So towards the end of January our time in Ecuador was drawing to a close. We had climbed a volcano in the Andes while hiking the Quilatoa loop and spent five days away from civilisation in the Amazon at Shiripuno Lodge. We’d had some pretty mad bus rides. We had brought in the new year and have visited some lovely cites too. But now we were returning to Quito to finish our adventure. We had spent a little time there a few weeks ago but now had a few days to unwind and enjoy the city before heading home. Our first stop in Quito is here: Ecuador: Quito (pt.1). Anna’s daughter, Aniska, had come up from Gualaceo for a few days to join us too. We would then head back to England while she continued her gap year in Ecuador.
Exploring Quito
We had really enjoyed Quito, the people were really friendly and the steep hilly streets of the city really made it interesting to explore. We spent most of our time in the old quarter of the city which has lots of older styled, colonial buildings which really gives it some character.
Where ever you walk there are lots of interesting people and street scenes being played out which is part of what makes it a pleasure to just explore. We had one strange moment when we turned toward a little market only to find a little Ecuadorian man with a fridge on his back! These people are quite amazing.
We had a handful of days but didn’t want to be rushing everywhere. There were a few things we did want to see so here is what we did in our few days there…
Things to see in Quito
The central square, or Plaza Grande, is a fabulous place to take some time to sit down with a cold beer and just people watch. It is filled with local people talking and taking the time of day. We were quite surprised at how few western tourists there were there too. Yes of course there are some, but the majority of people there all looked local. Starting from the square, if you wander around the old part of the city you sooner or later you’ll find your way back to this beautiful plaza. We had a lovely afternoon on Anna’s birthday just enjoying watching the world go by while eating a little lunch at one of the little cafes along the side of the square.
It is worth walking up to the Basílica del Voto Nacional, the Basilica of the National Vow. The walk up the hill is quite lovely as you pass shops full of leather belts and general hardware and it was good just to spend a little time there. But for us, it was as much just having a goal to give us a reason to walk through the city streets.
We spent some time walking around the city in the evenings too. It always felt friendly and inviting and of course with street food sellers dotted here and there which is lovely. I’m sure the city may well have a few corners that are best avoided but we didn’t find any of them. Never once did we feel anything but comfortable and relaxed while walking in the evening.
There is also a great artisan market called: Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal. This was brimming over with an abundance of interesting things, form the obvious touristy trinkets to some beautifully crafted items. I have to confess we walked away with an elegant but simple embroidered top for Anna and a classic wooden chess set which is something we had both been looking for.
We also took a walk to the indoor food market but were quite disappointed with it. The markets in Cuenca, Gualaceo and Latacunga all seemed more interesting and to have more life that the one in Quito which seemed quite dull. I wouldn’t recommend spending time to visit it if you get a chance to visit one of the others instead.
And then on our last day in Ecuador we had a lazy morning and breakfast in our room before heading up to the ‘sculpture on the hill’, El Panecillo (the virgin of Quito). She’s deceptively large too, larger than ‘Christ the redeemer’ in Rio, but maybe not quite as dramatic. We were advised that a taxi up there was best as the streets going up the hill were known for thieves praying on tourists. How true this is we didn’t know, but we were happy to not walk the steep hill in the midday sun and so a taxi it was. Once at the top the view is absolutely stunning! Quito is a mostly low level sprawling city but looks fabulous from up there just laid over the peaks and troughs of the hills and mountains.
One little gem we discovered too late was Calle La Ronda. This street just off of Rocafuerte Street where we were staying and is lined with restaurants, street food, bars and as the evening went on, a happy buzz of people and music. There was Latin American music drifting out of 1st floor windows and dancing in bars. Unfortunately we needed to leave at 2am for our flight and so a late night just wasn’t going to happen for us. We explored a little, grabbed some food and had to leave but would recommend anyone seek it out and enjoy.
For our final stay in Quito we had booked an AirBnB in the old quarter of the city here: Link here
It was nice enough but to be honest some of the kitchen was pretty grubby, I can’t say we’d recommend it. Bizarrely, without knowing it it was only three doors down from the 1st place we had booked a couple of weeks before. A link for the 1st AirBnB is here. This one we would recommend very much and the guy looking after the place, Pablo, couldn’t have been more helpful.
Ready for home… via Miami
And so it was time to pack the rucksacks one last time and head for Quito airport for 2am. We did have one last bonus un-planned stop on the way home though. A day in Miami!
Our connecting flights were from Quito to Miami and then then Miami to Heathrow but the first flight to Miami has been brought forward quite a lot. Normally a big delay between flights would be a pain but we have around 11 or 12 hours between flights in Miami and South Beach is only 30 mins from the airport. Luggage was transferred to the next plane so no waiting for us, straight out and on a bus to Long Beach! It felt quite strange being immersed in the culture of the USA after a few weeks in South America, it’s quite a stark contrast. But it was good to explore South Beach, even if it was just for the day.
Then back to the airport and back to England. Altogether a great trip and we would wholeheartedly recommend Ecuador as a destination to explore to anyone.
If you want a different perspective on some of these places check out Anna’s blog too!
The Amazon rainforest was our next stop on our Ecuador adventure. Five days away from civilisation in the worlds largest rainforest.
Planning our stay in the Amazon
This may well be quite a long post but for anyone interested or for anyone planning to go into the Amazon and stay at one of the lodges, this could well be of interest for planning and for what to actually expect while you are there.
When planning our trip to Ecuador we had looked at quite a few different Amazon lodges before we settled on the Shiripuno Lodge. We had seen quite a few that looked quite luxurious and plush, which we really weren’t interested in. We were looking for something a bit more ‘real’. There were also some that seemed to barley be off the nearest road and were a bit too much like an adventure park. That wasn’t what we were looking for either. But after quite a bit of looking around, we settled on the Shiripuno Lodge for several reasons. It did seem to be pretty deep in the rainforest as it’s 2 and a half hours from Coca by car, basically, until there is no more road, and then 4 hours by boat. This google map view gives you a good idea, and the very wiggly thing is the Shiripuno river that we traveled down. Google map view: Shiripuno Lodge, the middle of nowhere!
So, no-frills, basic accommodation, no electricity for five days, deep in the rainforest, and plenty of hikes for us to explore. Perfect!
Day one: Getting there
Our journey started by being picked up in the morning in Coca by a yellow off-road pickup truck, our driver stopped for some supplies, and then we were off. It was over 30 celsius when we left Coca and so a little hot in the back of the pickup. Gradually, once out of the city, the buildings became more and more sparse and the rainforest thicker. As the journey went on we could see quite a bit of the oil industry on the edge of the Amazon, tankers, and large oil depots. Quite a bit of construction, but just dotted here and there. At one point we drove slowly over a low concrete bridge across a stream where one section of the concrete had collapsed. This left a large hole on one side of the bridge. Two and a half hours later, after the tarmacked road had become nothing more than a rubble track, finally, we arrived at the river outpost.
We were told this was the last place before the Amazon reserve. Beyond here the oil companies are not allowed and building by anyone but the indigenous people is banned. Even though we had been told we’d need proof of required vaccinations, these weren’t asked for when we were picked up or here at the outpost. We did at this point have to sign a disclaimer though, confirming we were entering the Amazon and that if we got ourselves injured, or possibly killed, then we had accepted that risk before entering. Gulp!!
There were long thin metal canoes along the edge of the river with outboard engines that were used as general transport. Our supplies and rucksacks were loaded on and then us. And only us, we were alone with our guide for the next five days and a local 15-year-old boy who we were told was an expert river pilot. And so we were off, four hours ahead of us traveling along the twisting river watching the rainforest drift by.
The Shiripuno river was quite low and it was easy to see by the vegetation line along the bank that the waterline would normally have been around a meter higher. There was a fair amount of fallen branches and trees in the river, which we were told is normal. Navigating through these made the long thin canoe make more sense now. Our canoe pilot certainly knew his stuff, sometimes snaking slowly through branches and other times accelerating so the hull of the canoe would slide up and over the branches in the water with a clang. There were quite a few unnerving clangs and thumps from underneath but the canoe rocked its way through these obstructions. This didn’t work every time though, twice we got stuck. This required some leaning or rocking back and too in the boat to set it free again.
We did stop briefly at a settlement, our guide chatted to one of the men there and we were told we needed to pay $20 each to him to pass further along the river. We hadn’t been told about this and wouldn’t have objected if we’d known, but did feel a little uneasy that this might be the start of a trend for the rest of our time here. Maybe our faces betrayed this as our guide assured us as we left that this would be the only payment needed.
All in all, the canoe journey was a really great introduction to the Amazon. We finally arrived at the lodge just before dusk.
The Shiripuno Lodge
Shiripuno Lodge is pretty basic, but great if you are planning to spend some time in the Amazon in this part of Ecuador. We would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a genuine experience. There are twelve ‘lodges’… but we soon substituted the word ‘lodge’ for ‘Shack’! The first thing we noticed was the top of the rooms was completely open to the elements, it had an old tin roof and there is nothing but a mosquito net between you and the Amazon.
In our shack, the shower was actually just a water pipe sticking out of the wall above a shower tray which was fed from a cold water tank. If this kind of thing is going to bother you, then maybe this isn’t the place for you. But if you want to feel like you really are IN the Amazon and a long way from civilisation, which you really are, then this is the place for you.
On the positives, the food here is really good and quite varied. We also found we are not entirely cut off. For an hour a day, they power up a small generator and have a satellite internet link. They use this to keep up to date with who is arriving and bookings etc. But we were also allowed to hop onto the wifi for an hour a day too. There is also a solar panel which means phones etc. can be charged at a trickle.
Day 2: Getting out into the rainforest
We had an early start and met our guide at 5.30am. This was interesting as the only illumination in the room is a candle as there is no electricity. Bring a couple of decent torches! After a bit of messing around with torches, we were ready. We went for a short ride downriver in the motor-canoe and stopped on a sandbank. We were below what our guide called ‘the Parrot motorway’ and for half an hour or so we watched as lots of parrots started their day flying above us, going to wherever parrots head to at that time in the morning in the Amazon! We were back and sat down for breakfast by 7am but then in the motor-canoe pretty soon after that on our way for our first good hike.
We had been given wellies and could see why once we had got into the rainforest. It was muddy and sticky but so very alive. It was lush and green and our guide led the way along a track. As we walked our guide told us about many of the plants and fruit, he pointed out spiders and insects along the way too. We were lucky that there was just us and our guide as I imagine it is quite often a good group of 10 or 12 people. This meant he had time to answer any questions we had. One good bit of advice was to try not to touch anything as we walked and looking at some of the needle-sharp spines on some plants, and the cunningly disguised bugs on tree trunks, it seemed good advice.
We saw several spider monkeys high above us, the whole place was quite amazing. Some of the trees looked like they could just stand up and walk away!
It felt quite amazing to actually be in the Amazon rainforest. Miles and miles from anywhere and surrounded by the rainforest.
The walk was generally pretty boggy and on the way back there were a few spots of rain, this went on for a few minutes and then all at once it poured and it poured! Within seconds we were soaked to the skin.
We walked back to the canoe and our guide cut some large leaves for us to hold over our heads. They didn’t help too much but were really good for keeping the breeze off of us once we were in the fast-moving canoe on the way back.
We also saw a caiman on the river bank. Eagle-eyed Anna spotted it hidden against the dirt, the canoe turned around and we slowly drifted past him. He was a reasonale size and just watched us pass by.
Once we were back and dried off we enjoyed a little time in a couple of the hammocks. Our guide and the cook shouted us to come into the kitchen. There was a large tree frog with big round sticky-pad feet that had been found hidden behind a pan hanging on the wall and they wanted us to see it before they moved it.
There was also a huge dragonfly that buzzed around for a little while. You can get an idea of the size of it when it landed next to Anna’s flip-flops. But more importantly… who in their right mind wears flip-flops in the Amazon!!
Finally, we went to bed. Night-time in the Amazon rainforest is wonderful. Our lodge was open to the elements due to the large gap between the wooden wall and the roof to allow the air to flow… and anything to come in and out! Once the sun has gone down and we are within the ‘safety’ of the mossie nets it’s surprising how relaxing and lovely it is listening to it all. The long repeated whoooops of the frogs, the constant tweep-tweep and carrrrrhaga of some birds, and the amazing cacophony of insects all trying their best to out do each other. You’d think it would be unsettling, but it’s a fabulous sound being surrounded by so much life!
Day 3: Jungle walks
On the third day we had two jungle walks. A good four hour hike with lots of different monkey’s in the canopy above us to start. A large troop of spider monkeys went over us around 20 meters up in the canopy. Chattering at us as they went. The funniest bit was when two jumped for the same branch and landed with loud chatters and squeaks of ‘this is MY branch’!
We’ve seen lots of ants on the march in lines and some leaf cutter ants carrying their bits of leaf back and too. Lots of termite nests and spiders webs as well. Again, good reminders to touch as little as you can while you walk.
Once we were back it was time for some more of the lovely food which comes in several portions. We have also noticed that there is a tarantula that lives in the rafters of the roof right above where we all have out food and saw him several times up there!
Walking in the Amazon, in the dark!
At the end of the day after the sun had gone down, we were taken for a night walk in the jungle. That was interesting to say the least! Armed with a few hand torches we crept into the rainforest and were then surrounded by the darkness and noises of the night. There were only four of us. By torchlight we saw the huge frog that makes the Whoooooop Whoooooop sound in the night, bloody big crickets, some amazing jewel-like long-legged spiders, some bright green bugs with huge oversized antennas, a big fat unfriendly looking black spider… lots and lots. But then our guide asked us to turn the torches off…
Again, you’d think this would be unnerving but somehow it was eerily beautiful. A first concentrating on the sounds, all around us but also above us too, and so loud. But then as our eyes grew accustomed to the dark and we realized we were surrounded by little patches of luminous light all around us on the jungle floor. We were told this is a luminous fungus that grows in a few isolated places. It is an amazing place and it was a lovely moment.
There are no photos of this as it was absolutely pitch black, so the cameras were left behind!
Day 4: An amazing view and fabulous trees
On the 4th day we were taken on a big hike, this was through thicker jungle than before and some of the trail needing to be re-cut with machetes. It had quite an upward slope for much of it. It seemed we were climbing a ridge but it was hard to tell with all of the thick rainforest around us.
We were again amazed at the knowledge our guide had of the plants, their uses, and of life in the rainforest. Along this part of the hike he showed us a nest of ‘lemon ants’. They are called this as they actually taste like lemons he told us, and with this cracked open the edge of a part of the nest and dipped his finger in and ate them. Please try he said… Urrmmmhhh… Ok! They’re actually quite little fella’s so I guessed, and hoped, too small to be crunchy! Ok, why not. And yes, I can confirm they do indeed taste like lemons!
We saw some fabulous trees today. The variety of vegetation is amazing and some of the different trees are just stunning
We had an encounter with a troop of woolly monkeys passing high over us that day. They weren’t happy at us being there and started chattering angrily at us while shaking the branches above us. They started to slowly descend down the trees while jumping from one branch to another. The situation was starting to feel a little unnerving but our guide started calling to them in a coo’ing sound which calmed them somewhat. He explained that they had young ones with them which is why they were being very defensive and his call was imitating one of their young, making it clear we were of no threat. But all in all, quite an amazing experience to see them all around us.
Again some of the trees and insects, including a large, very well disguised grasshopper, and life all around us, was amazing. We also saw a set of quite clear, very fresh Jaguar prints along the trail!
Eventually, this hike brought us out along the top of a ridge and to a clearing, and what a view. The Amazon stretching all the way to the horizon!
After a good hike back and some food to refuel we were back out again down the river in the motor-canoe. We stopped by a steep edge to the river bank and our guide got us to climb up into the dense jungle from there. After walking for some time through the thick vegetation we came upon what our guide called ‘the Grandfather tree’. It’s trunk towered above us like a cathedral of ancient wood. The buttresses spanning out for the roots were huge and the trunk itself seemed more like stone than wood.
I’ve seen the giant Sequoias (redwoods) in California, and the largest of them all, the General Sherman. They are quite amazing and humbling, but because there are in a very well managed woodland with perfect pathways and fences around the larger trees it did not have the same impact as this. Here we were, in the middle of dense rain-forest, just us on our own, by a huge tree which in the Amazon is just one of many I’m sure. This video and photos do not do it justice.
We returned to the canoe and made our way to a long sandbank as the daylight faded. This gave us some time to just be still and take in the rainforest from the bank of the river as our guide told us we were going to wait until it was completely dark and then go looking for caiman along the river.
I wondered down a dried up tributary to the river as the sun went down. Just like in our lodge at night, the sound was amazing!
For a little while I was just lost in the sounds of the jungle as the light faded, just me and the jungle sounds. Until the memory of the fresh jaguar prints came back into my mind. Here I am, out of sight, in the fading light with the jungle either side of me… Yeah, time to join Anna and our guide again I thought…
Once back on the water we scanned the banks with torchlight, The eyes of the caiman reflected back when the torchlight caught them and our motor-canoe pilot would creep towards them. We counted around 14 on our journey back to the lodge. Some clearly visible on the sandy banks of the river, some were smallish, others looked to be 6 feet or larger. It was also quite unnerving once in the dark to hear the clunking and clanging of the usual branches and logs in the river against the metal hull of the canoe.
After a good three-course meal we stayed up quite late as our guide told us about some of the neighboring indigenous people and about his own family too. As we talked a huge moth decided to join us, it fluttered about us, flying in and out of the light from the candles at the table. For a short moment it landed and was still on the table, you get an idea of the size of it as this is a standard tumbler on the table.
What an utterly amazing day it had been, and our last full day in the Amazon.
Day5: Turtle eggs and the journey back
We started our last day bright and early with a 5.30am candlelit breakfast as it was still dark. Within an hour we were on the motor-canoe leaving the Shiripuno lodge for the last time.
Throughout our time we had seen lots and lots of river turtles basking on logs. They seem hugely abundant and our guide told us the eggs were quite a delicacy. We would be stopping at the settlement we had passed on our way into the Amazon and this was where our 15-year-old canoe pilots family were from. He was quite keen to take some eggs back with him and so we stopped once or twice on sandy river banks to look. He would sink a long stick into the sand looking for softer areas where the eggs were buried. And after a little while, he was sure he’d found some. Anna was asked would she like to dig them up, which she did. There were over 20 of them which were all carefully collected.
After 4 and a half hours we stopped at the settlement of the leading indigenous family. We briefly visited the handful of children in school and were shown some hand made crafts and how to use a large heavy blowpipe. To be honest this is the part of the trip I was most uncomfortable with. It just felt very forced and made men feel like we were very much intruding upon their life.
The rest of the journey was mostly uneventful. Apart from right near the end of our journey the outboard motor running out of fuel. It was only a few bends before the river outpost. This meant our guide had to use a branch to punt us along the last stretch, much to the amusement of the workmen at the outpost as we turned the last bend
Then we were back. Back to some sort of normality, workmen loading boats and cars and people
We were quickly transferred to an off-road pickup taxi for the next few hours for our drive back to Coca. This was followed by a four-hour wait at the bus station for our bus to Quito.
After the mad bus ride from Quito to Coca we had actually looked at getting flights back from Coca but our budget put a stop to that. We assured ourselves that this journey was going up! It couldn’t be half as bad. It was still pretty iffy but nothing compared to the trip down. The problem we did have to deal with was that we’d had a bite to eat before leaving Coca and a rather suspect bit of fish that Anna had eaten was now making a second appearance. Not an ideal way to arrive back into Quite but thankfully Anna felt somewhat better after a few hours.
And so now onto our last location, a few days to relax and enjoy Quite
After we had completed the Quilotoa Loop we had gone back to Latcunga to collect our larger rucksacks, and then onto Quito. Our next goal was five days in the Amazon and so for this, we had to head to the city of Coca. We then had a full day to relax and explore before leaving for the Amazon.
We took the bus to Coca. This should have been a seven-hour bus trip but unfortunately, a couple of hours in the traffic ground to a standstill. We were stationary for two hot hours in the long queue. Some people stayed on the bus, some people got off the bus and went for a walk, the bus driver included! After a while we decided to get some air as there didn’t seem much chance of moving anytime soon. When the queue started to move in the distance everyone got back on the bus… but our bus driver had gone for a walk too! Thankfully just as the queue was starting to move ahead of us he came jogging while huffing and puffing down the road.
After we had been going for some time we found why there had been such a big hold up, the side of the road had collapsed into a steep ravine! There was yellow tape along the freshly collapsed edge but the traffic kept going slowly along… a bit worrying.
After a short while, the traffic started to break up with different people going their own directions.
Our journey then turned into the maddest bus ride ever as the driver tried to make up for the lost two hours of time. Quito is quite high up at an elevation of 2,850 meters (9,350 feet) while Coca is over 2,500 meters lower, way down at 250 metes (830 feet) above sea level. Because of this, the roads had lots of steep downhills, hairpin bends, very big drops, some nice big potholes and very little else! Our driver overtook just about everything he could. On hills and on bends. This was bad enough until another bus overtook us! Now our bus driver wasn’t having any of this, and so a mad bus race with the other bus began. We must have overtaken each other five or six times. It was quite surreal as a few times I couldn’t believe how near to a bend we would be or how fast as we overtook each other. The photo’s from the bus window give you an idea of the roads and bends this was all happening on.
This is the scariest bus ride I have ever had in my life (and that includes another mad bus ride quite a few years ago, the night bus from Hampi to Panji in India).
Anna way of dealing with this was headphones in, eyes closed and pretend it isn’t happening at all… whereas I was clenching everything and had my face pressed against the window making some lots of worried oooooh and eerrgghh noises…! Eventually, thankfully, the other bus pulled away and couldn’t be caught. When we did arrive in Coca it was with huge sighs of relief all round.
Exploring Coca
We had heard quite a few people say Coca was not the most wonderful place but regardless, that’s where we needed to be. We had a free day to explore and I have to say we were both pleasantly surprised. Coca is friendly, interesting and bustling with life.
The city is built along the Napo river and has a large bridge that crosses it. We walked down along the riverside and saw a very cool boat with the body of a double-decker bus as the cabins, as you do! We continued to the market as we’d read the steamed fish was worth trying. The market had lots of fish sellers to choose from. The fish had been wrapped in leaves and cooked to perfection on an open grill. Well worth trying.
And in the evening we had some fabulous fried chicken and beef with chorizo and a few beers. It was lovely to see that when you ordered a beer the waitress walked over the road the small shop to buy each beer that was ordered. In Coca, we would have been completely buggered without Anna’s grasp of Spanish as very few people at all spoke anything else. The evening was still warm so we walked around the streets for a while. There was all the usual street food and some teen skaters in the park. All lovely!
We stayed two nights in the hotel El Auca which was pleasant enough. You could see the guests that they were expecting being mostly western tourists as over breakfast some middle of the road 80’s easy listening music was playing in the background. Breakfast was average at best, the hostels along the Quilota Loop had been much better. It is in a pretty good location though in the centre of the city and is an easy walk to the edge of the river. We would recommend it to be fair if you want air-con and a good location.
We met our guide outside the hotel ready for the trip into the Amazon. He was in a 4×4 pickup and after collecting some supplies we were off. There was a 2 1/2 hour drive until the houses became less and less, and then there is no more road at all. We were then at the outpost, the last place before we enter the Amazon reserve. We had to sign some documents accepting that we were now entering the Amazon, who to contact in an emergency and agreeing that whatever happens, we accepted that we knew the risk. Ok, that done, here we go!
Our next stop, 4 hours down the river, would be the Shiripuno Lodge. This is 12 wooden lodges ran by an eco group. It’s a bit of a no-frills job with no electricity and cold showers too. We have a few hikes into the rainforest and also a night boat trip down the river to look forward to next!
The Quilatoa Loop is a beautiful hike in the Ecuadorian Andes that leads to the flooded crater of the Volcano Quilatoa. We planned to do the ‘classic’ section of the loop following the route: Sigchos to Isinlivi (day 1), Isinlivi to Chugchilan (day 2), Chugchilan to Quilotoa (day 3).
This is around 20 miles in total. This might not seem too much over three days but don’t underestimate it, this hike is hard. There are 2152 meters (7,060 feet) of ascent and 1184 meters (3884 feet) total of descent across those three days and on the final day, you’re hiking at an altitude of 3900 meters (12,800 feet) with only 60% of the available oxygen compared to sea level. All that said, if you get the chance to do this hike, go for it. It is a fabulous trail and very rewarding.
The trail can also be walked in a reverse direction, starting at Quilatoa, to reduce the ascents, generally going down in altitude all the way, but this just didn’t seem right to us. The whole point of the hike is the goal, the reward at the end.
Leaving from Latacunga and preparation
The bus ride is around two hours from Latacunga to Sigchos and we took the 9.30am bus for our first day on the Loop. More about Latacunga in this post: Ecuador: Latacunga, ready for the Quilatoa Loop
A few things that may help if you are planning to walk the loop;
• Leave your bags in Latacunga. We stayed at the Hostel Cafe Tiana and they will store bags/rucksacks for $1 per day. We had daysacks packed in our main rucksacks and so left the heavy rucksacks and just brought what we needed for the hike, the essentials, valuables etc.
• Sort out a map/route. Everything you read about the Quilatoa Loop says you will get lost at some point. This is absolutely true! Don’t expect the route to be fully signposted all the way and some paths meet others and it can be pretty tricky to work out which way to go. While I was reading about this before we left I found a great route map for use with maps.me. Here it is: Quilatoa Loop Route Map This is from another great blog you might want to look at for the Quilatoa Loop, The Practical Vagabonds. Maps.me is great as it is an off-line map, no need for a mobile signal. We found it really helpful for knowing if, and when, we had strayed off the track.
• Get acclimatised. The altitude does really make a difference. There are some pretty steep slopes!
• A hiking stick isn’t a bad idea, we had heard about dogs along the way and only had one experience that got a little worrying with a barky dog, but a good waving of the walking stick in his direction seemed to help.
• Check your travel insurance. We struggled to find any that would cover us for hiking at 3,900 meters. Even most extreme sports ones still only covered hiking up to 3,500 meters. Even though that did cover us for ‘elephant polo’ too!
Day 1: Sigchos to Isinlivi ~ Around 4 hours hiking (6 miles)
Once we got off the bus there were a few people that seemed like they were walking the Loop too. They all seemed to fall into two distinct categories. People that got off the bus and set off in a direction like they were on a mission, but not all in the same direction… and then the second category, which included us. The handful of people that looked a little bewildered and lost. Where did we even start from? We chatted to a German woman who was also walking to loop and compared printed directions that we both had. We walked together for a while going through the town, she stayed a little while in the town getting supplies and we continued to wander through Sigchos. Already the off-line Maps.me Map on the phone was pointing us in the right direction, and so we found the start of the trail.
The Hostels have caught onto the idea that making the trail popular is good for them and so there are quite a few of the red and yellow signs along the way with Hostel names on them. It was really good to then get out into the open air and take in the views too.
We were now at 2,900 meters (9,500 feet) above sea level and could feel it making a difference to the hiking. Everything we had read had said don’t underestimate hiking at altitude. Anything over 2,500 meters (around 8000 feet) is considered ‘at altitude’, and it’s very true. We both became out of breath quickly on the steeper slopes… of which there were plenty!
The trail is a mixture of tracks, dirt roads and walkways, but a really enjoyable walk. We saw a few people along the way, a mixture of locals and people doing the loop, but not too many and so had the trail to ourselves for most of the day. Eventually we caught sight of Isinlivi across a ravine.
Ahh just in sight, not too far at all then we thought! Don’t be fooled, this is a little misleading as you have to walk around the ravine to get to the village. We were still happy to be nearing the hostel as it had been hot and sticky days walking and the boots were ready to be off for sure. We had booked into Llullu Llama as we’d heard this was a really good hostel. It certainly looked good. The chap booking us in took out details and then leaned forward over the desk and said in a very quiet voice “we have one mountain room available tonight, a private room with a balcony and a log burner”… Here we go we thought, how much extra does he think we’re going to pay for that… “It is free and empty tonight, so you can have it for the same price as the normal room, as long as you promise not to tell any of the other guests” he said! Well, that was a great start, yes please. He then led us through a common area with sofas and tables onto our room which was fabulous.
A welcome hammock and a great view. When it was time to eat we found the food was also great. Unsurprisingly the majority of people were in their 20’s and 30’s but there were a few older people in their 40’s and 50’s too. It was great to be immersed in all the stories of everyone’s journeys, from where they had come and to where they were heading to next. We got talking to a group of three women in their 20’s who were walking the loop and deciding where to head to after that. They were very bubbly and lots of fun, the German lady we’d spoken to at the start of our day also joined us, she was quite interesting person who travelled on her own for several months a year. We knew we wanted an early-ish start and so went back to our room and did light the log burner. It can get a little chilly at night high up in the mountains and the log burner was a welcome treat.
Llullu Llama we would highly recommended. Great people, food, location, and there is a bloody great big Saint Bernard and a Lama who seem to be the best of friends. What more could you want?
This is a part of the trip I would recommend to anyone, the hostels. We only had four nights in Hostals on our trip but the sense of camaraderie and banter was great. Certainly something we’d like to do again and more of.
Day 2: Isinlivi to Chugchilan ~ Around 5 to 6 hours hiking (8 miles)
Once up and a good breakfast of granola, fresh fruit, yoghurt followed by plenty of scrambled eggs we were ready to go. At 2,700 meters Isinlivi is actually one of the lowest altitude points on the loop and another day there would have been fabulous. But we had all our days planned out and so had to move on. The views of the clouds lifting and dissolving from the mountain tops first thing was a gorgeous way to start the day.
We knew the three girls were staying at the same hostel as us in Chugchilan but also knew their pace would be way quicker than ours so expected not to see too much of them on the hike. We set off knowing this day was going to be harder than the first. After blindly following a small group of walkers with a guide and pony carrying water for them for too long we realised they were not walking the same route as us. After a bit of backtracking, and frowning at the map we found our way onto the right track. We followed some twists and turns down some high sided pathways which opened up to some stunning views down the valley.
If being out in the open air and hiking is something you enjoy, then the Quilatoa Loop is well worth doing and a fabulous way to take in the scenery Ecuador has to offer.
We continued higher up along a dusty trail which then led onto some interesting narrow and steep gullies and descending into the valley. I enjoyed walking through these gullies, the cover from the sun and a complete change in walking style was quite welcome. We eventually came out still quite high up on the steep lush mountainside. We could see the river far below us and knew we were following the side of the mountain to meet the river below somewhere ahead of us.
At this point we spotted the girls down by the river, we shouted and waved just to say ‘Hi’ but they stopped and were doing lots of waving back. They started to climb the bank towards us and as they got nearer we could hear them shouting that they were lost. After a bit of a scramble they got to the track we were on and told us they had been lost for the last hour, but they were all in very good spirits. We showed them the map we had and which way we were heading, they said thanks and headed off at a pace, that again, was faster than ours.
We gradually descended down to the valley floor and the river. By this time the heat was quite intense. We walked for a while and then found the shade of a tree to flop under and have dinner. We had ordered a packed lunch from Lulu Lama which was great. It was ham and cheese with a few pieces of fruit. Very welcome at this point and we stayed a while to rest from the sun. The walk along the river is lovely but at some point you do need to cross it. This is done by a large tree trunk bridge with a few planks nailed to the side and a bit of wobbly wire for your balance.
We gradually started to come out of the valley and passed through a small village called Itualo. There was a little church and school, with school kids out for lunch. A little way past the village on the track there is a little hut and a little old lady selling bottles of water. We bought a couple of bottles for $1 a bottle and she gave us a banana to go with it too. As we turned and followed the trail we realised that in the confusion of taking off rucksacks and getting money out we had actually both paid her for the water! Not bad for two bottles of water. But to be fair Ecuador is a pretty poor country in many respects and if you look like a Gringo (or European) then an awful lot of things turn out to cost a nice round $1. But that’s fine, it’s just part of the trip and we never felt like anyone was ever trying it on or taking advantage either.
Soon after this, it became very apparent that the problem with descending into a deep valley is sooner or later, you then need to get out of it. Ahead of us the track zig-zagged upwards steeply to the valley ridge above us. There wasn’t much conversation during this section, but there was some random cursing and shaking of heads as a young local chap in a shirt and shoes actually came running down the track past us, running! If you imagine two arthritic tortoises making their way through treacle then you have a pretty good idea of our pace for this section. I won’t lie, this bit is pretty tough. The altitude just makes you so breathless so quickly. We were now at 3,170 meters (10,400 feet) above sea level. There was much cursing as we got higher and Anna did mutter a bit about feeling like she was about ready to die at one point… But after quite a few stops, to take in the view obviously… we made it.
At the top a small Ecuadorian man pointed us to the viewing point (Mirador) that is a kind of U-turn at the top of the track. And the view was stunning! As we took in the view there the rain started to come in but it wasn’t too heavy. We spoke for a while to the man, he said he had been watching us slowly climb and told us how as a child he had gone to the school at the bottom of the valley and that every day he’d gone down and then back up the climb we had just done. It is safe to say we were pretty impressed with just how fit so many Ecuadorians are, a function of the landscape it seems. He was an artist and had set up a stall just at the top of the track but that seemed fine too. We purchased a lovely little painted wood carving of a scene, the local people are just so polite that it never seems like a hard sell and made us more inclined to look.
Just after this we passed some amazing shapes in the hillside where the wind and rain had eroded it away. That was one thing we realised about the Andes from what we saw of it, how soft and changing it all is. There was so much of the landscape that was made up of rich soil and small rocks compressed together, so many landslips and sunken dips that made you realise that was very different to the solid granite of the Alps or Yosemite.
We passed some little houses and then after a little while longer reached a hill that became a road. This seemed to go on forever. Once on this hill, it was around another 40 mins to the hostel. We were by this time ready to just flop at the hostel, the climb out of the valley had knocked it out of us. As we reached the entrance to the Hostel we got a reception of shouts and applause from the girls we’d met back in Llullu Llama in Isinlivi. Even though they had gotten lost they had still arrived here in good time to be on the balcony with a beer by the time we plodded in.
We had booked in at the Cloud Forest Hostel which was great. The hill leads directly to it and you kind of pass it double back to get to the entrance so it’s pretty easy to find. The food was the standard deep-fried chicken and rice but was very welcome. The room was also good and there was an abundance of hammocks too.
It had been a pretty hard day but very rewarding. We hit our bed for some well-earned rest ready for our goal, Quilatoa, tomorrow.
Day 3: Chugchilan to Quilatoa ~ Around 6 hours hiking (8 miles)
After a good breakfast and a chat with the people we’d met over the past few days, including the bubbly boisterous trio of girls, we were ready to go. The hostels are great for this, good food to set you on your way.
We walked along a dirt track road for some way which led past some farms and then into a steep upwards gully. This continued up, and occasionally down for some time and at one point, we met a local man on a very nimble pony along part of this gully.
Just after this, we did meet one farmer who talked to us for a few minutes and then announced it was his land we were walking through and we’d need to pay him $1 each. Slightly annoying as I’m absolutely sure he was trying it on but just not worth the uncomfortable argument for $2.
Again we met very few people out walking. and this eventually opened out to a fabulous valley. This part of the hike was simply stunning, and rather than walking down and then back up the valley, we were walking along the length of it. Result!
It was hot but a fabulous part of the walk, right up until the point we realised we did indeed have to decent at the end of the valley to the stream at the very bottom, then climb back up again. Bugger!
We saw some shepherds jumping along the rocks chasing sheep as we climbed back out of the valley and realised at this point we could see the rim of Quilotoa ahead of us.
I can safely say this is the hardest hike I have ever done. Anna says she totally agrees with me on this. Once again the altitude did its evil work (and the fact we’re both over 50 probably didn’t help). We were now approaching 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) so for a good hour or two we had to stop every 50 meters or so and get our breath. There is only 60% of the oxygen at sea level at this altitude. We shuffled slowly but determinedly onwards. The dusty trail that led us upward seemed relentless. We had both slowed and fallen into two different methods at this point. Anna’s we called the ‘mini-plod’. This involved small steps, plodding along for 20 or 30 metes, then a stop for a breather, and on again. My pace we referred to as the ‘micro-plod’, this involved me plodding with even smaller steps, but relentlessly onwards. And somehow this meant we kept pace with each other, continually passing one another with a nod. No breath to spare for word at this point!
It became cooler as we neared the top and the clouds seemed to be coming in. We feared that after all of this we may not see the crater as the clouds dropped.
Then at last we turned the last corner and there it was, the 3km lake in the volcano crater! To say we were a bit happy after three days full on hiking would be an understatement!
After resting and having lunch at the rim we moved on. To get the bus we had to walk halfway around the rim of the crater. All of our focus had been on getting to the top so the trail around the rim was an unwelcome addition.
Picture the scene, the cloud cover is coming in, we’re about halfway around the rim and come to a part of the trail that was getting very narrow, single file, with a very long sheer drop on one side and a vertical wall on the other… after a quick discussion we both agreed going back wasn’t an option and that neither of us had any shame at all! We were going to crawl this bit… slowly. I went first and after 10 meters or so of the narrow scary bit, it widened out somewhat, and so I stood up. Only to see an elderly Ecuadorian couple watching with a smirk of despair. Obviously by this time Anna was now shuffling on her knees, concentrating on the path before her… I looked from the elderly couple, to Anna, and back again. Once Anna was back on her feet she had the same reaction as me, utter embarrassment. So we nodded and smiled in a very sheepish way at them. They nodded back to us and walked confidently right over the narrow gap without any hesitation at all. A bit embarrassing for us but it must have given them a good laugh anyway!
We were not quite sure where we were staying that night, we’d left it open-ended in case we finished later and needed to stay in Quilatoa. But it was early enough that we headed in the direction of the bus station to try and get back to Latacunga. As we neared the edge of the town we saw a taxi and both decided we were happy to get to the bus station that way. The taxi driver knew the time of the next bus and so made the journey quite speedy, and we just got to the bus station in time for the bus back to Latacunga. We arrived not knowing where we were going to stay and so first checked at Hostel Cafe Tiana, where we had left the rucksacks. They had a spare room free so that fell into place wonderfully. We got washed and there was a lovely bar and restaurant over the road, we figured we’d earned it at this point. A cracking end to the day.
We then had a couple of days to relax and recover before our next leg of the journey, five days in the Amazon rainforest!
Latacunga was our gateway to the hike in the Andes that we planned to do, the Quilotoa Loop. It had taken us around two hours from Quito by bus, heading south to get to Latacunga. The bus station is Latacunga is quite small compared to the grand modern Quitumbe terminal in Quito, it’s a low brick and concrete building and was quite busy. Once outside to get into Latacunga head left (with the road on your right-hand side) towards the footbridge that crosses the road. There are some stalls and street food being cooked here. Once we’d grabbed a little snack it’s then up and over the footbridge and follow the road that crosses over the river on a bridge with blue railings. Carry on on up the hill that is busy with street vendors, past the shops and this will lead you straight into Latacunga.
We had booked to stay in the Hostel Cafe Tiana, this was a little tricky to find as the instructions we had didn’t seen to make sense but we asked a few people who pointed us in the right direction. Once we’d found it everything was fine. The room was bright and cheerful and the bed comfortable. The building has a bright central courtyard that’s been covered over and from the first floor, there are some metal stairs that lead up to a rooftop terrace with a great view over the city and of the volcano Cotopaxi.
While enjoying a cold beer on the terrace we could hear a brass band down in the streets. It was a little strange as it seemed like it was moving, maybe a marching band. The sound drifted by us but we never actually saw them while we took in the view.
One of the reasons we had booked Hostel Tiana is you can leave your rucksack there while doing the Quilato Loop for $1 per day. We had planned to do the hike with day-sacks and so leave the bulk of our stuff here. They are locked up in a caller type room with padlocked gates but are still all piled together. Passports, camera’s and cash were all coming with us so we were happy to accept that arrangement and leave the big rucksacks there.
From Latacunga we wanted to get the bus to Sigchos the next day, out starting point on the loop, but the people in the hostel told us the only bus was at 11.30am. This was later than we’d hope and so would mean we wouldn’t even start walking until past 1.30pm. We had heard that there is usually an earlier bus at 9.30am and so we planned to take the risk and get up early to be at the bus station for 9.15am just in case. Result! There is a 9.30am bus so if you’re planning to do the loop, don’t wait for the 11.30am bus and get started early.
Latacunga is a bit more down to earth but was good to explore, there is a large square where a selection of street food can be bought and lots of various other street sellers. As seems the way in Ecuador people may on occasion ask you if you want to buy something but never persist or try the hard sell. This makes looking around shops and markets a thoroughly pleasant experience. Later we went for an evening walk too just to take in the city. We bought ourselves a couple of burgers which got a little messy, it seems it’s pretty normal to put a fried egg on top of the burger. So once you get to the runny yolk it gets to be a bit of a sticky, runny handful!
The market is good too. Lots of people and a bustling food hall plus the usual assortment of fruit and veg and lots of fresh meat too. Fabulous for people watching.
So, a relaxing day exploring, a good nights sleep, and we’re ready to head into the Andes and the Quilotoa loop!
For the next leg of our journey we left Aniska in Cuenca and travelled north to Quito. This is a 9 hour bus ride but the day after we have a full day in Quito before we head out to the Cotipaxi region in the Andes. There we will be doing four days of hiking finishing at 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) on the rim of the volcano Quilota. This part of the trip is going to be interesting as we’ll be hiking at altitude, staying at hostels each night and will be working out the route day by day. A few unknowns but really looking forward to being out in the mountains. But before then, to Quito…
One thing to be aware of if you’re travelling by bus around Ecuador is the entertainment. The bus ride was 9 hours of films on dropdown screens which became progressively more violent and played at full volume. Not the most relaxing way of taking in the countryside as it passed us by. Earphones helped no end with easing the journey.
We stopped halfway for some food and within minutes the rain started pretty hard. Not a fun journey but unless you are flying then the busses are pretty essential as due to the terrain there isn’t much of a rail network either.
We arrived in Quito bus terminal pretty weary and planned to grab a cab to get into the city centre. The terminal, Terminal Terrestre Quitumbe, is a very modern and well organised place. There are taxi drivers pretty much everywhere but it’s much easier if you get one from the ‘official’ line up. We had one driver ask us did we need a cab and then taking us on a bit of a tour around the side of the terminal, I think he was jumping the queue for passengers but after a short while Anna had had enough of the tour and made it pretty clear we were not going any further as we were already knackered at this point. We did an about-turn and back to the terminal to get an ‘official’ taxi.
Taxi drivers the world over can be in a hurry, a bit pushy, and want to cut through the traffic, but Ecuador’s taxi drivers seem to want to be top of the class and get a gold star when it comes to this outlook on driving. Fast, pushy and going for narrow gaps with very little between them and the next taxi, who is also absolutely unwilling to back down too.
We had booked a great Airbnb in the old quarter of Quito. We would highly recommend this place and the guy that looks after it, Pablo, is a very friendly happy chap. Great view from the top floor over the city.
Quito is a sprawling city of two million people. The old quarter has lots of character and a great place for happily getting lost then finding our way again for the day. It’s a fabulous city with a real energy. Lots of interesting people but also lots of people just taking in the day in the main square.
We found a place for lunch that was less touristy and full of locals and so assumed it must be ok. They served a lovely rich soup/broth before the main of fried chicken, rice, beetroot, salad and a fried mashed corn thingy. All good, and all for around $5 for the both of us. One thing we did find, if you’re going to spend any time in Ecuador you’d better get to like fried chicken and rice. It’s severed just about everywhere and the locals can’t seem to get enough of it.
Anna is doing wonders with her Spanish too. We have found that English is very hit and miss and few and far between. You really need to be able to speak some Spanish to get around. The city is quite hilly and some pretty steep slopes but well worth exploring. At an elevation of 2,850 meters (9,350 ft) it’s good for us to get a little acclimatised to the altitude before heading out into the Andes and onto Quilato at 3,800 meters in a few days. And spending a full day walking up and down it’s many slopes was pretty good way to get ready for that too!
The Airbnb we stayed in was just off of a great street called Rocafuerte. This was full of little fruit and veg shops and in the evening quite a few street food traders opened and appeared on the street. There were sausages and chicken on skewers cooked over charcoal, little pockets of a corn type pancake then filled with a savoury chicken or other meat filling. There was also mashed yam, mixed with cheese, rolled into a ball about the size of an apple, covered in flour and deep-fried. We had a walk along the street and grabbed a handful of different things to take back for tea. Lovely stuff! And Anna’s Spanish was now absolutely essential for ordering anything.
We will be returning to Quito after the Quilato Loop and the Amazon and will have a bit more time to relax and explore the city centre. They’ll be more about the beautiful city centre of Quito in a late post: Quito Pt.2
But for now, it’s packing and getting ready to head south-west to Latacunga and four days of hostels and hiking on the Quilatoa Loop.
New years eve in Ecuador and bringing in 2020 in Cuenca was… interesting! When we’d been looking into this we had read that it was the custom in Ecuador to make paper-mache effigies and then burn them to bring in the new year. So, once we had sent new years messages back home to the UK at around 7pm Ecuador time, which was midnight in the UK, we then headed out into the city to explore and find where it was all happening.
This was our first surprise, it was a little strange as everywhere was so quiet. We did indeed find quite a few large effigies. It seems that each district has its own display around the city, quite a few had a political theme as it was only a handful of months since the riots across the country about fuel prices. We gather the indigenous people in Ecuador carry quite a weight of opinion and strength throughout the country and it was because of their involvement the government backed down. Many of the displays seemed to echo this showing the indigenous peoples strength.
It was strange as the streets were so quiet but as the evening went on people did come out onto the streets, but gradually and actually quite quietly too. We did fall foul to one Ecuadorian new-year custom… twice! On new years eve it is customary for some men to dress as women, take your arm or suddenly become your escort and won’t leave your side until you have paid them a dollar. Anna had to pay someone to release me as I’d gained a partner that I hadn’t asked for as we walked through the city.
A little later on an interesting looking ‘nurse’ spotted us. Aniska was singled out as the tall pretty European… easy prey! The ‘nurse’ was quite flamboyant and tried to get her to dance, by now a bit of a crowd was gathering and Aniska was asking us to pay him his dollar. To be fair, Anna did try paying the ‘nurse’ but he was having none of it. This was way too good of an opportunity to miss to entertain the crowd! At this point, I was utterly relieved that Aniska was ‘taking one for the team’ which meant Anna and me could just enjoy the ritual humiliation in relative safety. Aniska was great and did go along with it and danced with the nurse giving him a good run, which in turn made the crowd very happy.
We made our way back to the main square for midnight and once there opened the bottle of wine we had in the rucksack with us. This turned out to be the most evil bottle of wine we had ever had, anywhere, ever! So it was a very sober new year!
So as midnight arrived (without countdown or fanfare), so did the fireworks, most of which were being let off at ground level. Things seemed to be livening up…
There were now fires being lit, many of the effigies being burned, although not some of the large ones which were taken away which seemed a shame.
We had an interesting moment stood watching people by this fire as a man walked past and dropped a handful of fireworks on the fire. We weren’t entirely sure that’s what he’d done until something when whizzing through the gap between our heads at very great speed!
By now the city was starting to feel a little like a war zone. Bangs and flashes of light here and there and smoke drifting from fires on street corners. It was also a bit of a reminder for us of what we’d seen on the news a few months before as many streets were filled with protests and riots. Thankfully all over by the time we came here. But now everyone seemed to be in good spirits and happy. It seems in Ecuador the celebration only start after midnight, not before.
And so finally we walked back to our room, Cuenca is a lovely city by night and worth noting that we never felt anything less than safe anywhere in the city.
Our next stop would be to head north by bus and a brief stop in Quito before heading out for some hiking in the Andes.
After around 26 hours travelling, with around 16 hours in the air spread over three flights, we have arrived in Cuenca in the south of Ecuador. We were met by Aniska, Anna’s daughter, who was spending a year in Ecuador. We had arrived in the city quite early in the morning so as soon as breakfast was sorted Aniska was quite keen to show us around the city.
We spent some hours walking around Cuenca getting a feel for the place and then took a bus to neighbouring Gualaceo. This is where Aniska was staying and we met the family that she was living with during her time there. They were lovely and like just about all Ecuadorian’s we met, were very welcoming. Gualaceo is a bit more ‘real world’ than Cuenca but does have a lovely artisan market.
We stayed a few nights in a good AirBnB in the centre of Cuenca (the New Penthouse in Cuenca’s Historic Center) and for the time we were there found both cites very friendly. While packing before we left I couldn’t find my yellow fever card which I’d need for entering the Amazon later in our trip and so we did spend some time around the back streets of Cuenca looking for medical centres that might be open but will no success. It did give us an opportunity to just explore the city away from the main centre which was good.
If you’re spending any time in Cuenca a couple of lovely things to see is the flower market and a quite dramatic sculpture of the God in the Volcano. There is a small river that runs through the city too which is worth a walk along and some lovely street food (more on that in later posts)
We could see that our lack of Spanish might be a bit of an issue but nothing we were going to panic about… yet.
This was the first time we’d been to Ecuador, or South America, and we were happy to see lots of the iconic looking short characterful ladies in great hats
One evening in Gualaceo as the evening went on, as is often the case, the streets took on a different feel and came alive in a different way. We dropped into the market which had lots of street sellers outside offering street food of all kinds, including cuy (Guinea Pig).
We also visited the market in Cuenca which was a lovely market. It was great to see the large bustling market filled fresh fruit and veg, plus quite a bit of butchered meat (the Ecuadorians love their meat). We also had a particularly good lunch of a tasty thick fish broth.
As we’d left the UK just a few days after Christmas this meant that we would be bringing in the new year in Cuenca. So the next post brings me onto our experience of new years eve in Ecuador!
…just one final thing, we did notice that in Ecuador there is also some pretty mad cabling going on in most streets. You see this everywhere, but it seems to work!
We had three weeks to spend in Ecuador and fairly early on had decided a good deal of the things we wanted to do while we were there. We would be travelling to the south to visit Anna’s daughter Aniska in Gualaceo and Cuenca (that post is here: Gualaceo and Cuenca) and then heading north by bus to Quito for a few days. Going a little south again to Latacunga next and hiking in the Andes for four days on the Quilotoa Loop. From there going east and to Coca where we would be going into the Amazon rain-forest for five days. Then finally back to Quito for a few days.
During our stay we’d be covering a few varied environments which made packing interesting. It’s was 30c in the Amazon, the temperatures were comfortable in Cuenca (our first stop) for daytime walking, but will reach just about freezing point at night when we’re 12,800 feet up in the Andes for several days. We need everything from sun-cream and shorts to fleeces and waterproofs! So walking gear for wet, dry, very hot and very cold weather, and all in one rucksack. Well, actually two rucksacks. I packed a day-sack and had that tucked into the top of the larger rucksack. This meant I still had a day-sack when staying still for a few days but the full rucksack for when we were on the move. This actually worked really well.
One thing I discovered that was really useful was the Lifestraw water bottles. These are around £40 per bottle (2019 price) but the filter in the bottle means you can fill up the bottle and drink water from anywhere at all through it. Tap water in South America, from a stream, river, anywhere. It filters out all bacteria etc. The cost saving of waste saved from not having to buy a constant supply of disposable plastic water bottles was amazing. It also meant we didn’t have any concerns about where we got out water from too. An amazing bit of kit.
The next big decision for me was what camera to take. My trusty Nikon d7200 dSLR is a great camera but at over 1 Kg with a lens attached has been feeling more and more like carrying a brick around with me. So this made it a far from a good choice for travelling with only one rucksack. After some thorough investigation into something smaller I eventually settled on the Canon G5X mark ii. It is 370g in weight and a fraction of the space but that is only part of the story. I am amazed at how much has been packed into a tiny body, it’s responsive, great in low light, fully manual, fast lens (f1.8 to f2.8 throughout the range), amazingly good quality for the size of it and joy to use really. I very highly recommend this little camera for travel, or anything really.
So, what did we get right in our planning? Reading lots of blogs, we found way more good info than on much of the official stuff. Good hiking boots, good fitting rucksacks (Berghaus Trailhead 65’s) and a pretty well-planned itinerary.
And what did we get wrong? Learn Spanish! We had been told this, I learned a bit, but what I had learned then left my head in the blink of an eye. Thankfully Anna had enjoyed learning it more than me and was pretty good and picking up most conversations and getting through. There are quite a few places we visited where not a single person speaks English… I’d have been buggered without Anna on that one!
Packing too many clothes, pack light, then throw about half of that out too!
I had been reminded about checking that my vaccinations were up to date for entering the Amazon quite a while before we left but then couldn’t find my yellow fever card anywhere not long before we left. Totally my fault, I did get a letter from my doctor saying I had had this done but didn’t have the actual certificate. This caused a bit of stress as I could have been denied entry into the Amazon reserve without this. In the end, it wasn’t an issue as when we entered the Amazon we weren’t asked once to produce any documentation regarding vacations, which for me was good as I know did know I had had this done but didn’t have the correct paperwork, but was also a little concerning that it wasn’t checked at all. Hey ho, welcome to South America.
The only other concern we had was that a few months before we were due to travel towards the end of 2019 there were riots in Ecuador over fuel prices. For a time all international travel from the UK to Ecuador was stopped. Thankfully this was short-lived and so in the gap between Christmas and new year we locked the front door, took a quick selfie and were on our way…
A bus from Ellesmere to Shrewsbury, a bus from Shrewsbury down to Heathrow, a flight from London to Dallas, then another flight from Dallas to Quito, then a final flight from Quito to Cuenca…
During the Covid-19 lock-down there are a few creative projects that lots of people up and down the county seem to have jumped into. I had seen a few sets of doorstep portraits of neighbours and friends which seemed a lovely idea so I thought I’d have a go at this too. The idea was to visit any of our friends where we could walk to their doorstep. We had a few walks around Ellesmere, Welshampton and Tetchill and of course, some people decided to be a little more flamboyant about all of this. Good fun and good to catch up with lots of people at a distance during these strange lockdown times… and of course we had to do one ourselves too!
Another lovely idea was started by the Getty Museum – ‘Between art and Quarantine’. They asked people to recreate works of art using only yourself and items at home. There have been some really good ones and Fizzgigs (our Ellesmere community Arts group) also put this out as a local challenge so we thought we’d have a go at these too. Keeping ourselves happy during lockdown!
It’s been a funny thing, having moved out of Ellesmere a couple of years ago, but then never really disconnecting from being involved with Fizzgigs (Ellesmere Community Arts Group). So when Anna and me decided we were going to look for a house, we both knew we wanted to live in Ellesmere. After looking at a few places we decided on a new build on a small development (12 houses) on the edge of town. It’s 2 minutes walk in one direction to be on the towpath of the canal and two minutes walk in the other direction to be in town. And 410 steps to the White Hart from the front door to the pub door! A new build means we can get in, get it sorted and then get on with enjoying life, but it is a new build with a bit of character too. Upstairs the ceilings are just short of 3m high and the windows are quite low, giving it a quite different feel. And downstairs being quite open lends itself quite well to meetings, rehearsals and general sociability.
So we’re in, house-warming done and settling back into Ellesmere nicely. It’s been a bit full-on with moving, then going to Ecuador (more posts about that soon) and we’ve just finished the Welshampton 2020 panto (The Rocket) too. So now, looking forward into 2020. I’m starting the new year as chair of Fizzgigs (Ellesmere Community Arts), which is great, and there is getting the house sorted and working on a few personal arty projects. Finally another change and part of dusting off this blog is it will be branching out into a dual thing. Both Anna and me enjoyed documenting our South America trip and so there will be posts from both of us. And then moving forward from both of us, on events, arty stuff, travels and any such like…
Well, if nothing else this blog is keeping true to its title. I feel a six-year gap from my last post here is sporadic enough! So, lots of change, lots of new things going on, leaving, coming back, lots of new stuff! But enough of that. Some interesting stuff ahead that has made me look at this again.
Firstly, we’ve been planning a South American adventure. We’ve both wanted to experience South America for quite some time an so this seemed the Universes was of telling us to go… well, the Universe or to be honest any excuse really! But lots of changes too…
After the success of last years Ellesmere Winter Festival Lantern Procession there seemed little doubt we would do it again this year. With this in mind and the idea of staging other community arts events in Ellesmere throughout the year, a committee was formed and gained a name… ‘Fizzgigs – The Ellesmere Community Arts Group‘.
This is a group of enthusiastic people from in and around Ellesmere who simply want to make arts events happen in the town.
Firstly there was the all the required begging for funding which Cathy had bravely (or foolish) taken on. This then also led onto a fund raising Ceilidh, and the first outing for the ‘Fizzgigs Ceilidh Band’! Once we had enough funding we could then set about planning, plotting and scheming for what we wanted to do…
For quite a few years as part of the Winter Festival in Ellesmere, Father Christmas has arrived in the town and then paraded through the streets before settling down in his Grotto in the Market Hall. Last year the lantern procession accompanied him in this and guided him into the town. In past years he had also arrived by narrowboat on the canal which to us seemed quite apt.
This year we were given the opportunity to take on this part of the Winter Festival ourselves. It was decided early on that we would want to do something a little different. We wanted to avoid a traditional Coca-Cola type ‘Santa’ and wanted to take a step back and bring ‘St Nicolas’ into the town, but in an ‘Old Father Winter’ kind of way. As St Nicolas is often known as the patron saint of sailors we eventually decided to go with a theme of boats’ ships and sea life. A flotilla of boats to be led by an Albatross!
Cathy and myself were both keen to build lanterns again this year and so Cathy volunteered to build the Albatross that would guide the procession. Initially I wasn’t sure what I would be doing but our idea required a ‘Fantastical Vessel’ so after some deliberation of who might build it I volunteered for the job.
The problem was this would involve some skills that I simply do not have. There seemed to be a distinct requirement for a good deal of welding and grinding in this Vessel! I was lucky enough to enlist Peter Cartilidge as the ‘Fizzgigs Chief Engineer’!
I presented Peter with a plan for the frame for our Fantastical Vessel’. I use the term ‘plan’ very loosely here as it has to be said it was a ‘not-to-scale’, ‘sort of this shape’, ‘sort of like that’, ‘you know what I mean’..ish type plan but Peter locked himself into his Garage and commenced with the grinding and welding.
The Fantastical Vessel ‘chassis’ and the ‘Fizzgigs Chief Engineer’
He produced a wonderful frame which would be the base of the Lantern. The idea was that the withie and paper lantern would cover all of the frame and be lit so that nothing of the frame is seen at all. It would have a platform at the back for St Nicolas to stand and a central mast too!
Once this in the Market Hall I started to build the withie shape and attached it to the frame. There were several small modifications required as we went along but Peter and Roger Garland (a.k.a. The Fizzgigs Engineering Department) sorted things out in their chirpy and happy way.
Workshops and withies
While this was going on the workshops seemed to be going well. There were plenty of large lanterns and smaller ‘pyramid’ lanterns being built. Cathy brought her Albatross down to the Market Hall and worked on it where possible but mostly she was caught up in helping with the workshops and so did most of her building at home. As the Albatross had been designed to have removable wings it made transport possible but the Fantastical Vessel had now grown to around 14 feet long.
A mast was put together by Roger and Tony Boyes and Peter started to make a Crows Nest while Gavin Lewrey finished the swirl on the prow which I had feared I would have to sacrifice due to lack of time. Lots of helping hands, always good!
Our lanterns both take shape
As time got short getting the lighting fitted into the lanterns and getting them papered became a bit more of a push. I had several sets of cheap string lights inside the Fantastical Vessel which would normally each have their own switch and AA batteries but they were all modified and wired up to one battery pack thanks to Bob Richards (…’Fizzgigs Electrician’).
Hillary and John (a.k.a. H & JP) came along and started the papering while I finished the structure one evening but we had less than a week to go at this point. Cathy had also started to skin the albatross but it was taking quite a while, no pressure then…
Tissue, latex and sticky fingers
There was a Wednesday night session to get the skinning of the Vessel finished after the workshop. With the help of Rosemary, Tony, Peter and Hillary we got it done. A big thank you needs to go out to Sophie Handy here for working until 1.30am with me to get the last bits done.
This year we commissioned Sophie Handy, a lantern artist, to lead the community and school workshops. She brought different ideas and lots of enthusiasm to the workshops which was great. We ran four community workshops in total. Cathy got involved in the running of these but I was tied up with the Fantastical Vessel. We also ran some workshops in Lakelands Academy which I did manage to help a bit with.
There were a few finishing touches of greenery for the back of the Vessel that were added by Tony, Rosemary and Hillary and it was done! Cathy managed to finish the Albatross on the very day of the procession and so we were ready to go.
The day itself was a bit damper than we would have liked and certainly a bit windier but all went well for everyone I think. St Nicolas looked splendorous in his colourful costume and greenery that Mary Lewrey had produced. He was quite a sight as he arrived at the Wharf on a narrowboat lit by flaming torches.
All I can say is a very big thank you to everyone that got involved in this and helped to make it happen. Tony and Mary Lewery especially. They have both put in a great deal of creative work and time to make this something special that happens right here in Ellesmere. Mary created a great vision of our St Nicolas, both festive and seasonal yet removed from the traditional ‘Santa’ and Tony seemed determined to have fire torches in the streets of Ellesmere and it was all the better for it. For Cathy and me it was good to see our creations from last year (Pikey & Jack Frost) out again and to add new ones this year too.
Only a little way from where I live is an old derelict saw mill. I have driven past it countless times and always tell myself I should go and have a look down the little lane and see what’s in there. I’d been told it had been left untouched, tools on benches, for years.
As it is right next to some houses and is only a little building it is one of those things I have never got around to doing. Until now.
It was Cathy’s suggestion, she has been wanting to have a look around there as well and Henry wanted to do a little filming there too. So on a quiet balmy evening we jumped in the car and drove down the little turning from the road that we always drive along.
As ever the first job is finding a way in. A couple of obvious doors were padlocked and a hopeful looking side door was through a forest a five feet high nettles and so wasn’t an option either. We found that around one side there is a lower level and an open doorway into the ‘cellar’ level below the main floor. This runs under the building and below the large floor beams. It had a good solid look to it and no signs of rot, cracks or collapse so in we go. It was pretty dark in there and we moved forward by the beam of a torch. The floor was thick with sawdust from the gaps in the beams above us and there was a very ‘Scooby Doo’ moment when a couple of bats, disturbed by the torchlight, started flittering around our heads in the dark. But no way in!
We went back outside to check for any other ways in and then as a last attempt Cathy and me went back in to explore the last bits of the cellar passages. We at last found a trapdoor to the floor above. So to add to the ‘Scooby Doo’ theme, flittering bats and a trap door, cool!
Once inside the place reveals itself to be trapped in time. All the tools have been left exactly where they were last used. Oil cans, saws and drills. Workbenches and machines, all just gathering dust. It seems that one day everyone just left the mill and the doors were locked behind them, everything is just as it was left.
The mill is only small, essentially one long room with a couple of small side rooms.
We spent a little while there and I played around with a few idea’s and a bit of light painting. The one below took a few attempts but seemed to work out ok. This is a long exposure with Cathy out of the frame and a torch behind her to project her shadow onto the door.
All in all a beautiful place that is a little time capsule, tucked away in rural Shropshire.
Cathy and myself have just completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. That’s a 25-mile hike with over 5,000 feet of ascent and descent over three of Yorkshire’s largest peaks, and all done within 12 hours. We did this hike together with an eclectic group of people and raised quite a bit of money for CLIC Sargent, a children’s cancer charity, which is all very well and good…
But that is not the reason we did this hike. For that we have to go back to the start of the year.
Our nephew, Josh Furber, was a 20-year-old man with everything in front of him. He was mid-way through his Uni’ degree in Leeds and taking a gap year out in Australia, a country that had captivated his heart and soul. He was living in a shared house on Bondi Beach with a multi-national group of other young, free people enjoying life with his ‘ozzy family’. He had a positive effect on people, knew how to enjoy life and wanted more. As he summed it up himself: “I’ve seen far too much to ever settle for an average life”!
At the start of January this all came to an end when Josh was killed in a tragic accident while on a day out with friends at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. The devastating effect this has had on people, family, friends cannot be overstated.
This is why we were doing this hike. One of the many things Josh had done before he had left for Australia was the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. He was working at Weatherspoons in Leeds, while at University, and had agreed to do it with the ‘spoonies’.
I gather he had no idea what he had let himself in for and was 100% unprepared, but he completed it all the same.
Josh had done it and so we were doing it. As a tribute and a means of family and friends getting together to do something that feels like it needs doing.
Cathy and me had decided early on that we would both be doing this. We also both realised that we weren’t going to find it easy. Henry had said he would be doing this with us too but unlike him we don’t have the resilience of youth. On the other side though, we’re both only in our mid-forties and so had no doubt it had to be done, and it would be done!
So, after a few practice walks to break in some new boots and to give our legs some idea of what we were going to throw at them, the weekend of the walk arrived.
We had looked at a few YouTube videos, a few web sites and blogs, which had given us some sort of an idea of what to expect. We got out the camping gear and packed the car from top to bottom like a tin of sardines and headed for Yorkshire. The site was easy enough to find but due to picking kids up from school we were one of the last to arrive. Once we were sorted out, unpacked and set up it was good to sit down and talk to people. Lots of different people, all here for the same reason, all wishing we didn’t need to be.
After a reasonably well behaved evening and it was off to bed for one of the coldest, most miserable and sleepless nights we could have hoped for before a wet Yorkshire morning greeted us at 6 am.
And we’re off! Walkers away and support crew left behind we head for the first peak, Pen-y-ghent (694 m or 2,277 ft).
The walk started off on nice firm trails that just got gradually steeper and steeper and then led us into nothing but mist and cloud.
Right from the outset the group split into much smaller groups walking at their own comfortable pace. Some of the ‘spoonies’ sped off ahead while everyone else found a pace they were happy with.
As we got closer to the top the walk began to turn into a climb, which Cathy was starting to find a bit hard. This had nothing to do with her legs or fitness though, but was actually due to a fractured rib she had gained the weekend before.
She had been stood on the edge of the bath while cleaning the bathroom and her foot slipped on the wet edge and she came down on the edge of the bath. After a couple of days of pain she went to A & E and they confirmed it was a fractured rib. They also told her she just had to get on with it as there’s nothing they can do with broken ribs. She had been determined to do the walk all the same, but the steep climb wasn’t helping.
At last we could see the summit of Pen-y-ghent above us in the cloud. Everyone else had waited there for Beth and Jake and us but were keen to get moving and so there was just time for the group photo before everyone headed off again.
So here we are, all together, all doing the same thing, all in the same spot Josh had been. With our Josh Furber tee-shirts and the ‘Joshie Style’ banner that Danielle had struggled and stressed to get done in time.
At this point Beth and Jake seemed to have found their stride and were off and away, which is a good job as there was quite a walk between here and our next peak, Whernside.
The path covered varying terrain and we went through some small boggy area’s but generally the paths were all good. Not that we could say the same for the weather. The rain had set in with varying degrees of drizzle to horizontal to torrential, but all consistently wet! Strangely Cathy kept telling us all that the rain was good and quite ‘invigorating’! I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that she had lost the plot at this point though.
This section did allow us to get a decent walking pace going to gain some time and miles. It was at this point that our thoughts started to turn to the support team, a hot drink and something to eat ahead.
Our lovely support team met us in Ribblesdale and they were a welcome sight. They had brought chockie bars, drinks, banana’s, sandwiches, pasta and smiles. All very welcome.
Stopping for a little while and having a well-earned cheeseburger from the ‘chuck wagon’ and a chat was really great but all too soon it was time to get going again. Our next peak, Whernside, was in sight past the viaduct and of course, was covered in cloud.
The walk up Whernside was quite long on a seemingly never-ending incline. The path was well slabbed though and we settled into a steady trudge for this section. The nearer we got to the top the colder and windier it got and by the time we were near the summit we could see the cloud whipping over the top ridge and billowing over the other side of the mountain.
So here we are at the summit of Whernside (736 m or 2,415 ft). We so very nearly missed this summit post (yes I know it’s called a Trig Point…) on this peak. The groups had split up and the wind on top of Whernside was ferocious so the other groups had carried on, we hadn’t planned to stop and the post is also behind a wall off of the main walkway. Thankfully we spotted it but I have no group photo for this one, just us.
You may also notice that on Josh’s photo his trainers are looking anything but white like they were in the last photo.
From here we walked along the top ridge of the mountain which is quite long and very, very windy. Thankfully at this point the cloud was starting to lift and we could see the landscape below.
We felt we were doing ok for time and our legs seemed ok. My thighs were starting to ache a bit and Cathy had her ongoing rib pain but we both had no doubt that we would finish it, and within the 12 hours too.
We had brought Roofus, out happy little terrier, along with us and he was doing great too. He’d had the odd bark at some sheep and got lost once but for a little dog there seemed no doubt he was up for the full 25 miles.
The descent from Whernside was very steep in several places and really made you think about where you were putting your feet. A combination of coming down a little in height and the cloud lifting as the day went on, gave us a great view from here.
The only worry was our final peak, Ingleborough, was looking depressingly far away as it is the highest peak on the right of the photo above. Oh well, on we plodded.
It has to be said that this whole event has been quite a thing, I don’t mean a physical thing, but rather as a thing to do for Josh. To have a whole group of different people made up of family, Josh’s friends from his home town of Runcorn and his Uni’ friends from Leeds, all getting together to support Jayne, Mark & Beth. All getting together to all do something for Josh.
We briefly met the support team again for a coffee and oatcakes (home-baked and lovely, donated by a family friend), a quick chat, and then quickly off again.
Ingleborough itself looks quite imposing the closer you get to it. It also looked very steep. This wasn’t what our legs wanted to hear but what are the choices? It has to be done and it’s going to be done!
The climb up Ingleborough was very varied, there was a long wooden boardwalk, a long slabbed incline and then a very steep climb up several zig-zags in the side of the mountain. Unfortunately I have no photo’s of this part as it had stopped being a walk at this point and had now become a climb, and a steep one too. Because of this, the camera was tucked away safely in the ruck-sack. We had also been pressing on hoping to catch up with the others for a group photo at the summit and so no time to stop here to take photo’s.
As luck would have it we met Henry and some of the Runcorn group just coming down from the summit (who after a brief conversation were talked into going back up again) and then met some of the Leeds group just reaching the summit too.
There was another steep climb which seemed to be to the top but then once you think you’re there it’s another 15-minute walk to reach the actual summit point.
The wind was bitter here as it was very exposed but we were here, at the final summit!
The walk down from here was on weary legs but at least they were legs that were heading home. We walked with Fran (who was having problems with his knee by now but was working through it), Asha, Beth & Jake for the last section.
We passed a sign that told us we only had 2 miles…
I warn anyone at this point that there is no way that those last 2 miles is actually 2 miles!
Back to camp and we’re done. An evening of celebration and merriment ahead, but more of that later.
I have recently been on another little Urbex adventure with Damian Bere.
The original plan was to have a look at the ‘Gamma-Rays Ltd’ building in Smethwich near Birmingham. Unfortunately when we got there it seemed there was a good deal less building that we had expected. Most of the building has now been demolished and what was left looked stripped out and empty. All the doors and windows at the front had been bricked up and so the only possible access left was around the back of the buildings. This is also where you will find a Van repair company and several men keen to ask questions like ‘What can we do for you’ and ‘What are you looking for’. Hmmmmmm, that’s a no then.
After a quick walk around the area, which is mostly industrial and has its share of run down buildings, with several old and empty buildings, it became clear that there was nothing here that would be accessible.
Langley Maltings in days gone by.
The backup plan was to have a look at nearby ‘Langley Maltings’ in Oldbury. There was a possibility that this would be a waste of time too as some on-line images gave the impression it might be just an empty shell.
We parked up and took a short walk to the old Maltings. From the outside it is quite an impressive site. The main buildings were built in 1880 and used for the Malting Process to create malt for brewing beer from Barley.
The building has been empty since 2006 and unfortunately in 2009 there was a large fire that destroyed some of the towers and the roof of one of the main buildings, but from the outside, it all looked mostly ok.
Once we arrived it was fairly easy to find a break in the iron railings that someone had bent apart. A bit of a tight squeeze through and a quick march across the open yard followed by a climb up a pile of dirt and a scramble through a window frame and we’re in!
The first room we came to was one of the long rooms that would have been used for drying the malt. This had many iron columns and good deal of water on the floor due to a big hole in ceiling at one end of the room that opens to the sky and a stairway at the other end that had collapsed and was also open to the elements.
I thought I’d have a go at a couple of Urbex ‘selfies’ here and use the standing water as best I could.
In the first I wanted to use the light through the doorway and the puddles for effect. Once I had set this up and did a few test shots I found the I needed to use a remote flash hidden behind one of the columns for some fill light. This stopped me being too silhouetted by the light behind me. If you look on the floor, you can see the light from the strobe hidden behind the column.
There was also some distracting graffiti which I removed afterwards, you can spot where if you compare this to the images above.
Next was a more straight forward reflection shot. I look a little less that happy on this one but that’s due to me trying to stand still for the 20 second exposure of this shot.
Above this, is another floor, with the whole roof missing which is accessible by the handy solid metal ladder that has been installed, quite recently, by the look of it.
Even though this looks like the ground, it is the roof three floors up! This image is a stitch of four vertical shots and the one below is just a tighter crop of this image as I felt you couldn’t see the details of the fire damaged building enough.
Next we headed down to the ground floor and moved through what can best described as the ‘smelly bit’ of the site…
We had a quick look around the central open yard and the rooms that open from it. There was nothing of great interest and so we headed into the other large building. There we found a good deal of new building material and UPVC Windows stacked up in a side room. This, and the new ladder in the other building, all suggest that some of the site is ready for renovation soon. Once we went up to the next floor of this building we found more to confirm this…
Damian found a large pile of rubbish that had been piled up neatly in the centre of the room which was conveniently in a nice large puddle of reflected water. Bugger, that’s a nice shot I though. As he’d seen it first though I left him to it. There’s little point in us both taking the same shots after all so I settled for taking a shot of him taking a shot of Mt. Detritus.
The only shot I managed myself in this room was another water and reflections job. So it was then, up to the final floor…
There was a walkway that had a little wall of crumbling paintwork at the end of this row of wooden arches which looked lovely.
A little further along there was a walkway, which had had an open side to the courtyard below. Another vertical stitch for this one then.
The last shot of the day for me was of a red fire door which had the words ‘Do Not Leave’ on it. In truth, there was also the word ‘open’ and a few bits of graffiti too but I viewed them all as mere minor distractions and so they had to go, via a bit of Photoshoppery.
This shot was lit using a gridded remote strobe to the left of the camera and I will admit there were several attempts to get this right due to reflections on the metal door.
Part of what I enjoy about the whole ‘urban exploring thing’ is being in a place that is out of sight and out of bounds. Because of this most people do not generally see these places. There is a feeling of being a little step outside of society when you’re in these places, they often have a very post-apocalyptic feel to them and yet also have a beauty all of their own too.
All in all this was a very interesting site, with much to offer, but due to what looks like impending development, I don’t think it will be open to unscheduled visits like this for much longer.
There are far to many beautiful old building that are allowed to decay beyond renovation, that are then replaced by characterless monoliths that are are all about cheap construction and materials.
Even though I am fascinated with derelict buildings and the effects that time and nature has on them once the care of man has left them, I am happy that this building will not be one of the ones allowed to crumble beyond repair and will be re-used.
One question I’m sure all photographers will ask themselves at some point: Is photography art?
Some people will reply a resounding yes, others with a simple No. Is it better described as a craft? Or a skill? Or all of them?
I just thought I’d explore this a little and give a few views on the subject…
As I see it, the first problem with defining photography as art is the fact anyone can take a photograph. For generations now, anyone could buy a camera and press the shutter, simple as that, job done. This is, of course, no guarantee that the end result will be any good, let alone something that could be called art, but the problem still remains. It cannot be denied that a simple press of a button can produce a result that ‘can’ be very good. A captured moment, an expression, a perfect frozen second where everything all comes together, just being in the right place, at the right time, and just pressing a button.
Of course this is often by pure chance with no creative skill or input from the button presser required but the end result can still be something wonderful. I can’t think of any other forms of art where that can happen (unless you include kicking over a few tins of paint in your garage and then call it a Jackson Pollock that is).
I think it is this ease and accessibility that makes many people think of photography as less than art. But of course, like most things, it is not as simple as that…
No matter how good that captured moment is, it is not what I would call art. It could be a wonderful photograph capturing a frozen moment but it is just that. A good photo, not a piece of art. But this does not mean that photography cannot be art, it just means that by pressing a button alone, you don’t have a piece of art.
Following this line of thought through though does mean that photo journalism and street photography are good photographs, but not art? Is this true? I don’t know. Maybe.
Another possible objection to photography being art is that the end result is a photograph. It can be printed in the hundreds or thousands, with each one being indistinguishable from next or even as a digital copy that can be uploaded, copied and posted anywhere. There is no ‘physical’ connection to the end result from the person that created it like there would be in a drawing or painting.
But if this were a genuine objection then we would have to say that writing was not a form of art, or poetry. A book or poem can be reproduced in print or on a screen in just the same way so I don’t see this as argument against it being art either.
So, to be a piece of art does it require foresight or vision? In my view, yes. I think most good photographers know how they want the shot to look well before they press the stutter. The decisions on shutter speed, depth of field, lens, style, angles, lighting, composition and post processing all add up to the final image.
So if that is the case, does composition, shape, visual interest or narrative have to be present to be art?
If so there are plenty of examples of this in photography. There are many, many names I could list here and I’m sure different photographers would have their own favourites but I have picked three to illustrate the point.
The first would be Man Ray, an experimental photographer from the 1930’s & 1940’s
He pushed the boundaries of photography forward (and was also the father of ‘light painting’). He worked in many mediums and considered himself a painter primarily but certainly left his mark on photography. His work brims over with creative invention and experimentation and is full of interesting shapes and idea’s. This is someone who is not ‘capturing a moment’ but rather creating something that exists in his minds eye and is then using the camera as a tool to create the final image.
In landscapes too there are many photographers that can create something very special and stylisticly their own from the world they see around them. I will only use one example here, the ‘grandfather’ of landscape photographers Ansel Adams
He created the ‘zone system’ to optimize exposure and was an absolute perfectionist in terms of technical detail but this is only half the story. His work was also finely composed and has a distinctive look that has been emulated countless times. To this day, held up as a master class of quality and detail.
My final example would be a personal favourite of mine, a modern day, surreal and cinematic photographer, Gregory Crewdson
He creates images that are very cinematic in style and usually have a frozen narrative about them. Much of his work is surreal and often ‘captures’ an odd or unexplained moment in small town America.
Crewdson is well known for his high budgets and large production team. This makes much of his work more akin to a film shoot that a traditional photograph but it is all about creating that moment.
I think for me, photography can be an art when the camera is used as a tool to capture or create an image that is first seen in the photographers ‘minds eye’. Where the line is between a good photo and a piece of art is anyone’s guess as photography is completely subjective, as is all art.
And after all, what is art? Is pickling a shark or a pile of bricks art? I’ll leave that argument for someone else I think….
This week we went to see the choral singing ensemble called ‘Northern Harmony‘. We had seen them before in 2011 and so had a good idea of what to expect and again, we weren’t disappointed. They sing a mixture of world and American folk music which is both uplifting and intricately woven together. They are an interesting and eclectic bunch of people who seem passionate about keeping alive old vocal traditions and delving deeper into the worlds varied and beautiful vocal archive.
A big thank you should be passed to Mary Keith for organising this and making sure it all went well. The performance was opened by a collection of people, from the various choirs that Mary runs, singing two opening songs that she had chosen to welcome our visitors from afar. With this I would like to thank Mary for letting me, for one night, become an honorary singing Frippet.
It was through Mary that the whole ‘Northern Harmony’ experience became so much more interesting for us.
Northern Harmony is made up of around 15 people, the majority of which are teens to late 20’s. As they tour they depend on the hospitality of the local people wherever they are to put them up and provide a bed before they move onto their next venue and performance. With this Mary had asked could we put someone up if needed, and so of course we had said yes.
And so it was that after the performance we welcomed into our home two young singers, Dalia and Maisie.
Dalia who is Italian and Maisey who is American were an interesting and very sociable couple, and so several hours of good humoured English/American/Italian discussion followed…
We talked about the way Schools work in all three countries (Dalia’s face being a picture of dismay through some of this, as her parents are School teachers…) and how there are different limitations and benefits in each. Maisie and I had an interesting discussion about the crossover of American-isms and English-isms and how they are creeping into both cultures. This then led onto the differences in humour between the two. As they are both language students the discussion naturally found its way to language and words and the sounds they make. There was some picking apart of the structure of language and Cathy told them how she had ‘winged it’ as a language teacher while living in Mexico (as you do). We all agreed that German (and Chinese for that matter) are not languages to whisper the words of romance in but that, much to Dalia’s rolling of eyes, Italian is a language that sounds both passionate and sexy. It also made Cathy and me laugh when they both gave us an impression of how they though the English accent sounded.
They asked much about England and we had to get a map out to establish what are the differences between the UK, England, Wales, Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland and where they actually were right now in all of that.
We asked about where they both came from and Maisie convinced us that supermarket or shop bought maple syrup is nothing at all like ‘real’ home-made maple syrup. Not to be out done, Cathy thought it was be about time to introduce them to the delights of home made English Sloe Gin!
There was a discussion as to just what a ‘sloe’ is but then everyone could agree that once it has been soaked in alcohol for three months it is just fine and dandy!
At half-past one we all decided that enough was enough and called it a night and went to our beds.
Determined to be the good hosts we made sure that once up and about they were having breakfast ‘English Style’! So bacon, sausage, egg and beans with toast, best butter, coffee, orange juice and tea, in a pot of course, it was. We talked of the differences between American and English bacon and tried our best to describe what Black Pudding tastes like.
Once we dropped them back at Welshampton Village Hall (at the obligatory 10 minutes late of course) they gave all us collected hosts, a final impromptu and rapturous song before leaving.
All in all it was lovely to have two such interesting and warm people stay over for the night.
I wish them, and all the other members of ‘Northern Harmony’ a good journey for the rest of their tour of England, The USA and Columbia.
There were various suggestions of other things that the Bonfire Committee could get involved in since deciding to not do any more bonfires. There will, of course, still be Panto’s and Mummers plays and various other things I’m sure, but one idea that was mentioned was to add a lantern procession to the Winter Festival.
This is an event that happens every year in Ellesmere at the end of November. It is the evening that the lights on the Christmas tree are turned on and there is late evening shopping with mince pies and mulled wine on offer in most of the shops. There is usually some sort of singing on the streets and music and stalls in the Market Hall. All in all it’s a lovely evening in small market town kind of way.
With this, Cathy and me both really liked that idea and so got involved in making the lantern procession happen.
As we were proposing a community event we were granted some funding by the ‘Ellesmere Area local joint committee’ and so the idea was to have community workshops to get families to build lanterns and then have some large sculptural lanterns too. There were six workshops in all, two in Welshampton at the Parish Hall which Tony Boys and Rosemary Drake ran and two in the Market Hall in Ellesmere which Cathy, myself, Tony Lewery and Mary Lewery ran. Finally Cathy had suggested we get in touch with Lakelands School to see if they wanted to get involved. After a brief meeting with Andy Richards, the art teacher there, we had another two workshops.
Cathy had decided to to make a Pike lantern. This would be no little Pike though, it was to be a 12 feet long three sectioned pike.
As for me, for some time I’ve fancied making a backpack puppet and so planned to make a Jack frost puppet.
Originally I was planning to cover and clothe the puppet and make a paper mache head. He would carry glowing lanterns but would be a mostly ‘non-lit’ puppet. Once I had started the planning and drawing stage Cathy suggested that I make it as a withie and tissue lantern puppet. Initially my reaction was “Nahhh, I don’t really like working with withies” but the seed was then planted…
Over the next few days of going back and forth between “Oooooh a walking lantern, that’d be good” and “Doing a puppet as a lantern adds wayyyy to many problems” I decided she was right, it would indeed look good as a walking lantern puppet.
And so the building began. Soon it was withies and tape everywhere and the living room and dinning room became overnight workshops. There was much ‘Googling’ of Pike’s and muttering about legs and hinges…
Between us there were a few problems to think about. The glassy glowing eyes of the pike were solved by cutting the ends off of two wine bottles and fixing LED’s and tin foil behind them but how to fix the three sections of pike together remained an ongoing issue. There was also the slight issue that the pike had now grown to over 13 feet long.
I had several issues with how to make hinges work and how to light the puppet. Due to the slender limbs it had to be LED’s but there was still the issue of how to fix in around 20 LED’s and be able to turn each one on and off…
Meanwhile in a workshop just outside Ellesmere Tony Lewery had been creatively busy…
He had created a beautiful elegant Swan, the very emblem of Ellesmere, in his interesting and busy workshop. I dropped in to see it before it was covered and have to admit it left me feeling that the bar has been set very high!
I cannot praise Tony and Mary Lewery highly enough for their enthusiasm and time given. Tony led the adult instructional workshop and they both helped us with all the other workshops.
And so before we knew it, time was pressing on and it was time for some outdoor testing. Cathy’s pike was looking good once the sections were all together. She had now decided that it would be three separate pieces that would flex rather than joining them to make a solid one-piece lantern and there was also a working jaw.
Jack Frost on the other hand had a few problems of his own…
As soon as the idea of doing this became a real possibility I knew I wanted to build a large Jack Frost, and that he had to walk. I have for a while wanted to build a backpack puppet and liked the idea of building legs that move and walk as the person wearing it walks so that it is a fully moving figure. Once this puppet became a lantern puppet it made a few things a little more interesting as you can’t hide the messy stuff away with a withie lantern but the main problem I had was making the legs move in the right direction and way. At first I had hinged the knees so they could only move at a right angle but this was not enough and so I had to make another flat, right angle hinge at the ankle. This meant fixing a wireframe to a pair of old shoes and the legs attaching to them in a rigid, one-directional way. With the ankle and knees only being able to move in one direction it meant the hip joint could be a simple suspended joint as the legs now couldn’t go in any other direction.
And so with only a few days to go we were onto skinning the withie frames. This is a very satisfying, but also time-consuming process. I found myself still glueing and sticking at 4.30am the day before the event but I’ sure that’s pretty normal for this kind of event.
Very soon Cathy’s pike became a solid, real thing with moving jaw, glowing eyes and teeth and Jack Frost became a solid figure.
And so the day of the event came. If I’m honest, both me and Cathy have said that if we were to organize this again there would be a few things we would do differently. We were a little chaotic during the evening build-up but Tony Boys was wonderfully helpful with his Van and Peter Cartlidge had been faultless and admirable in his role of gatherer and leader of musicians for the procession. I also want to thank everyone that gave their time to help make this happen.
And so we were off!
All built, all done, and with nothing but the marching music and the lanterns to lead us forward we go…
I would also like to thank Phil Barrett and Christine Corfield for there photo’s.
Here in Ellesmere towards the end of November there is a Winter Festival each year. This is when the Christmas lights are turned on and all the shops stay open late offering mince pies and mulled wine to everyone. There’s usually a little performance or singing and in the Market Hall there are stalls and such. All in all it’s a lovely event which we usually try and go to. A few years ago I even did a little exhibition of some of my photo’s there.
This year the Bommy-Commy will be adding a lantern parade to the event with community workshops and large sculptural lanterns, but more about that soon!
While planning this parade it reminded me that I hadn’t posted anything here about the Jubilee Celebrations in Ellesmere that we were involved in so before the Winter Festival arrives I thought I’d better put that right, so here we go…
The event was a really nice afternoon in Cremorne Gardens by the Mere where many a picnic blanket was spread on the ground and plenty of people all came together to flag wave and be happy. The Welshampton Bommy-Commy had been invited to get involved and add a wandering ‘Mummers’ style play to the event. Mary Lewery adapted a Mummers script and added a few new characters to some of the more traditional regulars. Once she had whipped us into some sort of half decent shape we were ready for our meandering performance.
A final rehearsal in our back garden then it’s off to Cremorne Gardens.
I’m not sure how much the audience enjoyed it but we had a good time!
From my perspective, after being in the last Winter show dressed up as a very silly looking boy scout ‘hero’ called Galahad I have no self-respect what-so-ever and so was more than happy to dress up as William Shakespear and be part of the play.
Once we had done this quite a few times (a few times too many some might say…) it was a quick dash home to get changed and then back down to the Mere for some fireworks! Gavin Lewery was behind the fireworks performance and so it was, as we were sure it would be, a visually beautiful production from start to finish.
The Mere looked particularly lovely as the light started to fade with the Moon large and yellow on the horizon reflecting in the water.
As I had brought the camera and tripod along with me it was time to jostle into place and have a go at capturing some of the stunning colours and light.
A long, long time ago I worked in a factory in Winsford in Cheshire. It was somewhere I worked for far too long in a dead-end job before moving on and moving away. The company was called Cosmopolitan Textiles, I knew that it had closed down a handful of years after I had left but I didn’t realise it was left derelict.
I came to be driving through the Industrial Estate in Winsford one night on my way back from an unsuccessful attempted evening of photography when I thought I’d take a look at this place. When I was there it was quite a large site at 77,000 sq ft but I was surprised to find around 2/3 of the factory demolished and what was left just an empty shell.
So here it is, somewhere I like many others, had spent day after dull day before its time was up
What would have been the mali-fleece department
Now just an empty shell
What would have been the loading bay and main entrance
I’ve been on a little urbex adventure lately. There was a little trio of myself, Paul Whittingham and Damian Bere that made our way to an abandoned Paper Mill in Yorkshire in the hope of avoiding security and seeing some interesting deriliction. The mill dates back over 100 years and at it’s peak over a 1000 people worked at this site. The company went bankrupt and closed in 2001 and the site feels like everyone just walked out, closed the doors and never came back.
First job was getting in. With that little adventure out of the way (…don’t ask) we were unsure of how much of the site we would be able to get to but were greeted by a small room that led to the corridor below. Now it’s at this point that I’m reminded of why I’m here, I love derelict buildings! I love the light and the colours, the textures and the way paint peels and crumbles.
This is HDR combination of three separate shots of different exposures
A quick explore of this initial part of the building revealed some really interesting big chunky bits of industrial machinery. Suspended several feet off the ground were six huge metal spheres. These look like they are made from parts of an old battleship with their huge rivets and thick sheets of curved metal. I gather they are called ‘pochers’ and were used to ‘cook’ pulp under high pressure in this room. There is a walkway underneath these spheres and one in level with them, from either they look very dramatic.
Like a gaping mouth! This is lit from directly below with a diffused remote speedlight to create some interesting shadows
The walkway that runs alongside the large metal ‘pochers’
This one gives a better idea of the size of these things. The ‘pocher’ is lit with a remote speedlight to bring out the colour and texture
After a while in this room it was time to explore a little further. We found a door that opened into another room with little in it, but then another door that we could squeeze through which open the way to the whole rest of the site. There were various rooms and offices and all showing the tell tale signs of time. Paint crumbling and bubbling, wallpaper peeling and corrosion and colour everywhere.
A little bit of dereliction and symmetry.
When moving into one of the main machine rooms (below) we had a little surprise. As we were looking around and setting a few shots up another group of urbex’ers came into the room. There was the slightly embarrassed nodding of hello’s as they passed through and then we were back to our camera’s.
The machines are now all silent and this building is now a very, very large pigeon coop (complete with a very, very large amount of pigeon poop)!
The offices in particular I found fascinating, they really do feel like the workers just left one day and never came back. The rooms have not even been cleared our and there are still files in draws and paper on desks, only now time has taken hold and is claiming it all slowly back.
Paper still in the In tray, files in draws, notices on the walls.
A little further on there was a drawing room with board and blue prints. There were draws full of these technical drawings and some had been got out and laid on the board.
This was lit with a single speedlight on the desk to the right of the board.
Finally in one of the last offices there were draws and draws of photo’s. Someone had got some of them out on the desk, they looked to be from the 60’s and I’m sure are former employees of the mill. Made me wonder, who are these people…
So, the only question now is where next? I want to do quiet a bit more of this and am looking forward to getting inside and exploring more building that are hidden from day to day view but have with then help of nature and time have a distinct beauty all of their own.
🙂
Towards the end of 2011 amongst much talk of another Panto (or some sort of Panto-esqe Winter show) it was decided it was time to do the Mummers Play again.
For those that may not know, a Mummers Play is a traditional English play that dates back hundreds of years in it various forms but generally involves a Knight, a Dragon, a Turkish or dark Knight and a Doctor. There is also often Beelzebub and a fool or various other characters. They vary but all follow the same basic theme. These are short plays performed outside for the entertainment of the public around the Christmas period. The idea of performing this again was met with much approval by all the usual suspects and so the planning began. After after a seven year gap (and various mutterings of “who’s got a copy of the script…?”) the Welshampton crowd strode out to perform the mummers play again.
For me this was something a little different. During most of the Welshampton events I have managed to stay out of the way when it comes to performing. I have always enjoyed helping building or and doing whatever I can. During the Welshampton bonfires, I had always been safely hidden out of sight behind a camera. Best place for me I’ve always thought. So when we started doing the Panto’s I was happy to stay backstage and help with the organising and the nearest I got to the stage was moving the odd set here and there. Mission accomplished I thought to myself.
Anyway, towards the end of the last Panto I began to think that it might, just might, possibly be fun to give it a go. This is indeed new ground for me as I’ve never really been happy doing anything like that before. As a teen to young man I think I bounced between arrogant self-opinionated over-confident git and insecure over-analytical git, neither of which made me want to try anything like performing. Now on the wrong side of forty and so completely free of any misguided sense of self respect etc. I’m willing to give it a go. Time to step out of the comfort zone any try something new and scary (always a good thing…)!
And so this is how I found myself in green tights dressed as a dragon walking from Pub to Pub in Ellesmere.
That was ok I thought, but then it’s easy to hide in a costume when your only lines are ‘Gggggrrrrr’.
And so now on to the Winter show/Panto. After a set of auditions (ehhh, do what, audition!?!) I have a part, a part with a silly costume and words and everything!
And what’s more, I have to say I’m enjoying it. It seems standing in front of a whole bunch of people and acting like a complete tit has a lot going for it. Of course we’re only doing rehearsals so far and not the hard Welshampton audiences that bay for actors blood…
I’m sure it’ll be fine 😉
If you’d like to come and see the show then you’ll find all the details here: www.welshampton.net
More to follow including a very, very silly costume for my character, Galahad, a boy trying soooo hard to be a man!
Photographing this year’s Welshampton bonfire with the lighting problems we had was interesting to say the least and a few people have asked me about this so I thought I’d cover it here. I didn’t get a proper chance this year to do much in the way of test shots as unfortunately there was an issue with the lighting desk during the Tech’ rehearsal on the Friday evening before the event. Not the end of the world I though as after photographing this event for the previous seven years I thought I’ve more or less got the hang of most the problems it can give you.
I was wrong. Around fifteen minutes before the performance was due to start on the Saturday evening the light failed, again. I’m sure everyone involved had their own issues caused by this but my thoughts definitely went along the lines of ‘bugger, how am I going to do this then’!?
In previous years the issue has always been getting the exposures right with the lights changing in colour and intensity constantly throughout the show, this time I was going to have to try and do a good deal of lighting from the camera. So with the event now being lit by little more that a couple of ambient background lights illuminating the bonfire build and a follow spot which I had no control of I find myself feeling very happy in the knowledge that my trusty Nikon SB600 strobe had a fresh set of batteries in it! Once attached to the camera, and we were off!
After a few shots it became clear that using the strobe at any high power as needed was spilling too much light around the surrounding area’s and so I tried using the grid I had with me to limit the light spillage and ‘spotlight’ the area’s I wanted to. This worked really well and so I used it throughout the rest of the performance. What made me even happier is this is the classic ‘made with black tape and black straws’ home-made kind of grid so following the commonly held view by many strobist photographers that when it comes to strobe lighting high cost equipment is often unrequited.
After an interesting evening of constant ongoing image reviewing followed by constant ongoing sodding around with strobe power settings to add to the usual photography fun it all seemed to go ok in the end.
To those of us that are involved and know how it could have looked the lights failing was a real blow as the drama, colour and effect was lost but I hope for most of the audience that wouldn’t have know about any of this that they enjoyed it without knowing something was missing.
So with the decision that the Welshampton bonfires are now over and there will be no more we move onto other events and other things. The Panto in February and a new type of event for us all together in the summer! Looking forward to it all.
So finally, here’s a selection of images that made lighting this years, final bonfire, so interesting… 🙂
This seems a shame that it is a little colourless but at least it is a cake and so is fine being white.
This one is a mixture of the ambient light of the backlit windows and some low power strobe light illuminate the build itself.
And then going for some without the strobe to get a contrasty skeletal look
A longer exposure of 3 seconds for a bit of sky and foreground
This is a combination of two shots, one exposed for the volcano and one with the gridded strobe to pick out Sir Mike in his boat
The Goddess lit with low power strobe to pick out the metal work
And then without the strobe to pick out the flames
Again, this does seem lacking in colour but I’m sure the audience still enjoyed it anyway
Ahhhhh, that’s a bit more colour! Three second exposure to try to get some dramatic fireworks
So it’s Welshampton Bonfire time again! This year there is a nice upbeat feel to it all as we all know what we’re doing and where it’s going.
I have had little time to do much and will update this later but for now a few images of how it’s all going… 🙂
I have been reading a few interesting things on the net that have got me thinking over the past week or two which has eventually led to this blog entry and the concept of ‘Poetic Terrorism’. This started by looking at a book that was put my way called: ‘Temporary Autonomous Zone’ by Hakim Bey.
This is essentially a guide, manual or manifesto for guerilla art and a free-thinking way of life. Much of it is wayyyyyyy out there in the category of ‘spaced out’ thinking but there are parts of it that are also very thought-provoking.
So just what-the-f*** is the ‘Temporary Autonomous Zone’ and this ‘Poetic Terrorism’ lark I hear you ask???
Poetic Terrorism is the idea of creating an event, a disturbance, a creative disturbance even, that makes people stop and think, then just may make people smile and wonder. This is a brief moment where people have to re-think about something, and perhaps look at things a little differently. This is then the ‘Temporary Autonomous Zone’, the moment when people simple aren’t sure what is going on and autonomous thinking kicks in…
A few quoted suggestions and idea’s from the book to give you an idea of the kind of things we’re talking about here…
Unauthorized pyrotechnic displays…
Earth-works as bizarre alien artifacts strewn in State Parks.
Pick someone at random & convince them they’re the heir to an enormous, useless & amazing fortune, say 5000 square miles of Antarctica, or an ageing circus elephant…
Bolt up brass commemorative plaques in places (public or private) where you have experienced a revelation or had a particularly fulfilling sexual experience, etc.
You get the idea. Silly… possibly. Mischievous… yes, fun… probably! The first example that sprang to mind of real-world Poetic Terrorism or Guerilla Art was flash mobs. The unannounced performance by a crowd of people who assemble unknown to the public, do whatever they have planned and then drift back amongst the public. If you don’t know this is going to happen and are in the middle of it then there must be that first moment of ‘Errrrrr what’s going on here’ followed by realisation and smiles, finally followed by phone calls to tell people and a day that makes you smile.
Here’s an example of an interesting one at Grand Central Station. There have been plenty of others. Another example of Poetic Terrorism would be street art;
A couple of examples from Banksy. Great pieces of street art continually appear (generally overnight) in most cites, they are created by unnamed guerilla artists who do it simply because they want to. Banksy is an exception to this rule as he is now a well-known artist but I’m using him as an example as I think Banksy’s art (like much good street art) has lots to say when you look at it. The first one here questions the perception of graffiti in a very tongue in cheek way. The other demonstrates the reality that so many of us do swear our allegiance to Tesco’s and so turn our backs on our local ‘real’ shops in a simple and striking way…
Banksy’s works now sell for hundreds of thousands and there has been a call for some to be listed after one was recently whitewashed by mistake. The point here though is that they were originally done illegally and without thought of glory or recognition, in the knowledge that they may be removed the very next day but knowing that they may also make some think or make someone smile.
As Hakim Bey puts it in ‘Temporary Autonomous Zone’;
The Poetic Terrorist behaves like a confidence-trickster whose aim is not money but change.
In order to work at all, Poetic Terrorism must categorically be divorced from all conventional structures for art consumption (galleries, publications, media).
Don’t do Poetic Terrorism for other artists, do it for people who will not realize (at least for a few moments) that what you have done is art.
And his advice on getting away with this kind of activity;
…don’t stick around to argue, don’t be sentimental; be ruthless, take risks.
Dress up. Leave a false name. Be legendary. The best Poetic Terrorism is against the law, but don’t get caught. Art as crime; crime as art.
I have to say a bit of me thinks this all sounds like a bloody good idea.
I’ve recently not had a huge amount of time to play around with the camera, finding the time coupled with feeling I had got into a bit of a rut of not wanting to do the same things I’ve done before meant that I’ve not done much new for a while. I have for some time though wanted to have a go at using remotely triggered off-camera lighting, not continuous lighting (where there are additional issues of power and large heavy gear to set up) but remote off-camera flashes, strobes. So when it was suggested that one of the Shropshire Community group meetings should be a ‘Strobist’ meeting in an Urbex setting I was instantly sold on the idea.
This is a shot from the same location taken around 18 months ago. A bit more of this sort of thing I thought, I can live with that. The plan was to get a group of people together and experiment with remote lighting but nearer the meeting the plans changed. It was announced that there would also be two models coming along. I have to admit I wasn’t initially thrilled with this, I was looking forward to shooting an Urbex setting and wasn’t sure if a model shoot was what I wanted to do but on the other hand, it was something I had never tried and so thought I would give it a go.
I have to admit I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and it left me thinking much more about what I could do and how I would want it to look etc.
I didn’t really come away from the day with much usable stuff but did come away inspired and wanting ‘go Strobist’ and also do some more planned work with models.
We went to the abandoned Airfield building at Press Heath and once there started with one of the little tumbledown sheds, the old favourite with the crumbling car. I didn’t want to try anything glamour-ish but just wanted to play around with some idea’s for something a bit offbeat and possibly odd looking. So, no smiles, no poses, just errrrrr stare off into the distance and let you arms hang etc…
I am quite happy with this one as the lighting worked out the way I wanted to (which is always good when you’re trying this stuff for the first time!). After the initial messing around getting some of the different bits of gear between us to work together we were off. With this one, the derelict car was lit by a softbox to the far left of the camera and the model lit by a strobe with grid (to produce a narrow spotlight) just to the lower left of the camera.
The other few images were all taken in a very, very dark and derelict building and I have to give our model Keighley credit as she was far from thrilled at all about the idea of being somewhere dark, creepy and full of mice and spiders but was also all for making sure that whatever shots anyone had in mind, that would be fine. I’m not sure where I was going with some of this, trying for a bit of a cinematic look I guess. None of these are really what I wanted them to be and are far from as good as they could be but they are my first attempt and as such I’m happy with them.
With that I have now put together a ‘basic’ Strobist kit (two strobes, two light stands, diffuser, grid etc.) and the plan is to use light more, in more interesting ways and to find out what works and what doesn’t.
🙂
In my last post I sidestepped events that were happening at the time and just thought it worth mentioning the exhibition, now that things have happened it’s probably time for an update. Towards the end of last year my Mum was diagnosed with lung cancer. After a brief period of uncertainty, it was made pretty clear that it was inoperable and untreatable. We had to watch as she deteriorated very quickly and by the end of January she had gone, only three months from diagnosis to death. But enough of that and moving on…
I was also informed in January that the small consultancy firm I had worked at for quite a few years was winding down due to the owner looking for his ‘route to retirement’. When I say ‘winding down’ what that actually meant was he was going to continue as a lone consultant but was looking to off-load the staff. I can safely say, January was not my favourite month.
With the frame of mind I was already in it was a big welcome to uncertain-ville! It’s funny how life seems to go through periods of stability and upheaval, some times you plan it sometimes you don’t, either way, it happens. So it was looking like it was time to look for another job, but then there was an alternative.
So me and Andy (my ‘was’ co-worker and now co-owner) formed our own business. I have to say it wasn’t quite as straight forward as that (as I’m sure that anyone that that has set up a business will tell you). There was a brief period which involved lots of ‘is this the right thing’ and ‘can this actually work’ and then onto the niggling issues of office premises, equipment, servers, remote working, banks and accountants. Once these were out of the way we could concentrate on the real-time killing issues like getting a working phone system in place (just how hard can it be BT)!
So here I am, a director and co-owner of my own IT company… which of course, in the real world means absolutely nothing more than if we don’t make any money then I don’t get paid. That bit seems pretty straight forward then.
I’ve never worked for myself and so have never had to think of things like logo’s or how invoices should look or how a company should be run but so far it’s all good. I’m thoroughly enjoying being in control of where it’s going, what we’re going to do and how it will be done.
There has been a downside. The downside of this is that it has taken up just about every spare minute I’ve had for the past few months to get it all set up and running which has meant I have a camera that’s been gathering dust. Not good.
So now things are returning to ‘normal’ and there may even be some spare time around the corner I feel once again the need to pick up the camera and do something…
So here we are into the new year and there have been lots of ups and downs.
A little while ago I ran my first photographic exhibition which was an interesting experience. It was at S.P.A.C.E in Ellesmere over the 2010 Winter festival. I had around 30 prints and 4 canvases on display covering a range of things that have interested me, local landscapes, a few buildings and some derelict images.
I was happy that the landscapes did not provoke a big response as this is a direction that I feel I have done everything I need to do with it. The derelict images on the other hand got a very good response. There was a good deal of feedback that these were interesting and much more intriguing, this is great as it’s a subject that I feel I want to do more of.
This year I have set myself the challenge of using off-camera flash (going Strobist) as it’s something I really want to have a play with but have just never got around to yet.
And so ends the Welshampton Bonfire ‘The History Man’ for 2010. A visually stunning and great event. It has been a very full on event for me as taking on making one of the puppets soaked up what little free time I had at the moment and left little for photography of the build or the people but I’m glad I did it. One of the really good things about being involved in this event is the community side of it all, this year we had a whole bunch of Irish volunteers from Galway which was great. They all seemed a happy crowd and contributed to making it a great event. The question as to if this will be the last event has hung over this all the way through and I do wonder myself. I think it will go on next year but I do wonder if there will be any urge to push it onwards after the 10th event…
The Sporadic Blog 
