Oh Canada, EH!

Several months ago I received an email from Doogerd saying he and his family were coming down from Canada for a month and wondering if we could meet up to go geocaching. One Saturday we met up in Parque Metropolitano. Doggerd brought his family, the pastor of the English Fellowship Church in Quito, his wife (who happened to know my youngest daughter from when she was a student at the school where she works) and an Ecuadorian friend. We were nine geocachers making our way through the park from cache to cache. Each person took turns with the GPSr hunting an finding the caches. It was great to meet these folks and get to know them. Doogerd presented me with a hat badge from his medic unit and several Canadian pins. I collect these types of things so this was a very thoughtful gift. We've had a lot of rain over the last month so this also served as chance to check on the caches. Many of the caches were wet. The worst of it was that over half the caches we visited were muggled and gone. This was an abnormally high rate of mugglings. Probably we geocachers need to take better care and not let others see us finding the caches. Doogerd also hid the Oh Canada EH (GC2PBAK) in the park. It was well stoked with Canada pins and a Canada geocoin. I really enjoyed the outing a hope that Doogerd's friends enjoyed it as well. If you get a chance to visit be sure and visit the Metropolitan Park and find the numerous caches hidden there.

Chamana Waterfalls, Baños, Ecuador

I finally got to combine geocaching with horseback riding! Along with Sumajhuarmi and Rubialoca I set out from the tourist and spa town of Baños, Ecuador on horseback to ride out to the Chamana Waterfalls, just east of town. The ride took about an hour or so as we wound down the valley beside the Pastaza River. Yes, that's a picture of a teenager addicted to her text messages, even from horseback! At Ulba we crossed the main highway and began a short climb up the Chamana valley along side the Chamana River. For most of our climb we had a spectacular view of the active volcano Tungurahua above us. The snowcapped volcano was impressive, particularly with the knowledge that it frequently sends off puffs of smoke and flowing lava out the other direction from where we were. We climbed past tourist hostels and small restaurants until we arrived at the base of the waterfalls. There was a large tour group there that was canyoning. They were roped in similar to those who rapel down the mountain except for they were doing it down the canyon stream that led off of the waterfalls. It looked interesting but not interesting enough. That water had to be cold! We dismounted and secured the horses before starting up the path that takes you to the a small pool of water at the base of the first of seven waterfalls that make up Chamana Waterfall. Here people come to relax in the water on hot days. This seemed like the perfect place for a geocache so I back tracked down the path until I found a perfect location to hide the cache. The finder can step off the trail and look for the cache without being seen if he or she takes care. If you get a chance to visit Baños I suggest that you rent horses for this trip and that you check out my cache there. It is Cascadas Chamana (GC2M45Z).

Ecuador has its Cracker Barrel!!!!!

Well, maybe that is saying a little too much. On a recent trip into the southern part of Ecuador I came across a welcome sight. As we were traveling through some beautiful but somewhat lonely territory we came up on a nice looking cafe/store set back off the road a little. It had a country look to it. We couldn't help but pull off the road. Two things were going through my mind. First, this looks like a nice place to stop. Second, this looks like a nice place for a geocache hide. Upon entering the place we found that it was much more. While the food isn't what we would call Cracker Barrel food the store was a close approximation to the famous North American Interstate favorite stopover. My wife had a great time looking through the store. The prices were a little higher than we like but, hey, the stuff was imported. We talked to the owner. He said that his daughter accused him of getting the idea from the Cracker Barrel chain. He denied it. Nonetheless, it is a nice place and the gentleman was very friendly. He gave me permission to hide Ecuador has its Cracker Barrel (GC2FN1C). Be sure and stop in for a visit. See if you can find the cache too! By the way, this photo, taken from the creative commons, is of the real thing, not the Ecuadorian version.

Casa Tranquila

While visiting Cuenca recently I had the chance to invite a non-caching friend out to find one of Ecuador's older caches, Casa Tranquila (GCXC0Q). My friend, Al, had seen me hide a cache the day before in Loja and now was driving me out to this mountain just north of Cuenca. The cache owner indicated in the cache page that cachers should find the cache and then come on in to the house for coffee. We drove up the dirt road until reaching the GZ, parked by the road and followed the needle and the clue to the cache. After signing the log and trading items we went to the house but it was all locked up and looked like no one had been there for a while. We recalled that the previous cacher had mentioned that no one was there. We then drove up to the top of the mountain to get a good view of the valley. We could see north Cuenca, the town of Azogues and Cojitambo mountain directly in front of us. When we got back to Al's house we looked up the profile of the cache owner, a North American who had retired in Ecuador, and found that he had left the country to work in the US some four years earlier. Fortunately the cache was in good shape but we missed being able to visit with him and share that cup of coffee. The city of Cuenca doesn't have any caches yet it is the third largest city in Ecuador. If you are coming to Cuenca you can visit the two closest caches. Casa Tranquila is one and the other is Cajas National Park, about 19 miles northwest of Cuenca.

A visit from FindJoy

Every now and then a fellow cacher that we don't know from Adam is coming through Quito and writes us ahead of time in order to get together. We have enjoyed every opportunity to get to know those who come through. Recently I received an email from a gentleman in California telling me his wife was coming through Quito after visiting Loja province in the far south of Ecuador. She wanted to release a travel bug and couldn't find any caches in Loja province. Since caching is still catching on here that is not unheard of. We arranged to meet on Saturday as she came through Quito. As we drove up to the Metropolitan Park overlooking the city of Quito we saw a lady that matched the picture we had received. Sure enough when we asked it was FindJoy. Off we went to find a place to park the truck and then find a cache where she could drop her soon-to-be-released travel bug. We worked our way down the hill to Karen's Caper Travel Bug Hotel (GC182AC) and released her TB. We had a great time getting to know a little about FindJoy. So, in honor of FindJoy and because she was lamenting the absence of any geocaches in Loja Province, my wife and I decided to place a cache near the city of Loja. We hope that FindJoy and her husband can come looking for it someday! Check out FindJoy's Loja Log (GC2FN1N).

Tungurahua Volcano and the Runtun Cross

What a great trip! We went to Baños, Ecuador for some fun time. While there we arranged to take a chiva tour (a sort of open-air bus ride with loud music) around the town and then up to the Runtun Overlook. From there the view was spectacular, both of the city and of the Tungurahua volcano. Several times during the day we caught a glimps of Tungurahua as the clouds would break. From the overlook the view is also impressive. I´ve included a few pictures of the volcano from several angles made by others. Their photos are so much better than mine. The tour guide told me that we would be at the cross overlooking the city for about 20 minutes. That didn´t give me much time. It was about 10 p.m. so I left him and the other tourist and headed out with my gpsr and flashlight. I was about 400 feet from the cache when I started out. I started down the trail, one that apparently will take you down to the city below. Soon my gpsr was telling me I was at ground zero. Within a few minutes I had found the large tupperware container that is Cruz de Runtun TB Hotel (GC28NNE). I hurriedly signed the logbook and replaced the cache. I didn´t trade anything as I felt the pressure to be back with the group. I could just see my wife making excuses for the guide to wait for me. I hurried up the hill arriving huffing and puffing. Why the hurry? The tour stayed at least another 45 minutes after I got there. The guide served us hot canela (cinnamon and passion fruit) drink and then we had a bonfire with about 80 people from our tour and others that were congregated there. We had a great time. Whether by day or night, I recommend this tour for the breathtaking view of both Tungurahua volcano and the city of Baños. The flowing lava coming off of Tungurahua is spectacular! By the way, the sign about the 9 p.m. erruption was pretty accurate.

Thoughts on promoting Geocaching in Ecuador

It's time to get some input from those who check in from time to time to read this blog. If you set out to increase geocaching in a country where geocaching is little known, what would you do to promote it? Could you see geocaching as a means of increasing tourism? If you were approaching municipal leadership about geocaching and tourism, what would you emphasis? Is there a place for geocaching tourism or is geocaching something that geocachers do "as they tour"? I'd really love to hear your thoughts on what could be done with the local authorities and with the local citizenry as I consider how to increase the sport among Ecuadorians.