From Montanita to Loja - Beach to the Mountains

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August 10, 2009 - Montanita, Ecuador

We always stay one day longer in a place than we should, and I'm glad. That way, we don't feel like we've missed out on something or left something undone, and are eager to move on.

Today, the skies are gray, changing the festively crazy look of Montanita, its 60s-like street vendors, and its topsy turvy collection of thatched-roof and bamboo hostals, into something worn and tawdry-looking. Suddenly, the sand streets are dingier and the kids are noticeably wiped after a long weekend of partying. Some stagger past our breakfast table, still drunk at 9 a.m. A few are passed out in front of businesses. It must have been some night. The glow, along with the sun, is gone from Montanita. Time to leave.

But the water is still warm, the sand is still soft, and the temperature is still perfect, in spite of overcast skies. Like almost anywhere, you can make of a place what you want, see what you want, participate—or not—in what you want.

And if you want breakfast, it's the best deal all day. Most places advertise something like "Desayuno Americano Completo." For $3.00 this morning, we had coffee, freshly-blended juice (banana, papaya, or pineapple), eggs, toast, and fruit with yogurt and granola. We're good for the day with just a light dinner.

Tomorrow, it's Guayaquil and points beyond. Unless we miss a connection, we're bypassing Ecuador's largest city, known for its wonderful Malecon (waterfront walkway), restored in 2000—and its crime. An industrial city, Quito residents sometimes refer to Guayaquil as being "dirty, violent, and crime-infested" according to one guide book. We'll take their word for it.

Later - Montanita

I felt a twinge standing on the beach at sunset tonight, watching surfers catch some excellent rides on about four-foot waves. It's interesting how the things that were important to you as a youth never remain very far behind. I understand why some animals complete the circle and return to the place of their birth to die. The ocean has always been home for me. It's comforted me in sad times, celebrated with me in happy times, and gifted me with treasures from its shores. It's been playmate, confessor, and friend. I've already decided that when "my time" comes, I'd like it to be in Hanalei Bay, Kauai. Just put me in my kayak and push me out into that wonderful bay where the children jump off the dock, surfers paddle in the distance, and the sun sets over "Bali Hai." I'll have already died and gone to heaven, so the rest should be a short trip.

Yikes... I'm getting maudlin here... and you just wanted to know about the trip to Guayaquil!

The GUAYAQUIL EXPRESS. August 11, 2009

The shiny maroon bus seems out of place along the coast of Ecuador. By any standard, it's first class, clean, and new. It picks passengers up six times a day in Montanita for the three-hour ride to Guayaquil with its teeming population of almost three million.

Buses are cheap in Ecuador. You can figure on paying $1 for every hour you travel. The luxury bus is a little more, but an incredible bargain at $5.00 for the three-hour trip. Along the way, we pass several fishing villages, each seeming more dismal than the last. With such a beautiful coastline and such great weather, I wonder how long it will take for the coastal peoples to find some way to thrive.

Guayaquil greets you with outlying slums and mounds of trash. Perhaps there's no pickup service here yet, because it seems like people just dispose of it wherever they can. Not the image most Chamber of Commerces would like you to come away with. To be fair, Guayaquil housing may be in transition. The bus passed perhaps a half dozen gated communities, each of which had rows of 2-bedroom, 2-bath brick homes with tile roofs for sale for $37,660. They looked quite nice.

And yes, it's totally unfair to judge a city of three million by what you can see from a bus or plane. I'm sure there are many lovely areas in Guayaquil. The restored malecon is supposed to be a sight not to miss.

But if most of the city seems unappealing, the bus terminal and airport are clean and modern. We went in one door of the bus terminal and out the other to waiting taxis. After battling with the taxi driver who wanted to charge us a "gringo price" to go to the airport (within view), we battled through morning rush hour to the airport, arriving at 9a.m.

According to the web, there was only one flight to Loja that day on Tame, Ecuador's national airlines, but lo and behold the departure board listed one at 9:30. To my surprise, they let us on, and we were off.

Jack and I both breathed a sigh of relief when we saw the green Andes rise up underneath us. Jack said he decided in that moment that he was a mountain man as opposed to an ocean dude. Of course, he's an east coast guy who never liked sand between his toes anyway. The mighty Andes is an amazing sight though. The longest exposed mountain range in the world, it stretches over seven countries and 4,300 miles long. The average height of its mountains is 13,000 feet.

Landing in Catamayo, three taxi drivers battled for our business for the 24-mile ride to Loja. The war was won by taxi driver #2 swooping our bags out of taxi driver #1's trunk and saying he'd only charge us $10—half of what the other driver wanted. Of course, he picked up two other fares along the way, which seemed only fair. Sharing cabs here is standard fare, if you'll excuse the pun.

It was a typical, winding Andean wild toad ride with our driver joyfully ignoring double lines on treacherous curves as he passed cars... who were passing other cars... and then swooping back to safety within inches of oncoming traffic. But once more, we survived, descending into the beautiful Andean valley that cradles Loja.

Loja, with a population of 180,000 prides itself on being the "music capital of Ecuador." It boasts a music conservatory and two universities, but, ironically, we've been unable to find any musical events happening here. And since we've been in Ecuador, the only music we've heard seems to have a decidedly salsa beat. (Not one note of "dead white guy music").

Loja is also a refreshingly clean city with no trash on the streets. One of Loja's main attractions is the two rivers that run through its nice downtown area. It seems like a very liveable, middle-class city. There are lots of places to stay with hosterias ranging from $8 a night for two to $100. We checked out one of the $8 a night places—don't even think about it—but decent places for an overnight stay run from $20-$30 for two.

So this afternoon, we're off on another bus ride to the mystical, magical Vilcabamba, that seems to have been put under an evil spell the last couple of years from what we hear. We've arranged for a $400 a month, 2-bedroom apartment (with tennis courts and pool) starting this weekend, but we'll see... Life is full of surprises!

(Scroll down for more photos after Jack's Jottings)

JACK'S JOTTINGS

Old Bills, Bananas and really big deal of confluence of political events.

OLD BILLS

Did you ever wonder what happens with the old, worn-out, disgusting money after it has served its purpose in the United States? I've asked that of bankers and been told that the U.S. Treasury incinerates it. Your hard-earned dollars wind up as ashes. Not so. It's sold (exchanged?) into Ecuador. Ecuador uses U.S. currency, but let me tell you the dollars you pocket in Ecuador have been a long time gone from the mint — or the printing press. And Ecuadorians are fussy about the condition of the decrepit dollars they use. If a corner has inadvertently been torn (worn?) off, forget it. You now have a memento of your trip to Ecuador, unless you find a bank that's willing to exchange it for you. Even ATMs kick out old,old bills. (Thank goodness for the world-wide use of ATMs! They make monetary exchange a reliable, accurate, fair way to acquire the necessities of life, like apanados (empanadas) and bier (beer).

BANANAS

Lots of fruit stores in Montanita. When the weather is a perfect 70-80F, soil is rich and natural, clean water is abundant year long, and the sun shines just the right amount of time, things grow. When they grow they need to be distributed and thus a glut of fruit stores with a glut of fruit and produce and especially bananas. Bananas seem to be price fixed from Cotacachi to Montanita at 5-cents apiece. Big, luscious, ripe bananas abound at a nickel apiece. But my guess is that for every ten bananas offered for sale, maybe one gets sold. What happens to the leftover bananas? Bananas have a store/shelf life of two - maybe three - days. What happens to the nine out of ten bananas that don't get sold by the fourth day? Beats me. But they get stacked in the back corners of the fruit tiendas and then quietly disappear. Where do they go? What purpose do they serve? I don't know, but the tender, tasty chicken in Ecuador has a suspiciously familiar banana aftertaste. Beats worms.

TENTH OF AUGUST 2009 IN ECUADOR

Today is diaz de Augusto 2009. There is considerable controversy about what happened on this date, but Guayaquil's main paper, "El Universo," reports that 200 years ago, on August 10, 1809, a small group of Ecuadorian patriots in Quito declared independence and took a stand against Spanish occupation and Conquistadore-type abuses. Tenth of August is Ecuador's July fourth.

Rafael Correa is Ecuador's President. Under a parliamentary-type of system, he served for about three years then declared a new presidential election to be held. He was re-elected with an overwhelming plurality and re-installed today as President for a four-year term.

South American countries have a number of common interests which are expressed through a European Union kind of organization called Unasur. The chair—or president—of Unasur rotates between the heads of member states. This year is Ecuador's turn, so Correa takes on the title and authority of that organization as well. The current hot button issue at Unasur is Columbia's agreement to permit the E.E.U.U. (United States) to install seven military bases, ostensibly to aid in the fight against narco trafficking. Leaders of member states of Unasur have expressed their concern that the principle long term strategic reason for the bases is to serve as intelligence outposts to better monitor the social advances of South American countries. Hmmm.

At the national level, Ecuador has launched a campaign promoting pride in Ecuador and its accomplishments.
"Compra El Mejor. Compra Ecuador" (Buy the best. Buy Ecuador.) Billboards up and down the coast proclaim this message of national chest thumping.

If you put all of this together (connect the dots, as people like to say) it's easy to see why we see so many proud, happy people having a great time on the beach in Montanita.

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Photos

Coming into Loja
Fertile valleys in the Andes.

Hostal on the Beach in Montanita
Number 7 (just to the right of the sign) is the preferred spot.

School Playground
A good place to hang laundry on weekends.

Montanita Bathtub
Or water supply, if you must.

Beach Chair Rental Business
Taking them home after a long day.

Says it All?
Goodbye, Montanita!

School Bus
We've noticed that no matter how impoverished the homes, the children always come to school clean and pressed. How do they do it?

Comments

[Gloria Gritz]

Thanks!
I quite loved this informative, touching-in-places entry. And here in Minnesota, where some of our schools have a huge Latino/poverty presence, the children come to school much cleaner and better dressed than their equally poor gringo peers. I am told it is because school is considered such a privilege. On the down side, it takes some work to get parents involved in their children's learning since they assume school is the sole province of the teachers and don't want to interfere.

[KatieJack]

Thanks!
Thanks, Glor. It really does tug the heart to see these beautiful kids come out of their dirt floor shacks looking so bright and shiny, clean and pressed. I can't imagine how their parents do it!