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Post by jshuey on Dec 6, 2016 8:10:59 GMT -8
Has anyone driven the route from Quito, south to through the mountains to Ambato, east to Banos then down into the Amazon Basin, then north Tena then back to Quito? If so – can you give me your impressions of road conditions and such? Google earth shows the road east of Banos as potentially problematic – perhaps a major landslide completely erased it! Otherwise - it seems like a nice little drive (perhaps 600-700km)that would make for a nice two-week trip. I'm looking for any insights you may have if you have been through this area. Thanks, John Attachments:
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Post by exoticimports on Dec 7, 2016 5:28:51 GMT -8
It's been almost 20 years since I was in that area, so hopefully roads have improved. Going over the mountains on dirt road with bi-directional mining traffic, no guard rail, and a 300 meter drop is frightening. A number of buses and vehicles were reported in the news as having gone over the edge. We had to put the bus on a barge to cross a river, and that was no joy either.
There is a lodge in Yasuni now, you might write them and ask about road conditions between there and Quito.
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Post by foxxdoc on Dec 7, 2016 9:37:13 GMT -8
call or email Columbus travel ltd. 1-877-436-7510. columbusecuador.com. they do the majority of tourism in Ecuador. i'm not sure if these sites go directly to Ecuador or a u s broker. give them a try.
Ecuador is my favorite place and I spent a fair amount in tena. the rapid elevation changes give in incredible number of plant species. very famous for its aroid collecting.
by the way the roads are miserable in- country.
tom |
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Post by jellybean on Dec 7, 2016 14:03:39 GMT -8
Look at Google Maps. Looks like most of your route is shown on street view. Road looks better than many roads in California.
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Post by jshuey on Dec 8, 2016 5:47:15 GMT -8
call or email Columbus travel ltd. 1-877-436-7510. columbusecuador.com. they do the majority of tourism in Ecuador. i'm not sure if these sites go directly to Ecuador or a u s broker. give them a try.
Ecuador is my favorite place and I spent a fair amount in tena. the rapid elevation changes give in incredible number of plant species. very famous for its aroid collecting.
by the way the roads are miserable in- country.
tom I've never used a travel agent - and probably never will. Too proud I guess - plus where's the fun in having everything arranged in advance. This will be my 41 st freeform trip to Latin America/Caribbean, and only once have road conditions exceeded the capabilities of my rental vehicle (and no-one was getting up that road thanks to a recent hurricane). So, I always try and do my due diligence... From what I've been able to read - the highways on this route range between gravel/dirt and paved - but they are maintained to the point that landslides and bridge washouts are generally addressed in less than a week... So actually it all sounds pretty good. John The photo below is not so much of a road-based setback, but more of a pause along the path of life in Belize. With the help of a few hardworking Maya (and their horse), the Toyota was pried free from its muddy death grip in a couple of hours. Interestingly as we worked here, a Morpho theseus flew through at ground level in that tall grass the horse is sanding in. This is the only time I've ever seen that species fly below the forest canopy in Belize. One of the issues in Latin America, is that you can rent something with fairly high road clearance and 4-wheel drive, but they still put street tires on them. So especially in situations like this, you can still get yourself into trouble. Attachments:
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Post by exoticimports on Dec 8, 2016 5:56:40 GMT -8
John, you know when going through mud like that to deflate the tyres, right?
FWIW you can also get a set of snow tire chains on Amazon. They also improve mud traction, particularly with crap tyres. And you can probably sell them in-country for what you paid for them.
Chuck
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Post by Paul K on Dec 8, 2016 6:16:17 GMT -8
John, you know when going through mud like that to deflate the tyres, right? FWIW you can also get a set of snow tire chains on Amazon. They also improve mud traction, particularly with crap tyres. And you can probably sell them in-country for what you paid for them. Chuck ...and a real 4X4 is needed in such case, 4 wheel drive is good for gravel road or snow covered surface but not mud like this. |
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Post by jshuey on Dec 8, 2016 7:18:13 GMT -8
John, you know when going through mud like that to deflate the tyres, right? FWIW you can also get a set of snow tire chains on Amazon. They also improve mud traction, particularly with crap tyres. And you can probably sell them in-country for what you paid for them. Chuck I never really pondered chains - and they would have worked for sure... The real problem here was that we drove this road too many times, and the ruts (which were seemingly inescapable) kept getting deeper and deeper. So by the end we were literally sitting on top of the mud. Letting air out would have disconnected us even further from planet earth. What we needed was a winch - but try renting a something with that already mounted on it ... John |
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Post by exoticimports on Dec 8, 2016 19:02:59 GMT -8
Never drive in water filled ruts if it can be avoided. Drive on the highs, or off the road.
If you have to drive through water ruts, stop and check depth first. If it's up to the hub, it's probably too deep. And check the bottom to see how soft it is.
Deflating the tyres flattens the tread where it makes contact. Deflating 10lbs quadruples the contact patch area.
Floor it and don't take your foot off the pedal. I did the entire King's Road in Fiji (under construction) after a massive storm- it looked just like that. It was in a front wheel drive Kia. Never stop, never slow down. Disclaimer: I used to race cars, this tactic might not be safe for everyone. When I arrived in Korovou the road was gravel, which after hours of mud was like driving on I-5. There was a sign "Welcome to Korovou Keep It Clean" which was funny because the Kia was coated with mud. Back in Suva I paid a guy a few bucks to wash this Kia rental.
Another time I had some friends in another hire car and we were going up the dirt road along the Sigatoka River. We were laughing and having a good old time, and I was driving a bit spirited on the wet rutted road. And then I spotted it- The Great Puddle- which was 10m long and covered the entire road, side to side. I could tell it was deep. Everyone was certain I'd stop and turn around. They were wrong. When the throttle hit the floor they all scrambled (ineffectively) to get the windows up. LOL.
On Guadalcanal I forded the Kukobona river with a Suzuki Samurai, which threw a wave over the entire vehicle. Another time on 'Canal took a hired Kia (total POS) up the washed-out road to Skyline Ridge. Slammed the oil pan hard enough that I thought I busted it (didn't) and tore the exhaust off.
Try to find 50m of heavy rope (not poly). If you have two vehicles there's a chance you may get one out. Or may get both stuck. :-) Never, ever have people standing in front of a towed vehicle or between it and the tow vehicle- if the tow breaks it can kill.
There's always "natural" travel. Some time I'll tell you about the elephant that tossed me to the side to get my bananas.
PS I blew up your photo. It was the heavy mud and deep ruts that the vehicle had just passed through on the corner that did you in. There is plenty of "clearance" AKA insufficient interference with the undercarriage where you bogged. This is tough because you can't carry too much speed into a corner w/o risk of damaging the outside front suspension. All the same, more speed would have got the 10m you needed. Better yet to have gone totally off the road.
Chuck
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Post by exoticimports on Dec 8, 2016 19:32:14 GMT -8
John, you know when going through mud like that to deflate the tyres, right? FWIW you can also get a set of snow tire chains on Amazon. They also improve mud traction, particularly with crap tyres. And you can probably sell them in-country for what you paid for them. Chuck ...and a real 4X4 is needed in such case, 4 wheel drive is good for gravel road or snow covered surface but not mud like this. I disagree, my friend. 4WD is about useless in gravel or snow, unless it's heavy snow. Tires are what makes the difference. I'll take a Corvette with snow tires over a Toyota 4Runner w/ all season tires. Aside from external assistance, 4WD is the only thing that might get you out of mud. In effect, you need but one wheel to get traction. But still, it's the tires that make the difference. As it is now, I sit in CONUS after enjoying the Aussie sunshine. I await the first big snowstorm when schools and many businesses are closed. I will call into work and tell them I won't be in, put the vehicle in 4WD, turn off all the traction and nanny controls, and drive to the mall an hour away as fast as I can, sideways. Nobody will be there except workers, and I can accomplish Christmas shopping sans crowds or terrorists. Chuck |
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Post by Paul K on Dec 8, 2016 19:52:30 GMT -8
Well, I was actually comparing different type of vehicles equipped with the same type of all season tires.
I totally agree that off road tires will have much better grip in terrain or snow.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Dec 9, 2016 4:42:33 GMT -8
I am not attempting to be funny. If you want some rough muddy dangerous roads to practice on before going to South America, try a weekend in Pike County, Kentucky.
P/S There are no Waffle Houses in Pike County. But many truly muddy roads.
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Post by jshuey on Dec 9, 2016 6:47:04 GMT -8
Man - I'm beginning to regret showing a photo of THE ONLY TIME I've ever been stuck in Latin America... Here are my takes on some comments...
PS I blew up your photo. It was the heavy mud and deep ruts that the vehicle had just passed through on the corner that did you in. There is plenty of "clearance" AKA insufficient interference with the undercarriage where you bogged. This is tough because you can't carry too much speed into a corner w/o risk of damaging the outside front suspension. All the same, more speed would have got the 10m you needed. Better yet to have gone totally off the road.
Never drive in water filled ruts if it can be avoided. Drive on the highs, or off the road.
If you have to drive through water ruts, stop and check depth first. If it's up to the hub, it's probably too deep. And check the bottom to see how soft it is.
Two thoughts that are related here - coming around that curve seemed to channel me into the same path every time. And inertia is the key to all things muddy - so trust me, I was going as fast as I possibly could when we hit the site - but still we were going pretty slow.
But really, I have to say that the real solution was to simply park just before that muddy curve in the photo and walk the last kilometer to the site where we were collecting. It's that simple - but being lazing in a hot humid country - those last 30 seconds of air conditioning can seem important.
By the way, this is an amazing collection site (for Belize). Located in the SE corner of the country, it gets about 4m of rain per year, and the road dead ends in Sarstoon-Temash National Park - which is essential one huge swamp that defines the southern border with Guatemala. We pick up a handful of species that seem to be at their northern range limit here. The Maya hunt and gather in the forest - and in the process create wonderful narrow trail networks that kick butt for collecting. Any time you can access meandering footpaths like this in rainforest - you are going to come away with something unexpected.
Try to find 50m of heavy rope (not poly). If you have two vehicles there's a chance you may get one out. Or may get both stuck. :-) Never, ever have people standing in front of a towed vehicle or between it and the tow vehicle- if the tow breaks it can kill.
The nearest village was Midway, a Mayan village of perhaps 100 people - but mostly young kids. We walked back and rounded up some horsepower - but it comes in one horsepower increments there... . So the rope we lined up was adequate for the situation! Like I said earlier - a winch would have been the answer. Many years ago, we headed down a road towards Hillbank where we knew - in advance - that we would have to winch ourselves for a couple hundred meters through a low spot. As long as you know up front - and you are prepared - it's just a slow spot on the road of life.
I am not attempting to be funny. If you want some rough muddy dangerous roads to practice on before going to South America, try a weekend in Pike County, Kentucky.
So true, and I cut my teeth on back roads America - mostly West Virginia and SE Ohio coal country. As an aside, people always ask about the "dangers" of Latin America - I always answer that I feel a lot safer in Guatemala or Belize than I do in many parts of Appalachia or the deep south (and I grew up in Appalachia - so I know what I'm talking about). In Latin America, people are genuinely helpful. In eastern Kentucky I remember stopping at the classic house trailer (with bags of trash on the roof - keeps the critters out!) and asking for directions. All we got was a "look ma, it's city slickers" from the kid on the front steps.
There's always "natural" travel. Some time I'll tell you about the elephant that tossed me to the side to get my bananas.
Indeed - and I've used horses - as pack animals - a few times. I'd never ride one on one of these treks, because then I would not be able to swing a net... But then - there are no cats that want to eat you in Latin America...
John
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