Smuggler´s Route: a path of horseshoes, stories and tradition

Tavels involve us in new adventures, connect us with people and make us discover stories. To travel through Ecuador I changed the wheels through the horseshoes to make a fantastic trip along the old Smuggler's Route .   

Horse Ride on the smuggler's route

The excitement and adventurous spirit of my companions motivated me to travel for more than 8 hours on horseback, through beautiful landscapes, dreamlike sunrises and the purity of nature.

Prior to the horse ride, we made different adventure modalities such as canyoning at the La Soberana waterfall , sport fishing on the Chimbo river , cycling on the Suncamal trails and bird watching in the cloud forest; all this in Cumandá , canton of the south of the province of Chimborazo , with a spring climate, that took it for the position between the provinces of Cañar , Guayas and Bolívar .        

This destination is an important point of trade and exchange of traditional products of the Coast and the Andes; That is why it is easy to enjoy traditional dishes from the two regions including: ceviche, fish, fried or grilled, with values ranging between $ 4.00 and $ 10.00.

Making friends in Cumandá is easy, its people is very firendly. The Central Park is a site of greatest attendance, in it the majority of the people met together to talk or play sports. Thus, between laughs and talks, a group of young people encouraged us to be part of the horse ride that would leave the next day, from Cumandá to Sibambe. This activity revives the traditions and thanks the gifts and beatitudes of "Patron Santiago."

Many years ago the southern of Chimborazo had large cane fields and from them the cane juice was extracted and subsequently converted into handmade liquor. The business was good, but it had decreasing through the time because the liquor government control. In tho use days the government established a limit on production with taxes and a minimum percentage of production.  

The government use to controll the illegal trade of spirits and other products such as oranges, panela, Chinese potato or banana with the installation of strategic points on the mountain with tobacconist guards known as "guards." The men evaded the controls going out at night with their mules loaded, carrying up to 100 liters of liquor in leather bags named Capachos.

The inhabitants were given ways to continue with the commercialization, thus, secretly, along dangerous roads and risking life, the liquors was on its way to reach Sibambe or the hill of San Nicolás, a place where they spent the night to overcome the cold and fatigue. It would seem like a fantasy story but it was real. 

A tradition that refuses to die

The clock marked 07h00 and the sound of the town band, laughter and laughter was heard at the meeting point. In the crossing we would be accompanied by our friends from Cumandá, who were part of the tour with their parents and grandparents, who formerly distributed the products clandestinely.

With a small glass of brandy, about 30 riders welcomed us. Everyone rushed to take advantage of the good weather with a bright sun and dry roads. The tour of the route has no cost, you only have to cancel the horse rental for $ 30.00. 

The route started in Guallanag . My trip was in the company of a former smuggler, who with his stories showed the longing for those days, on the paths of happy memories and at the same time of pain and sadness. 

We arrive at the top of San Nicolás, located at 3100 meters above sea level, here the clouds watch you from below. At this point in the time of smuggling, riders made a stop to rest with their animals, unique companions of their long and historic journeys.

At night, in a single space we met with a good barbecue and guitar, together with the heat of the campfire, travelers and horses, among stories of smuggling, one of them that caught my attention narrated that a smuggler devised a fantastic strategy to outwit the guards, and so one day he transported the brandy bags in a coffin so as not to be discovered.  

The sky was lost between the mountains and the strong wind invaded the environment, to overcome it it was necessary to drink a good sip of brandy. On top of San Nicolás, a friendly villager met us in his cabin, it is common to camp in this area and so did a group that participated in the adventure of the Smuggler's Route . 

The next morning, we resume the trip to Sibambe, a small town near Alausí and the Devil's Nose. To get to this place you descend through impressive mountains that made us feel the immensity of the earth. After two hours of travel, in Sibambe we were greeted by the image of the “ Santiag Patron ”, which rests on a horse. Every year, the saint receives thanks for riders and their families. The tour is part of this tribute, its people believe that those who do not attend the march can be punished.

At the moment, the march on horseback transits through the Smuggler's Route in honor of the “Patron Saint Santiago”, and is a tourist route from which the history and devotion of the Andean peoples who continue to build their culture, between roads and horseshoes, is shown and lived. .