Wednesday Jan 26/11 "In Town"

We had supper at a marvellous Argentinian restaurant and I can say that the filet mignon “was to die for”. The service was superb and the menu was in English. It gets 5 stars just for that!

This hotel is about 2 stars, Cuban standard. Pretty sure there were bed bugs last night and the coffee I was “served” is gross. I got some tepid water and a jar of Ecuadorian type Nescafe, suspect it is mostly chickory or some such thing, really not good. I am forced to have Ruffles for breakfast. My travelling amigas are still sleeping even though it was an early night (10:30) and it is going on 8:00 a.m. I am still just “going with the flow”, after all there have been a number of days when we didn’t get coffee in the morning though now we have figured out how to light the gas stove without blowing ourselves to kingdom come.

This spacebar is driving me nuts, I am forced to whack down hard with my thumb or I get runonwords.

I can hardly believe we have only been here for 12 days, we have experienced so much. The American leg of our journey was loaded with events (and stops), our 2 ½ days in Quito saw us in 2 different towns to experience the huge outdoor market and the whole Equator experience. Then we had that incredible bus ride from the Andes to the southern beach of Manta/Meridor San Jose (this last is the name of our resort). Then the days at the house have been filled with the excitement of seeing the house for the first time and then shopping for household goods. Barb says I am a great shopper so I keep reminding her “Of course, I’ve done the New York thing!”

Tomorrow we are supposed to get the furniture for the house which is custom made for Barb. It is rattan; a big round dining room table with 6 chairs plus a 2 seater sofa. They are very solid and comfortable to sit in. The house is really starting to come together.

It’s been nice to have this little break “in town” to get a breather from the organizing, sweeping and cleaning. And among all of that there has been a lot of visiting back and forth with our only neighbours though they have now either headed home or gone off on their jungle trek.

Week 2 Tuesday Jan 25th

I can now confirm that we are in the Rainy Season. Three nights in a row I have woken up to rain splashing near my head and feet. Therefore you may conclude that the contractors will be doing some repair work on the ceramic tile roof! Apparently my bedroom has the most leaks but I have been thoughtful enough to shove all my electronics under the bed before I suspected leakage problems. As I write I notice that I have another one on my shoulder!

Yesterday I had my third trip in to the little town of Montecristi where they are famous for making the original “panama” hats which they still make, along with other weavings like fans and baskets and such. They have several long and hilly streets which are loaded with merchandise for tourist trade. I bought some more alpaca scarves, some tablecloths and table runners. All are made here in Ecuador, very beautiful workmanship.

The plan for today is to spend an overnighter in Manta so we can shower and havea good meal in a restaurant. We are challenged with lack of electricity (again). This time the power has been out since Saturday night/Sunday morning hence the food in the fridge has all gone bad. Fortunately we have a gas stove so we are able to bowl water for coffee or tea but otherwise we are pretty limited. As well, I have had some discussions with our English speaking friend Miguel (a charming young man of 26 who is going to a European university in September) and I may be able to get a computer adaptor for about $50 and then get a 7 day unlimited card for $16 which will give me internet access anywhere in Ecuador. Or so they say. Given all our other challenges I would like to at least feel that I can be in touch with the outside world and thus keep my friends, family and followers posted on my adventures.

Now that we are entering week 2 of our trip I can give my first summary of impressions. Ecuador is a very lovely country with a wide ranging variety of landscapes. There are a lot of birds and butterflies and I haven’t yet been to the mangroves which are spectacular for variety of wild life. We will go there this weekend. But the wildlife includes a vast array of bugs which are attracted to our lights at dinnertime and the floor in the kitchen in the mornings is a slaughterhouse of dead bugs! I try not to think about what I may have consumed with my supper the night before. My friends have been eaten alive by mosquitoes and or other bugs but I think I have been saved because of the malaria pills that I am taking. In any event the ladies were concerned enough to make a visit to a doctor in Ecuador. The result was they both got an injection of some sort in their butts. I had declined to go in which is unfortunate because it would have been great to have gotten a blackmail picture of that procedure. J

The rain seems to be slowing down now but as my friends are still sleeping I don’t know when our trip will start. Most likely this afternoon since we have yet to have an early start.

Stay tuned for more!

Day 10 Jan 23/11 Sunday Contemplation of Flight

I spent last night dodging raindrops in my bed. The power went out some time during the night and my friends also had left the house while I was sleeping, presumably they went to the annual all night party at Portoveijo while I was sleeping and here it is 7 a.m. and they are still not back. I have a real sense of isolation from the world outside, the closest village is 30 minutes away but no bus goes there from here. There is a bus to Manta which is more than an hour away. There is also the isolation from my friends since we are extremely different personalities. They party all night and sleep all day so I find myself quite solitary most of the time.

Then there is the lack of internet access so while I may contemplate getting back to civilization faster than you can say Jack Robinson it is not very easy to do. If I could arrange my departure for next weekend I would be doing that now rather than blogging.

The beach is dirty and swarming with sand crabs and other unsavoury creatures and we girls have been advised not to go there alone so there is another avenue closed for my entertainment. I feel more lonely now than when I was travelling virtually alone in England. It’s not the fault of my friends, it is simply that we have little in common besides wanting to see Ecuador.

And right now I would kill for a cup of coffee!

Day 9 Jan 22/11 Saturday Housewarming

My duty today was to go with our neighbours to Montecristi to do the grocery shopping for the housewarming party tonight. As I wrote yesterday, every day brings new adventures. This one included the rental vehicle of our friends breaking down 4 times on the trip. The first breakdown was half way to Montecristi when we detected steam coming out of the hood. Not a good sign. Out went the 3 guys and out I went. I knew I was useless to assist so I strolled down the street to take pictures of a really beautiful little church. I then took pictures of a chicken, a pig and several stray dogs. Then I turned my focus on the menfolk who were busy pouring water into the engine.

Off we went to Montecristi and just got to the main drag when we ha to stop again. Fortunately we were able to walk up and down the strip while the engine cooled. The young fellow who will be our cook tonight went with me to a bakery where I had quite the time asking for a dozen buns. I tried “six et six” but that didn’t work, so I tried the finger display and even that didn’t work. The poor guy and I ended up counting them together one by one as they went into the bag. Believe it or not that was the easy part.

We then wandered off to look for fish since they had not been able to find it earlier in the morning at this other place they had gone to (without me). Eventually we came upon a big two storey market but I was aghast to see the meat hanging about with flies being wafted away and there we did end up buying the fish. Suffice to say, I am eating the hotdogs which we procured in a grocery store that had a freezer. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen meat hanging about like that before but I have never contemplated eating it myself. It will be a real test to my tact tonight to avoid eating the fish. Yes, I did take the Dukoral for just such an event but there is such a thing as not putting your head in a noose or your stomach in a bind! J

That done we tried to procure cervasa (aka beer) and that was interesting because “Pilsener” is posted everywhere in this town (as elsewhere) but not a case to be discovered. Fortunately for us as we broke down just at the next village and while we sat on the roadside waiting for the car to cool down we saw a cantina a few steps away and sat there, for the entire world like an American movie about Mexico breakdowns. I had my water while the menfolk had their beers.

Then we were off to the next stop, back through the village where we originally broke down. We made it all the way to the intersection that would take us back to the resort, a matter of five minutes. Another cool down and we finally made it home. Instead of the expedition taking 90 minutes it was a bit more than 3 hours.

Such is life in Ecuador. Everything eventually comes down to manyana!

Day 8 Jan 21 2011 A Word About Hats

The first day in Quito (technically the second day) when we went to Otavolda the sun was so strong that it was imperative that I get a hat because naturally I forgot to put my baseball cap in my suitcase. I didn’t like anything at the first kiosk but very quickly at the second i chose a wide brim straw hat with a pink weave pattern at the brim and a cherry ribbon around the crown. Instant relief that I was not going to get sunstroke! And consequent inconvenience everywhere we go! I’ve been forced to wear it a lot because any exertion is making me sweat so that my hair is soaking wet and thus I must conceal my bad hair days! But in buses and cabs I’ve had to wear it because there simply isn’t anywhere else for it but on my head. We’ve had so much baggage with us that the hat must inevitably stay on my head so there is even more perspiration going on! If I had been a bit more patient in choosing a hat I could have got an imitation panama hat. A true panama hat can roll up and be stored away with no harm to it. Barb and Wenda each got one of questionable authenticity but it does roll up for them.

Today I may be able to solve my problem. We are heading to Montecristi where the original panama hats are made. Ecuador is where the panama hat was first invented and Montecristi is associated with the manufacturing. Stay tuned for more on hats!