things to do in riobamba - part I

from baños to riobamba
it´s only a 2 hour ride by bus
i left after breaking fast at casa hood
and had only a few minutes to wait
before the bus left
lucky bus schedule karma this time or something was with me
i arrived on the outskirts or riobamba
and hopped into a taxi
hotel los shyris would be home for the next couple of days
i then headed off to the tour company altamontaña
which had been recommended to me by an irish girl
who was staying at plantos y blancos in baños
(one of those chats one has in the internet room)
a short walk later
(about 600m)
i found the company
booked a day trek to chimborazo for the next day
saw a church in the distance
walked up a small hill to said church
and discovered in the handy guide book
that it was a church with a beautiful view of the city
and chimborazo (largest mountain and volcano in the country)
(tho i couldn´t verify the last as the surrounding mountains
were all shrouded in cloud)
walked down the small hill back in the direction of the hotel
found a super busy lil restaurant
that was serving almuerzos for 1 dollar
and then went back to the hotel
(which by then was less than a block away)
as i hunkered down
over a terminal in the internet cafe
on the 2nd floor
i found the hours pass by quickly
as i plunked away blogging and emailing
afterwards, i went for a walk around the city
looking for churches
(the famous round church)
and found a few of them
including the round church
although none of them were open
stared throught the bars of one
and the glass door windows of another
and eventually wound my way back towards our hotel
along the way
i passed a bakery
where i tried some chocolate bread at a bakery
which was "ok"
at a different bakery
(gotta love bakeries!)
found a pan de crema
which was amazing
ate ice cream at the place mentioned in the lonely planet
(hand made ice cream which was again "ok"
and not really worth mentioning)
and as the sky darkened
while stopping to look at some photos
posted outside of a travel shop
the tour guy inside came out to talk
and i figured
seeing as i would attempt to walk part way up
chimborazo the next day
i may as well get some info on the local conditions
like what the temperatures are like on the mountain?
what else is there to look at?
what do people do on the mountain?
galo brito,
the name of the tour guy
got really into it
and was so enthusiastic and helpful
that i wish i had found him first
(the guy at the other place barely spoke english
wasn´t very friendly or personable
and wouldn´t give me the same deal
as the irish girl had gotten a week before
-i decided to stay with that one at the time
because i didn´t know any others
and at least i knew the company was reputable
to some degree
as it was also mentioned in the lonely planet)
sadly,
i informed him that i had already booked on
with another tour company
and i could see he really wished to take me
he had offered me a cheaper price
than the other company
and included a guide and some special extras
but circumstances were set
and as the other company had been paid in traveller´s cheques
there was no way to change companies
i thanked him for his efforts
(he had a good working relationship with the other company
and tried to see if they would transer the client - me - to him
but it was a no go)
as well as all the information
and had a light supper
(soup!)
which was enough after an afternoon of snacking
i headed back to the internet cafe
to use up a few more of my hours
the next morning
after breaking fast at the cafe by the montecarlo hotel
i headed back to our hotel
to find our guide janette
waiting in a 4x4
off i went to chimborazo
about an hour and a half away
the day was gloriously clear
the clearest i´ve seen in my entire time here in ecuador
chimborazo was starkly visible from riobamba
and as i got closer and closer
the looming mountain
grew only more and more impressive
i passed through puruha villages
small farming communities in the hills
that gave way to heavily terraced landscapes
on the steep slopes of chimborazo
cows and goats spotted the impossibly sheer fields
rising above this was a blasted landscape
where only the toughest of shrubs grew
among lichen covered rocks
hardy orange flowers
pointed their blossoms at the sky
and the road carved through layers upon layers
of sedimentary formations
of ages past
we reached the first refuge at 4800m (by car)
experiencing mild headaches on the way up
had some hot coca tea
brewed fresh in the refuge
that complimented the gatorade
and the half a bag of crispers
that disappeared shortly thereafter
whether it was the tea
(made from the same plant cocaine is derived from
without any of the narcotic effects
but supposedly has some sort of beneficial effect at altitude)
or the gatorade
or the crispers
or simply the rest
i felt much better after 1/2 an hour
and i started the ascent to the 2nd refuge
the trail was about 700m long
with a difference in elevation of 200m
i carried a pack
with some food and clothes
and up the mountain i went
chimborazo´s summit is at 6310m
and is considered the furthest point away from the earth´s centre
due to the equatorial bulge
it is also crowned with glaciers
and has claimed the lives of many a mountaineer
i had no plans to go any where near the summit =)
i trudged on
going slower and slower
as the pack on my back
became heavier and heavier
it was a heady experience
walking in such minute steps
heel to toe
footstep after footstep
i taichi´d my way up the slope
feeling the balance of my body
in every step
(except for 2 out of the hundreds,
maybe thousands
which caused me to stumble)
and counting the steps in sets of 100
taking breaks every 200 steps
and pausing to admire the scenery
and remarking how the roof of the 2nd refuge
still seemed REALLY far away
=)
upon reaching the 2nd refuge
i had another hot cup of coca tea
to wash down the ham sandwiches i made
flavoured with plaintain chips
(i´d found the bakery
and the supermercado that galo had recommended the night before
and stocked up)
but before taking a number of photos
of the plaque saying the altitude of 5000m had been reached
and the lone icicle that had formed on the eaves trough
close to the sign
by then
a wave of cloud had appeared
and begun to climb over chimborazo´s back
before i started the trek
i remembered galo´s words
"no matter what happens
go to the mountain with respect"
i had offered a moment of silence
that was tinged with awe
at the immense mountain
and the rarified air
burning through my lungs
at the first refuge
and now as i watched
this animal of vapour
claw it´s through chimborazo´s 5 peaks
i could only gaze in revered enlightenment
as i finally understood my cousin´s words
of years gone by
after his attempt to summit everest
"you do not climb the mountain...
it is simply a matter of whether
the mountain lets you climb her
...or not"
(chimborazo, by the way
is a "him"
as he is considered the father of all mountains
in this land)
i had no desire all those years
to climb any mountains
me being afraid of heights and all
but i was happy to have
this safe and awesome opportunity
to at least have a tiny taste
of this alien world that had seduced
so many a soul
i scampered up the mountain a little ways further
leaving the pack behind at the 2nd refuge
and relieved of the burden of the pack
i felt light as air
what a difference 10lbs can make there!
i went up a bit to take photos
of the 2nd refuge from above
as well as to take a "snow shot"
with my hand as the only evidence of me
before i slalomed down the mountain side
the grade was steep enough
that it was difficult to walk down
having to catch all of one´s weight and momentum
with every step
and thus
i ran down
crisscrossing back and forth
sometimes turning to run up the slope
in order to bleed off some of the momentum
it was fun
it filled my shoes with rocks
but it was easy
and exhilirating!
i found my guide
staying warm in her jeep
and headed down the mountain
taking photos all the way back
making frequent stops
to admire the idyllic landscape
and the geology of the area

returning that afternoon
to riobamba
back to a paltry 2750m in altitude
and breathing the thick air there
compared to that of the refuges
i felt totally psyched
and went to look for something else to do
for the next day