Hidden Waterfalls of Sayausi

Our hiking group, usually led by the intrepid Jeff Van Pelt, headed out on the number 3 bus towards Sayausi yesterday. It's a little area north west (ish) of Cuenca. Once we got to our stop, we grabbed two mixtos and headed up the hill to our starting point. (I have no idea what the stop was, I wasn't paying attention...which is one of the reasons I don't host any hikes.)

"Can I come, too?"

For those that have the time and energy, there's actually a loop route that takes around 6 hours to complete, but you have to go prepared, and we had a nice lunch waiting for us at Le Petit Jardin.

Shahbaz, trying out a friend's sunglasses
at Le Petit Jardin

One of the quirks of the outskirts is that you occasionally have to cross private land to get to some of these trails. Usually, Ecuadorians are generous and just wave at you as you go past. This particular hike uses a private road to access the trail head and the gentleman there has learned that he can press gringos (maybe locals, too) for a few bucks each to pass over his land. We happily avoided this instance yesterday, but be prepared, should you find yourself in this type of situation. (We were once denied access all together on a hike, despite a sign indicating that it was a tourism project...go figure.)

Our guide Jeff, finding these places for us to hike

The actual trail, once off the road was narrow and shaded by eucalyptus trees and heavy bamboo stands. The conditions were mostly perfect, damp ground, but not muddy, making for good grip under the feet. The sun came and went with the large, drifting clouds overhead and a slight breeze kept things cool for the most part. 

John, intrepidly making his way down

It's a steep climb and the side trails down to the sets of "cascades" (waterfalls) aren't marked, so it took a bit of exploration and daring-do to find the access points. We heartless used Ron (my hubbie), for his tirelessness, to check out the tracks before heading down ourselves. This isn't your North American adventure. The paths aren't made for safety, nor are they cleared for easy access, you just follow a little trail, ducking and twisting as necessary (not to mention slipping and grabbing branches) to get to these little pockets of peace. They are definitely not for those with crappy knees, aversion to heights or a deep need to know exactly where you're going.

Ron, guiding people down the steep embankment

We were rewarded with dappled sunlight, narrow falls and moss covered rocks. Once we'd cleared the "danger" area and avoided paying a toll to access what we assume is public land, we walked back down the hill and stopped at one of our guide's favourite restaurants for lunch.

Fairy glen

It was a great day, with interesting and amusing friends and a new adventure under our belts.