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Monthly Archives: June 2012

Return from the Coast

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Published July 17, 2011

Saturday We were up at 5:30 am to wait for a taxi to take us to the airport.  Ron went out before I was ready, and when he stepped out on the porch, there was a guy in Ninja gear sitting there with a rifle across his knees.  A bit unsettling, to say the least.  The Ninja did call us a cab, and we arrived at the airport before even the coffee shop was open.  Needless to say we were anxious to get a cup of caffeine and something to eat.  Finally the door was unlocked and we got coffee – if you can call it that.  Most horrible stuff I ever tried to drink!  And we thought they had croissants, but when we asked the barista said they were filled with beef or chicken.  I am so sorry, but I just can’t eat chicken for breakfast.  So, we dug around in our emergency food bag and found some Chips Ahoy.  That was breakfast – two cookies and undrinkable coffee.  

So off we went to Quito. When we landed at Quito, we saw a sign for Dunkin Donuts.  We got two coffees and two sugary donuts each.  I would never do that at home!  Then we got a taxi to the bus terminal.  The ride from Quito to Otavalo was routine by now.  It was Saturday, so it was market day in Otavalo.  We shopped a bit and I bought a gift for Nan.  We also had lunch.  A great lunch.  I found a place that had burritos!  Real burritos with beans, rice, beef, cheese, and salsa.  So good. Then we caught the bus back to Cotacachi.  Bill and Verda were a couple of hours behind us, but they arrived and we had soup and tomatoes and avocado for dinner.  Verda makes great chicken and rice soup!

Lake of Blood

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Ecuador

Published 07/25/2012

Haven’t written anything since we returned to Cotacachi, so will catch up today.  We were so wiped after our exploring that we just chilled, watching “Big Bang Theory.”And talking with family on FaceTime.   Tuesday we did take the bus to Ibarra and took a taxi to the “Lake of Blood.”There weren’t very many people there but we did meet Herb, a guy about our age from Boynton Beach, Florida.  He is here doing pretty much the same thing we are-exploring possibilities in Ecuador.  He spent two weeks in Quito living with a local family and taking a Spanish course.  Then he spent a week in Otavalo during which time he visited Cotacachi.  He plans to go to Cuenca for a bit, too.  He told us a lot about San Miquel de Allende in Mexico, the place Kyle mentioned to us as another possibility. We hung out with him for quite a while waiting for them to take the tour boat out on the lake.  Turned out he had lived in New Jersey for about 30 years, has a brother in Toms River, graduated from Montclair State and now lives in Florida.  Small world, isn’t it?After about half an hour, we decided to ask when they were going to take the boat out.  Now she tells us, not enough people so can’t go.  Bummer!

Herb suggested we share a taxi back to Ibarra, so it only cost us $1.00.  The taxi dropped us off at the museum in town and we spent a while touring it.  Very nice museum, nicely laid out and displays were well done. After the museum we walked around the park and found a nice restaurant to have lunch.  I had chicken in a delicious sauce, with rice, French fries, and salad.  Ron had only French fries and salad, but the best part was my lemonade and Ron’s juice that tasted like strawberries.  Best lemonade I’ve ever had. After lunch we tried to find a bus to go to the woodcarving town of San Antonio de Ibarra.  Gave up after 10 or 15 minutes and took a taxi.  We cannot learn that all the shops close for siesta, so since we were there about one o’clock, there wasn’t much open.  Just as well-most of the stuff was unattractive, and we couldn’t find anything we wanted to buy.  We saw lots of buses coming and going, so we flagged one down and hopped on.  We even managed to see where we needed to get off to go back to the bus station for the bus back to Cotacachi.  We are getting pretty good at getting around on buses.

Ambato? No!

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July, 2012

This was Bill and Verda’s last day in Ecuador.  We got a guy in Cotacachi to drive us to Quito in his van for $50, so we split it.  We got dropped off at the bus terminal so we could get a bus to Latacunga.  For a little bit, I thought we were in an episode of Amazing Race. There were no ticket windows that said Latacunga, and everyone we asked just yammered at us in super fast Spanish. It was pretty dicey until we figured out that we had to go to a different bus terminal.  

One taxi driver told us he would take us for $30.   You know me, I uttered a few choice words that I don’t know the Spanish for, but another man approached us and offered to take us for $10.  It turned out that Quito is a very, very large city, and the new bus terminal in the south was about as far away from the terminal where we were as you can get.  It did, in fact, take us an hour to get there, but once there, it was a piece of torte.  

The bus to Ambato was comfortable and the views were incredible.  Cotopaxi is the largest volcano in Ecuador and it is a grand sight. Staying in a sleazy hotel for $26 per night.  It’s clean and has tv and wi-fi. But scratch Ambato off the list of possibles. Loud, lots of crazy traffic-kind of a 42nd Street and Broadway feel. Not at all “tranquillo.”. We will be out of here first thing in the am.

The Baths at Banos

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July 19, 2012

We stayed at the somewhat seedy hotel in Ambato, but it had the most comfortable bed we have found in Ecuador, with a heavy quilt to keep us toasty.  We had breakfast at C’bastian’s.  I had a waffle with yogurt and honey, no butter, no syrup.  Even the waffles are a healthier version.  Ron had huevas rancheros, but when it came, it looked like French onion soup.  

After breakfast we took a taxi to the bus stop to take a bus to Quizapincha, where they supposedly make a lot of the leather goods that are sold in Cotacachi. I tried on a few leather jackets, but they were made for the smaller Ecuadorean people and felt tight, not comfortable.  And the prices were much more than the guidebook had promised.  I did see a bag that I liked, mainly because it had a woven pattern that was similar to the bedspread on our bed in the condo.  At the same shop I saw a pair of sandals that were only $13.  The owner sold us the bag and the sandals for $22.  We then hopped a bus back to Ambato. 

We thought we would go from Ambato to Tena, but I started reading about Banos, a town on the way to Tena.  There are many mineral baths in Banos, heated by the nearby volcano which is only 5 miles away to the south.  The guidebook advised to check the status of the volcano before going there since there is a risk of another eruption.  I ignored that advice and we got off the bus in Banos.  Found a lovely hostel, Isle de la Banos, just blocks from the mineral springs.  There was a restaurant, Cafe Hood, where we went for lunch.  I had yet another great burrito, with some of the worlds best guacamole.  Ron had enchiladas and claimed they were the best he had ever eaten. Plus he ordered a drink that was hot passion fruit juice with the local cane liquor.  Oooh, it was delicious!  

We strolled around the pretty park and took some photos, then went back to our room until time to go to the hot pools around 7 pm.  we watched the US national team play Great Britain and win.  I saw my boy, James Harden, playing with all the big-time stars. As soon as it was dark, we walked the few blocks to the baths.  We paid the “tercera erad” or senior rate so it was $1.50 each.  It was really crowded, mostly with locals, but felt wonderful.  There was a light drizzle falling, but the water was like a hot, hot bath, with steam rising into the cool air.  We left that pool and went to the pool that was “medium” hot, but right under the waterfall.  What a treat.   Am so glad we stayed in Banos.  It is a lovely town and there are quite q few ex-pats living there.  Our hostel is owned by a German, and we saw many restaurants that cater to foreigners. Watched The Big Bang Theory and went to sleep in a hard, firm bed with another of those heavy quilts that kept us warm.

Tena is Hot and Humid

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July, 2012

Friday-Banos to Tena

Breakfast was included with our room, and it came with good, delicious coffee for a change.  Not Nescafé.  Also a glass of some sort of red juice that we couldn’t identify, but that tasted yummy.  Their idea of a pancake, however, is what we call a tortilla, and mine came filled with fresh pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, and watermelon.  My favorite kind of breakfast.  We checked out and the total was $55.   

We took a taxi to the bus station and found out how to get a bus to Tena.  Had to wait a while, but Ron found a couple from Calgary to chat with.  The bus was late, the first delay we have experienced, but soon we were on our way.  The buses are comfortable, the seats recline, and on any ride long enough they show a movie.  The other day we saw “Desperado” with Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek, and today “Pulp Fiction” was playing.  The sights out the window were more interesting than the movie, though.  

The bus route follows the course of the river, but winds along a serpentine road, through mountain tunnels, rocking back and forth so that my iPad screen keeps switching views.  I almost killed Ron trying to give him a bite of banana.  He had his mouth open and I held the banana up just as the bus lurched around a curve and the banana disappeared down his throat!  He has adopted the little camera and is snapping shots like crazy.  He loves digital, but between the photos I take, the ones he takes, and the ones we downloaded from Bills camera, we easily have over a thousand shots so far. 

We noticed that the people in the Oriente province that we have seen are taller and thinner than the people around Imbabura.  Wonder why?  Also, we saw a lot more men smoking in Ambato.  maybe the city folks have more money than the people in the country or small towns do.  But there are some things that just seem unusual to us.  For instance, in the bus stations, they have people yelling, “Quito, Quito, Quito,” or “Puyo, Tena” rather than loudspeakers making announcements like we are used to. After a long bus ride (the last hour of which some woman’s stomach was pressing on my shoulder shoving me into Ron who was by the window because she and a bunch of others had to stand up for lack of seats) we finally pulled into Tena.  

OMG!  The worst bus station yet. Crumbling concrete benches, no restrooms at all, people selling food all over the place (there are apparently no sanitation standards in Ecuador), and grubby little children trying to entertain themselves by climbing on some abandoned pipe structure.  The guidebook says that the bus station is in the less attractive part of town and not to be put off by first impressions.  Oops, too late.   

At least La Casa del Abuelo is a nice, clean, welcoming hostel.  Has a patio, AC, wifi, and TV.  The beds are comfortable, and if we have to just stay in this room until time to leave tomorrow, then that’s what we will do. Unfortunately, a bunch of other Americans thought this was the place to stay, and they were in the room next door.  At 2:30 am, the baby woke up.  They must have been trying to get him to give up his bottle because he screamed like Willie used to when we were trying to wean him.  He would scream for 10 minutes, quiet down for 2 minutes, then scream for another 10 minutes.  This went on for about an hour before they finally shut him up.  Then the dogs started barking.   

Breakfast was another surprise.  This time it was lukewarm water, instant coffee and eggs I didn’t order.  Soon the young man brought some boiling hot water, and some hot milk, so eventually we got a halfway decent cup of coffee after I poured two other attempts on the potted plants.   After breakfast we walked across the bridge to Cafe Tortuga where we had heard they had a bus schedule.  Sure enough, we found that there was a bus to Quito at 10:00.  Grabbed a cab to the bus station and didn’t have to wait long for the bus.  Ron made a gallant effort to ask the bus driver if there was a place we could get off and catch a bus to Otavalo without having to go all the way to the Quitumbe (southern) terminal.  We thought he understood, but weren’t sure.  Happily, four young American students got on the bus, and we talked to them for the length of their ride.  One of them spoke fluent Spanish and so Ron asked him to ask the driver where we could get the Otavalo bus, so we were sure that the driver understood and would tell us where to get off.   

So you know, of course that they didn’t stop and let us off anywhere, but continued on to the station an hour across Quito.  Ron was steaming.  However, the bus drivers assistant was so sweet – he went with us into the station and even went upstairs to the tickets windows to make sure these demented old people who couldn’t understand Spanish could get on the damned bus to Otavalo.  Bought tickets and only had to wait 20 minutes for the bus.  The worse part of the trip home was the bus from Otavalo to Cotacachi.  One bus was pulling out when we paid our taxi driver, so Ron ran and caught it, barely stopping it in time for me to climb ungracefully on board.  There were no more seats on the bus, so we had to stand, until enough people got off and freed up some seats.   It is funny how a place you have been in only two weeks can seem so familiar and welcoming.  Strolling down Leather Street felt known and comforting after four days away.

Future Latino Rock Star

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Ecuador

Published 08/04/2012

Today is Sunday, and we are taking a day of rest. It is market day, though, so we went and bought veggies and fruit for the coming week. Also stopped in at our nearby Super Mercado for some dish soap and my Chilean wine-in-box. In general, there are high taxes on things that are deemed “luxuries” such as high-end hotel rooms, alcohol, electronics, and airline tickets. But we found this wine and think it is pretty good, and it is only $6 for the box which lasts several days. In the plaza near the market there was a family of indigenous Ecuadoreans who were playing and singing. The group consisted of a father and his two sons. The daughter was working the crowd selling CD’s for $2. Mom was doing the off-stage work and watching the baby. They were great and I have posted a video on You Tube so you can see a future Latino rock star. Watched the Open Championship and were thrilled to see Ernie win another major. He is so gracious and easy to like. Tiger had a tough day, but held it together admirably.

Weavers’ Museum

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Ecuador

Published 07/28/2012

On Friday, I almost wanted to just stay home, but Ron said that if we didn’t go back to Paguche and climb up to the top of the falls I would definitely regret it.  So I packed my collapsible cane and off we went.  This time we took the bus to Otavalo and then asked where we could get a bus to Paguche.  It was just across the street from the big bus station, and we only had to wait about 10 minutes.  The bus dropped us off right at the gate to the falls.  Since we had been there before we knew where we were going.  The first time we went we were surprised that so few people were there.  Well, not today!  There were at least four school buses and the place was jumping with hundreds of kids.  We found the path going up and I got my cane ready.  It was about a 200 foot climb to the top, and I made it.  Some great pictures from up there.  By the time we started down, all the kids were starting up.  They were so cute, though.  They all said “buenas Dias” or “hello.”. One young man stopped us and asked where we were from and said “Welcome to my country.” I doubt if American kids would do that.

We walked down the road to the bus stop and waited for a bus to come by.  Soon enough one came toward us.  I asked the driver if he was going to Otavalo and he said “Si, si.” when we arrived at the bus terminal Ron whipped out his little Otavalo map and we headed for the main square.  We thought there would be restaurants around the square.  There usually are, but not this time.  We had to walk up and down a few streets before we found a good place.   After a very nice lunch topped off with fresh strawberries and cream, we set off to find the museum of the weavers. 

Of all the things we have seen and done in Ecuador, this may have been the most enjoyable.  First, the entrance did not look like a museum, it looked like a restaurant or cafe.  Off to the far right of the path was a small door that said “Museo.”I opened the door but it looked like a storeroom or something.  I ducked back out and I guess I must have looked puzzled because the woman outside waved me on and nodded vigorously saying “Si, Si.”We ventured on and crossed a courtyard to another old, rickety door.  When we opened that one it was obvious that this large room contained old artifacts having to do with wool, spinning, and weaving. Before we could get our bearings an old indigenous man came in.  He started talking to us, but soon realized that we spoke only “poco Espanol.” He was very considerate and patient.  He spoke slowly and watched us carefully to see if we were getting was he was telling us.  He explained how the sheep are sheared, then the wool is washed.  He sat down and took a handful of wool and demonstrated the carding process.  After he had the wool carded and rolled into a long strand, he went over to the spinning wheel and spun it into yarn.  We went all around the room, from station to station with him telling us what was done at each stage.  I shot video of him at several spots.  Finally he showed us a magazine with a photo of his son who is a professor of neuroscience in California.  Another son was shown shaking hands with Fidel when he was in Ecuador, but we didn’t get what this sons occupation is.  He was obviously very proud of them.  Before we left, he led us over to a framed certificate, embellished with gold, and displaying a medal on a ribbon.  He made it clear that he was awarded the medal, but we don’t know for what.  We made a contribution to the museum, or to Señor Maldonado, and left, feeling that we had experienced a truly special treat.

Mud Massage

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Published 07/27/2012

On Thursday we decided to go back to Chachimbiro for a massage and the thermal pools.  It is a trek to get there, though.  First is a 45 minute bus to Ibarra, then a 30 minute bus to Urququi, then a $6.00 taxi ride up to Sacre Aqua. But this time we found where to go to pay for a massage, and only had to wait a few minutes for my therapist to be ready.  She told me to take my suit off down to the waist and lie on the table face down.  I couldn’t see what she was doing, but I could tell she was using oil or something.  Then she used hand gestures to indicate I should turn over. Well, I am accustomed to the very modest ways of Massage Envy, not the customs of a country where women just pull up their blouses and nurse their babies anywhere, no matter how many people are around.  This time there was no sheet at all.  It was strange, but when in Rome or in Ecuador, you just go with it.  I just kept my eyes closed, and she finished the massage with my face.  When she told me to get up, I opened my eyes and saw that I was covered in a reddish-yellow mud.  she told me to sit in the sun for 10 minutes and then go rinse off in the shower.  Ron took pictures, and after I was no longer brown we went into the jacuzzi.

We spent several hours soaking in the various pools, had our lunch that we had prepared, then left to wait for the bus back to Ibarra.  Just down the road that leads to the place where the buses park were a couple of little stores and a concrete bench to sit on.  We parked ourselves there with our bags.  Soon two little girls came walking up and talked to an older girl, probably their sister, who seemed to be watching the shop and also watching a baby who was strapped into a tricycle/stroller gizmo.  One of the little girls came over to me and pointed to my camera.  I took her picture and showed it to her.  Her eyes lit up and she started pointing to her sisters, so I framed the shot, then took her hand and put her finger on the button and pushed it down.  Then showed her the picture.  We yelled “you did it!” She was delighted.

We took pictures of all of them and she was practically in my lap by that time.  We told them we had to go to the bus, so said goodbye.  However, when we got to the bus he wasn’t ready to go yet so we had to wait some more.  Sure enough, here they came again.  This time they had some little packets of powdered candy.  Looked like Kool-Aid.  The more friendly of the girls grabbed my hand, turned it palm up and poured some in my palm.  God, it was awful tasting stuff, bur I didn’t let her see me toss it on the ground.  In a few minutes, she ran back and gave me another portion.  Ron remembered that we had some candy in our bag, so I got that out and gave it to them.  Now we were friends forever.  When the bus started up, they both shouted “Ciao, ciao,” and we blew kisses to them.  Great moment!

Reflections

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Ecuador

Published 08/02/2012

We have been home for two days now, and our experience in Ecuador is beginning to be processed in our brains.  My very first thought as we drove home from the airport was how beautiful the United States is.  The roads, the landscaping, the homes we pass, even the shopping centers – they all looked lovely after the concrete walls and concrete houses we saw in Ecuador.  When I drove to Sarah’s house the next morning to pick up the kids, I realized that every family that lived in one of the houses in Seville lives in a house that only the richest families in Ecuador have.

 
However, I truly missed the wonderful markets in Ecuador when I went grocery shopping today.  Pineapples were $1.00 for three in Cotacachi.  In Queen Creek I paid $3.99 for one!  Bananas were 79 cents a pound here; there they were 5 cents each.  But I could buy everything I needed at one store rather than going to several different shops.


It will take a bit longer to decide whether the lack of government interference in people’s lives in Ecuador works better than the overwhelming intrusion of the government into every facet of our lives here.  It is pretty clear that when people are spending so much of their time just providing for the necessary basics for their families they don’t have time to worry about a lot of other things.  They also don’t have time for leisure activities.  We never saw a single movie theater in our entire time in Ecuador.  Nor did we see any professional baseball stadiums, basketball arenas, or football stadiums.  I am sure there are soccer stadiums somewhere, but probably only in the largest cities.