Newsletter Jan/Feb 2004

"What the hell are those sea dogs doing in South America? "

Our last newsletter (a few weeks ago) left the crew of Pipe Dream in Bocas del Toro, Panama, trying to develop webbed feet from all the rain. The day finally came, when we decided “enough is enough.” We can just be kicked around for so long. It was time to vacate Bocas del Toro, Pipe Dream, and the continuous torrential downpour that was ruining our lives. Our initial reason for going to Bocas was to work on the Teak trim and spruce up Pipe Dream before our passage to Florida. She loves to strut her stuff when she’s fixed up.
The sunny highlands of Ecuador looked like a good change of scene from rainy Bocas. The decision was made and we “were out of here.” It was my first trip south of the Equator, and South America. I might witness my first Llama rodeo, who knows?
I have always considered myself almost grown up, although most of my close friends would argue that point. I have done a lot of crazy stuff in my past life but I am sure I’ve grown wiser by now. Whatever possessed me to get on the roof of a box car and take a five hour ride through the rugged Andes with a couple hundred of my closest friends, or to dine on pork in the open market sitting eye to eye with a baked pig’s head, or to partake of spit-roasted Guinea Pig... Well sports fans, I guess I’ll never grow up, and I don’t really want to!
Jutta and I landed in Quito, capital of Ecuador, for our one month jaunt through the Andes. Since we live on a boat and have traveled the Pacific coast for the last three years, we decided to travel through the Central Valley. After all, one coastline looks like another. I neglected to tell you Ecuador is extremely inexpensive, to the point of being cheap, and they use the American dollar which makes it very easy to travel.
Our first stop by chicken bus was in the town of Latacunga with a side trip to the indigenous market in the small mountain village of Saquisili. What a treat it was. The scene was like leafing through pages of National Geographic Magazine with all the indigenous people in their colorful traditional dress. Spread out all through the village plazas and streets were huge baskets with squirmy guinea pigs and rabbits, squawking chickens tied together with string, fresh produce and fragrant flowers, woven baskets, intricately patterned textiles and blankets, etc. While the women, wearing felt hats, were busily selling their wares, the men stood idly around doing nothing. What a great life!
Our next stop was Los Baños, known for its therapeutic hot baths, located at the base of Tungurahua, a 15,000 foot smoldering volcano. We hiked all over the foothills of the volcano and pampered ourselves with hot baths and the most wonderful $20.00, one hour massage we have ever experienced. Across from our hotel was a restaurant which grilled cuy right on the sidewalk. As they say, “while in Rome do as the Romans do,” I walked in and ordered cuy. It really tasted quite delightful, like chicken, but doesn’t everything? In case you were wondering, cuy is guinea pig and a national dish in Ecuador. If you ever wonder what to do with your children’s pets after they leave home, you could always give an exotic dinner party featuring cuy.
Once again we boarded a bus for the five hour ride to the town of Riobamba, the location of the train station. Once checked into a hotel, we hired a driver to take us to the first climbers’ refuge in the National Park of 16,470 foot high Chimborazo volcano. We stood at the base of the volcano at 4800 meters, 15,748 feet, gazing at the permanent glaciers on the steep flanks of Chimborazo. At 4800 meters we could only take a few steps before becoming out of breath. We walked around grave stones and read endless numbers of names of international climbers who lost their lives trying to reach the summit of Chimborazo. It is an eerie feeling looking up at a volcano that took so many lives. I thought about trying to climb to the summit but changed my mind when I realized it was almost cocktail time. I do have my priorities!
The next morning our one dollar Micky Mouse alarm clock, the only one we could find on cheap street in Panama, awakened us at 5:30 AM. We checked out of the hotel, and walked the few blocks to the train station. There before us on the track were about six or seven rusty box cars hooked up to a well-used locomotive. We rented a seat cushion and climbed to the corrugated tin roof of the box car along with a couple hundred other people. The train company had bolted a two inch piece of angle iron along the edge of the cars to put your feet against so you wouldn’t slide off the train. For five hours the train wound through rugged canyons until it arrived at the infamous Nariz del Diablo or the “Devil’s Nose.” This section of railway was carved into a sheer cliff face, the floor being over a thousand feet below. What an adrenaline rush! During the trip the train stopped at various towns and venders boarded the roof of the train to sell beer, food and candy creating a festive party atmosphere. Our train ride ended in the town of Alausi, and once again we boarded a bus for a five hour ride to Cuenca, our next destination for several days.
Cuenca, in the south, is the third largest Ecuadorian city dating back to the 1500’s. With its cobble stone streets, colonial architecture, majestic churches and groomed parks, it’s by far the prettiest city and our favorite in Ecuador. Jutta and I could walk the streets anywhere at night and feel safe. If we would ever consider living in Ecuador, Cuenca would be our first choice. We spent many days exploring the city’s sights, taking pictures and getting a taste of the night life.
After three weeks traveling through the mountains, it was time for a change and we decided to return to Quito via the Amazon feeder basin on the eastern side of Ecuador. On four different busses, we rode for thirty hours on dusty gravel roads. In the middle of a pitch black night, the bus stopped at the banks of the Pastaza River, one of a number of large rivers feeding the mighty Amazon. All the passengers were told to get off the bus and cross the raging river on a rickety foot bridge, suspended by cables with no sides to hold onto. With our backpacks strapped to our shoulders, we gingerly plodded along the wooden planks praying that no plank was missing. It was so dark we could barely see the shadows of the other passengers in front of us. We both felt like kissing the ground, when we finally reached the other side where a bus was waiting to take us to the jungle town of Tena.
In Tena, Jutta and I hired a guide for a two day trip into the jungle. We literally had to hack our way through the jungle with machetes wearing knee high rubber snake boots for our protection. Our one night sleeping in the jungle was preempted by a torrential downpour during the night.
This adventure through Ecuador, one of the cleanest countries we have traveled in, was one of the most exciting trips we had taken in years. On February 9, Jutta and I once again boarded Copa Airlines for our return to Panama and Pipe Dream.
Well, there it is sports fans, another chapter draws to a close for the zany crew of Pipe Dream. We are back in Bocas del Toro preparing Pipe Dream to go to sea. Our next destinationwill be Isla San Andres, Columbia. Jutta spends most of her time working on the boat, while Ferdy (The Captain) panhandles on the streets of Bocas del Toro trying to get enough money to sail on and continue the adventure. It’s a shame his affluent friends have not funded the “Keep Ferdy Cruising Fund.” It would keep him off the streets and in the bars where he belongs! Just Kidding.

From the decks of Pipe Dream
Ferdy and Jutta