Tag: moses naranjo

Categories
Ecuador South America

Up the Devil’s Nose in Alausí, Ecuador

After a stopover for lunch in Riobamba, we arrived in the small town of Alausí, about 4 hours by bus from Baños. The bus ride from Riobamba to Alausí was made much more entertaining when I made friends with Lupe, a little 4 year old Ecuadorian girl who was fascinated by my camera. I never saw her parents but she said her father was a few rows back.

My little friend Lupe

I am still amazed by the independence little children in Ecuador seem to have. I can’t tell you how many times I saw young kids, sometimes as young as 4 or 5 walking by themselves by the side of a busy highway.  Contrast that with the U.S. where I swear I’ve seen kids the same age being pushed in strollers in Manhattan!

I didn’t complain when Lupe came up to share the ride with me. She was cute as a button and I taught her a few basic English words before she eventually got bored with me and my camera and she went over to our producer’s (Renzo) side of the bus, where she promptly fell asleep. She was still sleeping when we got off at Alausí, so I slipped a piece of candy in her little folded arms so that she’d have a sweet surprise when she woke up.  I’m such a big old softy when it comes to kids, especially cute little Ecuadorian kids. Simply the cutest.

Alausí Resident

Alausí has a big indigenous influence and despite having the famous “Nariz del Diablo” or “Devil’s Nose Train” station it didn’t seem to have a lot of tourist infrastructure to speak of.

That being said, the people were friendly and the food at the local Chifa (Chinese restaurant) across the street from our hotel was good. You can get a good sense of Alausí in about 2 hours walking around town and if the altitude isn’t kicking your butt too bad, a great view of the city can be had from the lookout with the large San Pedro monument which towers over the town.

At the San Pedro Monument Overlooking the City

We woke up early to take the 1st Devil’s Nose Train which was scheduled to depart at 8AM and arrive back in town at 10:30AM.  Since we didn’t have tickets (the ticket office was closed when we arrived the day before) , we had to wake up really early to buy our tickets at 7AM at the ticket office. Buying tickets was by far the worst part of the train trip, it took 45 minutes and we were the 2nd group of people in line. Maybe there “system was down”, but it killed any chance of us getting breakfast (and me, my much needed coffee fix) beforehand.

The Devil’s Nose Train is probably one of the most famous and infamous tourist sites in Ecuador. If you research on the web or guidebooks before you go, you’ll get an amazing amount of outdated, misinformation. This stems from the fact that the train used to depart from Riobamba for a much more grueling all day train ride and not that long ago, tourists could ride on top of the cars. Of course, this is dangerous and eventually someone died so that no longer is allowed. A round trip train ride from Alausí is only 2.5 hours and that includes a 50 minute stop in the town of Sibambe for lunch.

View from the train

As of this writing, the train currently runs from Alausí 3 times a day (8A, 11A, 1PM) Tuesday-Sundays and the cost is $20 U.S. per adult. You can buy tickets at the ticket office in Alausí or at the old train station in Riobamba before you get there. Evidently weekends and holidays are pretty packed so you’re advised to get your tickets as early as possible.

You’ll also get mixed reviews about the train ride itself, some saying it’s a tourist trap and that the views are just as great by bus. Not so. The train ride overlooks cliffs and valleys in a way no bus ever could (or that you would want) and because the speed is slower (and the ride smoother) it’s much easier to get video or photos and appreciate the beautiful surrounding landscape.

In front of the aptly named "Devil's Nose" formation

The train was built in 1901 and many people died building it and when you take the ride you understand why. The terrain is precarious. I can’t imagine the amount of manpower needed to build around the mountains at that time. At times the train is so close to the side of a mountain that if you stick your hand outside the train car, you’ll lose it.

There are two types of train cars. Buses that are retrofitted to ride on  train tracks and the kind we thankfully took, which are refurbished train cars from back in the heyday of the route when it was used for transportation and not just a diversion for tourists.

When we arrived in Sibambe we were welcomed with folkloric dancers and surprise, surprise you could buy souvenirs from the local artisans. We also toured the museum and had a light lunch before we headed back.

Folkloric dancing in Sibambe

The train ride is not that adrenaline pumping excitement you’ll get in Baños from some of the adventure sports and I admit I was disappointed we couldn’t ride on the roof, but the views are stunning nonetheless and it’s really a good way to feel like what travel was like in these parts not that long ago. If you have the time and are in the area, I wholeheartedly recommend the ride.

We hopped on a bus to Cuenca (another 4 hours) and realized when we arrived that we had left our tripod (valued at $250 U.S.) on the train.  Getting it back proved to be an adventure but Marcos the manager of the Train was so cool and eager to help us out. We wired him some fare money to put it on a bus to Cuenca and we got it back the next day. Big gracias to Jose Luis (our guide who found the tripod and turned it in) and Marcos for their help.

Below is a small video clip to give you some idea of what the train ride was like.

 

 

 

Categories
Caribbean Trinidad & Tobago

Trinidad Road Trip (albeit on the “wrong” side of the road)

Waterloo Temple by the Sea

We wanted to see what was beyond Port of Spain, so we rented a car for a 3 day journey around  Trinidad. I’ve driven in many a 3rd world countries, often with road signs in another language. So one would think Trinidad would be piece of cake with their English language road signs right? Wrong!

Waterloo Temple by the Sea

Being a former British colony, Trinis drive on the opposite side of the road. For the Yankees from the U.S., the steering wheel is where the passenger seat normally sits, the blinker and windshield wipers are on opposite sides meaning that every time I signaled to turn, the windshield wipers would go instead, leading to snickering from my travel mates, at least the first 10 times or so.

Also, I can’t count the number of times I jumped hastily into the passenger’s side, ready to drive before realizing I was in the wrong seat. This also ceased to be funny after about the 15th time.

Driving on the left side of the road was disorienting especially the first day. Can I turn left on a red light? I wouldn’t dare try it and would ignore the honks of protests behind me.

Judging distances on the other side of the car proved challenging. Many times I ran off the shoulder and more often than not there was no actual “shoulder”, just a 3 foot deep concrete ditch! Not 3 hours into the drive, I had successfully busted the passenger side mirror by getting a wee bit too close to a parked truck. Time to review my insurance coverage (I recommend doing this prior to renting by the way).

Inside Waterloo

Speaking of parking, Trinidad has a distinct and very unique driving culture. Parking against traffic on the opposite side of the road whenever one feels the need is the norm. The effect was that it always felt I was headed for an inevitable head on collision. The narrow roads with no shoulders made passing these parked cars a challenge.

Alas, after a short while I finally got into the groove and found the unwritten rules of driving in Trinidad. I also found that most Trinis are very courteous, often blinking their lights and softly tooting their horn to signal you to cut into traffic in front of them, etc.

In Port of Spain at least, they almost always stop for pedestrians, allowing them to cross. So unlike most of Latin America where I’ve traveled and it seems the cars are taking aim at you (one notable exception is Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay).

Waterloo Temple by the Sea

Luckily, the mirror scrape was the most serious mishap but there were other close calls. My general thoughts on foreigners not accustomed to left side driving, is don’t do it. But if you really want an  adventure and are confident in your driving abilities abroad and have a good co-pilot (I had two), then go for it, but as I said, I’d check your insurance plan first.

Unfortunately public transportation in Trinidad leaves so much to be desired that if you want to see the beauty that is Trinidad beyond Port of Spain (and who wouldn’t) on your own schedule, then a rental car or a hired driver is really the only way to go.

Our first day we journeyed to the southern part of the island to see Chaguanas, the East Indian town a few minutes south of Port of Spain and then further down to Carapichaima to see the famous Waterloo Temple by the Sea and the Datta Yoga Center complete with an 85 foot Hanuman God statue.

The Temple by the Sea did not disappoint but the weather did. It started raining heavily just as we arrived but we managed to get off a few decent exteriors and even one shot of the interior before being told by the groundskeeper no photos or video taping of the inside were allowed. Whoops! I made a nice donation in hoping to compensate properly for my happy mistake.

The original temple was built by Sewdass Sadhu, a laborer, in the 1940s. He originally built it on shore on land that belonged to the local sugar company. After 5 years it was knocked to the ground and Sewdass was sent to prison. When he was released he decided to build a new temple in the sea, where no one owned the land. He spent over 20 years building the Waterloo Temple with whatever materials he could get his hand on. It was constantly eroding because of the water, so in 1995 the government had it refurbished to the temple you can see today.

On the way out we noticed a parked car with big loudspeakers blasting fundamental Christian music, seemingly to harass the visitors of the temple which belied the overall impression I have that all Trinis are very tolerant of other religions. Some are, some aren’t, just like everywhere else.

Next we searched for the giant Hanuman Murti statue and Davina yoga center in the rain but to no avail. Since it was raining hard by now and we were running behind schedule we decided to catch it on the return trip.

Pointe A Pierre Wildfowl Trust

We made our way further down south to the Pointe-A-Pierre Wildfowl Trust , a lovely bird sanctuary ironically in the middle of an oil refinery.

By now the rain had ceased and it was nearing dusk, a perfect time to visit the trust. We were taken on an hour long tour  and while I never really considered bird watching an exciting travel activity, but I may just have to change my mind after touring the Trust.

The dedicated group at Pointe A Pierre have done nothing short of an incredible job to to provide a beautiful sanctuary for birds, many of them endangered. The grounds are located ironically inside of a huge oil refinery and are alive with the squawking and beautiful sounds of birds everywhere. There are peacocks spreading their wings, the national bird, the scarlet ibis along with all kinds of other species of birds.

The folks at the Trust are true conservationists, breeding endangered species for release into the wild and taking in animals that are the victims of illegal pet keeping. Upon arrival you are met by  a parakeet in a cage who will carry on a conversation with you. He’s the only bird kept in a small cage and that is only because he is unable to fend for himself in the wild after being permanently injured when someone tried to smuggle him out of the country to sell as an exotic pet.

Real Snake @ the Widlfowl Trust's Museum

They also have a small but cool Indigenous museum that features relics of the island’s Amerindian past as well as live reptiles and other wildlife found on the island.

It’s easy to see that Molly and Karilyn and the entire staff at Pointe-A-Pierre are true lovers of nature and are doing a good work at not only providing a sanctuary for birds (they tend to fill to capacity during hunting season as the birds seek the sanctuary out) but also in educating visitors on how we can change our ways to co-exist with nature.

Staff & Volunteers from Pointe A Pierre Wildfowl Trust

Their partnership with the oil refinery is perhaps the best example of how nature and commerce can co-exist. I hope for all our sake that organizations like the Pointe-A-Pierre Trusts will continue to flourish and influence the way we treat our planet.

The Scarlet Ibis - Trinidad's Endangered Official Bird

We spent the night in San Fernando, Trinidad’s second largest city. Next day we were up early to go see the ugly but amazing, naturally occurring asphalt lake, Pitch Lake. After driving down windy and ironically horribly paved roads we arrived at Pitch Lake to be accosted and gouged by not one but two tour guides (one was a guide and another a “demonstrator”), charging $45 U.S. each. We obviously screwed up by not getting an official guide, which are identified by their red shirts with logos identifying them as official tour guides. On closer observation after it was too late, our guide’s seemingly official red shirt had a Dicky logo on it. Very clever.

The entire tour became a battle of the guides, as I suppose each was afraid they’d get cut out of the payment, so they yelled and tried to out do each other in demonstrating many of the lake’s interesting attributes. Despite the unofficial, unprofessional demeanor of the guides we did learn a few things.

Ugly but interesting.. Trinidad's Pitch Lake

The bad pavement on the way over was no coincidence, the lake sucks the ground and objects in an around in over 100 acre circumference.  This includes the ground below the pavement and under some houses that live on a “vein”. The foundation on the houses on this vein must constantly be adjusted and jacked up every 3 to 4 months to remain level. Stationary objects like trees, or whatever you may leave on the ground for a few months will also gradually get sucked into the lake and make it’s way underground to eventually to be spit up by the lake.

There was also an asphalt version of quick sand. Our “guide” stood in it for a few seconds and was sinking steadily up to his kneecaps. Had he not moved, he would have kept on going and as he says “one mistake and it’s all over for me”. He told us a few months ago, 6 cows perished in the asphalt quicksand. Maybe he was worth the $45 U.S. after all.

After paying our two extortionists, excuse me, “guides” we headed back the way we came to make the drive to Grand Riviere for some turtle watching that evening. This is a hell drive by Trini standards as you are basically going from one corner of the island to the other, much of it curvy, windy almost one lane roads.

The 85 Foot Hanuman Murti Statue

So in order to break up the trip we searched for the Datta Yoga Center in Carapichaima once again and this time, in hot, sunny weather we spotted the huge 85 foot Hanuman Murti or monkey-faced God, the largest outside of India.

The statue and surrounding temple area are nothing short of amazing. A colorful oasis in an otherwise hot and scorching day. It was pretty much deserted so we had free run of the place for photos and video and once again I made a nice donation in hopes of gaining favor by the Murti for a safe journey on the winding roads to Grande Riviere for some turtle watching.

Robert and Renzo at the Hanuman Murti

Tune in to see if it worked!

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Colombia

Food Market – Would you like flies with that?

Renzo enjoys some Champeta music

CARTAGENA –  December 3rd, 2010

Today we visited the food market which is primarily Afro-Latino. It’s a muddy, unhygienic mess because of the horrible rain and flooding. I’ve been to markets like this before in Brazil and other countries and it takes some getting used to seeing the raw meat just laid out bare on tables, without refrigeration and crawling with flies.

Freshly caught fish at the local market in Cartagena

The one thing I always seem to notice is how everything gets used, we’re not just talking pig’s feet here, we’re talking pig brains, bull nuts, you name it they got it at the market.

And that is why the locals come here. It’s a cheap place to buy meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, but not just food, you can also buy toiletries, toys and you can get a haircut or buy some music, recharge your cell phone (or buy a cell phone).. it’s like a mall, not as nice by a long shot but way, way cheaper and full of mini entrepreneurs selling their wares and wheeling and dealing to make their living.

We get a decent amount of footage shot with Luis Towers providing the guidance, but once again just as we’re getting rolling, the rain sets in and dampens the rest of our shooting schedule.

Moe and I head out at night to a new part of the city, Boca Grande, and eat Mexican (a nice change of pace from the typical Colombian food we’ve been having) and get some footage of the Chivas, Colombian party buses. Boca Grande is not as charming as the old city but it’s a nice change of pace from the constant touts and vendors hounding you to buy buy, buy!

Dinner @ Bazurto Social Club in Getsmani, Cartagena

The Next day, we shot some more in the old city during the day. We find an English speaking tour guide Rolando, who agreed to be on camera with me and gave me the lowdown on a couple of historic spots in the old city including the famous Plaza Santo Domingo, where  back in the day, slaves were bought and sold but today feature touristy restaurants with outdoor eating with live entertainment like traditional Afro-Latino dancing troupes, etc.

We get a few more establishing shots in before rain once again interrupts our plans.

Renzo enjoys some Champeta music

We chilled for a bit at the hotel and then headed to a cool little restaurant owned by my friend Flavia called “Bazurto Social Club”  on the edge of Getsmani for dinner. We were in luck because that night they were featuring live Champeta music,  which was perfect to get us in the mood for our trip to San Basilio Palenque the next day. Tomorrow was to be a long day, so we hit the hay early, but not before doing some damage on the dance floor. While Moe and Renzo were dancing for fun, I was doing my “please no more rain” dance. I hope it works.

Moe tearing up the dance floor at Bazurto Social Club
Categories
Colombia

Cartagena: Wet and sick but still all good!

Afro-Colombian Dancing in Santo Domingo Square

We woke up brutally early to catch a flight from Pereira to Cartagena with a stop in Bogota. Renzo, the Supervising Producer, was really, really sick all night. Food poisoning. Definitely not good.

Enterprising kids built a "toll booth" over the flooded streets

Once at the Pereira airport, complete with an hour long delay, Renzo was not getting any better. Poor guy was in hell. We arrive at the Bogota airport to catch our connection to Cartagena and I got something to eat but Renzo could hold nothing down.

Rain lets up so we grab some dinner in Santa Domingo Square in old city

At Bogota airport we met  up with Moses, our cameraman / editor who joined us for the remainder of the trip.  Moe is a talented and experienced guy so luckily, Moe and I could at least carry on without Renzo. There is never a good time to be sick when traveling but at least we have a back up with Moses.

Afro-Colombian Dancing in Santo Domingo Square

In Cartagena the weather was absolutely horrible on arrival. It had been raining hard for days and the streets were completely flooded. Our hotel situation was not nailed down either but Renzo’s buddy, Luis Towers, a local Champeta musician was on the case and nailed down the Villa Colonial in Getsmani just outside the old city. It was cool.

Since Renzo was exhausted after being up all night and needed some sleep, Moses, Luis Torres and I headed out to shoot some b-roll. It started raining again so we stop to have a light lunch, but we really don’t get much video shot. We instead go on a quest to buy ponchos for everyone as it looked like we’re going to need them.

Cartagena is beautiful, day or night

Later that night the rain lifted for a bit and Moses and I took advantage to get some night shots of the old city. I sure hope this rain goes away tomorrow. Cartagena is not as much fun when it’s raining, but it still beats snow any day of the week!