The drive from Quito to Yanayacu was amazing. We drove through the “Valle De Los Chillos” which is east of Quito and was full of all kinds of businesses, mostly construction yards: lumber (which was hardwood from the Rainforest), concrete and bricks. We saw smoke rising from a few of the kilns that were busy baking new bricks.
Once we made it through the valley and into the mountains the scenery changed to awesome mountain views and small farms that dotted the mountainous landscape. From what I could tell, it looked like most of the farmers were growing potatoes as well as other cool season crops. I was surprised to see how steep the land was that they were farming and that it’s all farmed by hand.
After about an hour and a half we hit the highest point of the drive, about 12,000 ft in elevation, and what we consider in America ”The Great Divide”. All of the water on the west side of the Andes Mountains drains to the Pacific Ocean and everything east eventually makes it to the Atlantic. It’s pretty cool if you think about it, all rivers in this region, east of the divide, are the headwaters to the Amazon River and have about 2,500 – 3,500 miles of mountains and rainforest to meander through before ever hitting the ocean.
The roads on the ride down snaked along the mountain side, switching back and forth. At this point farms were scarce as the terrain was too steep to grow anything. I did see cattle grazing in the open areas where the primary forest had been logged. Otherwise, the mountains were covered in cloud forest habitat. I had no idea we were driving through cloud forest because there were no clouds in sight. Our guide mentioned it had been sunny the past few days, which is somewhat common for this time of year as it is the dry season. Typically, the mountains are covered in a blanket of clouds and rain, even during the dry season.
Eventually, after a stop for food, supplies and a bathroom break, we made it to Yanayacu. It was great to finally get there. After all of the forms and waivers I needed to sign – doctor’s appointments and approvals, pills and shots, – saying goodbye to my wife and little boy – traveling for 12 hours by plane and 3.5 hours by bus, I finally made it to my destination – Yanayacu Biological Station and Center for Creative Studies.
The Biological Station was awesome. It was nestled on a small hillside right in the middle of the cloud forest. The accommodations were better then I expected, though my expectations weren’t that high. I remember telling Earthwatch “the closer to Survivor the better.” Our dorm rooms were on the second floor and had 4 walls, a roof over our heads and a bed to sleep in. The porch just outside of the room had an amazing view of the mountains and cloud forest. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. The dinning room, which also served as the lecture hall and gathering room was open on three sides and had the same fantastic view as our bedrooms. The dinning room table was a beautiful homemade 14’ long, 3.5” wide slab of Mahogany that had fallen across a trail at one point.
After a long day of traveling through the Andes Mountains and the excitement of arriving at Yanayacu, the other 11 volunteers and I called it a day soon after dinner.
Sounds like one hell of a drive! The views were one of my favorite things about Ecuador. We went with my brother’s host family to their other place in the country. It was like looking at a postcard….