pueblo lindo

This weekend I discovered my new favorite town in Ecuador, San Miguel de Bolivar. A two-hour drive from guaya-about-to-KILL-ya-from-heat, but a world of culture and climate away, this little town in the sierra sees few tourists yet is picturesque, safe, and welcoming. My new friends (and brothers) Maurico and Fernando also seem to be leading the way on discovering and developing world class downhill mountain bike trails in the area as well. Last weekend they organized the first DH race in a series of eight the Bolivar province. In typical Ecuadorian fashion, their family was extremely welcoming to us during this visit, we rested before the race and ate pollo con papas, arroz y menestra (baked chicken with fries, rice and lentils – a simple but filling pre-race dish). We rested and brought the jumps to the race. If strong family values represent an element of Ecuadorian culture that I have learned to respect and admire, poor-planning and lack of foresight are behaviors that continue to bother me. The night urban downhill race started at 8 pm [an event growing quickly in popularity in Ecuador and Latin America - the urban downhill race – seems to be the best way to propel the sport into the public eye – although I personally prefer riding on trails in the mountains (softer landing and more natural) rather than the cement, urban downhill races are obviously more popular with the public because of the ease of access for spectators.] and with little artificial light provided by the municipality. There were sections of the course in almost complete darkness. The race seemed ill-planed.

My Italian friend and I were the only racers without lights affixed to our bikes. Luckily the course only took about a minute and a half to complete, so it was short and not technical, so lights were not a exactly a necessity.

“De donde eres? Y que haces aqui?” Before the end of the weekend I was so sick of this question that I began to make up answers. “Soy Guayaco, soy de Europa, soy de algo que no son los Estados Unitos.” But being a celebrity for one night was enjoyable! My Italian friend and I had a following of kids surrounding us pretty much the entire weekend. Before and right after the race, the kids were non-stop questions about our background and crazy bike equipment. After the race on Saturday night, we hit the town a bit and ended up drinking some candenalla(??) and dancing salsa in the street as there was a concert in the main square and plenty of beer, liquor from the mountains, and revelry flowing throughout the night.

Even the morning after, we drove through the plaza to see the drunks still stumbling and attempting to hold conversation, and a perfectly uniformed elementary age kid approached us and greeted us with a formal handshake and more questions about our biking plans. As we were leaving the town, the students were all dressed in uniform and preparing for an annual march through the town.

I know I’ll be back soon.

Vigilante justice – But by far the most intriguing story that I heard that night surrounded the crime fighting gang that apparently burns and murders any thieves in the sierra and leaves their bodies in public plazas, thereby effectively discouraging any petty crime on the streets. Named ….. the group is infamous in the Sierra. They are ruthless, when a crime is reported; the groups act outside the law and seek retribution for the theft. – I plan to find out more about the lore and actions of this group.