Las Cascadas de Peguche

I plan to leave Otavalo around midday and be in Quito by mid-afternoon. I go out in the morning to see how the town has cleaned up after the market mess. I also need an ATM to settle up with Adriana at the hostel.

The daily vendors are setting up again, but the place has cleaned up well. At breakfast, there is another solo traveler, Jakob, from Germany. He signs on for a short morning hike to Peguche Cascades. Jakob is a booking agent for Bavarian bands and this is his off season. He lived a year in Venezuela, so his Spanish is good. Lisa is studying tourism and just did her internship in a hotel on the coast. We primarily spoke Spanish, since I don't know any German.

This place is pretty popular, being easy to get to. It had cobblestone paved paths to the falls. There is one time of year they close it for some sacred indigenous bathing ritual. Sounds pretty kinky.

Complete with arco iris (rainbow)

Above the cascades, this must be where the kinky ritual takes place. There is a cave-like tunnel to get you further upstream...

A different path down leads to a bouncy suspension bridge and international photo op:

Great folks. We walk back to town and see evidence of the President of Ecuador's "Revive the Train" initiative, as this machine was preparing the railbed for ties.

I don't dare eat before the bus ride, so the international hikers say their goodbyes and I head for the terminal where buses leave for Quito every 15 minutes or so for $2.

 

 

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