2520m
Long morning. Due to leaving the Amazon and heading back (unfortunately) into civilisation, we had to be up at 5am, breakfast at 5:30 and on the speedboat back to Coca by 6. As such it was a little bit more rushed than normal. Breakfast was also a quieter fare as we all knew it was the end of our cruise and we would have to part ways.
The trip back up the Napo River took twice the amount of time as the Anakonda was moored further downstream, we were running upriver, and the fact that the Napo had certainly risen due to the rain. We passed the Manatee, all safely moored up and with the engine compartment open and under repair. Coca was also quiet as we arrived at 8am and boarded our shuttle to the airport. Saying goodbye to Reuben and Kevin, we promised to send some Vegemite and a US copy of ‘Dances With Wolves’ over to them. The flight was conveniently short back to Quito, but unfortunately then had to say goodbye to Bruce and Jan who had been great travelling companions; right sort of sense of humour to gel correctly. We wished them clear weather for the day as they were trying to go up the cable car in Quito and good luck for their return flight to Toronto.
Javier was waiting for us and we started our drive to Otavalo, where we will be for the next couple of nights. We drove past the ‘flower centre’ of Ecuador, where over 30,000 different types of roses are grown, the majority of which will be sent to Amsterdam for distribution. On the side of the road are the ‘scrap’ ones which look perfect to me, but not good enough for the foreign market. Here they sell for 4 dozen roses for US$5. Yes, $5 for 48 perfectly good looking roses!
Fran had requested that at some stage we could stay in a hacienda and she got her request today; the Hacienda Pinsaqui. It is over 300 years old and even Simon Bolivar used to stay here on his way to Quito. A magnificent old building with massive rooms, a stables bar and 8 hectares of property. The family used to own 8000 hectares, but most has had to be given away. We finally got to try Guinea pig for lunch; kind of looked like a fried chicken breast and not much meat on it. It was ok, for the experience, but probably only once. We spent a few quiet hours in the afternoon resting, and then went to the bar to hear some live music, hear the manager give us a little history of the place, be served a snack and a couple of shots of the local moonshine, a drink from cane sugar flavoured with anis. Certainly better than Russian vodka or 97% alcohol from Potosi!