Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- 199302 [2016/09/28 10:42] – tyreless
+++ 199302 [2016/09/28 13:25] – tyreless
@@ Line 250: / Line 250: @@
 ----
+=====A five day Trek From The Ecuadorian Central Valley Over The Easternmost Andes Chain To Macas In The Amazon Basin.=====
-A FIVE DAY TREK FROM THE ECUADORIAN CENTRAL VALLEY OVER THE
-EASTERNMOST ANDES CHAIN TO MACAS IN THE AMIZON BASIN.
 by Gerry Leitner
-Starting point was Riobamba, a picturesque provincial capital some 200 kM south of Quito. You get there from Quito by frequent minibusus in 3-4 hours. Riobamba is also called Sultan de los Andes for its magnificent setting with vistas to nine snow covered mountains including Chimborazo (6310 m) and several volcanoes, including Altar, Sangay and Tungurahua. Its origins go back to pre-hispanic times. The original Spanish town was destroyed on 4th February 1797 by a disastrous earthquake and moved to its present location. On Saturdays Indians from the region come to the markets in town to sell their products on the ten or so market places. Most interesting are those held on Plaza San Alfonso and Plaza La Concepcion. From Riobatba local buses connect the remote Indian villages scattered in the Cordillera.
-I took such a rural bus to Llicto up in the Rio Guamote Valley. From here onwards it was on foot on mountain and jungle trails. A young school teacher-visiting her family was my guide on the first day. Llicto village is inhabited by Puruha Indians with only a few Spanish speakers. The following day her mother in her late eighties led me (barefoot) to the junction of the Rio Cohadas which I followed up to the Rio Atillo junction which has its source in Lago Atillo I camped on the east side of Largo Atillo which is completely surrounded by mountains in the vicinity of 5500 m. The lake itself is at an altitude of 4000 m with excellent trout fishing. After spending a freezing night complete with snowstorm I was seriously contemplating a return to the central valley. When a fresh breeze blew the cloud cover away I could see within a stone's throw the mountain pass and I decided to continue. My informants in Llicto confirmed that a pre-hispanic trail led from the pass down into the Amazon basin.
+Starting point was Riobamba, a picturesque provincial capital some 200 km south of Quito. You get there from Quito by frequent minibusus in 3-4 hours. Riobamba is also called Sultan de los Andes for its magnificent setting with vistas to nine snow covered mountains including Chimborazo (6310 m) and several volcanoes, including Altar, Sangay and Tungurahua. Its origins go back to pre-hispanic times. The original Spanish town was destroyed on 4th February 1797 by a disastrous earthquake and moved to its present location. On Saturdays Indians from the region come to the markets in town to sell their products on the ten or so market places. Most interesting are those held on Plaza San Alfonso and Plaza La Concepcion. From Riobatba local buses connect the remote Indian villages scattered in the Cordillera.
-Nevertheless it took until lunch time from the lake' edge to arrive at the pass. From the pass you have splendid views down into the Rio Upano Valley and most remarkable vistas of Volcan Sangay Which is active: the trail leads through dense jungle skirting the base of the volcano within striking distance. The trail at first is well defined between huge boulders and usually little icy streams run through the trail. Many of these streams, betray their volcanic origin: a strong mineral content,and brown or yellowish colour. Nevertheless there is no shortage of water all the way to Macas.
-As you descend into the valley you start peeling, first your gloves and raincoat and then jumper. You are now passing through thick jungle which is interrupted only by the torrential streams coming down and which become bigger and fiercer, the further down you come. As soon as you find that you are not on the main trail never use a short cut, always go back until you arrive at the spot where you went astray.
+I took such a rural bus to Llicto up in the Rio Guamote Valley. From here onwards it was on foot on mountain and jungle trails. A young school teacher visiting her family was my guide on the first day. Llicto village is inhabited by Puruha Indians with only a few Spanish speakers. The following day her mother in her late eighties led me (barefoot) to the junction of the Rio Cohadas which I followed up to the Rio Atillo junction which has its source in Lago Atillo. I camped on the east side of Largo Atillo which is completely surrounded by mountains in the vicinity of 5500 m. The lake itself is at an altitude of 4000 m with excellent trout fishing. After spending a freezing night complete with snowstorm I was seriously contemplating a return to the central valley. When a fresh breeze blew the cloud cover away I could see within a stone's throw the mountain pass and I decided to continue. My informants in Llicto confirmed that a pre-hispanic trail led from the pass down into the Amazon basin.
-After spending the third night in a jungle clearing perched on a slope (which I suspect Was cleared some time ago by squatters) I came across the first signs of the approaching civilitation. Undomesticated cattle roaming in the forest, more tree trunks over wild rivers serving as primitive bridges and annoyingly more. side trails branching off. However my snese_of direction always kept me on the right trail.
+Nevertheless it took until lunch time from the lake's edge to arrive at the pass. From the pass you have splendid views down into the Rio Upano Valley and most remarkable vistas of Volcan Sangay Which is active: the trail leads through dense jungle skirting the base of the volcano within striking distance. The trail at first is well defined between huge boulders and usually little icy streams run through the trail. Many of these streams, betray their volcanic origin: a strong mineral content and brown or yellowish colour. Nevertheless there is no shortage of water all the way to Macas. As you descend into the valley you start peeling, first your gloves and raincoat and then jumper. You are now passing through thick jungle which is interrupted only by the torrential streams coming down and which become bigger and fiercer the further down you come. As soon as you find that you are not on the main trail never use a short cut, always go back until you arrive at the spot where you went astray.
+After spending the third night in a jungle clearing perched on a slope (which I suspect was cleared some time ago by squatters) I came across the first signs of the approaching civilitation. Undomesticated cattle roaming in the forest, more tree trunks over wild rivers serving as primitive bridges and annoyingly more side trails branching off. However my snese of direction always kept me on the right trail.
 The fourth night I spent in an abandoned hut. Tha trails leading onto the clearing were mostly peccary trails and "off limits" unless you are prepared to come face to face with one of these animals of the pig family. From here the trail improves considerably leading steep down into the Rio Upano Valley near the riverbed which is unfordable. The trail remains on the south side of the river and you have to ford some medium-sized tributaries. At midday I encountered some villagers from Pueblo Alshi.
-PAGE 14 THE SYDNEY BUSHWALKER FEBRUARY 1993
 The villagers told me the hut I slept in was all that was left of the abandoned village of Zufliga. Also an area with frequent sightings of pumas. They had killed a puma here recently.
-The final leg of my journey to Macas was on a rural bus. In Macas I had to. report to the local police to notify them of my arrival in the "Oriente".
-Please note; The area west of Macas up the Rio Upano and incorporating the lake area in the high sierra around,Lago Atillo has been declared a national park, which also includes Volcan Sangay. Starting point for the Sangay section is Macas and Guamote is the starting point for the Lago Atillo area. There is now a road from Guamote down to Macas. East
+The final leg of my journey to Macas was on a rural bus. In Macas I had to report to the local police to notify them of my arrival in the "Oriente".
-of Macas begins the tribal area of the Jivaros, once known as fierce warriors with the habit of shrinking the heads of their slain enemies,
-Fruit available in the forest are large yellow passion fruits and wild red bananas which I used to fry or add to my soups. I suppose there are more edible fruit around, however I only stuck to the ones I was familiar with
+__Please note__: The area west of Macas up the Rio Upano and incorporating the lake area in the high sierra around Lago Atillo has been declared a national park, which also includes Volcan Sangay. Starting point for the Sangay section is Macas and Guamote is the starting point for the Lago Atillo area. There is now a road from Guamote down to Macas. East of Macas begins the tribal area of the Jivaros, once known as fierce warriors with the habit of shrinking the heads of their slain enemies.
-It should be noted that from Llicto until my arrival in the first village in the jungle I only met four people on the trail. I was completely dependent on myself and on the not so exact map from the Institut geografico Militar in Quito. For a start the trail was incorrectly marked and there were a lot more unbridged rivers to ford than were shown on the map. Some of the rivers on the eastern slopes of the chain were not safe to cross and I_had to make many detours to find a Suitable crossing. Tree trunks across such torrential rivers were always considered a godsend;
-The full Riobamba-Macas hike is recommended for outdoor enthusiasts; organized tours are now available from Riobamba. Riobamba has a range of good tourist hotels. In civilisation Macas is a small jungle town on the edge of the Amazon Basin with a growing number of tourist hotels mostly of the backpacking type. From Macas you can return by bus to the-highland. There are frequent buses south to Cuenca in the central valley.
+Fruit available in the forest are large yellow passion fruits and wild red bananas which I used to fry or add to my soups. I suppose there are more edible fruit around, however I only stuck to the ones I was familiar with.
+It should be noted that from Llicto until my arrival in the first village in the jungle I only met four people on the trail. I was completely dependent on myself and on the not so exact map from the Institut Geografico Militar in Quito. For a start the trail was incorrectly marked and there were a lot more unbridged rivers to ford than were shown on the map. Some of the rivers on the eastern slopes of the chain were not safe to cross and I had to make many detours to find a suitable crossing. Tree trunks across such torrential rivers were always considered a godsend.
+The full Riobamba-Macas hike is recommended for outdoor enthusiasts; organized tours are now available from Riobamba. Riobamba has a range of good tourist hotels. In civilisation Macas is a small jungle town on the edge of the Amazon Basin with a growing number of tourist hotels mostly of the backpacking type. From Macas you can return by bus to the highland. There are frequent buses south to Cuenca in the central valley.
 TAME has weekly flights to Quito. The airstrip is almost in the centre of town.
-In Macas you can buy from "civilised" Jivaros the shrunken heads of howler monkeys. To put your mind at rest, head-hunting is a thing of the. - past and the trade in shrunken human heads has been prohibited.
+In Macas you can buy from "civilised" Jivaros the shrunken heads of howler monkeys. To put your mind at rest, head-hunting is a thing of the past and the trade in shrunken human heads has been prohibited.
 This was just one of my adventurous trekking trips in South America in recent years, testing my fitness to the limit.
-SOCIAL NOTES FOR MARCH
+----
+====Social Notes For March.====
 by Belinda McKenzie
- MarCh - Be sure you don't miss George Mayer's "Leadership Night" - He goes to a lot of trouble and you will get a good idea of the pleasures as well as the responsibilities of leading a trip.
+ March - Be sure you don't miss George Mayer's "Leadership Night" - He goes to a lot of trouble and you will get a good idea of the pleasures as well as the responsibilities of leading a trip.
 March - Peter Christian's Audio-Visual Night. Excellent slides accompanied by music.
-***********4
+----
 FEBRUARY 1993 THE SYDNEY BUSHWALKER PAGE 15
 THE JANUARY GENERAL MEETING