“Tossing back and forth against the sides of the car, praying and riding, we made our way down curve by curve on the shelves that straddle this South American mountain range. Miracle after miracle we dodged the drops, each more bottomless than the next. We weaved our way down into the the settled clouds where issues of height subsided to issues of sight. Zero visibility, total white. Oncoming headlights peeled the sheets from over our determined four-runner with each motorist that raced by.”

This is the road to Cuenca, the newer shortcut that glides through the cloud-skirted crags of the Ecuadorian National Forest.