Ecuador Adventures 1

I was traveling on a bone crunching, rickety bus along a road that can only be described as treacherous at the best of times and impassable at the worst. Luckily for me, this was one of the ‘best of times’.

Looking out of the right hand side window one is treated to the sight of foliage covered Andean ridges rising thousands of feet and plummeting almost the same amount into the often cloud obscured depths. On a clear day one can see many cascadas (waterfalls) along the way, tumbling for hundreds of feet. I was on my way to see what is purported to be Ecuador’s highest cascada, San Rafael.

Almost two hours into the ride, we passed through landscape that had been radically changed by the explosion of Volcan Reventador. There were no trees or shrubs of any type in sight. The road virtually disappeared and the driver had to wind his way through hills of black and gray rocks and through streams of running water. Eventually we came to a river, obviously running out of its normal bed, but that had to be crossed if we were to connect with the road on the other side. Luckily, though wide, it was not very deep and we crossed with no problem.

Another half hour and I was let off the bus outside Hotel Reventador. It boasts a swimming pool with water continually being pumped in from the mountain, so is fresh if a little cool. The upper floor dorm style room was clean and had a verandah with an excellent view of open countryside with a high, snow clad, mountain backdrop.

I stashed my belongings and after getting directions to the falls, set off down a steep wide track recently made by a caterpillar tractor. Once passed this I found the trail and began the trek through hot and humid vegetation, crossing Rio Reventador by way of the rocks and then a couple of other rivers of unknown names.

Passing a cross set up in commemoration of a Canadian photographer who had fallen to his death, reminded me to be careful.

A half an hour later I had my first sight of Cascada de San Rafael. The vista of an immense horseshoe shaped valley opened up before me, the mist all but obscuring the depth of it. I sat and stared for a good fifteen minutes trying to take in the size and distance.

An interesting phenomenon happens when one stares at the cascading whiteness for a couple of minutes. On lifting ones sight to the surrounding cliffs, they appear to be flowing themselves, but in a wave like motion and upwards. Also, in the lace like pattern of the water itself, appear 'snakes' trying to climb up the wall of water. Who needs drugs to get ‘high’?

There is a trail that leads down to the river and then to the base of the falls, but it is a dangerous climb if one is not properly equipped and I wasn’t. However, I fully intend to do it one day.