Ready to head back to Quito

Day 23...Wednesday, January 27th
It was a long travel day. We left Puerto Lopez for a one hour cab ride to Manta. There we were dropped off at the bus stop to try and figure 'what next'. It was a little chaotic but we were able to get a bus ride to Bahia de Caraquez. This was a long and dusty ride through not very pretty scenery. Really arid areas and really poor areas. Again, another Fast and Furiest movie on the bus. When we finally pulled in to Bahia around 3, we were very disappointed. They were doing road work on the main road so there was road dust everywhere. They had a few modern hotels along the beach area but the were very "Soviet Union circa 1966" in style. We visited a local museum that had lots of information about the indigenous people of Ecuador but all the information was in Spanish. Poor AL, a curse to not be proficient in Spanish. We walked the malecon, beach side, but the water was filled junk. There were some great waves toward the end of the beach and it was fun watching the surfers. The sunset was also a nice feature. Our hotel is our least favorite and we do not sleep alone.....a gecko shares the room with us. AL and I agree it's time to head back to Quito. We'll catch the earliest bus out tomorrow morning.
             

                   
 

Are your boobies blue?

Beautiful day at Puerto Lopez. We took the boat at 9:30 to Isla de Plata. The ride took about an hour on rolling seas but the weather was beautiful and no one got sick. Once on the island we did about a two mile hike up to the cliffs. Once up there we saw many nesting blue footed boobies and chicks. The island is a national park now but years ago people did live on it. They had goats and cats but when the island was taken over by the government they were removed because the cats ate the birds and the goats ate the vegetation. Now the greatest threat to the birds are rats.......they eat the eggs. The park rangers have many traps out on the island to poison the rats. The hike was hot and the land very arid. When we returned to the boat, we were surrounded by sea turtles that wanted lunch. We fed them watermelon and pineapple. We went snorkeling off the boat and the water felt great. We could see some brightly colored fish but for the most part the visibility wasn't that great. It was a perfect day to be on the water. Got back about 3:30. We leave tomorrow and we'll start working our way back to Quito

Alas I did not spot an albatross.

11 th grade English class

We leave tomorrow for the Isla de Plata..........since 11th grade I always wanted to see an albatross. Maybe now I'll understand the poem.

Spoiler alert ........the bird dies.

through the fog it came
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name.
It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through!
And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The Albatross did follow,
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariner's hollo!
In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,
It perched for vespers nine;
Whales all the night, through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white Moon-shine.'
God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!--
Why look'st thou so?'--With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.

Puerto Lopez

This is not a good looking town. They are doing a lot of work on the water front, so that makes it a muddy mess but the sand and the beaches are not as pretty as Olon. We're staying at a hotel on the beach......but the beach is dirty so what does it matter.. We came here.......in the rain, on a 1 hour bus ride. Most of the buses have been really clean and comfortable. This one was a ride to  "Ashmont". It being raining did not improve the look of the town.

Why did we come here? We are going to the Isla de Plata.
Isla de la Plata:
The Poor Man’s Galapagos

Isla de la Plata, one of the hidden places in Ecuador, is a small island off the coast northwest of Puerto Lopez.  Although currently known as the poor man’s Galapagos, it has long been called “Silver Island.”

Some say the name derived from the fact that Sir Francis Drake buried his treasure there centuries ago.  Others say the silver refers to the large amounts of guano, or bird droppings, that shine in the sun!  NICE.

The island can be reached by boat from the Puerto Lopez area. Puerto Lopez is a small town located on the north coast of Ecuador in Manabi province. The trip can be choppy and usually takes more than an hour.  It’s best to have motion-sickness medication handy—just in case!.......I'll let you know how it turns out.

Once on the island, the visitor can enjoy many species similar to those found in the Galapagos — blue- and red-footed boobies, pelicans, petrals, frigatebirds, terns and albatrosses.

The tour we booked will  provide lunch, a guided hike and time for a little snorkeling. No cerveza. ( my Spanish is impeccable)

One of the main attractions of this special place in Ecuador is the humpback whales but I don' t think it is the right season for that.  They mate near the island from the middle of June until October. We’ve been told that it is not uncommon to see groups of up to ten whales at one time, frolicking in the ocean. Dolphins are plentiful and there are good coral reefs for snorkeling.

There is no shade on the small island and the trails are rough, so good shoes, wind or rain gear are important items to have along and a hat is a necessity unless you want a burned scalp. Isla de la Plata is one of those places in Ecuador where you can lose yourself in a landscape uniquely different from any other on earth.

We'll see!

Olon

This town is sooooo relaxing we are going to stay another day. Plus we know a bar that will be showing the Patriot game. At our hotel there are several Canadaians who are staying til March. They were saying how fortunate Americans are because our dollar is so strong.the exchange in Canada is  US dollar $1 to Canadian $1.40. I quess we are going to have an even stronger exchange in Colombia. The problem will be the math..........Columbia uses pesos. Our minds do not do conversions well.

It was fun watching the game with the Canadians and some US friends we've made. Not happy with the results. They should have tried for the extra point when they had the chance rather than the touch down.......it could have meant a tied game at the end.........but nobody asked me.

TB still the handsomest man alive.

Montañita and Olon

We got to the bus terminal early but all the morning buses were booked for mini taints. It's the weekend and a full moon so everyone I trying to get to the coast for the weekend. We took an afternoon bus to a little town north of Montañita, called  Olon. The bus ride was about four hours and between listening to podcasts, sleeping and watching the topography change, the time passes quickly.  We were lucky to get a room at this small boutique hotel , Ricon d' Olon,because it was the weekend. The price wasn't bad, $60 a night. It's two blocks down from the beach and has a small pool. It's only been open since September so everything is fresh and new. The owner Kris went out of his way to accommodate us. Most of the places we have stayed include a great breakfast and this does as well.

This little town is made up of about three square blocks. Chickens, cats and dogs all hang out in the streets and get along just fine. Much more tranquil that Montañita. We are starting to get really lazy, renting a canopy and chairs and spending the day on the beach. The water is warm and the waves are huge.

Later at night, We took a five minute cab ride into Montanita. It was like spring break Key West style. It was loaded with young backpackers from all over. It was fun to sit at a Tiki bar on the beach and people watch. The sun set was beautiful........and then the place really came alive.

 It is a good thing I did not come to this town in my twenties, I may never have left. I'd be an old woman selling painted coconuts to beach goers now.

New paintings

Last day in Guayaquil

Later that night we took a taxi to

Las Peñas

With more than 400 years old, Las Peñas was the first neighborhood of Guayaquil, which took its name from the cliffs and limestone rocks that formed the Hill back then when the Spanish settled in the XV century. In 1982 the neighborhood was declared Cultural Heritage of Ecuador and between 2002 and 2008, the place was restored and regenerated by the Municipality of Guayaquil. The neighborhood is closed to traffic and the only way to see it is to walk up the stairway that winds through the hill making its way up to the top where there is a church and a lighthouse. The area is surrounded by art galleries, restaurants and of course souvenir shops. We will leave tomorrow morning for the coast. With more than 400 years old, Las Peñas was the first neighborhood of Guayaquil, which took its name from the cliffs and limestone rocks that formed the Hill back then when the Spanish settled in the XV century. In 1982 the neighborhood was declared Cultural Heritage of Ecuador and between 2002 and 2008, the place was restored and regenerated by the Municipality of Guayaquil.

Bus tour

                                   

Someone got a selfie stick for Christmas

We walked to the river park and got a city tour bus. Unfortunately the enter tour was in Spanish. Poor AL she didn't understand a word. Poor me I had to do all the translating, " GUAYAQUIL....IS ....THE ....LARGEST CITY ....AND MAIN ....PORT......IN...ECUADOR.....BLAH....BLAH...." I am exhausted. One older couple ( our age) sat I front of us and took selfie pictures the entire ride. OK I get it you were in Guayaquil.......do not invite me to the slide show. Hot weather makes me cranky.

Off to Guayaquil

We took the morning bus from Cuenca to Guayaquil. The ride was about for hours to this port city. The ride wove throughout the mountains on this rainy day. On several places along the mountain route their were small rock slides on the road. I think this is a frequent event as we saw some yesterday on the ride with Joe. Once we got out of the mountains the vegetation changed dramatically. As we got closer to Guayaquil we past large agricultural farms. Once we reached the bus terminal we took a 20 minute cab into the center of the city. The hotel is great, Palace Hotel. Very much like a Marriott. After we got settled we walked to the park around the corner. There were hundreds of iguanas lounging around. We visited several churches and took a walk to the river side. They had build a very pretty esplanade along the river bank. It has many bronze statues and garden areas. The city is big, hot and fast. Horns honking, people rushing about, small little stores, large buildings and hotels. It has a "New York in the summer" feel to it. We'll stay one more day and then head west to Olon.

Last day in Cuenca

Painted again in the morning and then Joe and Holly picked us up and took us for a ride up into the mountains where we saw some breath taking scenery. When we returned we had a great dinner at a local restaurant. We have not had a bad meal since we have arrived in Ecuador..........Well maybe the Yucca bread and tuna. It has been great spending time with our new friends Joe and Holly and learning more and seeing more of Cuenca has been a treat.

Paintings

It's all happenin at the car wash

We are in a hotel that is right in the middle of  old town. We are surrounded by beautiful churches and a plaza right across from the hotel. We have a state of the art shower. It is a giant cylinder
that has 11 jets of water that come at you from every angle. A human car wash.
 

                                             

Day 14

I spent the morning painting then at 1 Joe Durr and his wife picked us up at the hotel. They have been here almost two years and live in a small town about 15 minutes out of Cuenca. We went to a great restaurant and Joe and Holly told us their story of what brought them to Cuenca and how the transition has been. Cuenca is an area that attracts many people from North America. They all seem to have a great network. After lunch Joe took us up into the mountains to see wild alpaca. The weather didn't co operate but the mountain views were spectacular. It had a very Swiss Alps feel to it. When we returned, Joe showed us the gringo side of town. The buildings were new and modern and some of he tallest in the city. It is in this area that many North Americans have settled. Joe brought us to his home that he is currently renting. It was just built  and is very spacious. Joe barbecued some chicken for us and Holly prepared a great salad.. They are easy people to be around and we had a great      

 

How cute

I know you will look at this painting and say, " how cute, Sue did a self portrait" actually it was one of the indigenous people selling clothing at the St. Francis market.   Yes they are very short.....it's not just a poorly drawn picture.

Banos painting

On the day we went to the tree house in Banos, I did this painting of the park where we had lunch....there are cows in the picture.....if you can't tell. Cows are everywhere on theses hills. The legs on their right side are shorter to they can stand level on the hillside...............Old joke.

Cuenca

We then caught the bus for a four hour ride into Cuenca. We arrived about 7 to our hotel which is in the middle of the old town of the city. This is by far the prettiest city we have come across. It has a strong Spanish influence and all the roofs are the red terra cotta color. There is a church every two blocks here.

We took the city bus tour today and it was very beautiful. After that we visited two museums. The museum of modern art and the Musee de Pumapungo which told the story of the indigenous people of Ecuador. When we return to the hotel I spent some time painting. Finally! I hope to do more tomorrow. We have lots of time left and I really like this town.........lots to paint.

                                                  Market hats

friend gave me the name of an expat that is living in Ecuador...(not an ex-Patriot but somebody who used to live in New Jersey) I contacted him and we're going to meet up with him tomorrow.......More to come!

On the road again

We left Banos and arrived about two hours later to a town called Riobamba. It is more a city than a town and the drive in did not have much curb appeal. We stayed at a very nice, modern hotel on the outskirts of town, Spa Casa Real. We had a great meal at a gourmet restaurant latter that night. Meal and a bottle of wine for two came to $60. Leaving the city we got a beautiful view of the volcano Chimborazo.

The next day we rode to Alausi where we took the train to the "Devil's Nose".

Kinda touristy but I enjoyed it.



We then caught the bus for a four hour ride to  Cuenca.

Pipa Bar Restaurant

Pipa Bar
Near the center of Banos is a very small restaurant/bar where we met several Americans. One woman was here from Amherst, Ma. She was home schooling her son,who is 12, and they were hear for three months so he could learn Spanish. Another couple were from Canada and another man also was a transplant from Canada. The Canadians were all expats. John Buckle, was a geophysics who.gave us a lot of information on the politics of Ecuador. Texico left Ecudor ten years ago because when it came time renew their leases, the president demanded that they pay 99% of their revenue to the government. The government took over the Texico operation but does not have the expertise and sophisticated equipment needed to run an oil company. Oil use to account for 40% of the government's income but now with the price of oil is so low Ecuador has had to raise taxes and cut services causing much unrest with the Ecuadorians. On top of that Ecuador needed to borrow money from China and has put the Galapagos Islands up for collateral which now puts their fate in question.

The owner Nina was from Switzerland and couldn't be nicer. She told us of her experience on an Amazon trip. She got bitten by a spider at night. It took its time and laid eggs right under her arm pit. Two weeks later she had a giant welt that she thought was full of puss. When she went to the doctors and he lanced it dozens of alive baby spiders came out. I am glad I heard the story AFTER we did the Amazon.
When we left we  gave her a two dollar bill . She was thrilled.

Two dollars too funny

Two dollar bill

I heard this great story on NPR about Ecuador and it's obsession with the two dollar bill. Before we left Boston AL and I went to the bank and stocked up on $2 bills. We have had fun giving them out to "worthy" people and watching their reaction,

Ecuador has used the American dollar as its official currency since 2000, replacing their former currency, the sucre, after it experienced massive inflation in the 1990s. If you think two-dollar bills are rare in the United States, they’re even rarer in Ecuador — and Ecuadoreans love them.

The way that they get their US dollars is similar to how a bank here will order money from the Federal Reserve when they need more fives, 10s, 50s, whatever. The Central Bank of Ecuador will do the same thing, just on a much bigger scale. And $2 bills are not a priority for them, so there’s very little in circulation here.

It's that scarcity that gives the bills their allure, — so much so that there’s even a black market for two-dollar bills. You could sell a very crisp two-dollar bill for three or four times the value.

The two-dollar bill was introduced in the United States in 1862, originally featuring an image of the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamiliton; Hamiliton was supplanted by Thomas Jefferson in 1869. The bill has been in constant circulation ever since, except for a 10-year gap from 1966 to 1976 when the treasury stopped printing it.

While two-dollar-bills are sometimes considered bad luck in the US, the rare bills are good-luck charms in Ecuador. There’s a superstition that if you possess a [$2 bill], then more [money] will come to you.

Where ya gonna go?

Tungurahua is a Volcano  just out side Banos

Yes. Run like hell!

Where ya gonna go when the volcano blows?

Lazy day in Banos today just walking around and hanging out.

The volcano near the city of Baños, Ecuador,  is a highly active stratovolcano with a height of 5,023 meters. The current phase of activity began in August 1999, following about 80 years of relative quiet. Since then, volcanic rumblings and eruptions are not an uncommon occurrence. One man told us it is happening every three months. They are small eruptions. Just the mountain burping.

Since 1999, the city of Baños has been evacuated twice due to Tungurahua’s activity. There are bright green signs all over the city center advising residents and tourists the evacuation route should a violent and dangerous eruption occur. 

During an eruption in 1999, all 17,000 residents of the area were forced to evacuate their homes for weeks. However, once news reached displaced citizens that the Ecuadorian army had begun to loot businesses in the abandoned city, residents quickly returned, despite the danger, in hopes of safeguarding their homes. Understandably, residents are now less eager to evacuate unless the eruption is particularly threatening.

                           

Amazon day walk and last day.

We finished the day walk in the jungle by coming back to the very very shallow lake. We had to walk about 20 minutes along the lake's edge. It was hot and it was hard to do. The river bank was muddy in spots and you could ( and I did) sink up to your knee in mud. Finally, we made it back to the long boats but with no motor, we had to paddle back to the lodge. I let the young ones paddle. Age has it's privileges. We were with a new group today two young girls from Australia ( really ballsy, really fun) a girl from Holland, a young brother and sister from Manitoba, Canada.........?And us, two old ladies from Boston..........Let them row.

After dinner we went out on the river again. We saw a sloth high up in a tree......not very clearly but I am going to count it. We spotted more dolphins and once it got dark, we saw several Caiman (alligators) on the river bed. Our guide tried to get out and catch one. I am happy he had no luck.

The next morning, we left the camp to start our travels back to Banos. Again, it was a two hour long boat ride followed by a two hour van ride, followed by a 10 hour bus ride. This bus ride was better. We started at two from Lago Agrio to Coca......made famous by cocaine.....to Banos. At one point a man got on the bus to do a public health announcement. He was selling pills for the treatment of worms. I know this not because of my proficiency with Spanish but because he displayed laminated pictures of the effects of worms and what they look like. The picture were not pleasant. I do not plan on getting worms.

 We arrived at Banos at 11:00 to our hotel. There Edgar, the hotel manager, let us into the hotel where there was electricity, hot showers and mints on our pillows..........We love Edgar 100%.

Day walk in jungle

Day whatever
Again we will need our big ass boots for a hike the the jungle. We traveled by long boat to the shallow, shallow lake. It is shrinking each day we are here. Once we arrive to the jungle walk, our guide brought us deep into the jungle and showed a variety a very cool plants, barks and mushrooms that have medicinal benefits. We saw marching ants that all went marching two by two down into the ground. The amazing part was that they all carried a large chunk of leaf on their backs that must have been 3xs their weight.  On each turn in the path there was something new and different to discover. On one turn, we came across the most poisonous snake in the Amazon just coiled up not bothering anybody. They told us there was a specific protocol if bitten by this snake......None off us wanted to test the protocol

Night walk

After dinner we went for a jungle walk. We needed to wear our big rubber boots so we wouldn't  step on anything that was  poison. Everyone had a flash light and headed down a narrow trail. First thing we ran into was a tarantula. Glad I had the boots, and no I did not step on it. The guides are VERY protective of Eco system. We continued on and saw poison frogs, more spiders of various kinds and poisons, and.ginormous bugs. Then we came back to camp we found another ginormous frog on one of our beds. Lights out its 10:00

Village and Shaman

Day 8
The village woman showed us how to make Yucca bread. We dug up the Yucca root, ( looks like a sweet potato) , then we all stripped it, grated it, squeeze it dry, then cooked it on a hot stone. It looked like a very thin pizza crust when it was done.

I don't care how many dirty hands touched it....I was starving and I ate it and I liked it.

After lunch we went further down the river to the hut were the shaman does his rituals. He spend a great deal of time explaining how he became a shaman, what his purpose in the village is and the rituals. All shaman take a drug  for the rituals that produce visions or hallucinations similar to LSD    ( none available for sampling) It is from these visions that they see illnesses, forecast the future, determine the purpose of life etc. After his presentation he passed over every person and preformed a ceremony in our group and told us the energy he felt from each of us........Jorge and I scored the highest energy. 👍😊👏.

We left the shaman and headed back to the camp. When we got there, we headed up for a siesta. I went to move something on the bed and there was the big frog. When it jumped, AL and I screamed like we were being attacked. One of the kitchen workers came running up, swooped the frog with one hand and brought it out for release.              Yes, we are wimps.

Day 2 on the Amazon

Day 8

We took the long boats down the river with our guide Rodrego. There are 6 in our group, a girl 26 from Lithuania,a girl 26 from China and a couple from Argentina. Jorge from Argentina brought some very expensive photography equipment. He has sold several of his pictures to National Geographic. The images he got were incredible. On the ride  we saw some fascinating wild life. Lots of turtles, a few alligators, three night monkeys ( I always wanted a monkey BNL) that were resting in the hollow of a large tree. They looked like Eewalks. There were several different species of birds.The most amazing  site was a pair of fresh water dolphins that were swimming around a very small section if the river. They were a beautiful color blue and very graceful in this river that is no wider than the North River in Pembroke and really really muddy water. It s amazing that this breed of dolphin  has adapted to the murky fresh water. We visited a small village where Rodrego cut up branches from a tree that was the relative of poison ivy. The village woman took the branches and stroked them over his back. You do this to any area on ones body that ails them.  Rodgerio's back swelled up with welts like bee stings. The village woman used the branches to stroke AL's knees. In a few short minutes the woman was complaining of the pain in her arm that had travelled up from AL's knees.  There was a slight burning sensation for about 20 minutes. I did not have it done to me.........Why would I ? Take two aspirins.
.

Amazon pollution

We saw this pipe line on our way in and out of the Amazon

In 1964, Texaco (now Chevron), discovered oil in the remote northern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, known as the "Oriente."  Oil workers moved into their backyard and founded the town of Lago Agrio, named for Texaco's birthplace of Sour Lake. However, despite existing environmental laws, Texaco made deliberate, cost-cutting operational decisions that, for 28 years, resulted in an environmental catastrophe that experts have dubbed the "Rainforest Chernobyl.

Texico exploitation in the Ecuadorian Amazon has done more than pollute the water and soil of one of the world's most unique and irreplacable ecosystems. It has irreversibly altered and degraded an environment that people have called home for millennia. Indigenous people who knew the forest intimately and lived sustainably off its resources for countless generations have found themselves forced into dire poverty, unable to make a living in their traditional ways when the rivers and forests are empty of fish and game. Native Amazonians and recent migrants to the area alike suffer from a health crisis that includes cancer and birth defects. For the indigenous, the physical ailments they suffer from are only accentuated by the cultural impoverishment that the oil industry has brought to the region, in many cases amounting to the almost total loss of ancient traditions and wisdom.

In a rainforest area roughly three times the size of Manhattan, Texaco carved out 350 oil wells, and upon leaving the country in 1992, left behind some 1,000 open toxic waste pits. Many of these pits leak into the water table or overflow in heavy rains, polluting rivers and streams that 30,000 people depend on for drinking, cooking, bathing and fishing. Texaco also dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic and highly saline "formation waters," a byproduct of the drilling process, into the rivers of the Oriente. At the height of Texaco's operations, the company was dumping an estimated 4 million gallons of formation waters per day, a practice outlawed in major US oil producing states like Louisiana, Texas, and California decades before the company began operations in Ecuador in 1967. By handling its toxic waste in Ecuador in ways that were illegal in its home country, Texaco saved an estimated $3 per barrel of oil produced.

Maybe we do need some government regulations.........just sayin.

First night

At 5 we got on the long boats again for a night cruise. We first went to a beach where on one side it was safe to swim and on the other there were alligators (caiman) I went swimming in the river because other were. You sink in the mud quickly and need to jump in. I lasted 10 seconds.( I can move fast when motivated) The water is so murky that you don't know what's floating in it or under it......the guide said "you don't want to know". We then went out onto the lake to watch the sun set. It was so peaceful calm and beautiful. Once it got dark, we went up and down the lake searching for wild life. The bats were abundant. They are red belly bats that skim the water and catch minnows that are near the surface. Our guide would shine his flash light on the river bed looking for shinny eyes. We saw several alligators and one snake. When we got back to camp I want to take a shower and wash the amazon off of me ( the water supply comes directly from the river.......who am I kidding) and in the shower was a big ass frog. He wouldn't move and I was not going to grab him soooo we showered together.  

                  

On the river

We got into long boats to take a two hour boat ride to the Caiman Eco Lodge. The river is narrow, dark and teaming with all sorts of sounds and wild life.  On the way our guide would stop the boat to show us various wild life. We saw beautiful iridescent butterflies, all sorts of egrets, seven bats clinging to a stick in the water, three different types of monkeys ( I always wanted a monkey BNL) and a sleeping anaconda snake. We made it to the lodge about two, ate and took a nap.  The lodge is really bare bones with electricity only from 6-10. The beds all have mosquito meeting over them. It's an Eco lodge, you can not put anything down the toilet but #1 and #2. All toilet paper must go into a waste basket. Before we leave the jungle I think I may have ruined the ecosystem because I keep forgetting the rule. (Leaving my sox there could not have helped either)

Off to the Amazon

 At 7 PM, we went to the bus station where our lack of language skills presented a challenge. Finally, we found the bus and then started our 10 hour journey to the town Lago Agrio. I do not recommend 10 hours on a mountain bus in Ecuador at night  At 10PM  they played a horrible American movie " let's be Cops" in Spanish that was too loud for any hope of sleep. At 5AM we finally arrived to Lago Agrio. There was NOTHING open so we sat on a bench in the middle of the town like two homeless people. When something did open up the only coffee they served was Sanka......can you imagine! Finally our guide arrived to pick us up at 9:00 and take us on a two hours into the jungle. Then it got interesting

Banos pictures

 

Ride to Banos

We hired a driver to take us from Quito to Banos, a four hour drive. His name was Marco and told us all about the region and Ecuador.
Ecuador does not like Peru. In fact Marco says they hate Peru. In 1941 Ecuador and Peru went to war and Ecuador lost much of the Amazon territory that was was claimed by the indigenous tribes. Peru invaded again in 1995 to try and claim part of the Andes....this time they lost.So they are not friends.

Ecuador has massive oil production in the Amazon region. For this reason gas is $1.40 a gallon. All children get their education paid for by the government from kindergarten through college. Health care is provided to everyone. There is NO welfare. All able people are expected to work. The disabled receive a pension.

Ecuador is the major exporter of flowers in the world. All along the highlands and in the mountains you see dozens of greenhouses. So Donald when you buy roses for AL for valentines day, chances are good that they came from Ecuador.

We wanted to stop and see the volcano, Cotopaxi, on our way to Banos but it was clouded in. The Cotopaxi park is currently closed to the public because of fear of eruption. The last eruption was 10 years ago and the volcano has recently been blowing ash onto nearby towns. Cotopaxi is snow covered so when it does blow it won't be the lava that is the problem it will be the melting snow that will wipe out towns. Marco thinks it will happen soon........not the day we were there thankfully. There are warming sirens surrounding the towns like you see in Plymouth.

Another town we pasted through is the biggest maker of jeans in South America. Every store front had manikins wearing skinny jeans. All for around $5. Marco says they sell a lot of jeans but they are all junk.
I think Mario felt badly because Cotopaxi park was closed, so he took us off the beaten path to a beautifully restore Spanish hacienda. It's claim to fame was that Charles Darwin once slept there.  It is now a hotel and we spent a few minutes wandering its halls and admiring it.

Making friends

We have met a lot of young people from New Zealand and Australia. They are all just taking time off to see the world. Good for them. We had dinner with one young man, Phil, from New Zealand who was at our hotel. Took us to an area in Old Town call La Ronda. It was a really cool area bustling with small cafés and a traveling minstrel that went from cafe to cafe playing and singing.  Two young girls that we met from Australia have taken 5 months off to backpack South America. The hostels for young people run around $12 a night. Cabs are really cheap and busses are even cheaper. A four hour trip from Riobamba to Cuenca is going to cost us $8 and will give me a chance to perfect my Spanish.

We have noticed that the people of Ecuador are very openly affectionate. Woman frequently walk down the street hand in hand. I have told AL......." Please don't "

Day 3 Midad del Mondo

We then  visited the Middle of the World, a government-owned park that pays tribute to the Equator. It is surrounded with trinket shops and cafes offering roasted guinea pig. There is a yellow line painted on the ground here that is said to be precisely at Earth’s midpoint — 0 degrees latitude, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.

The government site was chosen because the nearby land where the Equator runs is traversed by a ravine and that the ground there was not suitable to hold a monument, so the builders chose a different location. The current monument, built in 1979, is almost 100 feet high, topped by a globe five feet across. The site first contained a smaller monument, erected in 1936. The builders believed they were placing the monument in the correct spot, except that measuring techniques at the time were not as accurate as they are today, so they were off by a few hundred feet.

according to one of the most commonly used GPS devices, the monument is about 800 feet, or more than two football fields, south of the Equator.

The original monument was built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival, in what is now Ecuador, of the French Geodesic Mission, an 18th-century scientific expedition intended to help determine whether the earth’s circumference was greater at the Equator or around the poles.

Day 3 pm

SAN ANTONIO DE PICHINCHA, Ecuador — day 3 pm

 One of things you do while in Quito is to visit the Equator. I was prepared to be underwhelmed but was surprised.

Our first stop was El Acoratene de los Cayambis. It is were the actual center of the equator is. It is just a two-minute drive from the Middle of the World, and is a small, privately owned site called Inti-ñan, there is a sign on a gate saying that its location is “calculated with GPS” to be exactly at 0 latitude.

We had an English speaking tour guide. ( actually not necessary for me but AL needed it). The park was like a little Plymouth Plantation with small huts built that showed how the indigenous people lived. I forgot what they were called but Quito is named after them. They were know for shrinking heads and we were shown the process. The practice was stopped in 1950 because too many people wanted them as souvenirs. The people came to this area because they worshiped the sun and Quito is high up and the center of the earth. They had figured out that this was the middle of the earth. They used sun dials. See if you can follow this........on a sun dial, at the solstice the shadow is longest at twelve PM than any other time of the year. On the equinox the sun dial does not cast any shadow at 12 PM for 3 minutes. The equator is the only place in the world were the shadow is not cast on that day. Don't believe me? Google it.

 It is easier to balance an egg at the Equator. Paradoxically it is harder for a person to maintain his balance. If you close your eyes and walk heel to toe, arms extended, you'll wobble. We tried both and it is true.

The most amazing thing we saw was when the guide filled a basin of water and moved to the line that was the equator. She pulled the plug and the water drained straight down. She took the basin and moved it 5 feet north ......now in the northern hemisphere.....filled the basin with water, pulled the plug and the water spiraled counter clockwise down the drain. She then moved the basin back over the equator line five feet to the Southern Hemisphere, Filled I it with water, pulled the plug and the water spiraled clockwise. Five feet made that Mitch of a difference.....I was impressed.