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Published: September 16th 2009
Quito
Indigenous dancers in Plaza GrandeFrom Colombia I was on a mad dash for Quito. This meant that there were a couple of things missed and a couple of good sites and stops bypassed, but I had my mission. I know not why nor ever discovered, but there is a short ‘low season’ in the Galapagos from May through mid-June and I wanted to catch some of the lower fares. Having dallied in Venezuela too long, meant by the time I had bren to Bogota and the fabulous Zone Cafetera, I was beginning to be pushed for time. So, off to Quito.
It took me about 2 days to check out the different tours available to the Galapagos, book the tour and the flights. It really wasn’t difficult, but this may have been because it was off season. The whole thing cost me about $1600, including the tour on a tourist class boat ($1150), airfare ($360) and park entrance fee ($100). I include these fares for those who may be contemplating a trip. Give you something to compare prices you get from agents or over the internet.
Then, I had a week to enjoy Quito, which turned out to be a refreshing surprise. As some know,
my opinion of non-first world cities is not high. Even Japanese first world cities are just so-so. Other than my huge crush on Mumbai, I don’t know any city in Asia or, so far, South America I would lavish with superlatives (other than Old Cartagena, that is). But, Quito is worth a visit and even a revisit.
The main surprise is that, although it isn’t so well known as Cartagena (at least to me); Quito has a gorgeously restored Old Town with lots of plazas and far more beautiful churches than the former (Old Town and Cuenca, a city to the south, are both World Heritage Sites). Plus there are several other interesting areas to wander around in, including New Town, which my Ecuadorian ‘tour guide’ says is commonly known as Gringolandia…even where I am now in Southern Ecuador, that name is used. Both are popular places to stay but I opted for a nice hotel smack dab in the center of Old Town. The night life is not so raucous, but then that definitely is no drawback to my lifestyle nowadays. And, during the day there were endless wanderings to occupy myself with. Plus, on my first day
there was a big happening on the Plaza Grande at the Government Palace (Hugo Chavez was visiting). I just happened on to this but stuck around for the big event and in the process met Marcus, my to-be Quito ‘guide’.
Marcus actually is a guide that broke his leg in a motorcycle accident and is teaching right now. But, this was a Sunday, plus school was almost out for the semester. So, although I never figured out exactly why, he would rather be busy showing gringos around Quito for free than not having anything to do. He’s a very gregarious guy and, I think, fills his days and nights with people. Well, for the time I was in Quito, I was one of his ‘people’. I count myself lucky on him ‘picking me up’ that afternoon because I got to see quite a lot in Quito I would never have thought to see because of him. He was never hesitant in using me as a reason to push us into places we would have never gone, a gorgeous boutique hotel that was an old home, the school of architecture’s display of miniature display of important Quito architectures, the home
that had a basement that used to a basement in which slaves were held for sale(in these places we had private tours because we were the only ones there). He knew all the best spots in the city to go for great views too(on the top floor of the library, the bell tower of Santa Catalina monastery). Plus, he is a student of Church iconography and was able to bring life and understanding into paintings and art that I would have just glanced at. So, if in the future, any of you are coming to Quito and want a good guide, tell me and I’ll put you in touch with Marcus.
The churches in Quito are plentiful and not at all bashful in their show of excessive wealth. There is one, La Compania de Jesus that is purported to have seven tons of gold on the gilded walls. Does that sound over-the-top? Well, I hate to admit this, but I thought it was rather magnificent. But, then I think huge diamonds are about right too and fireworks displays simply cannot be overdone. However, in my defense, it was built by the Jesuits, who are supposed to be a bit more
educated in their taste. There was also the Basilica, a huge gothic monument that is a real show stopper on the outside and from afar. Now, let me educate those in the dark (like I was) as to cathedrals, basilicas, churches. The first is where the bishop preaches, basilicas are always huge because they are meant to accommodate masses of people (this one, while awesome on the outside, was very plain on the inside) and churches are, well, churches for everyday services without the la-ti-da of a bishop’s presence. I saw lots of those in Old Town, something I usually pass on, but the Churches of Quito are impressive, plus I had Marcus in many to bring them to life.
He was great showing me other special places too. One day we went to one of his secret places, El Panecillo (Little Bread Loaf). His favorite phrase after we had finished visiting one of his special spots was, “Now, don’t tell anyone!” Actually it is in the LP, but I might not have gone without him and certainly wouldn’t have heard the interesting tale of that area. It’s a hill on the edge of New Town that looks out
Courtyard
Behind those dark wooden doors they used to keep slaves over a narrow valley to a wider flat land beyond. In the ‘beyond’ region is where a lot of the rich have moved. It is warmer than Quito (which at around 9,000 ft, is sort of like a Northwest spring. You are usually safe to be wearing a light sweater, sometimes more, and carrying an umbrella. Plus, there are plenty of gray days and rainy ones). But, why did some of these people originally desert Quito. Well, right up where we were, looking out, is a long cliff that is lined with expensive high rise apartments-condos. Nowadays with magnificent views and a minute from the downtown, many are deserted…with some adequate reasoning attached. Seems that Quito airport for many years didn’t have the latest in ground to air communication and after the third plane crashed into one of these high rises on landing (or attempted landing, I should say), people departed rapidly, leaving ‘for sale’ signs behind. According to Marcus, airport technology has improved but apparently folks don’t quite trust this claim yet. So, there are some very good deals to be had on some prime Quito real estate for those with a sense of adventure. Any takers?
Found
Fashion in Old Town
This one's for you, Susie! another artist’s work I recommend. South America does seem to produce some extraordinary painters. This one is even better than Colombia’s Acuna. He is Oswaldo Guayasamin. Right in the same neighborhood and far from Old Town he has two museums. The day I went only one was open but it was probably the one to see anyway. It is called Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man) It… ‘is a tribute to humankind, to the suffering of Latin America’s indigenous poor , and to the undying hope for a better world’ (LP). His talent can’t be questioned, but this place was more about his recording of the pain and suffering he saw in Latin America and around the world among the dispossessed. It would have been worth the trip just to see it but, fortunately, the LP suggested doing it with a guide. And, I did. Sometimes, they do make a tremendous difference in how you view and understand what you are looking at and, like with Marcus and the Churches. This was another of those times. He has never shown in America. Didn’t like America, but, strangely, died there. Went for some operation, and died during recovery. How is that
Solstice Indigenous Celebratiohn
Parade up to the top of the hill where the Winged Madona sits. It was built above a sacred indigenous spot for irony!. But, if you see the kinds of life that a lot of South Americans have been forced to endure, partly because of our support for oligarchies and dictators who have perpetuated policies that only help themselves, you can probably sympathize with SA leftists who don’t like us. Anyway, if you ever do get the chance, I heartily recommend seeing his work. I’ve included a few pictures, but pictures of paintings are poor substitutes for his actual works
Quito had other interesting things to do. To stop a minute and backtrack, I stayed a total of three weeks, one before the Galapagos and two after. So, I am sort of telling you all about Quito as if it were one time period when it is actually not. But, it did seem that when I got back from the Galapagos, I just continued on from where the first week’s journey of touring and discovery had been temporarily halted. Even stayed in the same hotel, one room away from the first visit.
There are so many things to see that I am glad I didn’t rush myself. One day I spent about four to five hours in the Museo del
Banco Central (the Central Bank over the years collected Ecuadorian art and artifacts and this Museum holds the largest collection in Ecuador. And, the banks in SA, in general, are big contributors to the arts). In one room alone (the Archaeology Room) there are over 1,000 ceramic pieces dating from 12,000 B.C. to 1534 A.D. This room took up more than half my visit.
I can’t remember what I told you all about the history of this area. Just looked back the Colombia blog and can’t find a mention, but I kinda recall somewhere saying something. So, at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll just do a very quick overview. We, or at least I, always think of the Spanish defeating the Incas…which they did. However, until about a hundred years before the Spanish arrived there many individual groups in this part of the world, the Incas being only one minor group around Cuzco in Southern Peru. But, along came a strong Inca ruler with dreams of empire, Pachacuti. This small group started very un-neighborly behavior wars of expansion and the great Inca Empire of Western SA was born, only after many years of strong resistance by the local
groups. After a couple of one man rulers, a later one left his empire to two sons who went about fighting each other for control of the whole. One finally won. But the result was a much weaker and still divided empire when Francisco Pizarro landed in Peru in 1532. He immediately started exploiting the divisions among these peoples and eventually defeated the Inca Empire. I slipped this little history lesson in at this point because the museum with all the ceramic artifacts was from all of these groups. Artifacts included little musical instruments, funerary vessels, ritual pieces and some large containers for offerings. All beautifully fired ceramics with distinctive designs of the individual groups. All interesting, certainly, but nothing from the common folk. Probably the kinds of pottery they used was not so easily preserved, but I felt like I was looking at only the cultural remains of the elite, Still it was a memorable collection, by far the most various I have seen on my travels. And, the notable part for me was that there were enough pieces from each group that I was even able to distinguish one from the other.
Later I did go to a
Mother and Child
Painting by Guayasimin at the museum honoring the poor of the world called Capella de Hombre...the Chapel of Man museum ‘of the real people’, the kind of displays I most like. The biggest memory I took away from it was the enormous variety of food these people had. Of course, the displays included all the exotic fruits that we don’t even know about in the US, even today. But, the sheer variety of fruit and vegetables would have made for great tastes and totally adequate dietary needs: potatoes (many varieties),corn and tomatoes (all SA originals), carrots, onions, green peppers, garlic, leafy veggies, yucca, beans, plantain, bananas, papaya, all sorts of citrus fruits, avocados, the list goes on and on. I don’t know what their natural meats were, but this is, and has been for a l-o-n-g time, a heavenly place to be a vegetarian…even better than India.
Spent days seeing lots of other interesting things. Quito is in a long valley, surrounded by hills. On one perches an ancient religious ceremonial place that the Spanish, in their religious fervor, built this great huge Madonna with wings (supposedly to indicate she was resisting the devil and flying off to heaven). It is called El Panacillo. It towers over Old Town and looks sort of like that religious figure you
Straddling the Equator
That orange line behind is the Equator. It's raining and I am freezing! Another example of...In SA height is climate. see pictures of overseeing Rio, only a tad bit tackier. Went up there twice. Once just to see it and all of Quito for miles and miles. And, once resulting from a beckoning from Marcus to be there early on the 21st of June for a summer solstice Indigenous Ceremony. People in full costume marched up this hill and then proceeded to celebrate the new season and praise their gods with their ancient rituals. Marcus went to a party the night before, got drunk and didn’t show, but I was very happy he told me about it. I’d never have known and it was definitely one of those things you are glad you are, even tangentially, part of. Makes their past seem so much more real.
Aside: on the way, on the way down I was looking at the scenery instead of where I should have been looking, the unpredictable sidewalk, stumbled over a lose piece of cement and fell, ripping a big hole in my beige pant leg. So, I unzipped the legs, threw them away, am left with only long shorts which I definitely will not be photographed in. So, you shall never have to see another picture,
after this blog of both my red shirt and my beige pants. Considering it has been two years of travel, almost, I guess it is time for a few new clothes.
As you probably all can figure out, Ecuador is named after the fact it is on the Equator. Twenty two miles north of Quito is Mitad Del Mundo, where the Equator crosses. Or close. There is another place about three or four blocks away that actually is the place. They found this out only within recent times when satellites and GPS could be used to measure this sort of thing. You have to have a bit of awe for those who didn’t have satellites and many years ago were able to pinpoint this site within a few blocks. At the actual site, the Museo Solar Inti Nan one gets to see some interesting phenomena, like, if you are as coordinated as a normal person, you are able to stand an egg on end on the equator line (I couldn’t do it), water that goes one way, then another…switching directions half way out of a water basin. If you are going for a weight check, this is a good
place. You way a little less, not much, but as we (who take our watches off along with our shoes and everything else, short of being indecent when we have to be weighed at the doctors office) know, a little bit can be mighty important.
The other really worthwhile day excursion out of Quito is to Termas De Papallacta. These are hot springs in a truly fabulous setting. About 2 ½ hours from Quito they are in a narrow valley. You sit in these swimming pool like hot tubs that have jets of water for every part of your body, your neck, shoulders, back, feet, bottom, legs, etc. There were a series of pools at different temperatures and different ways to enjoy the spa. In one you sat in this hollowed out space for your body and then operated different jets as you pleased. But, the thing that set this apart from your average hot springs was the setting. All around us were the Andes mountains, tall, green and sun-tipped. What a way to spend a day or two.
The thing about my time in Quito is that, while I did keep busy visiting so many interesting things,
Blue Footed Boobies
There are red footed and other color-footed boobies, too. But, in keeping with trying to control my picture downloading, you will just have to imagine the others I left knowing that I could have spent at least another week or two easily and not be bored. The one thing I didn’t do is go to a highly recommended Saturday market at Otavalo with its traditionally dressed Indigenous people and one of the best places in Ecuador to buy handicrafts. Don’t miss it if you have any interests along this line.
After my first week in Quito I was off on my 8 day tour of The Galapagos. It’s hard to exaggerate when describing this trip. It just couldn’t have been better. While I booked the cheapest reliable boat, The Flamingo, I don’t feel like I missed a thing. It had a nice cabin area where we ate and could read, plus good upper deck space outside, half undercover and half not. The boat took 10. Most books took more and I can’t think of any reason one would consider that an advantage. The tour was like two back-to-back 4 day tours. The LP advised avoiding these but, from my investigation, at least during this low season, that was impossible. And, the 5 of us who went the whole 8 days (to S. African middle-aged women, two
Pelicans and Frigate Birds
Waiting for our cook to throw them scraps young Danish women and me) did not consider stopping to drop off and pick up new people an inconvenience. Almost every day we did 2 land tours and got to snorkel twice. By day 5 we were happy to sit on the deck in the shade and read a book for a couple of hours. The first half we had a lovely Israeli family. The father is a Professor of Ecology and Evolution doing a sabbatical at UC -Davis this year. He was a fount of information. In fact, I think the guide, who was very knowledgeable also, felt a bit upstaged a few times. But, we certainly all benefited from his expertise and felt very fortunate to have him along. The second half we had a couple of young guys from Britain, a couple from Israel and a guy from Germany. We had 5 cabins for 2 and each had its own bath. On the first half one of the daughters in the Israeli family was my bunk mate and on the second half the guy from Germany was. The cabins were muy pequeno (itty-bitty) but all we did was sleep in them so this was not a problem
even with the guy roomie.
The planes land on Santa Cruz Island. So, this was the beginning and end of our tour. The first day we traveled out on the island and found the giant tortoises. By the way, if I understand this right, a tortoise is a land animal and a turtle is marine. On the last day we went to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz that has a tortoise nursery. The first night we had dinner on board and then spent the evening in pretty little Puerto Ayora, the main town on the island, sending out our last emails and eating our last ice creams. This is the main town in the Galapagos and it isn’t very big, yet has a harbor full of boats.
We were supposed to leave at midnight. All of us went to bed, were sound asleep (at least I was) and then at 3:-00 am we were all rudely awaked by our boat hurtling through the water, hitting waves head on and generally making sleeping impossible (and seasickness a reality for a few). This went on for several hours. I just laid there and was flung from one
side of my tiny bunk to another, keeping a good grip on the outer side so as not to end up on the floor. Although, in that tiny space I would have probably bounced off the other wall first and slid to the floor. Finally, it ended and we all went back to sleep to awaken the next morning to blue skies, soft weather, a delicious breakfast and the sight of our first island just a five minute boat ride away. Since we knew we had some night cruises in front of us, the previous evenings ‘adventure’ left us a little leery of the future. However, the rest of our night cruises were all smooth and uneventful. We decided that the captain probably got a late start and was trying to make up for lost time. That’s why our first night was probably rough.
This may have been an off season, but we had absolutely perfect weather all eight days. (rainy season January through April) While I have gone cruising before for weeks, this trip convinced me that, if one could cruise in waters like this, warm breezes, crystal clear skies, breaks for wandering around exploring and snorkeling, a
Last night celebration
The gals, 2 young women from Denmark and the other lady from S. Africa were on the whole trip. The guy, German, was my roomie. With that red hair he could be my grandson. This is just half the group. crew to clean your cabin, take you ashore, cook your meals..I could live like this for quite some time. It is the first time even I have seen the appeal of having a boat and going around the world. However, the caveat is that the weather and atmosphere of ‘the world’ would have to be like this was. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t much like the wet and rough days.
Every morning we had breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and were off on our first trek of discovery. (Since we were usually in bed sometime before 10:00 pm, this wasn’t even too bad for me).We had wet landings and dry landings and they are just like you would imagine. Our days were spent among the smaller islands, Santiago, Bartolome, Santa Fe, Espanola, Floreana, and Santa Cruz. There are two bigger islands, Isabella and San Cristobal. Isabella one can do by oneself and a lot of the 4 day tourists were going to do that afterwards. It’s supposed to be good, with horseback trips up to a volcano and a few species that are only there. But, generally speaking, I think what we did was better. Each island sort of had
Cuenca
This is a beautiful little city, 3rd largest in Ecuador, about 300,000. Listed as a World Heritage Site because of all the restored Colonial buildings a specialty, plus species that were common to other islands. One would have lots of blue footed boobies, one had little penguins, one had a special iguana, one had albatrosses (did you know that they circle and circle before landing because they come in hard and are capable of great harm to themselves if they misjudge. We watched them, so I know it’s true). On one island we watched the mating frigate birds. The males make a nest and get this huge red balloon type thing under their chins (if birds have chins) and the female birds fly around from nest to nest, deciding which one to snuggle down and raise a family with. Then, there were the beaches that were full of sea lions, where we could watch them cavort and follow the Alpha Male’s constantly guarding his harem. There is only one mating male in a group. Once the horny younger ones start trying to seduce the ladies, they are ousted and must form their own family or wait until the current guy gets so old he can be defeated. Then, of course, there were all the iguanas, so many different kinds, some only on one island, nowhere
else on earth. We got to see every single species and subspecies that are known on those particular islands, except a couple. I think there is a non-flying cormorant on only Isabella and there is a snake indigenous to the area that we didn’t see. That’s it. Every other creature was there on duty displaying themselves to make us all happy. Plus, our cook would throw things like chicken fat or parts of a fish we couldn’t eat out the window and when he was cooking there were pelicans and frigate birds were all over by our boat ever day. And, of course, as you all have been told…and it’s true, none of these creatures are afraid of us. None run away when you are near. It’s amazing to walk up to a sea lion or a blue footed boobie and have them just look at you. Even the hawk we saw on one island and the little birds weren’t afraid of us.
After our morning trek and a trip back to the boat for our morning tea, it was off to snorkel before lunch. I had only snorkeled once in my life and that was in shallow water.
Plus, I am not a strong swimmer and don’t even particularly like swimming. So, I decided to forget my style and go with what I knew would work. I strapped on a life jacket and off I went with everyone else with goggles and snorkeling masks. This was to be a perfect solution. I could swim out as far as everyone else in as questionable water as they and not worry about getting myself too tired so I couldn’t make it back. It made the snorkeling a wonderful adventure.
I am still in awe of all the sea life I saw. I even saw a big zebra eel one day. Tried to get someone close by to see it and then lost it again. I swam with seals and turtles right by me and even a couple of penguins once. The seals would dart around and then come back and circle me again. They wanted to play. And, I swam with sharks. Yes, I did. Scared me a bit when I saw them, but they weren’t the huge kind. They were white tipped sharks. It was like a magic fairyland down in there. For those of you who have
snorkeled or have an interest in such things, I am going to list here the ones I remembered to jot down. There were some I know I saw and didn’t record and other I didn’t what the names of were. Besides those I have already talked about there were rays (eagle, sting and golden), yellow tail damselfish, Mexican hogfish, King Angel Fish, Galapagos Seabream, Balck Striped Salema, Anglefish, Butterfly fish, Redtail Triggerfish, Yellow Fins, Scad, Pilot Fish, Blue Bronze Chub. These may not all be spelled right. Sometimes I can’t read my own notes, this is one of those times.
There were lots of other boats in these waters. Each boat can only be one place at a certain time for a certain number of hours. For example, sometimes, we would have an early morning land expedition and a snorkel, then be gone by 1100 or noon because our time was up. But, I don’t want to give you the impression we felt rushed, we didn’t. It’s just that there is a huge demand for tours and the government of Ecuador is grappling with ways to handle touism so the numbers can be limited. One of its ideas is
Potatoes
The types of potatoes down here are different and there seem to be an endless variety. to make it more expensive. That’ll mean only the rich and old will be seeing these beautiful islands. As it is, most backpackers, naturally, cannot afford today’s tariffs. If prices do shoot upwards, it’ll be out of reach for more. This was a trip with memories I will always cherish and I absolutely recommend it to all of you. Come while you can still afford it.
As I said earlier, after Galapagos I did go back to Quito and spent another two weeks there. But, finally, I felt the time had come to move on. There were three more stops I wanted to make on my way south to Peru. The first was the other World Heritage site, the colonial city of Cuenca. Ecuadorians like to argue about which is prettier, Quito or Cuenca. Well, my opinion is a little of both. Old Quito is more beautiful than Cuenca, but it is not really a ‘live’ city,. Yes, people live there, but not so many and it is mostly a place to come and see as a tourist. Whereas, Cuenca is a living breathing city that has not been destroyed by modernization. Yes, not every building is an art
Pig roasting on a spit
I haven't tried this yet, but just waiting for the opportunity! piece, but enough are that it is a charming city with a very special environment, a modern city with beautiful old colonial buildings being used on a daily basis for mundane things like insurance offices or bookstores, or restaurants, etc. While it has a half million people, the downtown area is the place for visitors and it’s a good place to just walk around and enjoy. There are even a few good western restaurants for a change of pace. One even served a decent cappuccino. Plus, there are a couple of interesting museums. One had a lot of archaeological pieces up to 5,000 years old and outside it had some Incan ruins right there. The other had some beautiful indigenous costumes and handicrafts from around this part of the world. I think I got a few pictures to include. But, there were certainly a couple of pieces I would love to have owned. I could imagine them like Japanese kimonos, spread out to grace a wall of my house. There is also a nearby site of Incan ruins that I booked a tour to. Turned out I was the only one, so I had a private one day tour with
Pre-Incan ruins near Cuenca
Canari ruins. The Incan ruins are right beside them, next pictures a terrific young guide. These are the most important Incan ruins in Ecuador. But, they were ruins. The experts are busy trying to reassemble stuff that had fallen apart to give us a better idea of what it must have been like, but no houses or anything.
I only spent a couple of days in Cuenca and was on my way south again. The next stop was a little town called Sagaguro, which means ‘land of corn’ in Quichua one of the most prevalent indigenous languages here and in Peru. There is a Sunday market here where the indigenous people come in their traditional dress with all their fresh farm produce. I want to say here that a lot of the indigenous people don’t wear anything but their traditional clothes. The one really odd ball thing that they have adopted to go with their clothes is shoes and socks. All of their clothes, both men and women only come to half way between the knee and ankle. Then, both sexes wear the western style of men’s dress shoes and men’s dress socks, both usually black to go with their black skirts/pants/culottes. Sometimes this is varied by them wearing black
socks and athletic shoes. It’s an interesting look.
Well, my reason for going was to see the Sunday market. I got there Saturday night and got up nice and early and went. But, unlike the Indians, they are not so fond of us tourists taking their pictures. I get very nervous about snapping shots of people who don’t like it, so I didn’t get many. But, later in the day something else started happening around the church in the main square (I have mentioned, haven’t I that every single town has a main square and every single square has a church on one side). Well, a bunch of women started making these big bouquets and others started setting up this large stage right by the church. With a few inquiries I discovered that this was going to be the big night of the San Pedro (St. Peter) celebration. What luck! Or, in the beginning I thought that. I watched the women make bigger and bigger flower arrangements and the men pounding the stage up and others putting up lights and tall poles with lots of lights on them (and lots of sparkling fireworks to set off later) and other
prep work. Then, around 8 or 9 in the evening the festivities began. A big parade with people in all sorts of costumes danced around the square, ending up in front of the church where they continued to dance and cavort while others in the crowd were letting off fireworks. Once I had to pound the fire out on the lady’s sweater who was standing in front of me.. That’s when I decided to move back a bit. But, others were not put off by this at all. Then, sometime around 10:00 the music started. The plaza was full of people all partying and drinking and having a great time. Well, it was just Ecuadorian pop-music and after a while I got tired (besides I am most uncomfortable among a crowd like that of drinkers. Normally polite SA men -or Indian men or anyplace men - after a few beers can become just too friendly even to someone my age.). So, I went back to the hostel. This had all been grand and I was feeling quite smug about having landed there on such a propitious weekend and being able to be part of all this. Unfortunately, the night had
just begun and my hostel was far too close to avoid the music and the party. It went on and on and on and on. They partied with blaring music until 4:30 a.m. and then decided to let off what fireworks they had left. I finally got to sleep at 5, only to be awakened at 7 a.m. when the owners’ grandchildren started playing in the courtyard by my door. Well, those of you who know me, can imagine how I scared those poor little darlings away. That left quiet until about 10:00, then, I was up and out of there and on a bus by 11, heading for my last stop in Ecuador, Vilcabamba, and the Valley of Longevity
I knew Peru was going to be tense traveling for a while because it’s a big country and I had to go from the north end to the southern area with not too much in between that interested me. So, I thought a nice four day rest in this little peaceful place would be just the thing. It is a small valley in the Andes, about 1500 meters high, approximately 5,000 ft. It is known has the Valley of
San Pedro Celebration
Three bunches of women were doing these huge floral arrangements for the church and the big celebration Longevity because it, along with a couple of other places on earth, have been studied to try to ascertain why there residents live so long. I don’t think they have narrowed it down and this may all be a think of the past because big changes are coming as a result of too many foreigners are moving in. This is mostly the as a result of its fame and Ecuador is a relatively peaceful stable country that makes it possible for foreigners to obtain residency relatively easily. I can do it for me and Jeff and his family with just a letter from the Social Security Administration verifying my benefit. Or, one can do it by buying $25,000 in real estate or depositing the same amount in some sort of interest bearing Ecuadorian security or bond.
Anyway, I didn’t know anything about all the publicity this place had been getting. My goal was a nice 4-day rest. The first day I enjoyed myself wandering around and leisurely taking in the area. The first remarkable thing I discovered was that this place has good food. Those of you who have been reading along with me on my blogs probably remember
San Pedro Celebration
Three bunches of women were doing these huge floral arrangements for the church and the big celebration me not being all that happy with the food on this continent. This place changed my mind. The first night I had an absolutely delicious burrito with refried beans, guacamole, real ‘American’ Mexican salasa and lots of cheese. Oh, wow, did that taste marvelous. Probably one of the two or three really good meals I have had on this continent.
The second day here was to change my fate, my future, Jeff’s fate and his future. Where I was staying, they served us breakfast on the patio outside our rooms. Right next to me was this very friendly couple who I found out immediately were from Medford, Oregon. Small world! We got to talking and within a few minutes I discovered they were not travelers but had come here to live. Wow, that certainly galvanized my attention. At first because it sounded so strange. But, within a very short time of listening to them, it began to sound interesting, even intriguing. That day I moseyed around some more with a slightly different view of what I was looking at. The town is a charming small place centered around a square with a park in the middle, a church on one
end and businesses on the other three sides. It is about 4-6 blocks deep on each side and it’s a place where people live. No ‘Old Quito or Cartagena theme parks’ here. There is a river that runs through on one end of town and mountains (not huge) all around. Within a few minutes walk from the edge of town you are in the country, although you can see that some of that farmland is being developed and nice houses are being built in different spots. But, this is true in all of Southern Ecuador. That day I found another great restaurant and enjoyed one of my favorite things, pesto. But, I also realized from my walking that there were at least four or so other restaurants I definitely wanted to try, one was a French restaurant run by French and Belgium chefs. Was that a startling discovery, French food in the back of beyond! Then I began to guess the reason for this as I noticed quite a few Westerners that didn’t look like tourists. Also, in my ramblings, I discovered this place had a good English used book store and quite a few masseuses. Hey, this place was
San Pedro Celebration
Boy was it celebrated with enthusiasm. It ended at 4:30, when they then set off their last fireworks. I know, because it kept me awake all night beginning to really make me smile. Plus, the whole atmosphere was so ‘light’. Sometime language limits and that might not be the perfect word, but I just felt good being out in its atmosphere.
So, next morning at breakfast I started quizzing my new friends, Janice and Bruce, more. Bruce had been down to Ecuador a couple of times and had spent some of the last visit right here. Janice said he came home saying, “I’m going. You want to come along?” Well, since she in rather fond of him, she decided that wasn’t too bad an idea and by the time I met them, a week or so after their arrival, they had already found something they wanted to buy and were negotiating. One month later they moved in and started redecorating.
So, out I went a third day. By this time I decided I wanted to stay a little longer so I got one of the bus drivers going to
Loja (the next mini-city 45 minutes north, 170,000) to go and change my ticket to Peru for two days later. Then, 3 days later I went to Loja myself and extended the ticket for another week.
(aside: I did it myself so I could check into the hotel there for the night and watch the season finale of ‘Gray’s Anatomy”…Izzy died!! Or at least I think she did. Janice howled when I told her why I was going to Loja. But, we all have our little things. And, I have been following Gray’s Anatomy all through SA. Of course, it could be last season’s shows or ones from several years ago. I wouldn’t know. But, I was certainly there every evening they were on that I had a TV, which most places in SA do have…and all the plots had been building up to poor Izzy (and not just her), kicking the bucket. Very very sad!!). Now back to real life.
Finally, after that second rebooking, I just let that ticket expire because I wasn’t going anyplace. I had found my Shangrila. I was stopped dead in my plans and by this time had zero desire to do anything at all but stay here. I can’t state strongly enough how this was the last thing on my mind for anything in SA. Plus, if I could see myself anyplace on this continent, I was sure it
would be Argentina. But, here I am in little Ecuador, positive I have found my Eden…without even trying
Still, I knew this was a bit more of a commitment than India where I planned on renting. While the town is charming and I love wandering around and visiting with everyone, it’s the countryside that is so bloody beautiful and peaceful that it just reaches down into the depths of your soul and makes you just take big peaceful breaths. Living in the countryside, though, means building there. Not many rentals anywhere around for gringos and even less once you leave town.
So, the next thing to think about was actually purchasing a piece of land. Before anything so serious were to be contemplated, I wanted to talk to Jeff (my son). He’s living in Thailand nowadays, following his mother’s former career of teaching (got sick of being in business and bailed!). So, in a long email, I told him about my discovery, asked him what he thought about investing here, and even asked if he might be interested in coming here to live. Well, he talked with his girlfriend, Thitima about it. At first she wasn’t sure, but from
the beginning he thought it sounded like a great idea and jumped onboard the plan. Within a short time, Thitima joined him.
This created huge changes in their lives. To get residency on my SS benefits, they had to be married. So, for those of you haven’t yet heard, on August 1 my only son got married for the first time at her parent’s home with 400 of their ‘closest friends’ and none of Jeff’s family or friends. I hated missing it, but building a couple of homes here is going to be costly and his dad and stepmom are giving them a nice reception when they get to Portland on their way to Ecuador and I will give them a big welcoming party when they get here. They should be here somewhere around the first of November. I am so excited about all this I just go around with a silly grin on my face all the time. Probably look like the town simpleton. But, there is even one more great thing about this whole deal. Thitima has a just-turned-5 son, James. So, unbelievably, I am going to get to be a grandma. I can hardly wait. My
And, you thought he was dead
Michael Jackson, alive and well and living in Sagaguro! life is going to be perfect!
After Jeff’s positive response, I started to look for land. There were some beautiful places, but the one we have finally decided on is about an acre that is close to town, a 10-15 minute walk, but still very much countryside. It already has a little cabin on it that we will add a couple of rooms to and this will be mine. I am surrounded in the back by all sorts of fruit trees, banana, papaya, mango, maybe avocado, all sorts of citrus, a lovely fruit called nispero, coffee bushes galore. These are just the ones I have recognized. There are others. Then, there is sort of a line of trees that provides a natural barrier and on the other side is an open sugar cane field that is totally hidden from the road and on a hillside. They will build a new home up on the hill that will look over all the valley, the mountains all around (these I can see from my porch) plus the river right below. The property looks north and has an unobstructed 180 degree view, so we get both the sunrise (which I hope never
to see) and the sunset. We’ll both have big porches where a lot of the living in this part of the world goes on. We’ll grow big organic vegetable gardens and have chickens, ducks, and dogs and maybe a rabbit or two, maybe even a horse or a goat. Who knows. But. Definitely dogs and chickens and gardens.
So, for all of you who have been following my travels, they have come to an end, at least for a year or so while we settle in. Then, I may take off to see more of this interesting continent. But, I’ll always be coming home to Vilcabamba. I told Jeff that I expect him to bury/cremate me here. This is the last stop as far as homes go. I have said this before…and proved myself wrong. But, I do believe this might be the place that has it all.
I will try to keep up the blog by reporting on our life here in Ecuador. And, I would love to see all of you (not at once ). Give us a year and start planning your Ecuador vacation with a big stop here. By the way, there are some
important places to see in Ecuador that I didn’t visit because I thought I would be seeing them in Peru and later in Brazil. Ecuador has a lot of nice coastline with even a place they call ‘The Poor Man’s Galapagos’, Isla del Plata. To the east of the Andes it has a second of the Amazonia region. It’s got everything that this part of SA has in a very nice small country that is quite safe and easy to get around it. And, that’s not counting the Galapagos. Great vacations can be had in this wonderful little country. Start making your plans.
The deal on the property isn’t finalized yet, there have been a few problems but they seem to be working out okay and probably by the time I get to downloading pictures and sending this whole blog out we will be the owners of this little slice of Eden
PS Writing several weeks later. The deal on the piece of property we were looking at didn´t come together the way I thought it should so we pulled out. But, this led to an absolute remarkable shift in plans. I continued to look at pieces
around Vilcabamba and, whenever my new and wonderful friends, Luis and Dottie, were down from Cuenca we would wander around in their truck and look for more. Then, last week, Luis came all excited. He had found, through one of his friends, a fabulous opportunity...at least that was his belief. But, it is not in Vilcabamba; it is 1 1-/2 hours south of Cuenca and 4 hours from here. Cuenca is a beautiful city, not so long ago winning the prestige of a ¨¨World Heritage Site´ But, it´s colder than I think we want to live. So, I was leery. But, Luis said this property was down a bit in sort of a valley and a microclimate just a little bit colder than Vilcabamba. To give you an idea, we can grow bananas and citrus, but not papaya. Well, we took the day and went up to see it. I was overwhelmed. It is just gorgeous. In fact I was so dizzy from looking at it all that I, who can forget your name easily, can always tell you something that involves numbers or dates. This time, though, my mind was buzzing so fast with all I saw that I
First piece of property we considered
burned sugar cane field in foreground, fruit plantation in back and the mountains on the left and at the top were part of the package. Beautiful but too many expensive problems to fix. can only tell you I think it is at least 18.5 acres (that´s 7 hectacres), maybe more. It has a 100 year old hacienda house on it, and fish ponds and gorgeous views of the Andes. If you want, email me and I´ll try to send you the email with the pictures that Pablo, the owner emailed to me.
I am a bit sorry to be leaving Vilcabamba. I have not exaggerated at all about it´s beauty. Though, it is like a little Peyton Place, but withut the sex (mostly seniors too old to bother), lots of gossip and drama. Or, like Jeff described it, a bit like the North Shore of Kauai and the ´Coconut Wireless´ where everyone knew your business in seconds. That is the downside. This new place is the one we both want so we will be putting in a firm offer this week and the only gringos I have heard about is a German woman somewhere in the vicinity who has lived there for 40 years - and probably doesn´t speak English - and a South African couple. In the meantime, I am struggling with getting residencies for all of us. It has turned
At Sambuco Restaurant on the Square
That day a chef from New York was here and he prepared the meals. out to be more complicated that I even want to think about. I´ll be going to Quito next week to start the process for mine and then Jeff, Thitima and James arrive on 10-01 and we will start the process for them. It´s not only complicated it´s expensive. For the four of us around $4,000. But, compared to most countries, who won´t even let you take out residency, we are blessed.
I haven´t told you all but Jeff and his new family were going to stop in the US so that his Dad and our families, his and our friends could all meet them. Ha. Ha. Ha. The US Embassy, in its fear of dangerous Thai girls, wouldn´t even give them a visitor´s visa. Not only that, one has to have a transit visa now to even use the US as a connection point. And, if you are refused a visitor´s visa, you can´t get a transit visa. So to get here, this is their itinerary: Bangkok to CAIRO, Cairo to Madrid, Madrid to Bogota and then on to Quito. Can you imagine. He had to research every one of these countries to be sure they didn´t require transit
visas and, while the airline to Cairo will let you have two bags, the other airlines will only let him take one apiece. Isn´t traveling by air jolly these days!!!
Ok. The only reason I have delayed so long is because I hate downloading the pictures. So, I am going to send fewer. Although the Galapagos were unbelievably special, you have all seen lots of pictures of them, so I won´t send much from there.
Hope you are settling in for a nice fall and a miserable winter. Where we will be is in the 70s all year round. This is the windy season. With the wind, at the new place I had to have a little fleece jacket on as we were walking around and standing around. But, of course, I wasn´t working, so probably with work will need even less. The minute the wind died down the jacket came off.
The plan right now is to stay in Cuenca and Jeff and I´ll take Spanish lessons for some months. Thitma doesn´t want to right now and we´ll find some kind of school for James Out where we´ll be there are no gringos to speak of,
vilcabamba Rodeo
Ride 'em cowboy. so Spanish will be necessary. In fact, lots of the people there are indigenous and their language is Quechua. I hope we don´t have to learn that too. But, little James might end up with 4 languages, Thai, English, Spanish and Quechua. What an interesting life that little guy is going to live.
So long for now. I´ll be writing more when we get ourselves a bit organized. It was a working farm before. One of the big decisions we will be making is whether to actually be farmers or just live there with our cow, horse, mule, chickens ducks, fish, dogs, gardens and fruit trees, etc. Both sound good to me. But, Jeff wants to evaluate the economics of farming before going into it. No reason to break your back for no profit.
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