5/5 Mr. M. 1 year ago on Google
On
a
Saturday
in
late
February,
I
found
a
bus
from
Cuenca
to
Cajas
(occidental
to
Guayaquil)
right
up
front
in
the
Terminal
Terrestre,
gave
the
ticketeer
my
American
name
and
watched
him
key
it
in
hilariously
wrong,
paid
$3,
seated
and
departed
promptly,
made
no
stops
along
the
way,
enjoyed
the
ride
through
the
Andean
countryside,
and
arrived
here
at
the
main
Toreadora
entrance
to
Cajas
in
about
an
hour.
Disembarking,
I
immediately
befriended
a
young
German
woman,
and,
especially
if
you're
traveling
solo
like
me,
I
strongly
recommend
you
do
the
same.
It
shouldn't
be
too
difficult,
there
are
Germans
everywhere
around
here.
It's
kind
of
like,
what
is
this,
the
Sudetenland?
And
yet
it
seems
somewhat
Icelandish.
Or
are
we
innocent
little
hobbits
en
route
to
Mordor?
Wherever
we
were,
it's
mighty
beauteous.
The
trip
was
already
worth
it
just
for
the
view
from
the
visitor
center.
And
really,
if
you're
not
the
most
mobile
person
on
the
planet,
you
can
still
enjoy
zis
vvunderbar
vvunderland
in
your
own
way.
The
hike
around
Laguna
Toreadora
alone
was
very
enjoyable,
and
even
if
you
don't
make
it
all
the
way
around
you'll
still
be
able
to
enjoy
many
a
majestic
picturesque,
refreshingly
fresh
mountain
air,
and
a
litany
of
enchanting
plant
species
littering
the
landscape
all
around
you.
I
think
my
Cajas
companion
for
one
would
have
been
perfectly
content
to
walk
the
lake
and
call
it
a
day,
but
not
i!
And
so,
at
the
northern
end
of
the
lake,
she
wisely
chose
to
continue,
to
challenge
herself,
to
trust
the
odd
Texan
Frodo
she'd
only
just
met.
And
so
it
was
my
newfound
Samwise
and
I
set
off
down
Ruta
1.
(Note:
The
Google
weather
forecast
proved
reliable;
we
enjoyed
the
park
without
the
cold,
the
rain,
or
the
strong
winds
referenced
by
other
reviews.)
Route
1
looks
and
feels
a
little
longer
than
it
is,
and
at
points
you
will
have
to
climb
a
little,
navigate
a
little
mud,
choose
between
forks—but
that's
all
part
of
the
fun,
and
I
reckon
this
trail/sendero
ought
to
be
enjoyably
traversed
by
any
average
Joe/Jo/Jx.
You
will
hike
by
tranquil
streams,
waterfalls,
and
lakes,
through
a
fantastical
forest
of
caves
and
twisty
trees,
with
a
variety
of
geological
goodness
and
beautiful
scenic
lookouts
along
the
way.
You
will
also
get
to
know
your
Germanic
companion
better
along
the
way
and
find
her
to
be
a
remarkably
wise
and
spirited
person
for
how
young
she
is.
As
much
as
you
love
your
solitude
in
nature,
you
are
delighted
to
share
it
this
time
with
a
beautiful,
kindred
soul.
Other
than
each
other,
we
only
saw
two
other
pairs
of
people
along
the
way,
both
headed
back
the
way
we
were
going.
That
is
one
option
to
return.
I
suspect
there
is
another
option
at
a
gaping
fork
near
the
end
of
the
trail,
a
right
turn
that
would
lead
you
back
to
the
visitor
center
by
a
path
parallel
to
the
main
road.
But
we
chose
door
#3.
Like
most
of
the
routes
in
Cajas,
Ruta
1
leaves
you
at
the
main
road
through
the
mountains.
There's
a
small
shoulder
to
walk
along,
didn't
seem
particularly
dangerous
apart
from
one
point
when
we
had
to
go
around
a
stalled
van
in
the
shoulder
at
the
exact
same
time
some
imbécil
decided
to
pass
the
vehicle
ahead
of
him
and
consequently
almost
clipped
my
sweet,
young
Samwise—consequently,
I
would
have
had
to
kill
the
driver
and
subsequently
die
in
Ecuadorian
prison.
Gracias
a
Dios,
instead
we
carried
on
our
merry
(and
Pippin)
way
all
the
way
to
Mordor—there
and
back
to
again
to
Cuenca.
If
you
turn
left
when
Ruta
1
dumps
you
off
in
the
street,
in
less
than
1
mile
/
1.60934
kilometers
you
will
reach
a
toll
station
with
a
little
bus
stop.
If
you
are
hungry
after
your
trek,
keep
going
a
few
rods
further,
follow
signs
for
Casa
Vieja,
an
"idyllic"
restaurant
I
cannot
recommend
highly
enough.
After
your
riquísimo
meal,
you
can
then
return
to
that
little
bus.
We
sat
there
only
10-15
minutes
before
the
next
Cuenca-bound
bus
came
along.
Busman
charged
us
$3
a
pop.
Anyway,
in
an
hour
or
less,
you'll
be
back
in
the
idyllic
Shire
that
is
Terminal
Terrestre,
tired
but
forever
glad
you
made
the
excursion
and
saved
Middle
Earth.
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