Caravana Pan Americana: Ecuador northbound

Ecuador Northbound

This portion of the route is being prepared by Ron Lussier . Please contact him if you have any suggestions for Ecuador.

Day:	Destination:	Km:	Comments:
27 Mar	Catacocha		We cross into Ecuador from Peru via the more scenic route through Macará. We'll stop for the night in Catacocha, a spectacularly-placed town built on a rock with pre-Inca ruins all around the town. Local inns cost about US$3, and the Guayaquil is supposed to be good.
28 Mar	Saraguro	154	Heading north into Ecuador, we'll turn eastwards towards Loja, and then north. The road from Loja to Cuenca is entirely paved and one of the most spectacular routes in Ecuador. After going through two passes, we'll stop along the way at the small town (pop. 20,000) of Saraguro. The population of this town is mostly Indian, and wear distinctive clothing. The men dress primarily in black, including very broad flat-brimmed felt hats. The women wear black pleated skirts and colorful bead necklaces. The Saraguro indians were originally from the Lago Titicaca area, until they were forced to relocate by the Incas. We'll try to stay at Res Saraguro on C Loja number 03-2 y Antonio Castro, which has a shared bath with hot water as well as laundry facilities.
29 Mar	Cuenca / Baños	143	We'll continue north today to the provincial capital Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador (pop. 400,000.) At 2,530m in altitude, Cuenca has a cool climate. There are 5 museums in town, including a museum of modern art. We'll camp at Baños, 5km south of Cuenca. At Baños there are hot sulphur baths and camping. The landscape is supposed to be beautiful.
30 Mar - Apr 13	Guayaquil	237	A long drive (5 hours) brings us to Ecuador's Pacific capital of Guayaquil (pop. 2.4 million.) The town is located very close to the equator (2° south). We'll try to stay in the Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco. Administered by the Fundacion Pro-Bosque (Pro-Forest Foundation), this reserve protects 5,000 hectares of dry tropical forest a short 15 minutes from the center of Guayaquil, on the coastal highway going west to Salinas (km 16.5 via La Costa). For a nominal fee, visitors can use the camping and picnic area, which includes tent pads, benches, running water and showers. Unless things change dramatically in Colombia (and they won't) we'll ship from here to Panama. I've allocated two weeks here to arrange shipping and get to Panama, our next destination. This will also give us some time for necessary maintenance and a little break before our final reach throgh Central America. Guayaquil is crowded and oppressively hot and humid, and we'll probably want to make shipping arrangements and get out of town as soon as possible. One possibility is a trip to the Galapagos. Air fare is approximately US$350 roundtrip from Guayaquil.
Total kilometers:		554

A lock indicates that this date and portion of the itinerary
is considered least likely to change.