CICLOSOFÍA

Our route through Ecuador

A couple of days later we had to say good-bye to the highlands. Our next destination was the Amazon Basin. The 80 km descent to the jungle is spectacular. First the road is wide and paved but beyond the town of Baños the valley narrows and the highway becomes an unpaved track cut out of the mountains. Small waterfalls are splashing on the road and more than once we had to wade through small streams crossing the road. During the rainy season this road is often blocked by landslides. With every km we descended the vegetation became greener and more tropical. Orchids and giant fern trees grew along the road and we saw the first hummingbirds. Just before our destination, the small jungle town of Puyo, the canyon widened and we had good views of the Amazon jungle below us. The waters of the river that was flowing below us would finally reach the Atlantic Ocean, more than 4000 km to the east! Beyond Puyo the road became increasingly bad. Potholes and rocks slowed our speed significantly. Most of the day we did not average more than 10 km per hour. So when an Ecuadorian family in a 4X4 truck stopped and offered us a ride to Puerto Missahualli, our next destination, we gladly accepted.

posted by alvaro @ 10:20 p. m.