A FLASHpacking Story Around Ecuador

FLASHPACKING

Sunset over the Amazon, South America

Sitting in a Hostel in Ecuador, some twenty meters from the gaping Laguna Quilotoa, my two travel companions and I met a girl. She was in her thirties, an American, and had been hiking the Quilotoa Loop for the past four days. Jess was her name, and serious backpacking was her game. 



The Quilotoa Loop is a 3 to 4 day hike through the Ecuadorian Andes which follows the contours of the craters and mountains, typically starting in Quilotoa and ending in Sigchos. Although the hike can be performed the other way around (starting in Sigchos), the overwhelming highlight of the experience is the mammoth lake filled crater in Quilotoa, which many like to leave for the grand finale. Most people completing the hike warn that although the trek itself is not hugely difficult in a physical sense, it is at times impossible due to the altitude. The crater sits at just under 4000 meters above sea level, and some parts of the walk back up from the lake at the bottom can feel stationary, even when you are doing what you might think is your best ever hiking.

The famous crater lake

Freezing and altitude weary, Jess, Martin (German), Max (British) and I (Australian) sat melting the soles of our hiking boots on the metal stove which jutted from the centre of the tiled room, and watched the unbelievable wind blow parts of the tiny village by the window. It was after a gust almost blew the window in, that we got to talking about what Jess had done, and what we had not done. Jess had hiked all over Ecuador. She had eaten live grubs and the delicacy Cuy (guinea pig). She had stayed in a remote village, helping to harvest food and re-plant yucca and pineapple seedlings. Jess spoke Spanish. Jess had a pack that looked like it could have been in a window display, so perfectly rectangular it sat by her seat. She wore appropriate clothing because she had researched the country and taken an interest in the climate. She knew the buses would be cold, she knew exactly which brand of tortillas would stay fresh in her bag the longest, and she placed her mug of tea ontop a well-used Lonely Planet guide. Yes sir-ree, Jess was the quintessential BackPacker. She asked what we had done?

Martin, Max and I looked among ourselves for a spokesperson. Max began by explaining how we had come to be in Quilotoa. Now, the best way to get to Quilotoa is to catch a 2 hour bus from Quito to Latacunga, then another bus or jeep from Latacunga to Quilotoa. So, naturally..

Max: “We got a taxi from Quito to Quilotoa.”

Jess: “What?”

Max: “We were in a Taxi and the driver offered to drive us here for $80, so we said 'si!'”

Jess struggled with the idea. She struggled more when we told her we had been staying in private rooms at hostels and asking for ensuites, and more so again when we explained that 'food meant a lot to us' and so we had been “TripAdvisor-ing” all the recommended restaurants. In regards to the Quilotoa Loop...well, we hadn't walked it, nor did we have any intention of doing so. And where were we off to next? Well, New York of course! To get a taste of the high life before we headed home. I watched Jess thinking for a moment, and when she finally spoke she accused us all of being:

Jess: “FlashPackers.”

I had never heard this term before. Apparently 'FlashPacker' refers to travellers who display the following characteristics:

• stay in hostels, but never in dorms   
• spend money on food
• shun the free breakfast at a hostel to find something better (usually decent coffee and granola)
• pack their bags poorly because they don't intend on walking with them on their backs
• get taxis from airports instead of the shuttle bus
• get taxis to hostels instead of navigating their way by foot from the town centre
• get taxis to far away locations instead of catching 'chicken' (local) buses
• get taxis to restaurants when it rains
• get taxis from restaurants to bars
• launder their clothes at every new location
• have two new seasons of a TV series downloaded on their Ipad to watch during transit
• contemplate missing cultural events/meals/monuments for a 'nice relaxing day' which has in no way been earned
• are indifferent to the overwhelming sense of achievement that comes from a difficult hike to a summit

We were all definitely guilty of the accusation. Having said that, Jess' character was not foreign to any of us. Max, Martin and I have all done a lot of real, down and dirty, dorm room, starvation Backpacking in our time. I myself, with a friend, have travelled Central America on an extreme budget, sleeping on hammocks in courtyards at hostels to save money, and walking for hours in the rain when chicken buses dropped us nowhere near our destinations. In Europe, on my big three month walkabout alone, I ate a peach for dinner five nights in a row because my budget had allowed only one splurge meal and one two euro gelato a day. On the last night of that particular trip, I slept in Athens Airport because I was flat broke so couldn't afford another nights accommodation. I kicked my bag around the terminals for 15 hours, rationing McNuggets into sevenths. I've 'couchsurfed' in Canada and in America. I've been in countless Museums doing the learning thing, the cultural thing...and I've bought every phrasebook to communicate ever written. I've been in the same clothes for four months, and I've used the same toothbrush down to stumps, and I think I may have had my fill for a while.

FLASHpackers can still rough it sometimes!

FlashPackers we may have become in Ecuador, but BackPackers was where we began. I feel like at some point you earn your passage to the glitzy corridor of Flashpackery; you glimpse the interior of a nice private room with air conditioning, and you think “I've paid my dues.” We are all guilty of seeing our third Mayan temple and feeling underwhelmed because Tikal was the biggest and we all want the biggest, and the biggest ruin is always the best ruin, and the small dry wall crumbling in a now paddock full of cows is sort of a huge let down considering the four hour round trip to get there... we are ALL guilty. Similarly, a friendly dorm of like-minded people is always a joy, until it's your ninth dorm in a row and you're still recovering from the tinea you picked up from communal bathroom number two some weeks ago.

As a traveler, whether you be 'Flash' or 'Back', you should see the world, however you like, and if you meet a FlashPacker on your journey, don't hate him or accuse him. Remember that a FlashPacker is just a Backpacker who has become old and worn, and who probably worked incredibly hard to travel the way they want. Just like you, my dirty little friend. 

By Jamie Bruce. 

We want to hear from you, our fellow readers, whether you are a FLASHpacker or BackPacker? Comment below and let us know!