The weather this morning, Tuesday, started out somewhat cloudy and there was a little haze too, making the hills around Cuenca look a bit gray. I watched joggers and people walking their dogs in the early morning light along the path that parallels the Tomebamba River, below Nathan’s apartment. It’s a popular path and fun for me to watch the variety of dogs out for a walk.
Today we had scheduled a guide from Cuenca’s Polylepsis Tours to take us to El Cajas National Park, which is about 45 minutes away. We waited outside the apartment building and at 8:20 or so, Andres came to get us. He is a young man who speaks good English, grew up outside Quito, went to University of Cuenca and Central Florida University, and is now living in Cuenca. And he likes to talk! We learned so much about the national park, the flora and fauna (including the birds), Cuenca, and Ecuador in general during the 3-hour trip in his SUV, it was great!
We went to the park’s visitor center at Laguna Toreadora, which was at an elevation of about 12,000 feet. It was sunny but windy and cool there, maybe in the low 50s. While Andres registered our presence with the park rangers, we added a layer of clothes and prepared for a hike around the lake. The páramo is an alpine tundra ecosystem where the vegetation is very low-growing and limited by windy, cold conditions and poor soil. But it collects water and is the source of two of Cuenca’s rivers. The close proximity of the páramo to Cuenca is one reason the water is pure and drinkable from the tap here (which it isn’t in most other parts of the country).
The hike around the lake was mostly flat and Andres spotted several birds for us, plus he told us about the ecology, plants and history of the place. At 12,000 feet, even slight uphill slopes felt strenuous, but we didn’t have any other effects from the altitude. We finished the loop in about 2 hours, which Andres said was great because most tourists don’t make it the whole loop: they get too tired and he doubles back with them before getting halfway around. So I felt proud about being fit enough to make it the whole way.
The soil and carpet-like vegetation is very spongy, holding the water, so our feet got a little wet, but not bad. Hikes here are best in the morning because the weather in the afternoon is more likely to be bad, with thunder and rain showers. At the end of the hike, Andres drove us back into town and dropped us off at Nathan’s apartment building a little after 11:30 a.m.
For lunch, we walked a few blocks to a restaurant called Common Ground, which is a popular American ex-pat hangout, especially on Wednesdays when they play “Gringo Bingo” in the afternoon. But today, we were the only customers. We each ordered chicken taco salad from their American-oriented menu.
Nathan is thinking about buying a motorcycle after he gets his Ecuadorian driver’s license, so we stopped in a KTM motorcycle dealer on the walk back to the apartment. Two of the sales reps didn’t speak English well, but a third one came out and his English was very good. Nathan asked several questions about a certain bike he’s interested in, and the sales rep was ready with the answers. But before any motorcycle can be purchased, Nathan has to learn enough Spanish to pass the test. He has a goal of doing it this fall…we’ll see.
Lori's Travels 