The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The Hidden Guianas

Of the four great, pristine rain-forests left on the planet I explored one of them, the Iwokrama, on a journey to the three least visited countries in South America. More than 80% of Suriname, French Guiana and Guyana is covered with dense jungle, much remaining uncharted. Along with the mangroves, savannas and coastline, these natural habitats play host to some of the richest biodiversity ever recorded. My itinerary, organized by Wilderness Explorers, showcased the breath-taking diversity of these three unique countries, located on the North-eastern shoulder of South America.

The Guainas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana

Suriname

I arrived in Suriname’s capital, Paramaribo, a couple of days early to better adjust to the time (and weather!) change from southern Utah. The excellent restaurant and refreshing swimming pool at the Torarica Resort made acclimatization for the following two week trip with five Brits that much easier.

Presidential Palace Paramaribo, Suriname, was the centerpiece of a walking tour of the historic town center
Houses near Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo, highlighting the Dutch clapboard architecture
Paramaribo’s Saint-Peter-and-Paul Basilica, one of the largest wooden churches in the world
Egrets at sunset on the Commewijne River, Nieuw Amsterdam. While we did not see any pink river dolphins, the sunset tour on the river was special nonetheless.
A house on the former plantation of Rust en Werk (“Rest and Work”), on the Commiwijne River. Presumably Rust refers to the dissipated lives of the Dutch plantation owners and Werk refers to the slaves’ arduous toil.
Atjoni marina, Upper Suriname River. A three hour drive from Paramaribo brought us to the end of the road above the Brokopondo Reservoir and the start of our two hour river journey upstream in one of these pirogues.
Passing a lodge along the Upper Suriname River
A lizard on a wooden sculpture at the Saramaca museum of indigenous culture
My Danpaati lodge cabin view. The lodge was definitely deluxe, with en-suite bathrooms, a salt water swimming pool, and a fine dining restaurant and bar.
An interesting tree on our walk near Dan Village

To respect the wishes of the Maroon inhabitants of Dan Village, I had not taken photos of them. Sadly, the tree above was the last photo taken with my Panasonic Lumix, which drowned in a rain-forest deluge moments later. RIP.

French Guiana

Technically not a country, but rather and overseas department of France, our travel day from Paramaribo to Cayenne, French Guyana, consisted of six hours travel by van, divided in two by a river border crossing on a motorized pirogue.

Moiwana Monument in Eastern Suriname. The 1986 massacre of women and children that took place here was never properly investigated or the perpetrators held accountable.
The Transportation Prison at St. Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana. Our schoolmarmish guide seemed enthralled by grisly details. Papillon was incarcerated here for a few months in cell #47.
Our tour of France’s inhumane penal system continued on the Îles du Salut. Shown is a view of a prison on St Joseph Island, closed only in 1953.
St Joseph Island cemetery for the wardens and their families. The inmates’ bodies were simply dumped in the Atlantic Ocean.
A pool for the wardens on St Joseph Island. Quite refreshing after our circumambulation of the island!
Devil’s Island seen from Isle Royale, where we had lunch in a restored tourist hotel. The white building seen here is where Alfred Dreyfus was held in isolation for several years.

Guyana

The onward journey to Guyana was no less arduous – and certainly longer – than that to French Guiana. Five hours of driving back to Paramaribo, and then a flight to Georgetown early the following morning reinforced to me the isolation of this corner of South America. The congested, dilapidated capital of Guyana aside, our trip definitely concluded on a high note as the Iwokrama Rainforest, savannas of southern Guyana, and dramatic Kaieteur Falls were without a doubt the tour’s highlights.

Kaieteur Falls, at 226 m (741 ft) the highest single-drop falls in the world. An hour long flight on a Cessna 208B to a remote airstrip followed by a half-hour walk brought our group to some stunning view points
Down-valley view from Kaieteur Falls
The Vagabond Hiker standing well back from the edge at Kaieteur Falls

A tiny golden rocket frog near Kaieteur Falls. Lack of a decent camera really told here.
Atta River Lodge hibiscus. Not many flowers were in bloom at the end of the dry season. We flew from Georgetown to the Iwokrama airstrip for a three day journey into the rain-forest and savanna of central and southern Guyana. We stopped briefly for lunch at this Research Station and lodge.
View from Turtle Mountain, Iwokrama Rainforest. The trailhead was a short boat trip from our rain-forest lodge. Although the hike was less than two hours round trip, we were all soaked with sweat long before the end.
Our indigenous guide and an interesting tree in the Iwokrama Forest. Much of the forest is protected, and the rest sustainably harvested, or so we were told.
The Essequibo River from our boat, returning from the Turtle Mountain hike. The Essequibo is the largest river between the Orinoco and the Amazon, flowing north from Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.
A male Cock-of-the-Rock, the photo taken through a spotting scope. This walk and bird watching excursion was a great break from our long drive to our next lodge, in the savanna.
Surama Eco-Lodge, near the eponymous village located in the savanna, our home for two nights. Like the Iwokrama Rain-forest Lodge, it is run and staffed by the local people.
An early morning hike rewarded us with this great view from Surama mountain.
An afternoon walk brought us to the Burra Burra River where a local boatman took us in his canoe to observe birds and caimans. The trip was far more interesting than perhaps this photo shows.
A birding walk on the final morning at the Surama Ecolodge ticked more than two dozen species for us. A great end to the two week trip!

As a codicil to the story of my deceased Lumix, I just acquired an Olympus Tough TG-6, a rugged water-proof, dust-proof, shock-proof, etc, camera. We’ll see how this latest device works out on my next trip, to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province in two weeks, the subject of my next blog post.

The Vagabond Hiker

Culture, caminatas, and climbs in Ecuador

Nearly six years ago I returned from Ecuador with some unfinished business high in the Andes. Recently I attempted to address this situation by climbing two of Ecuador’s three highest peaks: Volcáns Cayambe and Cotopaxi. Read on to see how I did as well as some of the other highlights from this amazing country. This blog is arranged thematically rather than chronologically.

Culture

Our group of 5 Mountain Madness clients began the acclimatization process with a tour of the historic center of Quito and up to the Mirador del Panecillo. Certainly, staying the first three nights at the Hacienda Rumilomo above Quito assisted us as well.

The Mirador del Panecillo Virgin overlooking northern Quito. Panecillo means roll or muffin, and describes the shape of the hill on which the monument stands.
Vista of Quito, the capital and 2nd largest city in Ecuador from the Mirador del Panecillo. At about 2850m (9350 ft), Quito is the 2nd highest capital in the world.
Hacienda Rumilomo (stock photo). We were here a total of five nights over three separate stays at this fantastic hacienda, beyond the hustle and bustle of Quito. (Though, to be honest, a rooster crowing at all hours of the night made sleep a challenge at times). Importantly for acclimatization, it also stands 400m (1300 ft) higher than the city.
My bedroom in the Montana suite at Hacienda Rumilomo
Relaxing in my sitting room at the Hacienda Rumilomo

I returned to Quito for three days at the conclusion of the climbing for some more culture. . .

View west from my balcony at the Ikala Quito Hotel. A stylish in-town option in La Mariscal at a fraction of the cost of Rumilomo, the Ikala was my home for three nights last week after the climbing.
Pre-Colombian ceramics at the Museo Nacional del Ecuador. I used a stock photo here as flash photography was not permitted and the lighting made it impossible to photograph otherwise. With the lack of background information on the cultures and no placards in English, the visit was a bit frustrating. But free entry and the amazing sculptures from La Tolita – Tumaco cultures (600 – 300 BCE in coastal Ecuador and Colombia) made the visit a worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours.
The historic Hacienda Pinsaqui. Simón Bolívar planned the battle of Ibarra from here in July 1823, the only military action directed personally by Bolívar in Ecuadorian territory. We spent a night here after visiting the famous market in Otavalo, north of Quito and near Volcán Cayambe.
Traditional Andean music at the bar in Hacienda Pensaqui

Caminatas

While sightseeing and sleeping in Quito helped, caminatas (“hikes” in Spanish) were the best way to acclimatize for our subsequent climbs in the Andes. Because of poor weather and our time constraints, we completed only two of three planned acclimatization hikes, one to the summit of Rucu Pichincha high above Quito, and the second a short hike up towards a glacier on Volcán Cayambe.

Ossy explaining the Rucu Pichincha hike. We took the teleferico (cable car) to 3945m (12,940 ft) to start the climb to 4700m (about 15,400 ft). Oswaldo, a very experienced high altitude mountaineering guide, is the director of mountaineering in Ecuador for Mountain Madness.
Chuquiraga (Chuquiraga jussieui), the flower of the Andes, on Rucu Pichincha
A traverse on the hike to the summit of Rucu Pichincha. The weather became increasingly overcast and rainy as the day progressed.
The misty scramble up the Rucu Pichincha summit block. I’m in the orange helmet at the back here. (Helmets were worn to protect against rock fall). Our guides took scads of photos which they shared with the clients. I have borrowed liberally from them for this blog post.
A Caracara on the summit of Rucu Pichincha. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: “the Crested Caracara looks like a hawk with its sharp beak and talons, behaves like a vulture, and is technically a large tropical black-and-white falcon.”
A feral canid surveys its surroundings near the Refugio San Gabriel. Brand new and at a far lower elevation than the trailhead, this refuge was an ideal place to stay before our final acclimatization hike on the lower slopes of Cayambe the following day.
The road between Refugio San Gabriel and the Cayambe trailhead at upper refuge (4600m, 15100 ft.) was a challenge after all the rain.
Our group descending during the Cayambe acclimatization hike. I’m in the orange hard shell on the left. Poor weather and the late hour kept us from reaching our objective of the glacier at 5100m.

My final caminata was after climbing Cayambe and Cotopaxi, but for want of a better place, I insert it here.

Bamboo loggers, Mindo Cloud Forest. Bamboo (an exotic invasive) was planted a few decades previously for use in construction. I had never visited a cloud forest before, and hired a private guide for what turned out to be a 13 hour day trip from Quito.
Río Pachijal, seen here on our hike
At Cascada Tatala, the objective of the hike. Apart from the bamboo harvesters, we saw no one else the whole time.
Plate-billed mountain toucan (Tucan Andino). My guide and I spent an hour bird watching at a finca (farm) before the cloud forest hike. At dawn with a 1″ sensor, this photo was as good as I could get. We then spent an hour at another finca enjoying a tour and tasting from the fruit trees. A variety of jack fruit was my favorite, but the flesh of a cacao was tasty too and a mandarin orange sublime.

Climbs

Of course the main reason I traveled to Ecuador was to climb, the focus of the rest of this blog.

Volcán Cayambe from the Refugio San Gabriel two days prior to the climb. At 4790m (19,000 ft), Cayambe is the 3rd highest peak in Ecuador. Its South slope (4690m) is the highest point in the world crossed by the Equator.
My rope mate, Todd, and I resting before final Cayambe summit push. We started at 12:30 AM for what turned out to be a nearly 6.5 hour climb.
Some of the rest of our group arriving on the summit at sunrise. Each rope consisted of 1-2 clients plus a guide.
Our leader and my rope guide, Pablo, brought his drone to the summit to capture some video. After processing, this was the result. I’m seated here, hydrating and fueling up after the challenging (for me) ascent.
Summit vista with Antisana, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo far in the distance. Together with Cayambe, they comprise the four highest mountains in Ecuador.
Me leading the Cayambe descent with Todd following, over some easy terrain. For safety, the guide anchors rather that leads the descent.
Another photo with Todd descending Cayambe
Glacier near the upper Cayambe refuge. It has retreated hundreds of meters over the past couple of decades and its broken nature make it no longer suitable for climbing school.
With other clients at Chilcabamba lodge, following the successful ascent of Cayambe. The lodge was quite comfortable and in an ideal location for many hikes and climbs around both Cotopaxi and Pasaohoa Parks. Highly recommended and less than a 2 hour drive from Quito.
Nele drying her mountaineering boots. She was a definite positive addition to our otherwise all male group of clients.
Volcán Cotopaxi (at 5897m (19,347 ft) the 2nd highest mountain in Ecuador) from Chilcabamba lodge prior to our summit attempt. A very aesthetic peak, here it looks somewhat benign. . .
Cotopaxi’s Jose Ribas Hut. Despite its spectacular location and ideal starting point for the climb, not a very pleasant experience.
Seracs on Volcán Cotopaxi, an additional hazard on summit day. The main issue, though, was the 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) of new snow at higher elevations, creating hazardous avalanche conditions.
Cotopaxi climbers near dawn. I’m at the far right. Todd and I, with Pancho guiding, started at around 12:30 AM. These alpine starts got tiring!
I turned around at 5600m (18,370 ft), and the rest of the group after another hundred meters due to the extreme avalanche hazard.
The Vagabond Hiker taking a photo from below Jose Ribas Hut on Volcán Cotopaxi after the failed summit attempt
Volcán Chimborazo. Chimbo was our group’s ultimate objective, but we did not attempt it due to snowfall creating unacceptable avalanche hazards during our trip. Apart from yours truly, who returned to Quito and the Mindo Cloud Forest, the remainder of the group split, two climbing Cotopaxi successfully three days later and the others summitting the more technical (i.e. steep) but far lower, Illiniza Sur. (I wish this were my photo, but in fact one of the guides took this great shot).

Writing this blog from my base in St. George Utah, I’m preparing for my winter road trip through the desert Southwest. First stop for four weeks will be southern New Mexico, near the Arizona border and the Chiricahua Mountains. Stay tuned. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Walks in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Bogotá

Following a diverse six weeks in Colombia, my route back to Hastings, England was somewhat circuitous: via a week in Nicaragua, three days in El Salvador, and finally a one day layover in Bogotá, Colombia. A few interesting walks were the highlights of my journey.

Granada Cathedral. This city was my base for a week in Nicaragua, and features a very pleasant center with a large plaza and colorful Spanish colonial buildings, some fine restaurants, and miles of lake front walking.
Granada, view of Lake Nicaragua, the largest in Central America. While too rough for swimming, the linear park along the waterfront provided shady trails and a great opportunity for bird watching. I also spent a morning kayaking and birding with a guide among the nearby Las Isletas.
Volcán Masaya crater. Although it didn’t involve any walking, an early evening trip up to the rim of the most active volcano in Nicaragua is obligatory for anyone visiting Granada. The churning lava 1000 ft below the crater rim is hypnotic.
Trailhead at the Café Las Flores at 2300 ft altitude on the slopes of Volcán Mombacho. They produce some fantastic coffee, perhaps the best in Nicaragua. Most hikers took a 4wd to the crater, but I thought the cardio benefits of a 1600 ft climb would be worthwhile.
Volcán Mombacho crater trail through the cloud forest. There are three trails around the rim of the volcano, ranging from 1.5 to 4.7 miles in length. The trails are well-maintained in this ecological reserve.
The orchid Sobralia macrantha, seen on the crater rim trail
A fire-star orchid (Epidendrum radicans) on Volcán Mombacho
Looking down into the Volcán Mombacho crater. Eventually the clouds dispersed, but the day was too hazy for any good photos.

From Nicaragua I took a one hour flight to El Salvador, and immediately transferred to El Zonte, a sleepy village on the coast where the surf culture predominates. With only a couple of days in the country, there wasn’t much opportunity to explore, but I did climb the country’s highest and most active volcano, Santa Ana.

Volcán Izalco, Cerro Verde, and Santa Ana (left to right) on the road from San Salvador. Maize fields are in the foreground.
Lago de Coatepeque, seen from the road up to the trailhead for the climb.
Volcán Izalco from the Santa Ana trail. Coffee plantations are clearly seen below the trail here
Santa Ana crater, 2381 mslm (7811 ft). Clouds of sulfate gases are visible in the crater and the sulfur smell was quite strong. The last eruption was in 2005.
The Vagabond Hiker on the Santa Ana crater rim
My Hotel Palo Verde terrace view in El Zonte. I wasn’t exactly slumming it in El Salvador.
El Zonte beach at low tide. I happily airbrushed three people right out of this photo!

My flight schedule precluded a quick return to England from El Salvador, so I took advantage of a layover day in Colombia’s capital of Bogotá and climbed the popular Montserrate, which dominates this sprawling city of 8 million.

Vista of Bogotá from the lower portion of the hiking trail up Montserrate. There is also the option of a funicular (in the morning) or an aerial tramway (in the afternoon) if the nearly 500 meter (1600 ft) ascent over 2.4 km (1.5 miles) is too intimidating. (Confession: although I walked up, I paid the $3.50 for the funicular back down to save my knees).
Panoramic vista from the summit of Montserrate. It rises to 3,152 meters (10,341 ft) above the sea level, where there is a 17th century church surrounded by scads of stalls selling tourist tat.

I am now back in Hastings, enjoying first world amenities after nearly eight weeks in Latin America. The weather, however, has been a bit mixed. . .

A gorgeous dawn on Valentines Day over the English Channel in Hastings
Forty eight hours later and the morning vista could not have been more different. Storm Dennis is lashing the coast. And no, this is NOT a black & white photo.

Next week I fly to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco, this time to Tenerife and La Gomera, for a series of day hikes. Then, following three days exploring Lisbon, I will head a bit further down the coast of Africa to the Cape Verde Islands for two more weeks of hiking, before coming back to Hastings for a long weekend. Somewhere in there I hope to have time to post a couple of blogs!

Happy trails,

The Vagabond Hiker

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