Ecuador, Part II & Bogotá, Colombia 1989

---

This is a continuation of my putting our old travel journals onto this blog site. See previous ones: Guatemala 1988, which is the first in this series; Costa Rica 1989 (w/Christmas in Cozumel, Mexico and last days in Guatemala), which is the second; Cuba & Mexico 1989, the third; Argentina (w/Uruguay, a bit of Brazil & Paraguay) 1989, the fourth; Chile & Bolivia (including Mendoza, Argentina & Tacna, Peru), the fifth; Peru, Ecuador & Galapagos Islands 1989, the sixth; and this will be the seventh.

Again, I am relying on the internet, photos I happened to have scanned and ones people have sent to me as I do not have access to my original photos. Thank you all who sent me photos - much appreciated! When we return to the states (this is being written in Germany where we are living this year) I'll add/substitute original photos.


YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT, THEN GO BACK TO THE JOURNAL OR GO THROUGH THE PHOTOS (CLICK ON THE NUMBERS AT THE TOP) IN THAT ENLARGED FORMAT. TO RETURN TO THE JOURNAL, JUST CLICK YOUR BACK BUTTON OR ON THE NAME OF THE BLOG ON THE RIGHT OR BOTTOM OF PHOTO - DEPENDS ON YOUR COMPUTER.

NEAR THE TOP ON THE LEFT WHERE IT READS 'Travel Blogs by: Kathy Bernie << Previous Entry,' CLICK ON 'Kathy Bernie' AND YOU'LL GET A PAGE LISTING (BACKWARDS CHRONOLOGICALLY) OUR BLOGS, WHICH YOU CAN SCROLL THROUGH AND CHOOSE ONES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN. IF YOU CLICK ON 'Previous Entry' YOU'LL GET ONLY THE LAST ENTRY. WHEN OFF THIS SITE, YOU CAN GO TO: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Kathy---Bernie/ which will take you to the page listing all of our blogs.



Here we are again, still on the road. At this time we are in sunny Brazil. We are staying at a great 5-star hotel that was originally a convent in the 1600s. Salvador is Bernie's favorite town in Brazil so far and I am happy as long as the hotel has a pool or is near a beach - it is hot here. But I digress, back to our travels:

Ecuador, Part II & Bogotá, Colombia, July 1989

July 2 - 5, 1989. From the Galapagos Islands we flew back to Quito, Ecuador. One of our chores was to mail some packages and get my journal mailed. Remember my horror story about mailing a package from Guatemala? Having learned from that experience, we were able to mail three packages from Quito with a minimum of hassle.

While in Quito we had dinner with one of the teachers, Jill, that we met in the jungle (not to be confused with Jill the architect mentioned below). She is the one who told us the story about the bus full of older Americans whose bus was lost in the mudslide. Jill knew one of the couples on that ill-fated bus.

On July 4th we ran errands and felt sorry for ourselves because we missed the fireworks and hotdogs that were our Fourth of July celebration due. Bernie couldn't understand why the American Ambassador had not called to invite us to this party. An oversight, I'm sure.

We went to a big, modern, expensive hotel in town looking for a Herald Tribune newspaper and ran into two women we had met on the Galapagos cruise. We had lunch together. One of the woman is a teacher in Brazil, Susan, and the other a Scottish architect living in London, Jill. Well, Jill's best friend with whom she was staying in Quito was the American Ambassador's executive assistant. There was indeed going to be a big blow-out at the Embassy and Jill asked if we wanted to go with them. We didn't go and will perhaps regret it.

During lunch Jill told us about her friend's lifestyle and how American taxpayers are footing the bill for mid-level personnel to live in luxury. Jill's friend lived in a penthouse apartment in the most expensive complex in town. It wss gigantic - had 5 bathrooms. This was a single woman mind you. The view was stupendous - one whole wall of unpaned glass and everything very luxurious. Of course a person needs at least two maids for the upkeep of an apartment of this size.

Jill's friend threw her a welcome party complete with two string quartets, bartenders and waiters in the apartment. I've decided perhaps we should join the diplomatic corp and "sacrifice" for our country in a developing nation.

Actually the most distressing thing was not the cost, it can cost surprising little by our standards. What was distressing was the fact that by living at such a level, our diplomats were removing themselves from the regular people of the country. How can they know what is happening in Ecuador when associating with a small percentage of the population? From what Jill related, she hadn't met one Ecuadorian at all the parties and gatherings she and her friend attended. She met only Americans - the same ones at every gathering! That was the main reason we didn't go to the Fourth of July bash - Jill said she and we would be bored.

July 5 - 8, Baños, Ecuador (65˚ F/18˚ C., Rainy). The Andean countries are unusual in that it can be "summer" (dry) in one place and ten miles away on the other side of the mountains, it can be "winter" (rainy). It was winter in Baños when we visited.

The main attractions in Baños are the three thermal baths. Naturally they are sacred, curative baths with many miracles and cures attributed to them.

Our hotel (pool, sauna, steam bath, jacuzzi and gym) was directly across from the Sacred Virgin Waterfalls thermal bath. The setting was beautiful as the baths are at the foot of the falls. After soaking in the hot bath we could then cool down under the icy waters of the waterfall.

Legend has it that many tragedies occurred in the area of the falls (bridges collapsing, buildings burning), but the Virgin of the Falls intervened and minimal damage was done.

In the town church all the paintings depict scenes with the Virgin of the Falls performing miracles.

Besides the baths, the weather kept us from doing much else. One morning as it poured we spent the entire morning talking to a British couple - he a film director for the BBC, and she an investment banker. We have really learned a lot about the world, not just South America, on this trip and hopefully we have dispelled some misconceptions about the U.S. Example: The Brits wanted to know why all Americans were so violent and anti-gun control. It wasn't easy to explain the power of the NRA, and they were amazed that polls show a majority of Americans are in favor of some form of gun control.

July 8 - 11, Cuenca, Ecuador (70˚ F/21˚ C & Sunny). Traveling by bus and train in-country had been quite enjoyable and fairly comfortable, up until the bus ride to Cuenca that is. Nine hours, three different buses and two broken butts later we arrived in Cuenca. The last bus was really the only horrible ride, but we were so tired by then it didn't matter. And hungry, really hungry, as we hadn't eaten since breakfast at 7:00.

On the final bus I had a seat at the back of the bus that I had to step up to and was far enough away from the seat in front that I had no foot or hand holds. It also had no arm rest. This all combined to produce the Flying Gringa. I felt sorry for he poor people on both sides of me (who had hand holds) as I kept flying into them. When the road got really bad, I held onto the ceiling and that helped some. The driver was no help either as he'd go slowly over a bump for the front wheels and then gun the motor so the back wheels slammed into the bump and I'd be airborne again.

Least you think Bernard had it any better, he was sitting on a wooden box at the front of the bus. No padding at all. In addition, anyone getting on or off the bus bumped into him. There were several men without seats who kind of hung over Bernard the whole trip.

Bernie says I have to be careful not to whitewash events, so I'll tell you about the passed-out indigenous man on the bus. An indigenous couple got onto our packed bus, made their way to the back where the husband promptly passed out. When they reached their stop, the woman couldn't roust her husband. The strange part was that instead of anyone helping the woman, everybody laughed and just watched her struggle. Sweat was running down her face from the effort. Neither Bernard nor I was close enough to help. The bus driver got impatient and drove off. Twenty miles later the woman managed to drag her husband to the front of the bus. Everyone was still laughing at her. The bus stopped to let a young man off and because he couldn't get around the couple, he helped the woman carry her husband off. I wonder how long it took them to retrace the 20 miles home.

Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador, but has retained its colonial air. Four rivers run through town adding to the tranquil atmosphere.

Unfortunately both Bernard and I had some intestinal concerns, and we didn't get to explore Cuenca as much as we would have liked.

The prices in Cuenca were right. I got a hair cut for $ .65. We had our suitcase handle repaired and a new zipper put in my carry-on bag for a grand total of $1.20.

July 12 - 14, Quito. We returned to Quito one last time to collect our stored things and head to Brazil via Bogotá, Colombia.

July 12, Bogotá, Colombia (75˚ F/24 ˚ C & Sunny). We couldn't get a direct flight from Quito to Manaus, Brazil, so had to go via Bogotá. As if that wasn't bad enough, we had a six hour layover there.

What we had read about Bogotá was scary. According to the guide books, in Peru thieves tried to rob people, but were seldom confrontational. In Colombia they had no such scruples - robbing at knife or gun point was fairly common. And ALL the baggage handlers at the airports were thieves.

With this in mind we decided to check our bags only to Bogotá and take charge of them ourselves for the six-hour layover. We thought perhaps we could find lockers at the airport and then take a taxi into the city for an early dinner.

On the plane a man, Jorge, was sitting next to me with his wife, Inez, and their sixteen-year-old daughter, Claudia, across the aisle. Jorge and I started talking. The family lived in Bogotá and been vacationing in Peru. I asked Jorge if he could recommend a good restaurant in downtown Bogotá. He refused to give me a recommendation and insisted that we go home with them, drop them off as they had prior appointments, and take the car and driver for the afternoon and evening to tour the area. We, of course, declined that generous offer, but he was adamant - Bogotá was dangerous, he had three cars so could spare one; he didn't need the driver as a business associate was picking him up. He was so nice and so persuasive that we finally agreed, hardly daring to believe our luck.

We couldn't safely store our bags at the airport so ended up taking them with us. It wasn't a problem as Jorge had two cars come to the airport and we stashed our gear in the trunk of "our" car.

It was about a half-hour drive to Jorge's home. Need I mention that it was in a very nice part of town? They own a flat in a brand-new, beautiful, very secure building (guards, gates, dogs, buzzers). Their home was lovely with some wonderful art. The furniture was exquisite (we found out why later). Inez and Claudia had arrived home before us, so when we arrived the coffee was made and pastries set out. Jorge's mother, a very lovely woman, was also there. She was so warm; told us several times how glad they were to know us, that their home was our home, etc.

Jorge has several businesses (he has an MBA from the University of Chicago), the main one being explosives. At first I thought, oh great, we've been befriended by a weapons merchant; probably wants us to run guns into El Salvador for him. Turns out he sells to mining companies, mainly, and also the Colombian government. Jorge is the sole representative in Colombia for DuPont and Atlas. His second business is plastics (not "plastique" as I first erroneously thought) as in Tupperware.

We had a wonderful visit and then Jorge had to go to a meeting and Inez had some paperwork to do, so Claudia was appointed our guide. We felt bad enough taking the car and chauffeur let alone taking the daughter too, but everyone insisted that Claudia would "love" to accompany us. Right.

As luck would have it, we had a dynamite (every pun intended) time. Claudia was born in the U.S. (when her dad was at he University of Chicago), but had never lived there. Her English was learned at school. Lordy would I love to know how they teach languages down there. You would have sworn Claudia had lived in an English-speaking country. She had almost no accent and understood us totally. In the face of such excellence, we witched to English exclusively.

The chauffeur drove us into the amazingly green hills overlooking the city. It was late afternoon, just before dusk when the light is the prettiest. The views were delightful. Bogotá is a pretty city - lots of red brick even in the large office buildings. Trees everywhere; parks and green abound.

Claudia and the chauffeur answered our questions as best they could. Claudia would get tired occasionally of being so serious and would ask, for instance, what kind of music we liked. I could converse a little on that subject, but Bernard was a total washout, e.g., "Tracy Chapman - what group does he play with?" "The Miami Sound Machine? Any people in the band or only those weird machines?"

We drove, saw sights and talked. Claudia was very interested in our daughters - could not believe how old our children were. I've decided that I'm not old enough to have grown children and shall therefore lie from here on out. Okay Christina, you are now 15 and JJ you are 14. You just happen to be very mature, smart and sophisticated for your ages.

On our way back to the airport we drove by Inez's business. Inez owns and manages a very chic furniture and home decorating center. Posh, posh. Sure explained their lovely home.

Claudia must have made us promise five times that we would call them when we visited Colombia in September. We had talked about Vicky and her family in Argentina and I always referred to them as "our family in Argentina." Claudia dubbed her family "your family in Colombia," and told us they would have notes and suggestions for our stay in Colombia upon our return.*

We got back to the airport right on time. We must have looked pretty silly because we could not stop smiling. Meeting wonderful people is such a high - we were "up" the whole rest of the trip to Brazil. That is saying something because we didn't get checked onto a hotel in Brazil until 3:00, but we were still smiling.

NOTE: During our conversation at their home Jorge said to me, "Americans do not know us. There are wonderful people in South American, but North Americans generally don't care to know us."

*We did not return to Colombia as the situation had not improved. We did, however, keep in touch with Claudia and her family for many years after that. She became a dentist and was working in a village (as part of her "community service" obligation) last we heard.

---

Photos

Church of the Virgin of the Waterfall
Baños, Ecuador.
Photo by Martin Zeise, Berlin

Waterfall in Baños
Baños sits at the foot of a volcano.
Photo from planetware.com

Luna Runtun Spa
This lovely spa hotel is in Baños. Photo by from website mountain-link.com

"Panama" Hat Factory
Panama hats actually come from Ecuador. They became popular during the building of the Panama Canal, and hence the misnomer.
Photo from ecuador.us

Map of Ecuador
Baños is in the middle and Cuenca to the south of Baños.

Cuenca Cathedral
If you haven't noticed by now, Latin America has amazingly beautiful churches and church complexes. Photo from roundpicture.wordpress.com

Ingapirca
Near Cuenca are the Inca ruins of Ingapirca - the most important ancient Inca site in Ecuador. Photo from fotopaises.com

Inca Wall at Ingapirca
Inca wall builders didn't use mortar so the stones had to be shaped to fit together perfectly - how well they succeeded!! Photo from destination360.com

Bogotá, Colombia
From above, this big, bustling city is softened by its abundant greenery

Bogotá, Colombia
Panoramic view of Bogotá. Photo from skyscraperlife.com