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Published: March 26th 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The journey from Cleveland to Houston, and then from Houston to Quito (Ecuador’s capital city), was mostly uneventful and took about 11 hours, counting a 3 hour layover in Houston. We arrived at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport (which just opened on February 21, 2013) at the anticipated 10:40PM. The old Quito airport, into which we flew in and out 4 times 7 years ago, was located in the middle of the city, was surrounded by mountains, and had a terrifyingly short runway. Only pilots with a special license were allowed to fly in and out of it, and it was still considered one of the world’s more dangerous airports. The new airport is located outside of the city and has reassuringly long runways - a big improvement, and a deserved source of Ecuadorian national pride. Unfortunately the government is still in the process of building six lane highway from the airport to and from Quito, and the taxi ride can take up to one and a half hours each way. We managed to avoid this nightmare by finding a hotel located outside of Quito in a small town called Puembo, about 25 minutes from the
airport. A friendly driver from the hotel picked us up immediately after we passed through customs, right on schedule. We then bounced along the cobblestone streets of a sleeping Puembo and up the final dirt road to the Hacienda San Jose, reaching our destination at midnight. When we got out of the taxi, we could see the lights of Quito shimmering between the shadows of the Andes Mountains. Our “Matrimonial Suite” was a bedroom, a combination kitchen/dining/living room, and a huge new bathroom with a Jacuzzi. The Jacuzzi had windows on two sides with a view of the Andes, but unfortunately we never got to use it. Exhausted from our journey (and from the thin mountain air at 8,228 feet), we immediately fell asleep at around 1:30am.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
We awoke to a caballero riding his horse up the dirt road outside of our hotel. Yes that really happened. We then had breakfast in a long hacienda dining room overlooking an open courtyard. The breakfast was “American”, which here generally means scrambled eggs. The fresh squeezed orange juice was the best either of us had ever had and acted as an introduction to the
culture of fresh, unadulterated food which we have continued to experience throughout our stay here. Wall hangings, original paintings, framed maps, and large murals from the Spanish Colonial Period adorned the red and gold dining room walls. Our driver from the night before drove us to the airport, and we flew to Cuenca on time and without incident, arriving at 1 pm.
While waiting for our baggage, we met an American in the throes of setting up an Ecuadorian residency. Having no connections, and speaking no Spanish, Mike simply flew to Quito 8 months ago and began what turned out to be a complicated bureaucratic process. Tired of the Quito bureaucracy, he had decided to move to Cuenca, and again he just flew there without knowing anyone, without speaking Spanish, and without having a place to stay. After speaking with our driver from The Mansion Alcazar (in Spanish), we offered to let him share our cab so he could find out whether or not the Alcazar had an available room. Hotel staff handled the situation graciously, Mike got a room, and we have seen him a number of times since. His story is ongoing.
Roadside Vegetables
Indigenous Woman (Chola)Saturday, March 23, 2013
To all our friends and family, we send warmest wishes from the city of perpetual spring and sunshine! OK, mostly sunshine. The weather in Cuenca and the surrounding area is about the same every day, that is, ranging from the low 50s at night to the low 70s during the day. It rains a few hours every day, usually in the afternoon, but like the people who live here, we’ve just learned to carry umbrellas and to duck inside until the rain passes. Anyone living in the northern USA will appreciate that there is no snow, no sleet, no freezing rain, and the most you ever have to wear is a light jacket or sweater.
Collaborating on a travel blog has forced us to examine the differences in our individual experiences, perceptions, and writing styles. We’ve chosen to blend these as seamlessly as possible until what emerges is a composite picture of those differences. Both of us can be a little perfectionistic about writing, so we’ve chosen to more or less let it rip without spending a lot of time cleaning up the grammar. This blog is, after all, for
friends and family, not for National Geographic. In many ways, this part of Ecuador is a different world from the one we are accustomed to - one we’ve found at times exhilarating, confusing, amusing, delightful, and all the emotions in between. Our goal is to share with you a few highlights, fully aware that it’s impossible to condense complex experiences into a few written paragraphs.
The Mansion Alcazar is a beautiful old colonial (19th century Spanish) former home of the president, which was beautifully restored as a hotel, and furnished almost entirely with products from Ecuador. Our suite is in an addition that was built on the back of the garden last summer, in the style of the mansion. The beautifully landscaped garden outside our 2nd floor balcony door is constantly filled with hummingbirds (8 kinds) and other native species, and provides us with the feel of our own back yard, as no other guests seem to stay more than a few days, and are in a hurry to see the sights. The hotel staff are friendly and efficient, and we are getting to know some of them well because we are staying so long in this
one place. Without question they have done their best in small and large ways to help us feel welcome and to help us have a positive experience.
The limited number of Ecuadorian people we’ve interacted with seem warm, relaxed, open, and communicative. Many have a great national pride, and specifically a love for the city of Cuenca. A world class artistic and historic center populated mostly by middle class Ecuadoreans, Cuenca’s most obvious problem remains air pollution from its many diesel fueled buses. The Cuenca government plans to eliminate this problem by replacing the buses with a tram system in the next few years. Otherwise the city boasts clean streets (they clean them daily), historically significant buildings of Ecuadorean marble with ornate balconies, and cathedrals that rival those of Rome or Florence - without the masses of tourists. They light the churches and cathedrals at night in the, “Old City,” where we are staying giving them a magical quality.
President Correa has been pushing the development and repair of Ecuador’s infrastructure, and there seems to be a strong feeling of optimism among Ecuadorians regarding the future of their country. Cuenca specifically is experiencing an increasing surge in tourism from both Europe and the US, and one gets the feeling of being in a city on the verge of rapid expansion. Hotels, restaurants, and the downtown area of the city all seem to be gearing up for this expansion, and there are many signs that investors believe there is money to be made here in the near future. About 5,000 North Americans have moved to Cuenca over the past few years, and there is already a thriving, “Gringo” community in this city of roughly half a million people. According to some sources, about 95% of Ecuador’s population is either Amerindian or, “Mestizo,” (a mixture of Spanish and Amerindian). “Gringo,” is typically not used here to insult, but only to describe white people who aren’t native Spanish speakers. We’ve gotten used to calling ourselves and being called, “Gringos.”
It isn’t necessary to speak Spanish here in Cuenca, though it is definitely helpful. Many people in this area have worked in the US - particularly in New York - they are proud to show off their (usually limited) English. Others are working on their English to tap the growing Gringo market. This market obviously includes people from the US, the British Isles, and Australia, but because English has become the most internationally spoken language it is also much more likely to be used by European tourists (who aren’t from Spain) and by tourists from other parts of the world.
Having said that, however, the vast majority of Cuencanos and Ecuatorianos don’t speak a word of English, and even those who do are often very limited outside of the words needed for their tourist related jobs. Speaking Spanish helps, a lot, and the locals genuinely seem to appreciate the attempt, often smiling benignly at obvious grammatical and pronunciation errors. A command of functional Spanish does help avoid some of what would otherwise be uncomfortable situations.
We eat all of our meals in restaurants, so we had to spend a lot of time during our first two weeks finding the good ones and getting to them by foot or by taxi. Taxi’s here are plentiful and relatively easy to use. They charge a flat rate, and within the Old City they cost $2 to go anywhere. During rush hour traffic jams, they may tack on another 50 cents. Mostly though, because many good restaurants are located near us, we have chosen to walk. The streets in the Old City are relatively safe until maybe 10 PM, when they become a little too deserted for comfort. Even large groups of adolescents hanging out on the streets tend to be non-threatening and either polite or indifferent to old Gringos. If anything, we tend to feel safer when they are out and about. Reportedly, on one occasion, a Gringo woman had her purse snatched and some teenage boys actually tackled the culprit and retrieved the purse.
Food specialties include cuy (farm raised guinea pig), locro de papas (a potato cheese soup with avocado), Mote (a type of Andean corn), roasted pork (often seen roasting whole, including head and tail), fresh seafood from the coast (three hours away), and a great variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, many of which are foreign to us. Ecuador has four distinct climates - The Galapagos, the coast, the mountains, and the Amazon - and the variety of inexpensive and fresh food is considerable. The local restaurants are justifiably proud of the freshness of their food, and of the fact that it’s nearly all organic. We have particularly enjoyed the Ecuadorian style of ceviche - fish of all kinds that is lightly cooked before being marinated in lime juice and spices, and is often served with shrimp (Most South American countries marinate it raw and don’t serve it with shrimp). The markets, where the locals shop, offer a vast amount of food at relatively low prices, for example, a dozen fresh avocados costs $1, as does a 5# bag of onions, potatoes, or vine ripened tomatoes. For some unknown reason, even citrus fruits here rarely have an acidic taste and are extraordinarily sweet.
We continue to have many exciting experiences both in Cuenca and in the surrounding area. Finding time to write about them remains a problem, but we’ll do what we can.
Best wishes and love to all,
Niels and Kelly
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Mary Lou Carswell
non-member comment
wish i could join you
Hi Guys So wonderful to hear from you and absolutely love love the blog.......what a grande idea!!! Keep writing you are doing a fabulous job...I am so hungry for anything that smacks of adventure and stimulates the imagination. I want to taste some of that wonderful fresh produce and yes the regular appearance of the sun seems like a fairy tale. Adios Gringos.......see you on your return Mary Lou