Ecuador 2022 - Cloudforest, Coast and Craters Tour - Day 4 - Quevedo to Salinas

Pardon the long post - this was a great day!!!

Today was the day, my 60th birthday.  I was very apprehensive about the route as it was to be significantly off-pavement.  Thankfully, this turned out to be the highlight day of the trip.  It was planned to be only 79 miles but the elevation would climb from about 400 ft to over 13,000 ft in that short distance.  We would go from 95+ degree heat down to the low 40's over the course of the day.  I promise that the description of the day to follow will be grossly inadequate.  There are just no words to describe it.

November 8, 2022 - Quevedo to Salinas via El Corazon

We started the day with a leisurely breakfast (included) in the hotel restaurant and we packed up to leave the city.  As chaotic as the traffic was when we arrived the night before, it matched the chaos as we left.  The route laid out for us had us leaving Quevedo on some back roads through some palm, cacau and banana plantations. The roads were nicely paved and we stopped to enjoy the farmland and snap some pictures.  Traffic was light.

Cacau Plantation

Banana Plantation

Once we crossed into Cotopaxi Province the landscape began to change as we started our climb up into the Andes.  Shortly we re-entered the Cloudforest where there is a persistent cloud layer from about 4000 ft up to 8000 ft. Riding through the clouds proved to be a bit damp but the road was clear and easy to navigate.  We just kept going up and up and up.  Our briefing included a specific instruction to top off with gas in Moraspungo as there would not be anything available for the next 100 miles of our journey.  I had been warned that the two ladies that operated the gas station were quite pretty and they certainly did not disappoint.

Leaving Morspungo we continued our climb higher and higher into the main Andes range.  The roadway was excellent and rather twisty.  

We eventually arrived in El Corazon where it was recommended that we stop for lunch at Pollo Sabroson.  For $20 total, Sergio and his wife served us up the absolute best bbq roasted chicken that I've ever experienced.  He had his charcoal rotisserie grill out on the sidewalk roasting chickens.  We were each served a quarter chicken, fried plantain, roasted tomatoes, and bread. As we were both a bit chilled we had some awesome Ecuadorian coffee.  According to local legends, Sergio also serves up some local "moonshine" called coco loco.  Yeah, the sample proved it to be legend-worthy.

Leaving El Corazon via a massively steep cobblestone street, we ventured out onto a freshly paved road where the curbs were still being constructed.  Thinking that we might have some good pavement for this segment was quickly changed after about 3 miles outside of town.  The pavement went to hard packed gravel and would remain this way for the next 30 miles.  Just after hitting the gravel we popped out above the cloud layer into a spectacular view of the Andes.  (this is the part that I promised that my words would not be adequate to describe)  

As we continued we noticed the abundance of smoke rising from the valleys where landowners were clearing their property in preparation for the planting season.  It was quite thick at times which took away from the majesty of the view but when you think of the hard work these people put in just to survive, it becomes understandable.

This section of road is so remote that you can't even create a route on it with Google Maps.  It just kept climbing higher and higher.  After traversing switchback after switchback, the scenery kept getting better and better.  The sun warmed us up and made for a comfortable ride the rest of the day.  In the video below we encountered a friendly gentleman making his way on foot to his next destination.

We saw schools all over the country but this one really took the cake.  Built on an outcrop above 10,000 ft in the Andes mountains.  Truly spectacular.

When we reached about 12,000 ft we pulled over for a break and to just absorb the scenery.  Personally, I was still trying to get my oxygen-deprived mind wrapped around the fact that I'm riding a motorcycle with Karen high in the Andes mountains of South America on a gravel road truly out in the middle of nowhere (No disrespect intended for the locals that call the area home. I'm the one that is a fish out of water).  

Somewhere between El Corazon and Simiatug

As we were catching our breath I noticed a young teenage girl in a bright pink t-shirt and jeans JOGGING UP (at 12,000 ft elevation) the road in our direction.  I turned back to look out over the valley and the next thing I know is this girl passing in front of me on a narrow trail that I hadn't noticed before.  This "trail" was no more than 18 inches wide with a 300+ ft drop off the edge of the mountain.  AND SHE'S STILL RUNNING!!  Karen and I just stood there gasping at this girl jogging down this trail to a small farm house hundreds of feet below us.  Unreal.

We decided to get moving after that and before we could mount up we heard the loud rumble of one of the ubiquitous transportation coaches bouncing down the road.

Hoping to not encounter another of the buses, we set off to continue climbing to the 13,400 ft summit of the pass ahead.  It was slow going with the gravel and the switchbacks but we did encounter a group of boys heading back to school after their lunch time siesta.

Just as we were reaching the summit pass, we encountered this native women in traditional attire walking down the road.  She stopped to wave like so many of the locals had done.  We enjoyed some incredible scenery as we continued to climb.

After the pass we descended slightly down into the small town of Simiatug.  Life was definitely at a slower pace here.  No cars or trucks to be found. Only horses, llamas, sheep and donkeys roamed the area.  Simiatug was the epicenter of a massive earthquake early in the 1900's that destroyed the church on the town square.  The remnants can be seen in the photo below off to the right side.

Leaving Simiatug, our prescribed route had us on a local gravel backroad that was questionable at times whether we were heading in the right direction.  We were blessed with riding by families out working in their gardens and tending their flocks.  Just not something we get to experience in the States.  Not far down (up?) the road we could see cars traversing on the main road ahead.  Pavement!  

Upon reaching the main road, it was only a short ride to our day's destination of Salinas de las Guaranda.  This high mountain town operated a small salt mine as it's only source of income until the 1970's.  A community so poor that an Italian missionary, with the funding from Swiss concerns, established a cheese producing cooperative whereby the employees would share the proceeds.  It was so successful that 20+ other cooperatives, including an amazing chocolate factory, were established in the community.  Today Salinas is quite unique in how the community operates on a cooperative basis.

It is safe to say that there is not a single level road in the small town. In fact, the streets are angled all different ways which made our arrival at our hotel quite interesting. I had to let Karen off the bike a block away so that I could safely manuever the big bike into the small driveway at the Hotel Cachi Yacu. It appeared that we were the only guests at the hotel that evening. This was the only location where we had difficulty with finding a good wi-fi signal but we survived.

To cover the 79 miles we took nearly 7 hours to complete but it was so worth it.  That evening we bundled up and walked a few blocks up the hill into the central part of town for a birthday pizza dinner.  What an incredible way to spend your 60th birthday!

60th Birthday Boy

That night we drifted off to sleep under several locally made blankets and enjoyed the cool temperatures.  At over 12,000 ft I had to admit I was having difficulty falling asleep as I was trying to catch my breath.  This was the only time on the trip where the altitude was giving me problems.  Karen expressed the same feeling.  Tomorrow promised to be another high altitude day so we drifted off to sleep as best we could.