ever shortening length of days remaining on my visa prompted me to head for Mancora, Peru. Its been nice Ecuador, I can't wait to come back and visit all the wonderful friends I made there! Till next time.

A stunning macaw at a local garden

Old meets new on the streets of Cuenca, Ecuador.

The daily flower marked between this beautiful church and the stunning Cathedral.

Hand crafted palm hats and dress at the Panama hat museum and shop.

Amazing street art decorates everything here in Cuenca, brightening your walk around town and getting you to think too!

Cuenca at night, safe, quiet, and beautiful.

Flowers in an archaeological site that was turned into a traditional Incan garden

A platter of brains at the central market here.

A stunning sunset over the rooftops of Cuenca, captured from my hammock before dinner.

This little fella looks pretty weird... also from the park at the local ruins

An incredible statue in the north part of the historic center.

Close up.

Flowers in front of an ancient Incan fortress, which I visited to indulge the historian in me.

A Final Week In Coca

The lovely ladies of Ecuador Ejercitate's bailo therapia  program in Coca who took me in like family. 

              So after returning to Coca, I was received with open arms by Lady and her family, who found it quite amusing that I was back like they had joked I would be. I decided to hang around a bit longer to work on my new route to Peru and chill with the family. Lady decided to take me around a bit more in the area, visiting the town of Loretta to see the Oja de Agua and a few days later to some incredibly  beautiful waterfalls. We had a great time exploring the area together, but eventually I felt the tug to go south, and so I had to say my goodbyes.
         I decided to go to Cuenca, 14 hours of busses away in the southern sierra region. Its sad to finally leave Coca (for real this time... no no, I really mean it!) but its time to move on to new adventures, more learning, and more growing as a person.

                         I want to really thank the people of Coca and Lady and her family                                                         for taking a lonely lost gringo in and showing him a deeper side of                                                         Ecuadorian life and being so giving to a  total stranger. I will always                        remember them all with a big smile on my face and a warmth in my heart!

This is a very custom chopper I saw in Joya de los Sachas after an exhibition by the Ecuador Ejercitate girls from Coca at a local beauty pageant and neighborhood fiesta. The bike was... creative. For example, the light was just a flashlight that had been rigged up haha. "Here in Ecuador, safety first!"

Some fresh signage here in Loreto Ecuador... I always love old, dilapidated signs. They just look cool and speak to so much of the past!

The entrance to the Ojo de Agua, a cool little park where they raise Paiche (3 meter long amazonian jungle fish that only ONLY eat tilapia, they will throw anything else onto the bank if you try to feed it to them apparently) and a bunch of cool art and structures made from recycled materials.

Lady splashing her friend in the river that runs through Loreto... she was disappointed that I wouldn't let her splash me (under threat of being tossed in the middle of the river haha) so she redirected that thought towards her friend!

Me at the "Somethin somethin somethin chupa" waterfalls, about 45 mins out of Coca on a native reservation, hanginh out with Lady and her cousin's family on a hot November day

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Coca River Journey: Down to Peru and Back Too!

             So I finally left Coca, to head to the border of Peru and take a jungle boat down to Iquitos... I figured that I would have to have some really bad luck to need to wait any more than a few days in Pantoja, Peru for one of the two boats a month that make the trip. I got on the canoe downstream to Rocafuerte, and did my 9 hours. Once there, I found out that no one would help me contact people in Pantoja and find out about the boat... So I decided to head down the next day (since there was no water in Rocafuerte... ya know..) to Pantoja and find out for myself. After negotiating a price the next morning for myself and two other backpackers in town, we set out downstream in a small canoe. 

                     It took about 3 hours to get there, and after checking in with the local military post, the imigration officer laughed as he told us we missed the boat by two days, and that the next one would (maybe) come in 2 weeks. With this in mind, I looked around the little village the size of a city block and decided that this journey was gonna have to wait for another day. I hopped in a canoe of students who had cruised into town an hour after ours and made my way back to Rocafuerte for the night. I planned to take the normal canoe back to Coca the next day, but the students assured me that they had arranged a "fast boat" to Coca and I could join them for the same price.

                      The next morning, I skeptically looked at the canoe that looked no faster than any others (especially since it had a smaller moter than most of the others) but joined the group anyhow, wanting to get back to Coca and on the road as soon as possible. Sure enough, my instincts and basic logical deductions proved true and our 7 hour journey actually took 12 hours, with the last hour or so on the river without any light (since the captain forgot to pack one) trying to dodge the numerous trees and sandbars that litter the river. It was in interesting evening, and I was glad when we finally pulled into port. Late, but alive.

My ticket downstream to Rocafuerte, on the Ecuador-Peru border.

The man in my boat was wearing a Las Vegas hat... its funny how small the world is sometimes!

Leaving Coca under ominous skies

Vanessa, an engineer workingon the construction of a new Mellinium School in Rocafuerte, taking a nap after describing the difficulties of building in the Amazon. She later gave me a tour of the site.

Nothing screams professionalism for your police force than having their logo apparently hand drawn by a small child...

The fine center of naval activity in Rocafuerte

Plowing up the mighty Coca on this gray morning

In case you were curious what a $15 dollar ticket gets ya... a seat between a box of chickens and a large stack of eggs... 

About to head downriver to Pantoja with our new capitan after our arranged capitan never showed up...

A family headed upstream in the early morning heat

Small canoes and big rivers, our canoe headed to Pantoja

I always wonder if Coca Cola knows its got signs in places like this...

The soldier who greeted us in Pantoja, surrouded by a swarm of butterflies on a sweltering afternoon on the Coca river

Welcome to Pantoja, Peru

A beautiful Pantoja afternoon, with the Peruvian flag flapping in the breeze

The small canoe I caught back from Pantoja for $5... it was hot and crowded with students from Quito, but better than $60  or waiting narly 2 weeks for the boat to Iquitos.

The sunset over Rocafuerte as we cruised back into town from Pantoja

A giant yellow tree of life on the side of the river

A mother and daughter making their way upstream in a tiny canoe

Some of the river traffic coming back to Coca

The fire from petroleum operations illuminating the river for us as we went up the river without any lights

The bridge lights as we dock in Coca