In the UK, the stroke of midnight on the last day of the year generally means it's time to belt out a few choruses of Auld Lang Syne, "ooh" and "aah" at some fireworks and snog a couple of strangers. Cross the Atlantic to Ecuador in the vast, sprawling continent of South America and the celebrations couldn't be more different. And nowhere is this more apparent than when traversing the country by car, bus or bike on this most auspicious day.
It's a scene that is difficult to describe and, when happened upon unexpectedly, rates as one of the weirdest travel experiences to be had. Picture this: I am sitting sweatily on a bus bound for Banos, in the foothills of Tungurahua, a big, lumbering, active volcano. We are travelling from Riobamba on the Avenue of Volcanoes route, a journey that usually takes a couple of hours, and aim to be at our destination in time for nuevos anos. After just a mile or so, however, the bus screeches to a halt and I peer out of the grubby window to witness what looks to be a most unusual hold-up. Standing in the middle of the road, brandishing sticks, are two masked men wearing micro-minis, impossibly high heels, water-filled balloon-breasts and big, bad wigs. They have erected a barricade fashioned from a bamboo across the road, preventing traffic from continuing any further.
The other passengers put paid to my bogus bandito theory when they start laughing and clapping and waving dollar bills at the transvestites. When they are satisfied with their booty, the pair raise the boom and we continue on our way. Less than a minute later, this scene is played out again. And again. And again. It's very, very weird: like being trapped in a sideshow alley, replete with bearded ladies and gurning Beelzebubs.
The closer the bus gets to a city, the more frequent the barricades, until there's one looming every 20m or so. Drag queens and masked freaks scurry through the traffic like ants, strutting their stuff and demanding dollars. It'd be excruciating if it weren't for the passing parade of weirdos. We can't get enough of it. It is, in the truest sense of the word, surreal - like being in a pop-up book. And the locals seem to enjoy it just as much as we do, gathering in family groups around the roadblocks to heckle and cheer.
There are tubby women, men squatting and smiling and young kids who look like they are powered on red cordial. They must look forward to this day more than Christmas. Despite the constant traffic noises, the toot-toots at the transvestites and the deep-throated diesel belching from the big trucks, there is laughter bouncing all around.
We don't care that our journey will take longer than planned. Trips like this don't come along every day. By mid-afternoon, with our pockets ransacked, I've settled into my seat and am chatting in Spanglish to 12-year-old Marcos, who tells me what he knows of this custom. According to my young informant, the barricade represents the division between one year from the next - which makes sense as, when we are waved through these makeshift gates, the drag queens all jump ceremoniously over an imaginary line on the tarmac, thus leaving the past behind. It's considered good luck to give to the gangs, which means it's a profitable situation for all.
The atmosphere is totally infectious and trying to interpret the strange and wonderful rituals is one of the best things about the fiesta. Playing 'I spy' has never been so much fun.
We arrive in Banos four hours after our departure from Riobamba, and as soon as we stagger off the bus, we find the air thick with excitement. After settling in to our hotel and having a luxurious warm shower, our stocks of cheerfulness are restored and we take to the streets.
What a buzz. The streets are swarming with devils and skeletons, big hairy gorillas, big hairy transvestites and ghoulish souls smeared in thick, black grease. Carefully constructed scenes depicting the good and bad of the year are dotted around. Piled up on the pavement are mounds of effigies, orgies of tangled limbs and painted-on smiles. It seems if you haven't had time to make any anos viejos (year people), you can buy them ready-made.
Most of the papier-mache masks and effigies are of high-profile Ecuadorian politicians, although Osama bin Laden is everywhere - as are elaborate representations of the World Trade Centre, with planes suspended in mid-air ready to plough into the Twin Towers. The most impressive effigy is a towering depiction of Bin Laden, about 20ft tall. Attached to the display is a note written in Spanish that, simply translated, says "We hope you get diarrhoea for eternity". As well as being time to party, New Year's Eve gives citizens the chance to be vocal about issues which affect them - everything from the tug-of-war over territory with Peru, to the decimation of the Amazon and the rise of global terrorism.
As foreigners, we are subject to a lot of attention, which is all good-natured and welcoming. But at about 11.30pm, just when we are really getting into the swing of things, slurping on our smooth Costa Rican wine and cheering randomly, the streets suddenly empty of Ecuadorians. Tradition dictates that by midnight everyone must return to their homes while the ceremonial burning of the effigies takes place outside. The symbolism is clear: they are burning the bad luck of the year in order to leave it behind.
By 6am, there are still knots of masked people milling around the streets. There are also the smouldering remains of many bonfires, macabre scenes with the charred remains of bodies, and limbs jutting out, as if from a funeral pyre. And to top it all off... one lonely drag queen looking a bit like the Bride of Chucky, limping along, high heels in one hand, slurring "feliz ano nuevo". Indeed.
Want your very own effigy to burn this New Year's Eve? Here's what to do. Materials
Scissors
Chicken wire
Coloured tissue paper
Wallpaper paste
Newspaper
String/cord
Method
Bend the chicken wire into your desired shape (whoever you want your effigy to represent), keeping in mind that life-size creations are most common.
Cut strips of newspaper about 5cm wide and long enough to go around the figure.
Prepare your paste.
Dip the strips of newspaper into the paste and then apply them to the chicken wire. Cover the entire surface, and try to overlap the strips. Repeat three times, so you have three complete layers of newspaper. After the effigy is completely dry, add another three layers the same way you did the first three.
Again, wait until the figure is completely dry, then paint and decorate the effigy. Get creative, but remember, it's not a pinata... it is meant to represent a politician or evil person so it shouldn't be too colourful. Finally, dress up the figure in some old clothes that will indicate who the effigy is meant to represent.
Ways to go
Visas are not required for UK nationals for visits of up to 90 days. The national airlines, San/Saeta and Tame, fly frequently between Guayaquil, Quito and other destinations in the country.
