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Wednesday August 29/12
update
We headed out at 9:30 for the return to
El Altar where we took more
shots of the area and its people.
Crossing the one large river we discovered another “broken bridge” that
is now abandoned as a tourist attraction, just like the one in
Cuenca. In the town of
Penipe at the base of El Altar Michael paid
an indigenous man in a yellow hat and poncho 50c to take his photo and asked
him a question. Then the man began
reciting information non-stop until we drove away. As we rose up the mountain it was odd that
the lower part was just a dirt track, dangerous in the rain, while the upper
part was oiled or paved. We could see
patches of blue sky but the higher we rose we just encountered more cloud, fog
and drizzle or rain.
We had no view of
Tungurahua but we hung
around for a while, hoping again that the wind would magically blow this cloud
away but the weather got progressively worse.
We amused ourselves photographing the locals going up and down the road
with their soggy animals delivering milk to some depots. We do not have people living high up in our
Rocky Mountains like they do in the
Andes. The differences in climate and composition of
the mountains are the difference.
Volcanic mountains are incredibly fertile, so that is why the locals
risk their lives to farm in this danger zone, with fields right to the summits.
It was a little frustrating to see the weather again get
clearer as we descended. I took many
shots of the high Andes through the van window
while in motion and also many shots of the mountains covered with patchworks of
farm fields and some of the greenhouses.
The indigenous people are always doing something along the highway so we
get a few shots of them always. I am amazed
how many shots turned out. There are so
many I am not posting them all, otherwise there would be over 100.
We stopped at one town that normally has a clear view of
Chimborazo but
again today we are out of luck. We
picked up some snacks and kept on motoring.
One of the features we did not like seeing were all the blue
“death hearts” painted on the highways to show where people had died, mostly
after a long downslope to a hairpin turn.
One location had many, many hearts and that was very sad. I didn’t even realize until I was processing
the photos that I managed to catch some indigenous ladies putting flowers at
one of the markers.
That was today’s excitement. Cheers, Al
Again I must apologize that Google totally fouls up the order of my photos. Does anybody know of a free blog that will work better??
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| Penipe info man |
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| Young boy on horse on PanAmerican Highway |
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| Magnificent Andes |
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| Indigenous gathering for something or other |
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| This was the weather nearing Cuenca on the return |
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| The beautiful church at Biblian |
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| Church at Penipe at the foot of El Altar |
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| Penipe guard dog |
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| Magnificent valley and cloud jetstream |
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| Looking down on Penipe. We went WAY higher. |
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| Panorama of the Penipe valley and the long cloud jetstream |
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| 1 Church on El Altar |
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| High creek on El Altar |
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| Mountain folk on El Altar |
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| More jetstream amonst the high farms |
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| This wasn't the view we wanted of Tungurahua |
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Escapee donkey |
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| Caught, to be returned to the owner |
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Cactus at our hotel |
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Very soggy and unhappy donkey |
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| Very soggy and unhappy horse |
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| Mountain folk on El Altar
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| Mountain folk on El Altar in the clouds |
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| Very soggy and unhappy goat |
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| Amazing farms right to the summits of mountains over 15,000 feet up |
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| Soggy one-horned goat |
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| 2 Church on El Altar |
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| One of 2 landslides we encountered on El Altar |
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| 3 Church on El Altar |
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| Big banana load |
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| Bringing veggies for sale |
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| Church at Riobamba |
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| Not the view we wanted of Chimborazo either |
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| Farms to the summits |
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| Death hearts on the road |
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| Grazing donkey in the field |
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| Mountain folk with their wares |
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| Magnificent Andes mountains and valleys |
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| More death hearts |
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| Mountain folk in transit |
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| Gorgeous Andes peaks |
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| Death heart and cross marker |
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| Stunning views of the fertile Andes |
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| The Andes are a unique experience |
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| I took this shot from a longs ways of a family in the field |
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| Children are carried everywhere |
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| Another church along the road |
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| Broken bridge on the way to El Altar |
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| Mountain folk doing their laundry |
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| Indigenous putting flowers at a death heart and marker |
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| Siblings look after young ones |
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| These mountains are mostly soft volcanic |
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| Andes farms right to the summits |
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| Unrivalled beauty and fertility |
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| The Andes are rugged, yet soft |
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| The vistas are breathtaking |
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| The roads are actually excellent through here |
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| Some mountain peaks |
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| Glorious views at every turn |
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| I love the patchwork fields right to the top |
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| This town is WAY up there |
