Cotacachi - A beautiful place, perfect for a life amidst a Zombie Apocalypse. [EN/ESP]

Cotacachi is a small town in the Andes, in the north of Ecuador. You can find many beautiful pictures, videos and all that in regular sources like Google and such. This presentation is different. This analysis relies on the assumption to have a “The Walking Dead” kind of Zombie-Apocalypse.

Cotacachi es un pequeño pueblo en los Andes, en el norte de Ecuador. Puedes encontrar muchas fotos hermosas, videos y todo eso en fuentes regulares como Google y similares. Esta presentación es diferente. Este análisis se basa en la suposición de tener un tipo de Apocalipsis Zombi al estilo de “The Walking Dead”.

Base Camp

I’m located in a 2 story building with a roof terrace in the center of Cotacachi, living above a restaurant. I have a big park in front of the house I’m renting. There’s a metal fence in front of it towards the street, sturdy and quite useful to not have zombies enter “just like that”.

Estoy ubicado en un edificio de dos pisos con una terraza-techo en el centro de Cotacachi, viviendo encima de un restaurante. Hay un parque grande frente a la casa que estoy alquilando. En el patio delantero hay una cerca de metal, resistente y bastante útil para evitar que los zombis entren "así como así".

High enough to keep zombies out. I can definitely have the high ground here.

What not to do: Kill the zombies through the metal. The bodies will pile up and create a ramp.

Weakness: Low windows. If the zombies trample each other down and manage to fall over the fence, they can easily enter through two windows.

Strength: Many ways to block the staircase easily. Many points of escape, even from the roof. It’s a restaurant, so quite a few staples to eat in the first days and weeks. And knifes to convert into weapons.

Qué no hacer: Matar a los zombis a través del metal. Los cuerpos se amontonarán y crearán una rampa.

Debilidad: Ventanas bajas. Si los zombis se pisotean entre sí y logran caer por encima de la cerca, pueden entrar fácilmente por dos ventanas.

Fortaleza: Muchas formas de bloquear las gradas fácilmente. Muchos puntos de escape, incluso desde el techo. Es un restaurante, así que hay bastantes alimentos básicos para comer en los primeros días y semanas. Y cuchillos para convertir en armas.

Alternative base camp - Waldorf School, 5 blocks away. But only one wall, no protective buildings arround. A huge gardening area available, though.

Surroundings / Alrededores

Cotacachi properties are usually walled. Just behind my home is a big garden space, and close by is the Fire Station (Axes, water tanks, generators, noise machines…!). I can use my existing ladders to get the ladders from the Fire Station, and create an easy way to get from one property to the next. There is enough in my block to grow quite a bit of crop.

Las propiedades en Cotacachi suelen estar amuralladas. Justo detrás de mi casa hay un gran espacio de jardín, y cerca está la Estación de Bomberos (¡hachas, tanques de agua, generadores, máquinas de ruido...!). Puedo usar mis escaleras existentes para tomar las escaleras de la Estación de Bomberos y crear una forma fácil de pasar de una propiedad a la siguiente. Hay suficiente en mi cuadra para cultivar una buena cantidad de cultivos.

The corn in the neighbors garden behind the wall is growing nicely. My own garden is mostly flowers, but I've been doing compost for years now, so I can change that quickly.

Most buildings are the same height and connected via rooftops. I can reach the bank easily, and re-wire the generator in case I need electricity. Still would need some solar panels, but I can forage those later – many people got them up in the last two years, as we had an energy crisis.

La mayoría de los edificios tienen la misma altura y están conectados por las azoteas. Puedo llegar al banco fácilmente y reconectar el generador en caso de que necesite electricidad. Todavía necesitaría algunos paneles solares, pero puedo buscarlos más tarde - muchas personas los instalaron en los últimos dos años, ya que tuvimos una crisis energética.

Easy to get from my roof to the next neighbor's on the picture and further. No need to use the entrance to my house, keeping it save. You can see the Mount Cotacachi in the background, with snowy peaks - crossed by one of the ever-present cables.

Water / Agua

Okay, this one is not that easy. Cotacachi has amazing water sources, but in the city, it’s a little more difficult. But there’s more than enough rain (usually) to catch and filter. Also, many households have filters to re-propriate.

Bueno, este no es tan fácil. Cotacachi tiene fuentes de agua de alta calidad, pero en la ciudad, es un poco más difícil. Sin embargo, hay más que suficiente lluvia (generalmente) para recoger y filtrar. Además, muchos hogares tienen filtros para buscar.

When it rains... Water management was one of my favorite topics in University. I'll probably be fine. Picture taken from my balcony, facing the park. Also, more cables. Just with the fiber-cables I could prepare a lot of zombie-traps.

Escapes

There are usually fences around the numerous playgrounds. Climbing up quickly, running to the other side while the zombies still walk against the fence – done. There are places like that every two blocks, and that is if you really get trapped, which is unlikely due to the many parks around.

Normalmente hay cercas alrededor de los numerosos parques infantiles. Subir rápidamente, correr al otro lado mientras los zombis aún caminan contra la cerca: listo. Hay lugares como ese cada dos cuadras, y eso es si realmente quedas atrapado, lo cual es poco probable debido a los muchos parques alrededor.

This is actually a low fence in comparison to others. The logo is of Cotacachi, but ironically the mountain in the picture is the Imbabura. The white part crossing the C is the shape of Mountain Cotacachi.

Places to avoid / Lugares de evadir

The main square. It’s an interesting place, with church and all, and the intersections are placed in a way that might make zombies just go around in circles. And probably into the church, business as usual.

La plaza principal. Es de forma interesante, con la iglesia y todo, y las intersecciones están colocadas de manera que podrían hacer que los zombis solo giren en círculos. Y probablemente entren a la iglesia, como de costumbre.

Look up "Inti Raymi Cotacachi" and watch a few videos. That's more or less what might happen at the main square if a horde comes into town.

Also, avoid the canyons due to hordes and the following paragraph:

Hordes

Cotacachi is half-surrounded by beautiful canyons. Sitting there, relaxing, watch the occasional zombie fall down the cliff and drop into the river to be carried away – could make for a tourist attraction. On the other side of the city is a steep mountain. That's where some danger is in the beginning. Zombies will unconsciously choose the path of least resistance, so they will come down from the mountain communities towards the town. I have to be prepared for that. I’d say after 2 months, most of them will be around here or in the canyons.

Cotacachi está medio rodeada de hermosos cañones. Sentarse ahí, relajarse, ver a algún zombi ocasional caer por el acantilado y precipitarse al río para ser arrastrado podría convertirse en una atracción turística. Al otro lado de la ciudad hay una montaña empinada. Ahí es donde está algo de peligro al principio. Los zombis elegirán inconscientemente el camino de menor resistencia, por lo que bajarán desde las comunidades de la montaña hacia el pueblo. Toca estar preparado para eso. Diría que después de 2 meses, la mayoría estará por aquí o en los cañones.

Me sitting in front of Mount Imbabura, right above the Río Ambi Canyon. That's quite a large one, very steep slopes.

Staples and other survivors / Abastos y otros sobrevivientes

3 Supermarkets and many, many Staple-Good-Stores are present. Being smart, it might last at least a year, depending on the number of survivors. Cotacachi is not on a main route, but just a little off the Panamericana, so not many bands of survivors will come through to forage – they’d go to Ibarra and Otavalo. Also, the Canyons will be filled with zombies not wanting to walk up the steep hills, creating natural barriers.

Hay 3 supermercados y muchas, muchas tiendas de productos básicos. Siendo inteligente, podría durar al menos un año, dependiendo del número de sobrevivientes. Cotacachi no está en una ruta principal, sino un poco desviada de la Panamericana, por lo que no pasarán muchas bandas de sobrevivientes a buscar provisiones; irían a Ibarra y Otavalo. Además, los cañones estarán llenos de zombis que no querrán subir las colinas empinadas, creando barreras naturales.

Iconic structures to make a great scenery for movies / Estructuras icónicas para películas

Hell yeah! We have it all. We have an “Andean Sun” made of metal, that will rust and probably start rolling eventually, spiking up zombies on its way. We have the “Cotacachi” signs in Hollywood style that will fall apart. Many bronze figures all around town, including Bob Marley and Charlie Chaplin. Big churches stuffed with creepy puppets of a bazillion saints (already scary, but imagine when catching mold…).

Por supuesto que sí! Lo tenemos todo. Tenemos un “Sol Andino” hecho de metal, que se oxidará y probablemente empezará a rodar eventualmente, ensartando zombis en su camino. Tenemos los letreros de “Cotacachi” al estilo Hollywood que se caerán de a poquito. Muchas figuras de bronce por todo el pueblo, incluyendo a Bob Marley y Charlie Chaplin. Grandes iglesias llenas de títeres espeluznantes de un montón de santos (ya de por sí aterradores, pero imagina cuando empiecen a llenarse de moho…).

Imagine this after 2 or three years! Parts falling off, zombies trapped at the bottom of the steep hill... Call Tarantino already! More seriously, those letters look pretty cool at night. And there now is a balcony to enjoy the view (I'm sitting on it in the previous picture.)

Picture from www.cotacachi.travel blog: Click here for the Link and more information about this beautiful and zombie-safe town!

Conclusion

It's perfect - considering that there is a zombie apocalypse. Most problems today are human-related, so those might solve themselves in the ZA. It's beautiful living here now, and will be after the virus spread.

Es perfecto, considerando que hay un apocalipsis zombi. La mayoría de los problemas actuales están relacionados con los humanos, así que esos podrían resolverse por sí mismos en el ZA. Es hermoso vivir aquí ahora, y lo será después de que el virus se propague.

Questions! Preguntas!

What did I miss that has to be considered?
Is your home town a place to survive the ZA?
Do you even want to live during a ZA?
What is the best place you reckon to survive a ZA?
Most creative answer gets an extra tip!

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing! Suggestions, comments and questions are very welcome!

Qué me faltó considerar?
Es tu ciudad natal un lugar para sobrevivir al ZA?
Acaso quieres vivir durante un ZA?
Cuál crees que es el mejor lugar para sobrevivir a un ZA?
La respuesta más divertida recibe una propina!

Espero que hayas disfrutado leyendo tanto como yo disfruté escribiendo! Sugerencias, preguntas y comentarios están bienvenidas!

I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I really tried to give a personal twist to my beautiful hometown. Also, it made me look at it very differently, which was exciting 😀

I have bad news, though - there are no basements around here, just not a thing. The soil is very moist, and constructions techniques are not high quality, so a basement is not a good idea. Also, they're not good spots to hide as they usually don't have any ways to escape.

The good news - life during and after ZA is possible, and can be quite comfortable. I'd maybe not bring any children into the world, but I think I'd have a good time in Cotacachi 😄 And yes, eventually, the undead will be all really dead. Takes some time, though, and effort. But it is possible! Then it will be the living humans to worry about again, like normally 😞