Roaming South America

El Carmen, Ecuador

November 27, 2022

El Carmen, Ecuador, a pueblo between Quito and the Pacific coast. The town has a population of around 47,000 and sits at a low elevation of around 240 meters. Because it's only about 35 kilometers from Santo Domingo it is considered a bedroom town of SD. It's a relatively new town, founded at the beginning of the 20th century, so there's nothing particularly historical here. In fact, there's nothing particularly picturesque here, as you can see in the photos in my photo album. This part of the country is mostly used for agriculture, particularly bananas. Apparently, there are a few places to see but they are a ways outside of town and would require a car, taxi, or possibly a bus to get to them.

Santo Domingo, Ecuador

November 25, 2022

Santa Dominica, Ecuador, founded in 1861. About 150 kilometers directly west and across the mountains from Quito, and a much, much better climate. The full name of the city is Santo Domingo de los Colorados. It is the fourth largest city in Ecuador with close to half-million population. The word "colorado" mean "dyed," which is what the indigenous men of this area did with their hair—they dyed it with an extract from the achiote plant. You may know it as "annatto," which gives a red-orange color to the hair. it is also used for food coloring.

Quito, Ecuador

November 23, 2022

Quito, Ecuador—sits at around 2850 meters, which is a very high 9350 feet in elevation. If you have no experience with that kind of elevation I can attest to this fact—breathing is noticeably strained, especially when doing any form of exercise, even walking up an incline. Quito is the second highest capital city in the world. La Paz, Bolivia, is the highest (1100 meters higher than Quito, quite a significant amount). The average afternoon maximum temperature is 21.4°C (70.5°F), and the average night-time minimum temperature is 9.8°C (49.6°F). And, because of its altitude, Quito receives some of the greatest solar radiation in the world, so getting a sunburn is incrediby easy, even on cloudy days.

Atuntaqui, Ecuador

November 14, 2022

First, in case you're curious, my wanderingsaround all the towns I am visiting are visible on my Stravaprofile. There's a link to it in the column to the right, or ifyou're on a phone or small tablet it's probably below these blogentries. So far, the towns are Buga, Popayán, Pitalito, Mocoa, and Ipiales in Colombia, and Tulcan, Ibarra, and Atuntaqui, in Ecuador.

This afternoon I left Ibarra and headed for Atuntaqui. I took a bus that cost only US$.45 (45 cents) for a 20-minute ride of about 11 kilometers. Yeah, a whole 45 cents.

Ibarra,Ecuador - Pretty but a bit on the chilly side

November 13, 2022

First, in case you're curious, my wanderings around all the towns I am visiting are visible on my Strava profile. There's a link to it in the column to the right, or if you're on a phone or small tablet it's probably below these blog entries. So far, the towns are Buga, Popayán, Pitalito, and Mocoa. In each of those town I walked between 20 - 25 kilometers (12 - 15 miles) exploring them.

This morning I left Ipiales and headed for the border of Ecuador. I walked as it was only about 3 kilometers. On the way, there are people, mostly taxis, parked alongside the road wherever a bit of water flowed down from the hillside, and they used to wash their cars. I thought that was interesting, I've seen that before. But, apparently, it's something normal for them. I reached Rumichaka, the border crossing, and I must say it was with a little bit of trepadation—my entry stamp was long ago expired. At the immigration center I told the guy that I wanted to self-deport, we talked a bit, and he said we needed to meet again at 2 pm (it was a couple of minutes before 12) when he would be back from his lunch break. Yeah, lunch breaks here are 2 hours, that's the norm for Colombia (I don't yet know about the other South American countries). So, during his break he and I talked a lot about many things, he's a really nice guy and very helpful. He said the process for me to get a legal exit stamp would take 3 days, but with the weekend, that meant staying until next Wednesday. I suggested passing a little extra under the table to get the stamp today, and he agreed. He talked to another guy and the two of them got me a legal exit stamp with no deporting problems. I just had to pay the fine for the expired entry stamp plus a little extra for the two of them. And now, all is well.