Date First Posted: March 16, 2006
Log Entry Start Date - February 21, 2006
Log Entry End Date - March 7, 2006
Locations Covered - Enroute from Panama to Ecuador and Touring Ecuador
Present Location: Puerto Lucia Yacht Club, La Libertad, Ecuador
Latitude: 2 13.0 S Longitude: 80 55.4 W
Weather: Variable light winds, hot, humid, partly cloudy to overcast
Distance covered since last entry: 719
Total distance traveled since departure from Antigua: 1911 nautical miles
Commentary:
Panama to Ecuador
After seeing Harry and Hilary off on Sunday, January 19th, we went into town to do some final provisioning. This will probably be the last place with the selection of US supermarkets for some time (perhaps until New Zealand or Australia). It seemed like we were still accumulating a lot, but we ended up with only 1/4th the amount we provisioned in Panama back in 1997 since we had been buying provisions along the way. The next day we went to the superyacht dock to fill up with water and then started on our way to Ecuador.
About 30 miles south of Panama City is a group of islands called Las Perlas. The name comes from the Spanish conquistadors (including Pizarro) that collected (took) many pearls from the indigenous natives in the 1500’s. With the exception of a few islands, there are few inhabitants, and the rugged volcanic cliffs and shores are very scenic. The first night we stopped at Isla Contadora, perhaps the most settled place in the chain. Contadora means counting place and this is where the Spanish counted the treasure that was collected in the Pacific before sending it overland to the Caribbean and then shipping it back to Spain (via Portobello in Panama).
Contadora
is now better known as a resort and vacation destination for some of the
wealthiest Panamanians. The vacation homes on shore looked huge from where
we were anchored, and there is a 500 room resort. The guide books indicate
that this is where the Shah of Iran lived some of the time when he was in
exile, and that this was also a location for a summit meeting of Central and
South American presidents.
Further
south, we stopped in a cove on the coast of Isla Rey, near Isla San Pedro.
Other than some fishermen in their boats, this area was uninhabited. We had
caught up with our friends on Anthem and planned to spend a couple of days
cruising this area with them. Isla Rey refers to island of the “king”,
and this is where King “Toe” apparently met the Spanish and put up
strong resistance. Jennifer spent quite a bit of time on shore studying and
collecting shells and rocks, and taking pictures.
Our next stop was south of Isla Cana, another picturesque anchorage near the town of Ensenada. After meeting up with Anthem and another boat, we dinghied to the town of about 100 people. We bought some fresh red snapper from one of the fishing boats and then went on shore to see the village. Although it is only accessible by boat and wading ashore, the town did have electricity and a phone booth (incoming calls only). There seemed to be a row of homes along a sidewalk fronting the beach and perhaps a second row behind.
We
saw a number of fishermen preparing their nets on the shore, while most of
the rest of the villagers sat and talked together in front of their homes
and the few community buildings. We were told there might have been a
store, but we didn’t see it.
At this point, Anthem and Encore’s itineraries diverged. They returned to Contadora to let a crew member off to fly home, and then they sailed directly to the Galapagos.
We said goodbye for at least a while and started off toward Ecuador, a 650 mile passage. The weather forecast called for very light and variable winds (typical for this close to the equator) and we planned on spending a lot of time motoring. In fact, we motored all day until just before dusk when the wind picked up, and we decided to sail, even though we might not make the fastest time. Night watches are more peaceful under sail, and we’ll give up some time just to turn the engine off at night and then make up the time under power during the day if needed. We have enough fuel to reach our destination and back if needed.
The
first night carried enough wind so that we didn’t need to motor, but by
daybreak, the wind had died and the engine came on (perhaps for the next
500+ miles). To our surprise, while the first day was perfectly clear and
hot, at night it was pretty cool, and the next day was cloudy and cool. We
think some of this is due to cold ocean currents that are coming into this
area. Although not rare, these currents are somewhat infrequent right where
we were, and bring nutrients from deep in the ocean up to the surface. This
causes an algal bloom where the water turns dark brownish, and at night we
saw a lot of phosphorescence. Our wake and every small cresting wave looked
like bright white water, even though the wind wasn’t strong enough to make
white caps, and there was no moon to shine on the water. Behind us, it
looked like we had on underwater lights shining under our stern.
We’ve now checked in to one of the Pacific radio nets (8143 kHz) that links up cruisers that are not only near the west coast of the Americas, but also enroute to the Galapagos, and the Marquesas further west into the South Pacific. There were several dozen boats checking in, giving their position, destination, crew on board, and weather conditions. From these reports we’ll be able to tell who may be going the same way as us, or who may be nearby. We are likely to be talking to a radio net every day while we are on passage in the Pacific at least as far as the Marquesas.
We continue to troll fishing lines, and thought we’d have some luck given the number of dolphins we’ve seen (large spotted ones lately). In addition, we’ve crossed the continental shelf where the water depth goes from around 100 feet to around 10,000 feet, generally a good spot for catching fish. So far, however, all we’ve caught was a booby bird (looks like a large dark brown seagull) that went after one of our lures and got tangled in our line. We stopped, retrieved our line, and untangled the bird that then flew off unharmed, and perhaps a bit wiser.
Our third day of the passage brought surprising winds from the northeast allowing us to sail most of the afternoon and making one of those great sailing days when everything seems too good to continue. Late in the afternoon, Jennifer spotted a small fishing boat, which seemed unusual since we were almost 100 miles offshore. A little later she thought she saw something in the water, and a minute later we heard a loud bumping sound under the boat. On closer inspection, we had fouled one of the fishing boats “long lines.” These are heavy duty lines that can be hundreds if not thousands of yards long, from which hundreds of individual hooks with bait are attached, plus plastic bottle and Styrofoam floats every once in a while.
We seemed to be dragging some floats under the boat along with the line which goes off into the distance. We were concerned with getting the line wrapped around our propeller, so we tried to slow down and pull the line up so we could cut it. In spite of our efforts, a length of line, plus two floats and one large hook with bait were still caught under our boat. After furling in our sails, Paul put on a swim mask and with a line attached to him, went into the water to survey the situation and tried to cut away the remaining items. Unfortunately, it was now just after sunset and it was getting dark, and swimming under the boat in relatively large waves didn’t seem like a great idea.
We decided to wait until morning to finish clearing the line, and also decided not to use the engine all night since that might just make the line get further wrapped around the propeller. Murphy’s Law was in effect since by dark, the wind has died, and we ended up sailing all night at just around 2-3 knots. This combined with a left over swell, made a rolly, slow passage.
At
daybreak, Jennifer saw another fishing boat nearby that came near us and
signaled us to go in a certain direction to avoid their fishing line. After
passing them, we again dropped our sails and Paul returned to the water and
swam under the boat to finish cutting away the line. A small amount
was still caught on the propeller that couldn't be removed easily, but it
appeared OK to resume sailing and use the engine.
By
then, we had lost quite a bit of time, and needed to motor most of the rest
of the way. We arrived in La Libertad just before dark on Monday the 27th
and took a mooring at the Puerto Lucia Yacht Club. We had to wait for
the Port Captain to arrive by taxi and come out to visit the boat, along
with a representative of customs who came out and filled out some forms.
By then it was nearly dark and although the marina offered us the
opportunity to go take a spot along a rock wall inside the harbor, we wanted
to stay where we were. After they told us about the high winds they
had the night before, we were convinced to move to the inner harbor, and had
four marina staff on board helping us to tie up. It is a strange tie
up with two mooring lines behind us and then two long lines tied to a wall
over a rock wall, leaving you still about 20 feet from shore. You
still need to use a dinghy to go ashore. The water in the marina is
unusually oily and we saw bubbles coming
up from the bottom. We later learned that there used to be oil wells in
the area and that oil and natural gas is leaking into the water. By the
time we leave, our lines are oily, the bottom of our dinghy is dark brown
with slime and Encore’s waterline is pretty dirty.
The yacht club was very nice and busy the Monday and Tuesday after we arrived since it was the Carnival holiday and everyone goes to the beach. We had to wait until Wednesday to finish the paperwork for customs and immigration and to visit a travel agent to make our arrangements to visit Quito. We were looking forward to this side trip.
Touring Ecuador
Our
trip to central Ecuador was very memorable. We started off with a two hour
drive to the airport in Guayaquil and landed a short while later in Quito,
at an elevation of around 9,000 feet. This capital city of about 2 million
people is in a valley between two mountain ranges, and is about 40 miles
long by 15 miles wide. We knew we were going to be in the mountains, but
didn’t realize just how mountainous this area was, and how high the
mountains would be. We were fortunate to have a relatively clear day with
good visibility.
We
were met by our guide Ajairo who would be with us for the next four days.
Our first stop was in the old colonial center of Quito where we saw
cathedrals, the presidential palace, and plazas that dated back to the early
1600’s. The cathedral translated to mean the “Company of Christ” is claimed
to be the most beautiful in South America. The entire interior is covered
in gold leaf and is in a baroque style. Just one corner of the cathedral
suffered from a fire a few years ago, and restoring it cost over $8 million.
Company of Christ Cathedral
That
afternoon we took a cable car to near the top of Pichincha, the volcano that
is just west of Quito. We drove to about 11,000 feet, and just walking
a short ways to the cable car was an exertion in the thin air. The
cable car climbed to about 15,000 feet, and the peak is at 19,000. Being at
the equator, at 15,000 feet, there was still some vegetation and it wasn’t
too cold. The view was spectacular, and we could see mountains and
volcanoes all around.
In
the afternoon, we headed to the monument and park called “Middle of the
World”, which is a government attraction located on the Equator.
However, we bypassed the official site and went to a small private museum
and facility that is actually exactly on the Equator (at least using their
GPS). They had many exhibits on indigenous life from hundreds of years
ago, as well as science experiments based on being on the equator. We
were a little skeptical about some of these experiments. One was watching
water drain from a movable sink in a clockwise spiral a few feet south of
the equator, straight down on the equator, and counterclockwise a few feet
north of the equator. Jennifer balanced an egg on the head of a nail,
something easier to do on the equator.
Late in the day we drove to a hacienda near the town of Otavalo. At dusk, we could see the snow capped peak of the volcano Cayambe off in the distance with the orange of the setting sun. It is perfectly conical like Mount Fuji in Japan, and even at a distance of maybe 50 miles it was beautiful.
We
spent the night at the Hosteria Cusin. This was a rebuilt hacienda that was
the center of a tract of 100,000 acres of land purchased from King Phillip
II of Spain in 1602. We arrived during a power outage, and were led to our
rooms by candlelight. Every room had a fireplace which we lit for light and
warmth. The hacienda had been in the same family for almost 400 years
before becoming a “hotel,” and it had fallen into great disrepair a couple
times before its current British owner acquired it. At one time, the guests
would dress in black tie, and have Broadway musicals performed as part of
the dinner entertainment. Land reform in 1945 and again in the 1960’s
basically took all the land away from the traditional upper class owners
(Spanish descendants) and distributed it among the indigenous people. The
argument was that it really belonged to them anyways.
The
next day we started out visiting the market at Otavalo. This is the most
famous market in Ecuador for the indigenous people to sell their weavings.
About 40% of Ecuadorians belong to one of about 23 indigenous ethnic
groups. These days, they tend to only marry within their group and they
maintain their traditional life styles and in particular their dress.
Everywhere we went in the central highlands of Ecuador we would see these
people wearing their traditional ponchos and the hat specific to their
group. The ponchos’ colors are typically very bright, red for some groups,
green for others, blue or purple for yet other groups. We were surprised by
the fact that these clothes were so consistently worn throughout the
country. Indigenous women usually wore necklaces of gold beads made
from glass. The more necklaces a woman wore indicated their status.
The
market itself was fascinating, starting with a live animal market where
small pigs and other animals were bought by families to grow large, and
large pigs being sold back. In the main square, all kinds of blankets,
hats, ponchos and other weavings were being sold among the vegetable and
food stands.
Although
the vendors were very grateful for the little that we bought, we were told
that many of the indigenous Otavalenos were relatively wealthy with their
products being exported and sold around the world at high prices.
From
Otavalo we traveled to another small town where leather goods were the
specialty and then on to visit Cuicocha a lake in the middle of a volcano
caldera, and near Cotacachi, another large volcano. Cuicocha means guinea
pig lake. Guinea pigs (Cuy in the indigenous language of Quicha), are
raised for food in the highlands, and roasted Cuy is common on restaurant
signs and even on the menus where we ate. Eating Cuy apparently goes back
to the times of the Incas.
Guinea Pigs in replica of an ancient indigenous home
At Cuicocha we were only an hour or two from the Columbian border to the north. The region much closer along the border is the site of active incursions by the Columbian guerillas and the Ecuadorian army stays busy trying to keep them from using Ecuador as a place of refuge in their flights from the Columbian army. Where we were was quite safe.
From Cuicocha we headed due south all afternoon to the region and town of Riobamba. This was a long drive, bypassing Quito on the way, and passing through many small towns. Enroute we could only see parts of Cotopaxi, the 2nd highest volcano and mountain in Ecuador. Similar to Cayambe, it is also a perfectly conical snow capped volcano and the subject of countless posters and photographs. From May to December, it is very dry and the visibility is better. We stayed at another hacienda that night, called Abraspungo, or “open door” in Quicha.
In
the morning, Ajairo, our guide, drove us to Guanto, a stop on the railroad
line that used to run from Quito to Cuenca in the south. Since the
Pan-American Highway has been built, the need for the railroad has
diminished, and earthquakes and mudslides have closed sections for many
years. However, from Riobamba to an area perhaps 100 miles south, the
railroad runs primarily for the sake of tourists who sit on the top of
boxcars (inside of low guard rails) and watch the scenery as the train moves
down steep inclines via switchbacks through a river valley.
By
getting on the train at Guanto, we drove an extra hour to cut two hours out
of the train ride through flatter terrain. Everyone pays a dollar to
rent one or two cushions to sit on the corrugated roof (the fare of
$9.20 doesn’t actually get you a “seat”). Starting at about 9,000
feet, the air is cold in the morning and we were bundled up. Our only
stop was in a town called Alausi, where the tracks start into the remote
canyons. About a mile from the station, the train stopped due to a
problem with the track. We’re not sure, but perhaps an area was washed
out under the rails.
Eventually
we continued very slowly over this section and continue for an hour along
steep mountainsides where you couldn't see any land along the side of the
tracks for maybe 1000 feet down to the river below. This picture was
taken by Jennifer looking down over the edge of the train to the bottom of
the gorge.
At one point, the train stopped, and
then backed down a side spur to the bottom of the river where we looked back at
a mountain peak that is named The Devils Nose. From this point on, the
tracks were closed, and we went through some maneuvers to get the engine from
one end of the train to the other end for the return trip back up the valley
to Alausi. The train ride was certainly memorable both for the scenery
and the company of tourists on top of the train. There were many young people, most
likely students from abroad, as well as Ecuadorians taking the excursion.
There were also vendors selling local snacks and beverages walking up and
down the train of four boxcars, an engine and one old passenger car.
As we reached the tracks south of Alausi, the train stopped and we were told to get off and walk the rest of the way. It seems that they don’t trust the tracks. Ajairo was waiting for us and we began the next leg of our road trip to the town of Baños (the baths). This town is at the eastern edge of the Andes, and is known for its hot springs. On a Sunday night, the town was crawling with tourists, and the sides of the cliffs next to the town were lit up to show off a high waterfall coming down to the edge of town.
The
road from Riobamba to Baños was another trip in itself. Rock and
mudslides (perhaps including some volcanic ash slides) from the volcano
Tangurahua just to the south have taken out dozens of sections of the road,
and it was closed for four years. It was only opened a few months
earlier, and the temporary bypasses where bridges were destroyed are pretty
rough still. In one case, water running down the mountain had started
another ditch that we had to drive through. Just before we reached the
town, we could look up and see ash billowing from the top of the volcano
only a few miles away. Ajairo says that this is common and “not to
worry”. He also says he won’t drive on this road at night.
From
Baños, the road led down the Pastaza river valley into the Amazon jungle.
The Pastaza is one of the largest rivers that feeds into the Amazon, and is
used to produce hydroelectric power. We drove several miles and
stopped to see the cable car crossing the span of almost a mile of the gorge
at a height of maybe 500 feet. We declined taking the ride.
Further down the valley we did get out and walked down to near the floor of
the canyon. This is a thick rainforest with huge plants, many orchids
and little sign of civilization. At the bottom of the trail there is a
small restaurant overlooking a plank bridge suspended on cables over the
river. We walked over the bridge and took pictures of the waterfall cascading down just above us. The mile
walk and vertical climb of 400 feet back up the trail was a bit of challenge
as we were still at an elevation of 5000 feet.
The scenery was right out of the
movies; in fact, Baños is where some of the movie “Proof of Life” with Meg
Ryan and Russell Crowe was filmed. Ajairo, our guide, said he was one of
the drivers for Russell Crowe while the movie was being made.
From the edge of the rainforest on the east side of the Andes, we then faced a seven hour ride back to the boat and the west coast. We passed through several different climates throughout the day. From the hot, humid and sunny jungle, we climbed back up the mountains and drove around the north side of Chimborazo, the tallest and our final volcano in Ecuador.
In
partly sunny weather, we could see parts of the glaciers and peaks of
Chimborazo that is over 20,000 feet high. The road kept climbing until
we were in tundra like conditions with only a thin covering of moss and
grass, temperatures down in the 40’s or maybe 50’s, and our highest pass was
around 15,000 feet, perhaps the continental divide.
In
the Rockies, we would probably be in snow, but at the equator, it is
passable year round. We saw a herd of wild vicuñas, a relative of the
llama and alpacas which have been domesticated. One stopped only a few
feet from our car.
Once we started down the west side of the mountains, we ran into fog and rain. Not much fun driving with limited visibility on steep roads that are often just gravel and potholes. We’re glad Ajairo knew the way. Eventually we reached the flood plains for the Guayas River that runs into Guayaquil. In contrast to the thatched roof homes made out of clay and rocks in the highlands, here the homes are made out of bamboo and built on stilts over the swampy land. Much of this area is planted in rice, and the scenery is interesting.
Our total trip was over 800 miles by car in 4 days (plus our flight to Quito), much of it on pretty twisty and bumpy roads. We enjoyed all that we saw and were pretty tired at the end. Now we are back on board, and have completed our paperwork to clear out of Ecuador and head for the Marquesas (with a stop in the Galapagos). There are at least three other boats that are getting ready to leave tomorrow as well, so we are likely to have quite a bit of company for this next leg. Our job list is long and still growing, but nothing at this point has to be fixed before we leave. The weather has been very rainy this morning and the forecast shows more rain for Guayaquil all this week. Offshore we should have clearer weather, even though the forecast shows little wind. We’ll plan on motorsailing and should arrive in the Galapagos in about 4 days.
P.S. As of 3/9/06:
We weren't able to post this entry of our log before we left La Libertad as
we ran out of minutes on the cell phone the marina had given us to access
the Internet and we didn't want to wait longer to get back online. The
rain forecasted for Ecuador has continued according to boaters on the coast
checking into the morning radio net, and they said that roads between Quito
and parts of the coast had been washed out. We were lucky to get the
weather we did and then leave when we did.
Go to Log 2006 Index
This site was last updated 03/16/06