El Páramo

Living over 2500 meters in a country where altitude completely determines climate and environment, I have the privilege of reaching really high altitudes and completely different environments with moderate effort.

This weekend I went on an excursion to the Páramo. Best described as a high-altitude grassland, it resembles the Tundra in many ways but the actual snow. It begins at about 10,000 feet, and is covered with tall grass and not much else.

Waking at 5 AM, 3 American friends, 5 Ecuadorian men, and I walked for about 7 hours while donkeys and horses carried our things. Before entering the official Cotacachi-Cayapas Reserve, we passed a few isolated houses located at about 10,000 feet. As you can see, these houses are constructed of wood or packed earth walls with straw roofs. It is comforting to see that globalization has not reached at least this tiny sector.

Note about our guides: This excursion was set up by a volunteer who works with this company on ecotourism, so he knew all the people accopanying us. When we showed up at their house at 6 AM, they had been up all night drinking and were singing songs with their arms around one another. Instead of hurrying to ready the horses, they jumped onto our pickup truck and began searching for the bottle of whiskey the volunteer had promised to bring. Upon confirmation, they began the process of preparing to leave.

We began so early in order to enjoy our time in this unfrequented place. After setting up camp at 2 PM, a heavy fog and light rain rolled in (as often happens on top of mountains, where rising air is forced to condense). The afternoon was spent playing cards, placing layer upon layer of alpaca sweater on our bodies, and walking around. Careful not to walk far, many people have gotten lost in the fog and vast uniform space. Here I show our camp when the fog weakened for a few fleeting moments. As you can see, the Páramo does not lend itself to biodiversity.

Differences between American and Ecuadorian camping: Americans carry gear on their backs, while Ecuadorians commission burros for the job. Americans carry lightweight stoves, mostly dry food, and a limited fuel supply. These Ecuadorians carried a full-size ¨cocineta¨ with 2 large burners, an entire tank of gas, an entire uncooked chicken, multiple pounds of beef, and lots and lots of potatoes. These differences of course have to with availability of certain foods and equipment.

All in all, it was a great trip. The 9 of us all sat in the largest tent late into the night making soup from chicken, potatoes, and minimal spices, while telling stories of the Duendes. Legend has it a group of lepers lives in this territory. If you camp too close to their land, they play an intimidating warning song. No Ecuadorian on the trip hesitated to affirm that they were real and they had heard the music first hand.