Wednesday 19 November 2014

0143 Podocarpus NP to Macara

10th Nov  

It was still raining when we woke up, but luckily by the time we had finished breakfast it had stopped, and although the pack up was wet, at least we were able to stay dry while we did it. 

The drive down the mountain in the daylight was then stunning, not only because this time we could see the drop offs (and they were on Janet’s side, tee hee), but also the views over the mountains with the clouds surrounding us were very special.  Some amazing flowers on the road side on the way down, too.   What a great way to start a day !

Once we reached the gate house at the bottom, we had a chat with the Rangers, explained it was a bit too wet for us to be hiking the mountain today, and then set off towards Loja, and on south.  We were heading to the Peruvian border at Macara today, but it is so difficult to estimate how long it will take to get somewhere here when you may only be able to do 30 or 40 kmh on the twisty roads in the mountains.  So we just decided to see how far we could get – We did not want to cross the border too late, and we did know of a possible hotel 3 kms from the border in Macara if we needed it, so we just decided to plod on and see what happened.
 
The scenery got steadily browner and dryer as we headed south.  We were dropping down through a valley between the mountains so it was also getting warmer as we lost altitude, eventually dropping below 1000 meters for the first time in several days.  There were also what appeared to be Boab trees in increasing quantities, or at least maybe a close relative to them.  And the general feeling was that there was a lot more poverty here as we headed south.  For a change we found a nice little spot by a river for our lunch, and then we got into Macara at about 3 pm and decided to stop there for the night.  If we crossed now, and it took 2 hours to cross the border (about normal), we would be leaving the border almost at sunset – Not a good time to be looking for somewhere to stay in a new country.  We started drive around Macara looking for the Hotel, got lost several times, and ended up at a police station asking directions.  After considerable debate, one policeman claimed he knew where it was, and directed us – And sure enough 5 minutes later we found it.  Very nice and clean, wifi, free breakfast, hot showers, and secure under cover car parking. Perfect.  We reckon it was the only hotel in town that ticked all the required boxes !  So we spent our time on the internet, doing banking, sorting out possible camp sites in Peru, and trying to blog (although not very successfully).  And then our daughter Sarah skyped us from Bangkok, which made Janet’s day (and improved mine as well !!) 

Then it was time for dinner.  Nothing available in the hotel, so they suggested we go 3 blocks into the town where we would find a good restaurant.  So off we went, about the only people walking around, and sure enough, 3 blocks up, there was the “restaurant”.  Two tables on the pavement (one occupied with 3 local men sitting around talking), a couple of tables inside (but it was a bit hot in there), so we sat outside.  Comida, por favour ?   Yup – Standard fare – BBQ chicken, rice, beans and taro !!  Actually, it wasn’t too bad, cost us a total of $9, and an hour later we wandered back to our hotel and to bed.   Tomorrow, Peru……….

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