Published July 11, 2012

My first impression of Ecuador, and of Quito, was the demeanor of the two taxi drivers that we hired to take us to our hotel, “Casa Arbolitta.” They were extremely helpful and kind, and worked together to determine where this place was. We ended up having the taxi driver call the hotel and find out for sure if we had the right place, especially since there was nothing to indicate that it was a hotel – no sign, no lights, no impressive building. He was assured that we were in the right place, and we were greeted by Patricio, a young man who spoke good English, and his mother, Jenny, who, with her husband, runs the place. 

It was a lovely home, with bright colors and interesting art pieces displayed. We were warmly welcomed and shown to our rooms. Ours was bright red, extremely clean, and had a nice bathroom. Jenny made breakfast for us and we were introduced to Lauren, a student at the University of Nebraska, who is in Quito for the summer. She is an architecture student and had come to Quito to work on a project there, was offered a chance to stay for the summer and she said she loved Ecuador so much that she decided to stay. She was renting a room from Jenny and said that Jenny was like her Mom away from home. She was delightful and we felt confident after talking to her that we would enjoy our stay in the country. 

Jenny hooked us up with a guy who had a van and would drive us to Cotacachi. We hired him for the day for $120 and he gave us a guided tour of Quito. We saw the cathedral, the main square, and the statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the hill. I got some shots of the entire city. Then he took us to the “middle of the world” where the latitude is 00.00.00. There were so many amazing demonstrations of the coriolis effect. Will post photos sometime in the future. I have found that I can easily write notes on my iPad. My problem is that I don’t have time! Tomorrow, a report about Cotacachi.

July, 2011

Got up when the alarm app on my iPad sounded out the cuckoo’s song.  Had two cups of coffee and a banana and we were off. The bus ride to Otavalo was routine, now that we have done it so many times.  One of the dozens of bus hawkers came to fetch us for the bus to Quito.  It was a comfortable bus, and I actually slept a bit on the way to Quito.  

When we arrived at the bus terminal, there was a taxi line and we had no trouble getting a taxi to the airport.  The Quito airport is small and we easily found the Tame Airline desk.  However, we were told that there was a problem with our reservation.  We had to go outside and get in a different line to get it straightened out.  When we gave the agent our ticket, she explained that the travel agent had failed to confirm our reservation, so we had seats on the way to Manta, but not to return.  So now we will have to fly back to Quito on Saturday morning at 8 am instead of at 1:30 pm.  Which means that we will have to go back to Manta Friday evening. 

The flight to Manta was only about 30 minutes, but I can’t remember when a flight hurt my ears so much.  It took hours for them to pop enough that I could hear.  Once we landed, there were taxis, and we got a driver to take us a Hosteria so we could make a reservation for Friday night.  Then he took us to the bus terminal.  

What unbelievable chaos!  We were so recognizable as “rich American tourists” we were almost trampled by men trying to get us a room, or a bus, or a tour, or something – I never found out what exactly, that it was almost frightening.  I yelled at Bill that we needed to eat – it was 1:30 and I hadn’t had anything since that banana in the morning.  You know what that meant – hangry!  We found what looked like a restaurant, but the selection was pretty slim.  The other three ordered fish, which they said was good, but it was fried, and I didn’t know what they might have used to fry it in, so I ordered chicken and fries.  The chicken was so-so, the fries were mediocre, but they can’t mess up Pepsi in a bottle. 

We went back into the bus terminal and didn’t have too much trouble buying tickets to Puerto Lopez, our final destination.  Our plan is to take a boat tomorrow to do some whale watching, go to Isle de la Plata, and I guess they take you snorkeling, too.  Then, we have Friday morning here at the hostia Nandu before we have to check out and go back to the madness that is Manta. 

This part of Ecuador is beyond ugly.  The shacks that people live in are maybe one step up from mud huts.  The kids are running around in the dust, the starving dogs follow anyone in hopes of a scrap of food, the most sturdy buildings are concrete block, no paint, no decoration at all,  might as well be a prison.  I could never live here.  It amazes me that in China, where people have lived for thousands of years, there are modern buildings going up everywhere, world-class shopping, education for everyone, and a feeling that everyone is moving forward.   There is nothing modern about Ecuador.  America has nothing to fear from Ecuador!