Oyacachi, Ecuador - 2009

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Oyacachi
Hotsprings Next to River
   
Oyacachi
Hotsprings
   
Oyacachi
Fieldschool Students
   
Oyacachi
River
   
Oyacachi
Fishing for Trout
   
Oyacachi
Locals Cooking Trout
   
Oyacachi
Misty Mountains
   
Oyacachi
Local House
   
Oyacachi
Local Wood Crafts
   


Oyacachi is a small evangelical town on the eastern slopes of the Andes as it descends toward the Amazon basin. They are known for their hot springs, their trout, and their wooden handicrafts. The day we went was foggy, drizzly, and very cold.

The bus headed east over a dirt road for 45 miles through a landscape of small subsistence farms and a large ecological preserve. Imagine a one-lane dirt road through the Andes, filled with potholes that were turning to mud as it rained. Many times there were cliffs on one side and a steep dropoff on the other that plunged down into a valley carved by a river cascading downhill. The bus's roof leaked in the rain, but that was inconsequential to the bone-jarring motion.

The vegetation became semi-tropical as we crossed the continental divide in the direction of the Amazon basin. It was supposed to be warmer and more humid, but today it was chilly. There were many trees and lush undergrowth (It sort of reminds me of the backroads of Tennessee). Houses were made of wood, while near the Hacienda they are made of concrete or cangahua blocks. The people even dressed differently. The women wore boots almost up to their knee, whereas near the Hacienda they wear loafers. They still wore the traditional hats and many-layered gathered skirts one associates with the Andes.

The road from the Hacienda to Oyachachi had been blocked for most of our stay in Ecuador by an indigenous protest over water rights. The locals piled up stones and a berm of dirt, which effectively closed the one-lane dirt road hugging the mountainside. We nade our trip the first weekend after the road reopened.


©2009-2011 Sandy Schreyer