Páramo Adventure

Upon arriving in the border town of Tulcán, Ecuador, I was presented with a decision. I could either make the haul straight to Quito or try to find an adventure on the way. So of course I stopped into a cíber to look at Google Maps. There I saw something called Reserva Biológica Guandera not too far away and determined to go there by hook or by crook.

The bus driver let me off at an intersection and pointed me in the right direction. I walked a few kilometers and then caught a couple of brief rides through country that looks like this.

Eventually I got to this town, called Mariscal Sucre. A lady sold me three bananas and a bottle of water. They were head and shoulders above any bananas I'd ever had, simply the best. She said the guide for the reserve, José, lived up the hill a bit. I walked on and found his house, but he'd already gone up to the reserve. However, his friend Antonio helped me find a ride on the back of a motorcycle farther up the mountain. The driver was José's nephew Carlos.

This is José (picture taken the next day).

After 5 km of jolting along cobblestone roads, Carlos stopped the motorcycle and pointed the way up a trail. I soon found myself in cloud forest enshrouded in mist. After a half mile or so José appeared out of nowhere and declared himself a kidnapper before giving me a warm handshake. The jokester. I liked him right off the bat, as soon as I knew he wasn't really going to kidnap me.

The house was a funky structure with plenty of bunks and blankets. Besides José there was Rocia, the cook; Nina, a lovelorn Finnish volunteer who was relieved to speak English with someone; two law students from Quito; the dog Beethoven; and a cat. Rocia's dinner was delicious, and afterwards José and the two students taught me the card game of cuarenta.

The next morning I donned a pair of borrowed rubber boots and charged up the mountain with Beethoven as hiking partner.

The cloud forest was spooky and beautiful, with tons of Guandera trees, with roots that grow from the upper branches, and myriad epiphytes.

After an hour and a half or so, having climbed from 10,800' to 12,500', we suddenly popped out into the open páramo.

There were frailejone plants as far as the eye could see (which wasn't all that far, because of the clouds).

I don't know very much about the páramo, but apparently it is a delicate high-altitude type of landscape that provides most of the water for urban areas in the Andes.
It was great to have an enthusiastic hiking partner. And I was pleased with how well my lungs and legs did up to 12,500'! That's the highest I've ever been!
After getting back down I showered, ate another delicious meal cooked by Rocia, walked back down the mountain, and hitchhiked to Quito. What a day!