Du Xinxin
1
The fields and plantations gradually disappeared, and the car heading towards Cuenca began to wind up the mountain.
At first the fog was not heavy, like a green gauze, but soon it became so thick that it engulfed the road. I kept my eyes wide open and stared ahead. Harvey, the tour guide, was still eating potato chips and driving. The car kept climbing, and the undulating mountains like a green sea occasionally appeared. Mountains are connected to each other, with a square peak standing on top of the mountains. Occasionally, a rock comes unexpectedly, but it is not steep. This area is already the southern slope of the northern end of the Andes Mountains. Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador, is located in a valley on the other side of the mountain.
As we climbed higher, clouds and mist began to linger in the mountains. Finally we climbed above the clouds and arrived at the entrance of Cajas National Park on the top of the mountain. The altitude here is more than 3,600 meters, the sky is clear, the vegetation is no longer dense, and the tree species are completely different. According to reports, the park passes through high mountains, evergreen cloud forests and hundreds of lakes, covering an area of ??285 square kilometers. Wild animals such as Andean condors, giant hummingbirds and raccoons (Coatis) live here, but humans can enter only a few dozen square kilometers. At such high altitudes in temperate mountain ranges, great hummingbirds are nowhere to be seen. Although Ecuador is small in area, it has diverse landforms and climates. It actually has 18% of the birds and 10% of the species on the earth. No wonder our university’s biology teachers often come to Ecuador for inspections.
Go down the mountain along the wooden passage. The clouds were dark, and the lake beneath our feet was dark gray. Brown thatch is rolling all over the mountain, and those withered needles not only resist the wind and cold, but also protect the green and tender tundra. Not long after we walked, we saw a trickle of water. This is a subtropical high-altitude mountainous area with little rain and no snow all year round. Those trickles are all maintained by tundra vegetation. It is above the tree line here, but because it is close to the equator, a kind of tree can still grow. The locals call it the "paper tree" because its bark is as thin as paper and it grows with four forked legs. There are a variety of succulent plants growing on the tundra, which are gray-green and furry to the touch. A long plant with small and fleshy leaves, rather like a long-handled brush, with small orange flowers blooming on the top of the brush. Some Indians used healing plants, one of which resembles the Mormon tea common in western North America. I had seen those evergreens with red fruits, and the first time I saw them was while hiking the Inca Trail in Peru.
In its heyday, the Inca Empire built roads extending in all directions, and a section of the ancient road also passed through this place. The section I hiked was from Cusco to Machu Picchu, but it was only one thousandth of the ancient trail. Before Spanish colonization, there were no domestic animals such as cattle, horses, and dogs in the South American continent, and the transmission of goods and information relied entirely on humans on foot. The distance from Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, to Cuenca is about 2,000 kilometers. If an urgent letter is delivered, the courier can reach it in 8 days by relay running! At that time, in addition to hunting, the Inca's main source of animal protein came from the guinea pigs that people keep as pets today. It is said that Peruvians also eat cute alpacas. Considering that the Incas lacked protein, it is even more incredible to have such endurance and physical fitness. In a sense, South America's lack of Eurasian livestock did shape its recent history. Horses can greatly increase combat effectiveness, and cattle liberate agricultural production labor. However, even in its heyday, the ancient empire had to devote a large number of people to farming, and therefore had no time to develop other things. Interested readers can read the story of Pizarro's conquest of Peru and the relevant summary in the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel".
After leaving the national park, the altitude keeps decreasing. The mountain scenery along the way was green, and when we saw the red-tiled houses and banana trees, we also saw the city of Cuenca.
2
Cuenca’s full name means “the basin where four rivers converge.” The four rivers are Tomebam-ba, Yanuncay, Tarqui and Machangara, three of which originate from Cajas National Park. Cuenca is the third largest city after Guayaquil and Quito, and its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Passing by the Tomebamba River, the grassland along the river is lush and the flowers and trees are sparse. Although it is close to the equator, it has a pleasant climate due to its altitude of 2,560 meters. It is said that Cuenca has the most perfect climate on earth. After entering the city, you will see only narrow alleys and stone roads, and the streets are crisscrossed. However, looking far away from any street, there is a green hillside at the end. It is said that in the early years, some wealthy local families liked to go to France, which greatly affected the local architectural style.
Churches of different styles, Spanish-style houses with arcades in front, pure white, beige, brick red, goose yellow, blue. The red roofs of the houses and the round arch spiers of the churches form the skyline, which is extremely beautiful. Squares, fountains, flower markets... roses, carnations, rhododendrons, lilies, sunflowers... There are often vendors with baskets on the streets, most of them indigenous women, selling mostly fruits. The women, baskets and fruits were all neatly organized. The place is surprisingly clean, the behavior of pedestrians shows a high degree of culture, and the obesity rate is obviously lower than that of Guayaquil. I heard that there are three universities in Cuenca. The monthly salary of university professors is US$6,000, which is slightly higher than the president. The maximum salary of government employees must not exceed the president.
We walked towards the Cathedral of Our Lady (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception) and saw the three blue vaults from a distance. Built in the 19th century, this church is not old, but it has become Cuenca's most eye-catching landmark because of its blend of various architectural styles. Cuenca is one of the most Catholic cities in South America, and its municipal motto is: "First God, then you." The local culture is conservative, religious and "correct". It is said that a man from Cuenca sent his daughter to college in the United States. A few months later, he entrusted a friend who went to the United States to visit his daughter. The friend came back and said: "I have bad news for you. Your daughter has become... "His words happened to be covered by the noise of the truck. The father replied: "It's terrible. I raised her right and got her to the right school. What did I do wrong?" "The father was greatly relieved after hearing this: "I thought you said she became a Protestant. The first three letters of "Protestant" and "Prostitute" are both Pro. The father was nervous when he only heard the first three letters at first. This story illustrates what their political correctness is.
< p> The balconies of homes are filled with flowers. Not only do the streets here look a bit like Cusco, Peru, but they are also high-altitude mountain towns. However, most of the buildings in Cusco’s old town are painted blue, which is beautiful but also a bit artificial. The air at high altitudes is thin, and the water vapor is also thin, but this is a subtropical zone, and bougainvillea blooms beautifully. Lantana, which cannot grow in the Rocky Mountains, has grown into a wall of trees here. I walked down the stairs to the Tomebamba River. Along the river, weeping willows brushed my face, and a clump of roses peeked out from the whitewashed walls of the houses on the river. The locals' skin was delicate, and the green grass by the river was soft, which made me forget that I was there. Plateau.It was difficult to eat enough vegetables in restaurants, so we went to the supermarket to buy vegetables. The supermarkets here are similar to those in Guayaquil, and they are mainly department stores. The vegetables are placed at the end of the store and are not fresh. Later, we found the farmer's market, where the fruits and vegetables were very fresh and the variety was dazzling. A variety of soups and fresh juices were sold on the second floor. A huge cup of freshly squeezed juice only cost 50 cents. There were several straw hat stalls in the market, and there were many villages around. The main raw material for woven straw hats is agave. The world-famous Panama straw hat was originally produced in Ecuador.
I was wandering around the old town and saw an English bookstore. There were many in the store. It was a second-hand book in English, and the bookstore owner’s name was Marvin. I learned that he was from Denver. I knew that some Americans’ first choice was Costa Rica. Marvin also lived there for a while because he didn’t like the hot and humid climate. Come here to settle. There are nearly 5,000 English-speaking people here. Housing and medical insurance are quite cheap, “The monthly fee for medical insurance is $76. I had my hip bone replaced here and the surgery was done very well and I only had to pay $65 out of pocket. "After bidding farewell to Marvin, I met a couple of American retirees in the old city. They warmly invited me to sit at their home. The couple had not yet reached the retirement age, but had to retire due to illness. They chose this place mainly because Because medical insurance is much lower than in the United States, they also say that senior citizens in Ecuador have discounts on flying.
Three
Sightseeing trains in Ecuador. The journey from Quito to Guayaquil takes four days. Many travelers choose to take the most thrilling section, starting from Alausi, a small town northwest of Cuenca.
We set off early in the morning to catch the 11 o'clock sightseeing train. Shortly after leaving the city, we passed through the town of A-zogues. Cuenca is the capital of the Azuje province, and A-zogues is the capital of the Canal province.
This small country actually has 22 administrative provinces. It is estimated that the size of a province is about the same as a county in the United States. I think the establishment of so many administrative regions is related to its geographical complexity. People living in geographically complex areas are often isolated from the outside world and self-contained. The central government basically has little influence on local residents, and residents have no centripetal force towards the central government.
We were climbing mountains all the way, and every valley along the way was full of people. The green hillsides are dotted with yellow and red houses. Towns are connected to towns, and each city has at least one church, and the churches are built at the highest point in the city. St. Francis Church, Our Lady of the Clouds Church, Our Lady of the Morning Dew Church... just like our Guanyin Bodhisattva. The clouds or the morning dew are different incarnations of the Virgin Mary, and different incarnations of the Virgin have their own believers, and some believers will make a special pilgrimage here. South American churches are more pyrotechnics, and the statues of the Virgin are very localized. In Brazil, I saw the Virgin dressed as an Indian. The Virgin placed in front of the driver's seat of a taxi wore a wide-brimmed hat and a cape, and held the baby Jesus in indigenous clothing in her arms. After learning that my husband had stayed at the Pope’s summer palace during an academic visit to the Vatican Observatory in the 1980s and had met Pope John Paul II more than once, tour guide Harvey said: “There was a local child who was touched on the head by John Paul II. As a mascot, people will rush to shake your hand if they know you've met the Pope."
Continue north on Route 35, and the grass gets greener as you go higher. Cows of different colors wandered on the grass. Farm women were milking cows by the roadside. Tin milk cans were placed on the roadside. A vehicle collecting fresh milk just passed by. Apparently, vehicles come to collect milk every day. The cows here are obviously happier than those on a cattle farm, and the milk may taste more delicious. Most of the houses along the way have red tiles and yellow walls. The scenery is not inferior to that of Switzerland. It seems that the residents live a stable and prosperous life. This road is a section of the Pan-American Highway that theoretically goes all the way north to Alaska. When the Spanish colonized South America, the road started from the coastal city of Cartagena in Colombia, and then extended along the Andes on the plateau. The Pan-American Highway was basically built along the same old road.
The mountains in the distance are completely white, which is the mist we saw when we were traveling from Guayaquil to Cuenca. This mist drifted from the Pacific Ocean, gradually rising eastward, and reached this area by evening. There is fog almost every day in the fog forest area, regardless of dry season or rainy season. I remember that the vegetation in the Namibian desert also relies on ocean mist to survive, and the vegetation nourishes antelopes and other animals. After passing the fog forest area, the valley turned brown again.
It was half an hour before we arrived at Arausi, but there was a traffic jam ahead. There are few vehicles on this road. Could it be that there was an accident? The traffic was slow and 20 minutes passed. Harvey went to check and replied that it was the people of Arausi who were demonstrating.
We have encountered demonstrations when we visited Lima and Buenos Aires before, but we did not expect that such a remote place would also encounter demonstrations. In order to catch the sightseeing train, the police car cleared the way for us, but still could not drive past the parade. In the end, everyone abandoned the car and walked through the parade, then took another car to the train station. After entering the carriage, we started waiting again. When all the passengers arrived, the train whistled and set off.
As soon as we drove out of the town, we immediately climbed up. Among the grays and shades of brown, the cactus grew to several meters high, and the agaves were so thick that neither of them could hug each other. The roots of succulent plants hang long on the cliffs, and their tenacity is amazing. It is said that after the rainy season, thousands of flowers will sway and surge in the mountains.
The mountain is so steep that from the carriage, you can barely see the river at the bottom of the mountain. Although Ecuador has an area similar to Guangxi, only 280,000 square kilometers, it has mountains, oceans, tropical rainforests and islands. The straight-line distance from Guayaquil to Quito is only 270 kilometers, but it takes a day of driving on the highway. The terrain is complex and it is difficult to use kilometers as a time parameter for the journey.
Before 1908, Ecuador only had railways along its coastline. In 1895, President Eloy Alfaro decided to extend the coast railway to eventually connect Guayaquil and Quito. However, from the river mouth city to an altitude of 3,000 meters, that means an average rise of 10 meters per kilometer. The most challenging part is the section we took. This section of the road is only 12 kilometers long, but the terrain drops 500 meters straight down. It is called the "Devil's Nose" because of its steepness. In June 1908, the railway was finally opened to traffic. In the following decades, the railway was the main line of transportation in Ecuador. After the 1990s, due to the construction of expressways, the railway gradually declined, and in recent years it has only been used for sightseeing.
As we approached Devil's Nose, the mountain turned into a cliff and the train was traveling on a circuitous track. Witmer, a German who rode the train in the 1930s, recorded: "As we climbed higher, as the train passed over the steep hillside, we would sometimes see the same scenery below six or seven times from the window. Once the train It suddenly stopped on the edge of the cliff, and then started to rush backwards into the valley. Suddenly it stopped, and then suddenly moved forward and back several times. The train conductor saw it. I turned pale and explained that everything was normal and we were passing through the devil's nose. "After several advances and retreats, we finally reached the bottom. Everyone got off the car and took photos with Devil's Nose, and watched the indigenous people singing and dancing at the station. There are railway maps and descriptions posted on the wall of the station. I remember that a similar track was built in Badaling, Beijing, but it didn't seem to call itself: "One of the most wonderful and brave projects in the world." I was flipping through a magazine that day, and it made me smile that the Museum of Precolonial Art in Quito was placed alongside the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Four
At two o'clock in the afternoon, we returned to Cuenca from Anraosi. Not long after setting off, the fog came up, and trees and houses appeared and disappeared. A ray of sunshine penetrated the fog, and farmhouses with red tiles and yellow walls stood among the green. Those houses are square and solid, with terraces in front of the houses or on the roofs, and some even have porches, all in a typical Spanish style. In a country where toilet paper is not provided in public restrooms, these properties are pretty good.
However, there was always something wrong with those houses. What's wrong? Oh, it turns out they use blue glass from office buildings. Strange, does this mountain wilderness need to protect privacy like this? Reflective glass not only makes the window look smaller, but also makes it look a little brighter. Harvey seemed to notice my curiosity and said, "Have you noticed the glass? Most of the owners of these houses are now in the United States. When they went abroad, they thought New York was a country. When they arrived in that "country", they saw the skyscrapers I thought it was fashionable to have window glass in the building. It’s not necessary to ask for that kind of glass when you return to build a house.” I asked, “Don’t the owners live here?” “Most of them are illegal immigrants and they don’t dare.” I left the United States and may come back to retire in the future. I knew that Harvey also had a U.S. green card, so I asked him: “How many Ecuadorian immigrants are there in the United States, including illegal ones? "About 1 million or so." "Ah, so many!" I feel that among South American countries, Ecuador has relatively stable politics and a relatively good economy. How come there are so many people running to the United States? “Mainly because of Ecuador’s dollarization in 1999-2000. ”
He continued to introduce that before 1999, Ecuador’s currency was the Sucre. In the 1950s, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Sucre was 1:15. In the early 1990s, the exchange rate began to depreciate sharply, initially at 1: : 800, which was devalued to 1:3000 five years later, and then to 1:25000 in January 2000. In order to stabilize the currency value, the then president announced the adoption of the US dollar and abolished the Sucre.
"It is correct to adopt the US dollar. of. Harvey said, "But something went wrong during the dollarization process. After the exchange was announced, some people failed to exchange it in time, and when they wanted to change it, the bank refused to change it. Later, I agreed to redeem it, but I could only give the redemption voucher. In this way, some personal property was stripped down to only 2.5% of its original value. Protests broke out across the country, and people surrounded the presidential palace. The president had to escape by helicopter. All the bankers who stole people's money went to the United States, and people who went to the United States also went bankrupt because of it." At that time, the population of Ecuador was just over 10 million, which meant that one-tenth of the population went to the United States. Most of them were illegal immigrants. Pointing to a low stone house, Harvey said, “Before, most people lived in that kind of house. After moving to the United States, he sent money back to build a new house. The old house was used as a barn or tool room. "I remember that when Israel was founded, it also relied on foreign exchange to develop. After the independence of South American countries, the political economy was still directly affected by big countries, such as the debt of the United Kingdom and the huge influence of the United Fruit Company of the United States in Guatemala. Then consider the post-colonial era of South American countries Civil wars and wars between countries, various military coups, and Ecuador's currency exchange crisis can be considered a small disaster and misfortune.
Harvey added: "Now our medical and university education are free, and we implement a socialist system, but it is different from the socialist system in Venezuela. They are very corrupt." "Chavez began It did a good job when it was in power and had the largest resources in Latin America. But then it got worse and worse. In fact, even if you don't agree with the United States, there is no need to be anti-American. El Salvador may not agree with the United States, but if it has a good relationship with the United States and gets more aid from the United States, the lives of its people will be easier. . ”
The fog became thicker and thicker, and when we reached the In-gapirca, the visibility was only a dozen meters. Before the arrival of the Incas, the indigenous people of this area were the Ca?ari people. It is said that their ancestors settled here in 500 BC. The Incas conquered the local indigenous people through war and marriage, but the empire at that time was also at the end of its strength. There are still many Kanal people in this area, and they wear woolen hats that look like felt hats.
In the thick fog, we wandered around the ruins. The moment the fog cleared slightly, I saw that there was a steep valley under the altar. Datura flowers are in full bloom. Most of the flowers are white, but here there are yellow, red and orange. It is said that this flower has psychedelic effects. Although this site is the most important Inca site in Ecuador, the scale and complexity of the building cannot be compared with Machu Picchu in Peru.
It was nightfall when we returned to Cuenca. Early the next morning, we took a long-distance bus from Cuenca back to Guayaquil over the mountains.
(Recorded on September 28-30, 2019. The author currently lives in Georgia, USA. His main works are "Ganges: Flow from this Life to the Next Life" and "This Journey Across Thousands of Rivers and Mountains")