Papallacta

Saturday brought the weekend, and I had no plans. Well, I thought I had plans, but since I hadn't spoken with any of my friends in a couple of days, I wasn't sure what plans I had. As it turns out, I had problems with the phone in my room, unknown to me, and we'd been trying to call each other. The hotel got through and then worked to fixed my phone. But long story short, Juan Carlos came to pick me up and decided we were going to Papallacta. Were we headed north? East? I had no idea. The cab driver the other day had mentioned it too, but otherwise, all I knew was that I hadn't been there before, so that sounded good to me. I asked what I needed, was told just me, so off we went.

To start, we couldn't get a bus directly there, we needed to change in Cumbayá. That's the best part about traveling with locals -- I can use the regular buses, it's incredibly cheap to travel, and they know where they're going. I don't have to make decisions or pay attention to every detail and just get to follow along. For someone who routinely suffers from decision-fatigue, owing to the complexity of my job, this is a real treat. I'm ecstatic to put myself in my friends' trusty hands and just enjoy the journey.

While this was not a bad excursion day -- I've never had a bad excursion day in Ecuador and my friends always make amazing plans -- this was the closest I've come to that. I really should have done some prep work or asked some different questions.

The trip to Cumbayá was nice, and it was a beautiful day out. Since we had to change buses, and since Cumbayá is a nice little town, we wandered, because, after all, there's a lovely little church and plaza there that I really ought to see. This is normal and all part of travel and discovery and I rather like it. 

 The church was really lovely. There was a baptism underway, so we tried not to interrupt.

 Lovely afternoon! I really love the climate in the Andes; it suits me really well. And just look at this beautiful bell tower!

 Another wonderful plaza. I wished I'd had a book and a picnic....

 I didn't feel like I needed my picture taken, but I was overruled.

 Charming town with lovely houses. Such a pleasant place to live.

But we figured we should get going, and finding the right bus proved a bit tricky. Eventually we did, and were on our way again. I was rather surprised when the weather started to change -- fog, then rain, and general overcast skies. Turns out, we were headed east, toward Tena and the rainforest. Ah.

Next, we missed the stop. I should explain that there aren't bus stops like we're used to here. You roll through towns and it's pretty much your responsibility to tell the driver when you're ready to get off. I guess for $2/each (this was a trip of about 2 hours), it's all good. But that means that you do need to know where you're going, and I'm pretty useless on that front. We weren't too far off, about a kilometer or so, but it meant an uphill walk in the rain on the side of this highway/road. I had an umbrella in my bag, but no rain jacket, no jacket at all in fact. It was chilly in the rain. There were alpaca grazing on the side of the road.

We finally got to the bus shelter at the turnoff for Papallacta, and we found a truck to take us up to the town, which was fortunate. I think we paid $2 for that ride, but it was worth it. The area was beautiful, and Papallacta looked lovely, even in the rain. But that's where I realized we had a problem. Papallacta was a hot springs and spa. When you bring nothing with you, guess what you're not prepared for? I did actually have a swimsuit on this trip, because of the Galápagos, but it was back in the hotel in Quito where it wasn't exactly useful. But, given that it was now 3.30, food was the priority.

We had a really lovely lunch at the big hotel/spa, and then started to wander. The thought was that perhaps I could find a place to buy a suit.

 How stunning it this?! 

 Interestingly, these flowers have some kind of narcotic effect. In small doses, they are used to help combat motion-sickness. In large doses, they form the basis for some of the illegal date-rape drugs.

 Yup, spa and hot springs. Most people come prepared with swimsuits. If only I'd known.... I hate ruining trips.

Looking for a shop took us back down the 2.7km of the mountain, to the road. We did find a place at the bottom. At that point, it was about 6.30, chilly, and getting dark. I was using a t-shirt to keep my arms warm. Since we weren't planning to spend the night -- and guess who wasn't prepared for that either, while we're at it -- we moved into the bus shelter to await a bus headed back to Quito.

 Part-way down the mountain. The rain had stopped by this point, but it was chilly. 

Aren't these pretty? They make this amazing popping sound. That reminds me; I dried them at the hotel, but don't remember unpacking them. Hmmm....

The first bus that came by flew by us; packed. The second, about 20 minutes later, stopped, with the driver yelling, "Dos, no más, dos no más." Juan Carlos pushed me ahead and another gentleman squeezed on behind him. The bus was full, and this was all they felt they had standing room for in the front with the driver. I should add that there were were already three people sitting on the bus steps up front with the driver and the conductor/fare collector. I was told to sit on the sort-of step with my back to the driver and my face to the door, and the two guys stood in the remaining space. I'm glad, actually, because that meant that I couldn't see. Driving some of these roads scares me at the best of times; it was dark, we spent the whole trip going downhill (so we must have been about 11,000 feet earlier), the horn kept blaring,....

After about an hour, enough people got off the bus that we were able to move to the regular part and take seats. I saw a sign on one bridge, where someone had written, "Chevron paga [Chevron pays]." Clearly, we were in the Oriente. [If you're not familiar, this was a reference to the on-going legal battle between indigenous groups in the rainforest and Ecuador and the big oil companies, and the environmental damage and clean-up efforts related to significant pollution from extraction in the region in the 80s and 90s.] We finally got back to Quito about 9.00, then had an hour's ride back from the south of the city into the center. 

I felt like I'd ruined the day. I was frustrated, because I thought I'd asked, and therefore, that it could have been prevented. At the same time, I think it was a good lesson in the variable nature of the climate and the fact that if you don't live there, you don't always think about it. (As well as a lesson in using the guidebook when someone suggests going somewhere that's new.) I was assured that I didn't ruin the day, and it was still a fun outing and a chance to visit somewhere else that was lovely and beautiful and to spend time with friends. We still planned to meet the next morning at 7 for the train. For my part, when I got back to the hotel, I made sure to pull out my jacket. And my scarf. And my hat. And....