Irma, the host of Casa de Marmol, hooked me up with Paulito, a very cool and knowledgeable young guide who took me on a trip to Chimborazo volcano. It was a long day but worth every minute and dollar.
Paulito picked me up in his SUV, with a mountain bike on the rack on the back. That was for me, should I choose to accept the challenge. More on that later. We started our day at 8am and went to San Juan, just outside Riobamba.
We began at Tambo Pak Samay, a hostel and restaurant in San Juan. We had tea with canelazo (a cane sugar liquor) and discussed the plans for the day. We were joined by his friend, a taxi driver, who had two young French women who were going to our first stop and no farther. They were sure that Chimborazo would give them altitude sickness. I have hiked previously near the altitude at Chimborazo (5000 meters/16,400 feet) and had no such fears. Tambo Pak Samay had coca candy and leaves for sale, and I got some candy. Unprocessed coca from the leaves is a vasodilator and helps with exertion at altitude. It is a totally different thing from processed coca, which is the drug cocaine. Indigenous people chew the raw leaves for energy. I’ve done it before and it works a treat with no harmful effects.
Our first stop as a group was the Canyon de Chimborazo. Chimborazo the volcano was in the background as we drove there, but it was mostly obscured by clouds. This is very common. Many people go to Chimborazo and never actually see it from a distance. I was extremely fortunate though; the clouds lifted as we arrived at the canyon and we had a perfect view of the volcano in the background. And, miracle of miracles, they stayed away for the rest of the day.
The women were hiking the rim of the canyon and doing nothing else. We all went down to the rim, took pictures, hiked to the top of a waterfall, and spent some time with Paulito while he explained the area in context of the history and beliefs of the indigenous people of the area. He explained a lot about the plants in the area, one of which was a mildly hallucinogenic flower. And we put on the colorful indigenous masks and danced. It was a blast.
Paulito and I then left them for their canyon rim hike and we left for the volcano. Chimborazo is currently inactive; Cotopaxi (my July destination) has been active as recently as a year ago.
During the entire day, Paulito and I conversed totally in Spanish. These trips are going to be great for my Spanish — I’m not going to speak any English all week. Outside Cuenca, far fewer people speak English. And I’m not going to even try to speak English. Ecuadorians are very kind people, generally appreciate your attempts at Spanish, and generally speak clearly and more slowly in an attempt to help you understand. I’m going to take advantage of that.
Chimborazo has two refugios — shelters for people summiting the peak. (As an aside, if you summit the peak, due to the bulge of the earth at the equator, you are at the closest point to space on planet Earth.) We drove to a parking lot, hiked up to the first refugio (around 4400 meters in altitude) and then to the second one (5000 meters in altitude). We took our time, rested periodically, and ate our coca candy as we hiked. From the second refugio we hiked up an additional 100 meters in altitude, to 5100 meters, where the snow field was. At that altitude, it’s there permanently. And then we hiked down the snow field back to the first refugio.
It’s difficult to explain the reverence you feel, looking up at the summit (which, again, with great fortune, I could actually see) and knowing that there, you are farther from the center of the earth than anywhere else you could be. It was incredibly calming, and I genuinely felt at peace and as one with nature, more than any other natural place I’ve ever been. Perhaps it was the remoteness.
On arrival back at the parking lot, I was energized and decided to tackle the mountain bike. You never forget how, right? It’s true! Paulito recommended we drive down a bit to where it was a gentler slope down, so we did. And then I rode all the way down to the park entrance, maybe half an hour. More accurately, I coasted there at a comfortable speed and used the brakes frequently. The dirt road was often rough due to erosion and runoff from rain, but I persevered. It was all downhill. It was glorious.
On the way back, Paulito chose a special place with a great view of the volcano, and I took a few minutes alone to spread a bit of Kirk’s ashes into the wind, while singing “Origin Of Love” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I’ve decided I’m going to take a bit of his ashes with me on my various travels, and repeat my new tradition whenever I’m in a new place. I’ll be doing the same in Mindo. And yes, I stood upwind.
After that, we returned to Tambo Pak Samay and had a late 3pm lunch. Food never tasted so good. And, coincidentally, the food was good.
Paulito dropped me off at Casa de Marmol about 4:30pm. Truthfully, I am exhausted. But it’s the best kind of exhaustion, the kind that’s combined with accomplishment.
Thank you, Paulito.
Si se puede.
