Cuenca, Loja, Malacatos & Vilcabamba - All For Carnival

Iconic Cuenca

I had decided some time ago that I wanted to head down to the southern stretches of Ecuador when I next had the opportunity. Luckily this country is full of excuses for some time-off so I was naturally very happy when Carnival came along!!! The south of Ecuador is some distance away from Quito, especially if you take any form of transport that is not either an aeroplane or a NASA licensed space-rocket. Carnival would give me four days off work and so it seemed like a perfect time to check out parts of the country that had yet to be explored by my curiosity. This was possibly (although at the time unknown) the last chance I would get to head to this part of Ecuador too - as its some distance away.

The bus from Quito to Loja reminded me of my days of backpacking, as hours of time slipped away upon the ever rolling wheels of our vehicle. It took myself and Diana (along with some members of her family) 13 hours to reach Loja from Quito. We achieved this feat over night so luckily the gift of sleep made our journey feel that much shorter.

The first thing we did, after some family hello´s (Diana has family in Loja) and after some planning of the next few days - was to look around this new and unexplored town - well, at least unexplored to me. All of the places we were visiting were still located along Ecuador's central stretch know as the Sierra (mountain region), which forms the Andes. Thus, where-ever your eyes drift, they don't have to wander too far before being transfixed onto the high peaks which continually surround you. Loja is a relatively small mountain town, known in Ecuador for being very clean and well run. It had the first local council to introduce recycling and by walking around - it does appear to have an air of cleanliness to it.

There isn´t a load of touristy things to do in Loja but it is nice just to be there. We walked around, observing the churches and plazas that fill this area. We also headed out to a very cool little park. Inside were small versions of world famous buildings from around the world. It was like walking across the planet in an hour or two. They also had people sized chess boards and other oddities of that nature. Normally I would say that you could walk inside that park and forget which country you were still in, that is until I noticed some strange penned-in areas housing ostriches and later I spotted a small goat tied to a random tree - such absurdity can only be found in Ecuador!!!

Later that day, after lunch with 40 of Diana's family members (and thats just her fathers side), we headed off about 30 minutes further south to a small town called Malacatos. Diana's cousin (mothers side) owns a sort of holiday home there. Surrounded by nothing but mountains and vegetation, this tranquil spot is the perfect location to get away and do nothing. The place was like a huge farm house although there were only a few chickens around the place and the odd mischievious dog. We set up the music, got the food on and the liquor out and started the Carnival celebrations. We also played Ecua-Volley - which is basically volley ball with an extra high net. I used my abnormal height advantage to my streghth!!??!!??!!

The following day started with a huge water fight. Nobody was spared. Behind the house is what looks like a large fountain but actually can be converted into a hot-tub. This provided the fuel for the water fighting mayhem. By the end of it all everyone was soaked as keeping with tradition for an Ecuadorian Carnival.

Later that day we took the hour trip further south to a place called Vilcabamba. Its odd - Vilcabamba is like many of the other small towns in this part of the world. It has stunning mountain scenery, a fresh, clean air about it and is quiet enough to go about doing nothing and not be noticed by anyone. The difference with Vilcabamba is sometime ago a tourist popped through here, loved all the out-door naturey things and then told a load of other tourists about it. Why Vilcabamba became the town to visit for backpackers im not quite sure. It does have perfect weather for hiking and horseback riding and other things of that nature, yet a lot of places in this part of the country do. Still it is an amazing place with a laid back vibe - and we had come here because Diana´s family (fathers side) were celebrating a birthday. It was Diana´s aunts 50th and she owned an amazing holiday home in this tranquil part of the country. It was located quite close to the main town centre (if you can call it that), but was positioned up high, perched on the side of a large hill - with a stunning view from all angles. There was perhaps 50 or more people at this party, with food and drink, games and dancing - you name it, it was all happening. I got to meet a lot of the family - but mostly spent my time talking to the youngsters. Diana has about 4 cousins of similar age to us (mid 20´s) and they were all really great guys. They actually all live in Quito and one of them even studies at the Politecnica University where I work. We all arranged to meet up in Quito for a night out.

The party was in full swing for quite some hours. It was a fantastic event in a great location. After the party (or at least towards the end of it) Diana and I had to leave. We took a series of buses to our final destination - Cuenca. It was a bit of a mission - we first had to take a bus from Vilcabamba to Loja and then a night-bus on to Cuenca. We ended up arriving at some ridiculous hour in the morning but had booked a nice hotel to treat ourselves after spending so many nights on a moving vehicle. When we woke up - we finally got the chance to see Cuenca.

Cuenca is quite unique in Ecuador I would say. Its a relatively large town but is famous for its cobblestone streets and colonial buildings - some of which are on grand scales. Cuenca´s historic centre is now a Unesco World Heritage SIte and it´s easy to understand why. Huge Cathedrals, soaring steeples and an old-world feeling about the place makes Cuenca an interesting and beautiful city for just walking through!!! There are so many churches and plazas of all shapes and sizes its difficult to get around them all. However, Cuenca is generally not a place too many Ecuadorians come for Carnival, in fact, many of them left for the coast. The town centre was therefore a bit of a ghost-town. We pretty much had the streets to ourselves - apart from the odd local who would randomly throw a water-bomb at us when we were least expecting it. That is the tradition here in this country for Carnival so you just have to accept that you are going to get wet and get involved yourself. Actually it was a lovely hot and sunny day so no-one complained about a bit of water.

We walked the plazas and saw the grand churches. We ate in cool, continental restaurants and we walked along the river - Rio Tomebamba. We even headed to a large park where most of the town had congregated for a big concert and party. At night we found another even larger fiesta, with food, alcohol and music. Suddenly all the Cuencan´s popped out from no-where and created a great event. The water fight didn´t stop and now foam was also added in to the chaos. It was a lot of fun though.

Later that night we took the 9 hour bus back to Quito, arriving in the capital early in the morning. It was a great trip, despite all the traveling and bus rides. In three days I got to see four amazing locations and experience some great things, both with just me and Diana or with her whole family. Unfortunately is was back to work - but with only a three day week - I counted down the days to the weekend..............and for more Ecuadorian fun!!!