Hitchhike & Questions

But to start our journey on the right foot, we take a bus toward Gualacéo to leave the city and start hitchhiking from the right spot. The first step is to pass the « sierra, » that is, the high mountains separating us from the eastern part of the country. We make our way down the road, trying our luck with each vehicle that passes us, but to no avail. We reach an intersection where it will be easier to « hitch a ride, » as Eva says. After a few minutes of waiting, a car stops, and we get in with our first driver of this journey (Jorge). A basketball coach in Cuenca, a sports teacher in a Shuar community, and a history enthusiast, our 2-3 hour drive will be both informative and enriching. I must clarify what a Shuar community is: it is an indigenous people originally from the Amazon, called Jivaros by the Conquistadors, a term meaning « savage » or « barbaric. » Today, there are about 40,000 living in Ecuador, although this people extends into Peru. While they are gradually being « westernized, » they retain certain beliefs and a culture unique to their community. Back in the car, the kilometers slowly pass on these mountain roads, making safety dubious. We exchange thoughts with our host on French, European, and Ecuadorian culture, mixing history, geography, languages, and politics… Our driver is well-informed about the Atlantic, leading to interesting discussions. He invites us for coffee before dropping us off at the Cuenca – Eastern Route intersection. Our legs are numb after this mountain stretch, so we decide to walk along the road toward the village of Idanza. We can feel the difference in temperature and humidity. Here lies the Amazonian part of Ecuador; the famous jungle of the same name is in sight! After one last hitch, we arrive in Idanza late in the afternoon, very happy with this first day. But our surprises are not over… We trek through the village, which is quite calm this Sunday. We don’t spot a nice place to spend the night, but in the center of the village, there is a church… We decide to attend the small evening mass, then we go to speak with the priest to see if Christian hospitality is still alive. We share our journey and who we are, and then Angel, the priest, welcomes us into the building next to the church. We will sleep in a room just for us, but before that, we will have dinner with everyone at the casa. There’s priest Angel and other people/families living there too. Dinner is served with several dishes on the table, and everyone helps themselves. It’s casual and friendly! We chat, ask questions, all in good humor and cheer. After this wonderful meal, we bid farewell to our hosts to rest after this first day of travel.

Some people start their workweek, grumbling as they take the bus or subway, but then there’s Eva and me: we wake up at a priest’s house during our vacation. We have breakfast with Angel before heading out to the countryside. But before that, today is a special day: it’s Eva’s birthday! I discreetly alert the accomplices, and we prepare a candle on a leftover cake from last night. I dash out to buy a bar of chocolate, and at the moment of eating, we surprise her! Feliz Cumpleaños, as the Latinos would say!

We then thank Angel and set off, our backpacks loaded, on an adventure! We spotted some petroglyphs further out in the countryside. We got a ride in a car (in the back of the pickup truck to be precise) to the archaeological site. The petroglyphs are drawings carved into the rock. We were able to see spirals, characters, animals, and for the others, our imagination took over. How long have they been there? No one knows. It’s just crazy to imagine a people living here, before the cities, before the roads, and everything we know now.

Next to these findings is a sign indicating « Campo Alegre, » which translates to « The Joyful Camp » in French. We head to this famous camp just a few hundred meters away. And there it’s more than just a joyful camp: it’s a little piece of paradise. Access to the camp is via a multicolored bridge that spans a river; we can see a gondola that must have been in use just a few years ago, a platform with a rope for swinging into the river, barbecue spots, and toilets… The happiness of adventurers. We buy yucas from a small lady passing by, head to the village to borrow pots and cooking supplies, and when we return, a group of teens is preparing to go fishing. We join the group, equipped with twigs, hooks, and grasshoppers caught earlier, and we cross the tumultuous river (dangerous, do not try this at home), then wait for a bite on the line. It seems we’re not very good at this because we didn’t catch anything! The boys, however, caught a few fish that they generously offer us. Eva will grill them tonight over the fire, which we’ll accompany with a yuca mash and an herbal agua panela. We spend the night in hammocks with a new canine friend, rocked by the melody of the river.

Awakened by the first light of day, we take our time to wake up while contemplating the chulos, large black birds of prey that have made their home in a neighboring tree. Breakfast, sunbathing, and as they say, « All nude, all tanned! » We have entered « hippie » mode. A chill day to enjoy the place, and then in the late afternoon, we hitch a ride to the village for dinner at the local mercado. A little aperitif on the steps of the church while watching young people play volleyball, and then we go for dinner. We’ll get a pickup ride back down to the camp where we’ll spend another night.

Today we’re moving! We’re going to check out some more petroglyphs a bit further on and will rejoin the main road by taking a country path. On paper, it’s a good plan, except after walking for a few hours under the blazing sun, sweating out all the water from our bodies, and not having seen a single car, we can definitely sense that something is off, so to speak. And indeed, after passing a few houses, we come across a massive landslide that blocks the road for 25 meters. Impossible for a car, a pickup, or even horses to pass. And even we, poor pedestrians that we are, are going to struggle to get through, just to say! But we must press on, and since we are brave (or foolish, depending on your perspective), we continue our journey and finally luck smiles on us: a pickup comes by! Loaded with cheese, it picks us up and takes us to the village on the main road. A winding downhill path makes you feel nauseous. They drop us off at the village where we take a well-deserved break. A drink and a little bread, and we rest from this exhausting walk.

I see a white pickup truck passing by. It stops and then backs up. Strange, I think. And then I see the little head of Angel, our priest from Idanza! He’s headed to Gualaquiza, exactly where we wanted to go. Our lucky star is watching over us. He takes us with him and we’re off for a 1.5-hour drive in a… battered state. He offers to host us in his house in the city center; sounds good, right? We gladly accept because I’m starting to feel a bit unwell. Eva and I don’t sleep very well, and the next morning I wake up feeling under the weather. We’re going to stay with Angel for a bit, who has left, to rest and make some calls. My condition improves throughout the day, and we decide to head a bit further south to spend the night. We arrive in a small village with a hammock spot, but Eva doesn’t feel good about it, and experience has shown us that we should always listen to our instincts! So we walk along the road, warmed by the setting sun. We stumble upon a huge fancy restaurant with a pool in the middle of nowhere. Without hesitation, we go ask if we can spend the night in this little paradise. Well, no swimming in the pool, but we can sleep in the building under construction right next to it and use the restaurant’s facilities (shower and toilet). That’s all we need!

This time, it’s Eva who doesn’t feel well upon waking up, no doubt due to the food from the day before. We still set off and are quickly picked up by a car that will take us to Los Encuentros, a small village along the way. Our little family suggests we eat some pitayas to cleanse the intestines, and we continue on with them for a few more kilometers. We’ve spotted plenty of waterfalls a bit further inland! It’s actually a small path that passes through waterfalls, a cave, and streams. It’s not a long walk, but it’s very pretty! We play at being spelunkers in a cave filled with bats, and when we return to the starting point, we’re surprised to meet a large group (15 people) of motorcyclists and their families. They bring out cases of beer, and the party starts with them. They head off to explore the trail, and upon their return, they invite us to come to their place for the night, and tomorrow we’ll go to another waterfall. Why not? Bags in the car, and here are Eva and I, the narrator of this story, on the bikers’ motorcycles! We head back with our new friends, who teach us about Ecuadorian biker culture. We meet the rest of the family who stayed at home, then have a little aperitif. Santiago is a chiropractor, meaning he practices muscular and skeletal massages (it’s a bit like violent Reiki). Rudy, on the other hand, is a mortician. She prepares and handles the bodies after a person has passed away. Quite a duo! They also show us their collection of currency from around the world. Some coins and bills date back to the French Revolution.

This morning, Santiago offered to show us pressure points so we could learn a bit with him. Eva as the model, and Santiago and I practicing. I didn’t know anything about chiropractic care, but it’s really interesting. We then head out to spend the afternoon at a waterfall. It’s about an hour’s drive to get there, on a motorcycle, of course. The car follows with the supplies and gear. So we chill at the waterfall, having a small barbecue mainly with meat and without a drop of water. It’s Coca-Cola or beer; there are no other options. We ride back on the motorcycle, and once home, it’s too late to hit the road again, so we decide to stay another night and leave the next morning. Additionally, we can attend the chiropractic sessions that Santiago holds in the evening. We take our notes from the session before ending the night with a little game of pool.

The next day it’s my turn to get a massage. Santiago and Eva work on my back, legs, and head. It’s an immense pain that you feel when they practice. Once the session is over, we set off for the departure. Our new friends will drive ahead on the road and we will continue our little journey hitchhiking! It was two interesting days, from a learning perspective, and a social perspective: their couple is quite fragmented and peculiar, let’s say. Anyway, we escape and quickly hit the roads again. One car, then swimming in a river, a truck, then a race car, and we arrive in Zamora, a large city on this eastern route. We are very hungry and really in the mood for a pizza (we eat locally), and Eva managed to find us an incredible pizzeria. Then we start looking for a spot to sleep, but we’re not very excited about what we see. We keep those options under consideration as a backup. After spinning around for quite a while, we come across a house that looks quite affluent and has a swing outside. My instinct tells me to ring their doorbell, which I did. We chat a bit and then they agree to let us sleep on the swing outside. They bring us blankets, cushions, and I must say we will have one of the best nights of the trip. We have breakfast and a nice hot shower before heading out for a walk in the national park right next door. We are going to swim at an immense waterfall, a refreshing dip in this equatorial heat. A little walk in the blazing sun to go back and get our stuff, then we set off with our goal for the day: Loja. We quickly find a car that drops us off in the village.

We won’t linger in Loja, just enough time to do some small shopping and then we head towards a hitchhiking spot with the goal of reaching Mancora, Peru, to surprise Eva’s godfather. We are taken for several hours through the mountains to reach Piñas, a mining village in the highlands. The scenery changes: it’s all gray, it’s ugly, just a coffee and we’re off again. We ride with Lénin, an Ecuadorian who is heading home with a colleague. We thought he was not a very fun guy, but he proved us wrong. He invites us to eat but also, and most importantly, he contacts firefighter friends from Huaquillas at the border, who will host us for the night.

Huaquillas has a border with Peru. Hundreds of people cross from one country to another every day. But this only applies to border residents; for us, we have to travel several kilometers from the city to cross the border. We take a taxi to get there (not much choice). The border crossing goes smoothly, and we quickly exit with our Peruvian stamp. We stand at the exit and stick out our thumbs to hitch a ride down to the coast. A couple of Germans pick us up in their converted van. They left from northern Canada and are heading to Ushuaia. What a beautiful journey for these retirees! They drop us off in Tumbes where we do some shopping before we set out to hitchhike again. As soon as we hit the first kilometers in Peruvian territory, we can see some striking differences: here it’s the world of tuk-tuks; they are absolutely everywhere. Secondly, it’s much more polluted than Ecuador. Note that I’m only talking about the Huaquillas-Mancora area; that doesn’t mean the whole country is like this (I don’t know yet). Anyway, we find a small car heading to a village near Mancora. The guy doesn’t talk much; we are used to it. But when it’s time to get out, he says, “tienen que pagar.” Ah, that explains everything. But being good French people, we tell him no, we are hitchhiking, we warned you from the start. He drives off empty-handed, and we hitchhike one last time to finally arrive in Mancora! A small coastal town that is touristy and festive. Then begins the treasure hunt for Eva and me: her godfather is here in Mancora for the holidays, and he doesn’t know we are coming to see him. Eva has three photos of the accommodation to help us find him. So we ask at several hotels where we can find this lodging and this pool. But nothing looks more like a hotel than another hotel. We search for two hours, disguised as detectives, and just when giving up was starting to loom, a receptionist finds us the address! We head straight there, and ta-da, surprise!!! They are very surprised by our arrival, and we are very glad for all the effort. We have a deserved drink and then eat a bite with them. We chat, but night has fallen long ago, and we need to find accommodation for the night. We return to the village, and after gathering information here and there, we end up in a hotel for a bargain to spend the night. We are completely worn out.

The next day, we visit a hippie inn located just steps from the ocean: Psygon. We book 4 nights there to chill, rest, and enjoy the Pacific waters. The program for these few days includes parties, naps, bracelets, sunbathing, and relaxation. We’re there during Halloween, too, so as I mentioned, we’re going to a few parties (mostly electro). One evening, with the owner, we head to a hidden hot spring in the middle of the desert to make clay masks and enjoy the warmth of the spring. Another evening, we attend a small event hosted by a tattoo artist which includes a beach yoga session at sunset, artisanal stands, and a tattoo session for Eva (her first and on the sole of her foot!), along with a DJ set… In short, a perfect evening. I had greatly missed the ocean; even though we didn’t swim much due to the currents and the huge waves, being on the warm sand felt incredibly good. We end our vacation on this note, and to return in time for Eva’s work and to conclude our trip here in Mancora, we decide to take the bus back to Cuenca. It was an amazing journey, filled with twists, encounters, and unique experiences—a journey within a journey. Perhaps we will set off again in December for new adventures?

I’ll be staying in Cuenca until December to take a massage training course and I will also volunteer at a hostel during the training. But that’s for the next post 😉

See you soon!