Sunday, May 26th, 2019.

Todays plan:

“Bus transfer from Baños to Riobamba to La Esperanza Community

This morning you will be transfered from your hotel in Baños to Baños bus station, getting assistance in buying your bus ticket.

You will take a bus from Baños to Riobamba between 09:30 – 10:00 hrs.

At 13:00 hrs. you will be brought in private transport from Riobamba to the La Esperanza community in the Chimborazo area.

An English-speaking coordinator will give a brief explanation of the daily life in the community. At 15:00 hrs. you will have a little cheese tasting in a local cheese factory. Enjoy dinner with a local indigenous family in their home. Overnight in Comunidad La Esperanza, at cabins in the Tourism Center Community.”

In the night I get up. The house shakes. People cry in the staircase. I go to the frame of the door and stand below. I looks like the strong wall here. Out of the window I see the hotels owner totally relaxed watching the building from very close. So I stay. After some minutes earthquake is over, no breaks in the wall, I ho to sleep. The Ecuadorians in the staircase have no plan to sleep ago. I go out and tell them to shut up.

There was a heavy earthquake in Peru. Even standard, the Austrian newspaper writes about it.

Weather is not so good. Anyway it is a travel day.

In the morning I go for breakfast.

Then I wait for my driver. Of course he waits in front of the other hotel with the name of mine. I call. He comes and brings me to bus central Baños. There he buys my ticket to Riobamba (2 USD) and puts me on the bus.

In Riobamba another driver is already waiting for me at the bus central.

We drive in direction of Esperanza community. It is a group if families of Kwicha (local indigenous) who bundled together for farming and decided to do some ecotourism. They offer two bungalows with 4 beds each and show you life of local indigenous, farming, their land, their food, …

First we drive. As I am hungry, we stop buy a local market. I get fat booty.

The driver buys plantains. His sack is bigger and he paid only 2 usd.

We drive on to the first church in Ecuador of 1534 “santisima virgen Maria natividad de balbanera”. I jump off and have a look, to the museum, too.

Then to the famous Colta lagoon. It is a local recreational park with a lot of birds. Peolle like to cycle around the lake or use the “bicycle boat”. The queue up for this like in old Danube arm in Vienna.

Then to La Esperanza Community. My bungalow.

My future enemy, the oven.

We get a short introduction into their cheese production and can taste it. It is like a strong mozzarella.

Then I walk around. The sunset is beautiful.

Sangay volcano:

Chimborazo volcano:

Tungurahua volcano:

I hear them singing. So I go to their church. No cross. No altar. Painted walls. They all wear traditional clothing. As I go in all heads turn. All kids start to whisper. The guy on the stage says something I spanish, wish is about me. I wink. They smile. I take a seat in the back. Powerful electronic music stuff. Synthetic music. Wrong, but enthusiastic singing. They discuss about bible verses. Offer me a Spanish bible. After a politeness phase I leave.

Traditional dinner. The ladies speak only Kwicha and Spanish. We have a lot of fun anyway.

It is super cold. I try to make fire. The ladies try to help me. It helps nothing. Tonight I get smoked.

Accomodation: Turismo Comunitario “La Esperanza”, Riobamba