Tag: Lost My Heart in Cuenca! | An Indian in Ecuador 🇪🇨 Ep. 52

In a city where four rivers flow, shaped like a basin, lies one of the world’s most remarkable places. It is a city from which the highest number of flowers are exported globally. The climate remains pleasant throughout the year, ranging between 10°C and 20°C. It is also a city where you can drink water directly from the rivers and even from the tap. Surrounded by beautiful mountains, welcome to Cuenca, Ecuador. Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal, and Ram Ram to everyone. Once again, welcome to the 135th country of my world cycling journey – Ecuador, and to its beautiful city, Cuenca. It is Ecuador’s third-largest city, with a population of around 700,000 people. I would call this the city of churches. I have travelled extensively, but I have never seen so many churches in a single city. There must be at least 50–60 churches in this relatively small city. Wherever you go, you will find another church. So, let us begin with this beautiful church in front of us, built on 25 December 1924. Let’s go inside and have a look. Inside, there is a museum as well. Unfortunately, it remains closed on Saturdays and Sundays. In the previous video, you saw that I had arrived in Cuenca and checked into a hotel. Nearby, there is this bridge, although the road ahead has been closed after the river. It is a bridge from the Spanish colonial era. Around here, you can still find many Spanish-era buildings and houses. Some examples can be seen all around, and you will also notice French architectural influences. Nowadays, many of the houses have been renovated, but some traditional structures still remain. We need to continue along this route. You can see that part of the bridge has collapsed ahead. Four rivers flow through this city, and there is an interesting fact about them – all four eventually join the Amazon River. What’s fascinating is that the Pacific Ocean is only about 100 kilometres away, while the Atlantic Ocean lies thousands of kilometres to the east. Yet, the water from these rivers does not flow into the nearby Pacific. Instead, it travels nearly 5,000 kilometres through the Amazon Basin before finally reaching the Atlantic Ocean. That’s because we are currently in the Andes Mountains, at an altitude of around 2,700 metres. The terrain slopes towards the Amazon side, directing the rivers eastward. Alongside the river, there are beautifully designed stairways. What makes them special are the incredible murals and paintings covering the walls. Across Latin America, wall art is truly impressive. There are also thoughtful facilities here. One side has a lift system for wheelchair users so they can avoid the stairs, while another section has a dedicated ramp for cyclists. The murals are stunning. One of them is called “Lady of the Leaf”. Nearby is a Punjabi restaurant, and my hotel is located in the same area. There are also several Pakistani restaurants in the neighbourhood. And once again, another church appears. There is always something happening here – religious ceremonies, cultural events, and community gatherings. Indigenous traditions still have a strong influence on local life. A ceremony has just taken place, perhaps connected to a local ritual or celebration. This map shows the old city. Just within this area alone, there are more than a dozen churches. Even utility boxes throughout the city are decorated with beautiful artwork. Here stands one of the city’s two cathedrals. Cuenca has countless churches and two major cathedrals. In some areas, you genuinely feel as though you have stepped back in time. The historic buildings are incredibly beautiful. I tried flying my drone twice, but the entire city is a restricted zone. Drone flights are not allowed here. Still, the architecture is magnificent. This particular building houses the Consulate of Guatemala. Now we have arrived at the city centre, where the main cathedral stands. Today, there is also a festival taking place – a sweets and candy exhibition. Local desserts are on display everywhere. Volunteers from the Red Cross are present to ensure everyone’s safety during the event. This city has truly won my heart. One of the best things about it is how safe it feels. Vendors are selling kiwis, strawberries, oranges, and other fruits. The city centre is beautifully decorated with colourful flowers. Speaking of flowers, Ecuador exports around eight million flowers every day to Europe and the United States. The flower industry alone is worth approximately one billion US dollars. Take a look at these local sweets. The atmosphere reminds me of Diwali in India, when sweet shops line the streets. There are chocolates, traditional treats, and many local specialities. I am definitely going to try some of them shortly. There are not just one or two stalls here – the entire central plaza is filled with sweet vendors and festive displays. This is the city centre, and a programme is taking place here. There seems to be some construction work going on, which is probably why they have closed off the central area. Even so, the place looks absolutely beautiful. Since it is festival time, the atmosphere is even more vibrant. Look, this lady is selling lottery tickets. And over here, there are shops set up inside as well. I have now come to the other side of the church. Let’s see whether I get a chance to go inside. This church was built in the 1800s. This is the main church. Just look at how beautiful it is. Isn’t it amazing? Let me go inside – it is even more impressive from within. It is incredibly large, spacious, and beautifully designed. This is the magnificent San Francisco Church. There are flowers everywhere, making it even more attractive. I asked about the tickets. “How much is it?” “One dollar. The next tour is in one hour.” “Okay.” For one dollar, they offer a one-hour guided city tour. Since the next tour starts in an hour, I thought I might join it […]

A gun wasn’t pointed at me here, brother — it was pointed right here. This is the area where most thieves live. I changed my tyres and set off. Hello everyone, Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal and Ram Ram Ji. Welcome back to my channel. At the moment, we are in the beautiful city of Tumbes. This is my last city in Peru. I travelled here all the way from Lima, but unfortunately, something unpleasant happened on the way. I was robbed. They took my money, my two cameras, and one of my mobile phones. I still had one phone left, so I thought it would be better not to take any more risks. I covered around 500–600 kilometres by bus. The gun wasn’t pointed here, brother — it was pointed right here. But what hurts me the most is that I lost all my footage. I lost an entire month’s worth of recordings. I hadn’t uploaded many proper videos during that month either. There were two videos from Lima and another three or four from the journey. Around five or six videos are gone forever. The financial loss was significant too. Around $1,000 in cash was taken. The only reason I got away relatively lightly was because of the dollars I was carrying. Do you know what happened? As soon as they stopped me, they took both cameras and my phone because they were visible from the outside. Then they demanded my wallet. I had exchanged money with my friend Ratan before leaving. I transferred money into his account in India, and he gave me US dollars. Fortunately, he had given me mostly $20 notes. The robbers mistakenly thought they were $100 notes because there were so many of them. Once they saw the cash, their attitude changed. They told me, “Go now, go now,” and let me leave. It was a very frightening experience. And it wasn’t even dark. It was only around 5 p.m. It usually gets dark around 6 p.m. I had just left the highway and turned onto a smaller road. Barely 200 metres after turning, they stopped me. I suspect someone tipped them off. Around 10–15 kilometres earlier, I had stopped for coffee and taken out my wallet. I think they started following me from there. Anyway, these things happen. Now it’s time to say goodbye to Tumbes because I am heading to Ecuador. Getting an Ecuadorian visa took a very long time. That’s one of the reasons I spent nearly a month in Lima. You may have noticed that I uploaded very few videos during that period. For almost three weeks, there were hardly any uploads. During my stay in Lima, I completed two important tasks. First, I obtained a Canadian visa. That process took time because I had to provide biometrics, wait for the decision, and then get the visa sticker placed in my passport. Altogether, it took around 15 days. Getting the Ecuador visa was also very difficult. I’ll tell you the full story once I reach the Ecuador border. This is the city’s Plaza de Armas. Every city, town and village here has a place like this. It is the central square, also known as the “Centro”. Children come here to play, there is a park, and usually a church stands on one side. The city spreads out around it. My hotel was somewhere over there. Things are about to become even more dangerous as I enter Ecuador. To be honest, travelling in South America has started to feel a little scary now. One incident happened in Bolivia, and now another one has happened in Peru. What’s surprising is that people generally consider Bolivia and Peru safer than Ecuador and Colombia. I am heading further north now. I’m thinking about reducing the amount of gear I carry. Fortunately, my larger Sony cameras weren’t in the bag they stole. I had already shipped them to the USA. I’ll collect them when I reach Mexico. Otherwise, I would have lost another $8,000–$10,000 worth of equipment. Altogether, my losses amount to roughly $5,000, which is about ₹5 lakh. For one whole day, I felt completely devastated. Then I told myself that whatever is meant to happen will happen. Life goes on. God will provide. If you all continue supporting me, I’ll recover from this. If not, that’s okay too. The journey must continue. About 30 kilometres from here is the border. This city is also known for its crocodile farm. Over there is the police station. It really is a beautiful city. The problem is that I don’t have any network coverage. I actually carry two phones. One has my Indian number and the other contains a local SIM card. I had an iPhone 15 and an iPhone 16. The local SIM was in the iPhone 15, and that’s the one that was stolen. The iPhone 16 remained with me. Look, there goes a Suzuki Alto. I’ve already walked 4–5 kilometres through the city. It’s quite large. Since it’s the last city before the border, that’s understandable. Earlier, most of the auto-rickshaws here were Indian-made. Now Chinese models are becoming increasingly common. Chinese products are gradually taking over the market here as well. I had already recorded all of this before, but now everything is gone. Still, I’ll try to show you whatever I can. Those robbers were riding motorcycles and wearing helmets. They came out of nowhere and cornered me. At that moment, I was terrified. Now that some time has passed, I can talk about it more calmly. We’ve now left the city behind. There’s plenty of farming in this area. Rice has been planted, and some farmers are already harvesting it. In a few places, the crop is still green. Within another 15 days, it will be ready. Summer has begun here. In fact, this region stays warm almost all year because we’re getting close to the Equator. The coast is only about 4 kilometres away. Let me explain […]

Welcome to the Nazca Lines, a World Heritage Site. These incredible geoglyphs are believed to be between 2,200 and 2,500 years old. Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram Ji! Once again, welcome back to my channel. It’s 2:00 p.m. and I’ve only just woken up. Right now, I’m in Nazca. In the last video, you saw how we made a super-fast ride from Arequipa and finally reached Nazca at around 11:30 p.m. Nazca is a historic town. You could also call it the Nazca Desert. We are now at an elevation of around 570–580 metres above sea level, so breathing feels much easier compared to the high mountains. This beautiful little town is famous for its history. Most of you have probably heard stories about aliens and the mysterious Nazca Lines. Many people have watched documentaries about them as well. This is that very Nazca. Some of you may also have heard legends linking this area to “Patal Lok” because it lies almost on the opposite side of the Earth from India. There is also a famous geoglyph known as the “Trident,” which some people connect with ancient myths and legends. The Nazca Lines are enormous designs etched into the ground. Even today, nobody knows exactly how they were created, why they were made, or what purpose they served. That mystery is what makes Nazca so famous. The Nazca Desert is essentially considered part of the larger Atacama Desert region. Today I’m quite lucky because this area receives almost no rainfall throughout the year—sometimes as little as 20 minutes of rain annually. Yet today there are actually clouds in the sky. Well, whenever I arrive somewhere, the clouds seem to arrive too! Honestly, I was so exhausted when I got here last night that I slept immediately. It is now around 2:30 p.m. and I’ve only just woken up. I haven’t even had any water yet. First, I’ll find something to eat and drink, then I’ll take you around the town. It’s a small place. Calling it a city would be an exaggeration. It’s more like a small town. But despite its size, it is packed with fascinating stories and history. I checked four different restaurants hoping to find some vegetarian food. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much available. I was really hungry, so I decided to visit a supermarket instead, buy some food, cook something at the hostel, and then head out to explore. Look at this dustbin. A collection truck simply lifts the entire container and takes it away. The cleanliness here is impressive, especially considering this is basically a small town. I bought a couple of bananas and some yoghurt. Now I’ll head back to the hostel and eat comfortably. This is Plaza de Armas, the town centre. When I arrived last night, I was in such bad shape that I didn’t even unload the luggage from Dhanu, my bicycle. Everything remained attached to the bike, and I went straight to bed. That’s how exhausted I was. This is my hostel. There’s nobody else here. I seem to be the only guest. Perhaps it’s the off-season. Here’s my room. I simply arrived and collapsed onto the bed. So once again, welcome to Nazca—the city of aliens, if you want to call it that. It’s a small town, but it’s famous worldwide because of its enormous geoglyphs that can only be properly seen from the sky. From Nazca, we’ll continue towards Lima. Lima is around 400 kilometres away, perhaps even slightly less. Today I plan to ride about 150 kilometres. Tomorrow I’ll try to cover another 200 to 250 kilometres. Hopefully, I’ll reach Lima either tomorrow night or the following morning. I’m trying to get there as quickly as possible. As soon as you leave the town, you enter a four-lane highway. The road conditions ahead aren’t great, and honestly, the traffic discipline here is among the worst I’ve seen anywhere. Oh wow! For the first time in all of Peru, I’ve found a petrol station that is clean and has proper restaurants, truck parking, and facilities. It’s impressive. We’ve only just left Nazca, and I have some amazing things to show you. The famous sites are located just outside the town. Look at the Pan-American Highway. This is an international highway, yet some sections are in surprisingly poor condition. I’ve travelled around four kilometres outside the town now. I’ve already seen several petrol stations under construction. I’m not sure why so many are being built here. The town ends here, and now the real adventure begins. Ahead you’ll see some small hills, but these hills hold incredible stories. Friends, we’ve now left Nazca behind. There it is in the distance. The town is nestled at the foot of the Andes Mountains. This entire region is part of the Nazca Desert, which itself is connected to the broader Atacama Desert system. Dhanu and I have now arrived at the Nazca Lines. Look at the traffic here. You can see a green area in the distance. Beyond it is a small airport. This airport operates flights that take tourists over the Nazca Lines. A flight costs roughly 100–150 US dollars and provides an aerial view of the geoglyphs. Look over there. Those are the Nazca Lines. Some of them stretch for 400 to 500 metres or even more. From the ground, it’s difficult to recognise the designs. Only from an aircraft can you truly appreciate the shapes and figures. Up ahead there is a viewing tower. We’ll try to climb it and show you some of the lines from there. The Nazca Lines are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Look over there. That shape resembles a cat. These geoglyphs were created by removing the dark surface stones and exposing the lighter ground underneath. From above, the designs become visible. There are around 1,300 known figures and geometric designs across the region. Many can only be properly appreciated from the air. Since I’ve already seen them from an […]

The entire city is built from volcanic stone. And this building here dates back to 1820. I came here just to see this place. The air feels so fresh. Hello, Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal, and Ram Ram Ji! Once again, welcome to my channel. On my Pole-to-Pole World Cycling Journey, I am currently in Peru. In front of me, you can see three beautiful mountains. These are volcanic mountains. One is over there, and the other two are on that side. The city we are heading to today is surrounded by these volcanic mountains, and from there, you get stunning views of them. Today’s ride is around 75 kilometres. This was the hostel where I stayed last night. It was built near a toll plaza. I decided to stop here because yesterday the winds were incredibly strong. Cycling against them was almost impossible. For the last 3–4 kilometres, I had to push Dhanu (my bicycle) all the way. There is a rule in this region: after around 11 a.m. or noon, strong winds suddenly begin and continue until about 5 or 6 p.m. After sunset, they gradually calm down. It is now 8:30 a.m., and over the next four and a half hours I will try to cover as much distance as possible. There is a small climb of about 200–300 metres ahead, but after that there is a descent of nearly 2,000 metres. At the moment, we are at an elevation of 4,100 metres above sea level, and we will descend to around 2,400 metres. That means nearly 2,000 metres of elevation loss. Look, there are llamas roaming around here as well. Come on, Dhanu. Let’s begin in the name of God and get the job done. In this region there are thousands of llamas and alpacas. They look tiny from a distance, so the camera cannot capture them properly, but I can see them clearly with my eyes. Some are even standing beside the road. This area is basically a national park, and we are riding right through it. Yesterday I showed you the three volcanic mountains from a distance. Now they look completely different. The mountain with two peaks is over there. This one is Misti, and that one is Pichu Pichu. There are three major mountains here. I will try flying my drone to get a better view from above. I have heard that trekking is also popular here, especially around Misti Volcano. Fortunately, it is not currently active. However, there are active volcanoes in this region, and earthquakes are quite common. The city of Arequipa lies on the other side of these mountains. To reach it, we have to ride about 75 kilometres. In a straight line, it is only around 20–25 kilometres away, but the road loops around before reaching the city. Let’s fly the drone and see what we can capture. There are many llamas around here. I would love to go closer, but entry into that area is prohibited because it is part of the national park. They probably come to the lagoon to drink water. Right now, we are still at 4,100 metres. Soon we will say goodbye to this land of llamas because a massive descent awaits us. We have nearly 2,084 metres of descent ahead over the next 68 kilometres. We have spent almost one and a half to two months at these high altitudes. It has been challenging at times, but also rewarding. We gained a lot of experiences and learned many lessons. Now a completely new experience awaits us. The landscape will soon start looking like the Atacama region again. We will ride through Atacama for another hundred kilometres or so and then head towards Lima. We should be able to move quite quickly. Nazca lies ahead as well, so I will show you that when we get there. The railway line is still running alongside us. This is the old track; the new railway line has been built further away. And there it is—the mountain I was talking about earlier, Pichu Pichu. We have come very close to it now. Below us is a huge valley. We have climbed all the way from down there. Time to enjoy the descent! The winds started as early as 10:30 today, and there is also quite a bit of traffic, so the ride is not as enjoyable as it could be. But just look at the scenery ahead—it is absolutely stunning. Here comes a convoy of trucks. This convoy only has three trucks, though perhaps some are further behind. Look at those snow-capped mountains appearing again in front of us. What an incredible sight! Just look at this view. The valley drops away below us, and in only 13 kilometres we have already descended 500 metres without even realising it. The sky on this side is completely clear. Soon we will enter the Atacama region. There is a huge amount of dust in the atmosphere there. That dust can be quite harsh; it can even cause nosebleeds. Still, we will have to spend another five to ten days in the Atacama region. Wow! What a breathtaking view. Come on, Dhanu! Keep going! These mountains look magnificent. If this were an uphill climb, I would probably be crying. But since it is downhill, I am happily singing. Human beings can be very selfish sometimes! The scenery has completely changed. Earlier I was on the side of the snow-covered mountains; now I am on the other side. What an amazing valley! For the first time in a while, I can see flowers and plants again. There is even a pleasant fragrance in the air. Notice how there was no dust at all on the other side of the mountains. Here, however, the entire region is covered with dust. These are the Andes Mountains. They act as a barrier, preventing the dust from the Atacama Desert from reaching the other side. Beyond the Andes, around 1,000 to 2,000 kilometres further […]

Hello, Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram ji everyone! Once again, welcome back to my channel. Right now, we are in Peru, in a small city called Puno, where Lake Titicaca is located. In the previous video, you saw our cycle “Dhanno”, and now we are ready to leave. From here, we will head towards Arequipa, which is around 300 km away. For that, I first need to climb uphill and then descend again. Earlier, our plan was to go towards Cusco, but we cancelled it because we would have had to stay at very high elevation for almost 1,000 km, and my health is not allowing me to remain at such high altitude for a long time. So now we are leaving from here and heading towards Arequipa. This was the hostel where I stayed. People here are very helpful. That lady could have gone, but she stayed back just to hold the gate for me. Today, I am not using the front camera because today’s ride is all about climbing with the bicycle. The first 120 km is uphill, and after that, around 170 km is downhill. Look at the sunlight already at 8:00 in the morning. I have climbed around 40–45 km above Puno, and now it has started getting cold. I have reached about 4,300 metres above sea level, and it is already 2:00 PM. The route ahead will mostly remain flat for some distance now. I found this small restaurant, so I stopped here for a while to eat something. This is how coffee is served here. They give coffee extract, and then you add sugar and hot water yourself. There is no milk here. The highway is slightly better here, but overall, roads in Peru are not that great. I already rode 150–200 km earlier too, and honestly, it wasn’t very enjoyable. Most roads are single-lane roads, and I think riding all the way to Lima on such roads is going to be difficult. A river is flowing alongside the road, and I have to keep climbing along it. Snow-covered mountains are visible ahead. Every 2–3 km, there is a signboard on the road. I am also seeing many alpacas around. Here, houses are basic and unfinished, but churches are properly built and beautiful. Look behind me — the church is solid and beautiful, while all the houses nearby are mud houses. Climbing uphill at this altitude is very difficult. The slope is gradual, but riding with so much luggage at high altitude is exhausting. I found a small roadside stop where alpaca meat is sold. Since morning, I have already covered around 70–80 km, and still around 40–45 km are left. Thankfully, the wind is in my favour, so riding feels better, and I am moving quite fast. I bought some basic items, water, and also took a room for the night. I parked the bicycle outside. Now we are at around 4,500 metres above sea level. My condition is getting worse. I can barely speak properly. This is the room they gave me. It is going to be extremely cold here tonight. I am cooking quinoa. I will eat it with milk. I placed the stove on a plate so that the floor does not catch fire. Quinoa looks somewhat like sesame seeds. I also had porridge with me, but I decided to eat quinoa because it feels lighter and might help with breathing. I have already worn double layers of clothes. Tonight, the temperature is expected to go down to -2°C, and the “feels like” temperature may reach -5°C. There is no heater in this room, so I will quickly eat and get inside the blankets. I am not going to work on anything tonight. Good morning, friends! I woke up after sleeping under four blankets. I made some tea. Now let me show you how cold it was — ice has formed outside. It is already 8:00 AM. Today is probably the last day of extreme cold for this journey because right now we are at 4,500 metres above sea level, and within the next 4–5 hours we will descend to around 3,500 metres. From here, Arequipa is around 150 km away. It is a famous historical and volcanic city in Peru. This was my room. It was basically a small roadside hostel. There is a restaurant downstairs and three or four rooms upstairs. Today we will try to reach Arequipa because yesterday we only managed around 110–112 km and my condition became very bad, although we reached before sunset. I have worn gloves, multiple layers, and warm clothes because the temperature right now is 2°C, but later it may rise to 15°C, so I will need to stop and change clothes on the way. Traffic on this highway has suddenly increased over the last 20 km. And just as they say “troubles begin immediately”, I got a puncture right after starting the ride! I had to unload all the luggage and repair it. This road has dangerous traffic. Many trucks carrying explosive materials pass through here in groups of 20–20 vehicles. Whenever they pass, I stop on the side. These roadside areas are mostly truck stops and dhabas. Look at these alpacas. The animals people generally call llamas actually come in three types — llama, alpaca, and another species commonly found in Chile. I will explain their differences later somewhere while resting. The traffic is intense, but interestingly, the alpacas are not scared of the trucks at all. They might get scared of me, but not of huge trucks! There is a waterfall around 1.5 km away, but I decided not to go because the road is unpaved and I have already shown many waterfalls before. Look at this beautiful view. And there — a strange-looking rabbit! This region is famous for mining. Around Puno, there is gold mining, while around Arequipa there is copper mining. That is why so many trucks move on these roads. The […]