May 2, 2011 Quito and Home

Quito and the National News

We woke up to the news that Osama Bid Laden had been killed. My first thought was that I bet security was going to be fun. There was CNN in English at the Stubel Suites – it was a more Americanized hotel with televisions in each room.

I have flown, I think, once since September 11, but I did have a flight that I was supposed to take off on September 11 – it was in the afternoon, so I missed all the excitement and did get to go on my flight a few days later.

Apparently excitement follows me sometimes – as I was stepping out of the shower, I heard the fire alarm going off at the hotel. Great. I'm naked and in a foreign country and I don't know whether the escape route is up or down because the hotel is built on the side of a mountain and I'm hopping around on one foot trying to simultaneously dry myself off and put on my underclothes. Thank goodness I could overhear someone across the hall asking a hotel employee what is going on (in English, thankfully) and apparently someone was smoking and set of the alarm. That's a relief.

It was much clearer and warmer in Quito than when we arrived and I was able to get better pictures of the view from the hotel.

Clearer view from Stubel Suites

Another view from the Stubel Suites

I had an uneventful day. I ran into a few of the people from the tour that were leaving later. Several of our group had left bright an early, but a few of us were still around, but before very long it was time to get back to the airport for the flight home.

My last food picture - an awesome fresh fruit salad with homemade ice cream

Preparing to Enter The United States Again

I got to the gate and "Control de Equipaje" apparently that is their TSA came and searched bags and checked shoes and that sort of thing. Later, a dog was brought out to sniff every bag. From the jetway, I could see a dog sniffing all the checked luggage, too.

On the plane on the way back they served shrimp and rice or Asian chicken. I tried the shrimp and rice with no ill effects. Not the best I've ever had, but really pretty good for airplane food based on what I've had before.

I watched a movie, or rather, dozed through a movie, and nearly got killed by the lady in front of me when she leaned her seat back. There was some turbulence, but overall, it was a pleasant, uneventful trip back to Miami.

Passengers were herded into customs and there was an officer there who was letting US Citizens go first, so that was a nice perk, I guess, though I felt sorry going in front of some of the people with tired children. I got through customs without any problems and picked up checked bags and then was allowed to go into the airport proper once another man checked my paperwork.

Miami

And then the fun began. Overnight at the Miami airport is not altogether pleasant. Every 15 minutes they tell you what time it is – loudly. And then at 1 a.m. I heard a loud alarm followed by: "May we have your attention, please. The alarm you just heard that has been activated is being investigated by the fire department. Please stand by for further instructions." This went on every 10 seconds for about 30 minutes. And then again at 2:40 a.m. for another 30 minutes. I assume all was well – we were never evacuated or anything. And I would hope that the alarm was being investigated!

I found the restroom – and watched people sleep. There was one store open – the Dunkin Donuts – and I had a Coolati. They're not bad. And then just kind of sat around until the US Air ticket counter opened. Oh, and I took much pleasure in the airport bathroom – it had soap, toilet paper and a hook on the back of the door. I never realized what luxury items those were!

And the airport in Miami is kept at sub-zero temperatures. I have no idea how anyone slept – you'd think my teeth chattering and all the announcements would have woken the dead, but there were people actually sleeping there!

I ended up getting a full body scan going through security – that was different, and it seemed that security was a little more heightened – I'm sure because of the Bin Laden thing. I was sooooo sleepy by the 6:20 a.m. flight and I dozed most of the way to Charlotte. Getting home is always good.

But, I would visit Ecuador again. In a heartbeat!

May 1, 2011 Cotacachi, Ecuador and back to Quito

Breakfast and Church Bells

Breakfast at the Land of the Sun was again a lovely experience. The juice was jugo de mora or blackberry juice, the fruit was cantaloupe and I, of course, had aromatica. Then we had quinoa and milk with raisins and then eggs and bacon. It was yummy and pleasant and once again, eaten outside. The church bells were ringing – the hotel is across the street from a church and a convent and we heard church bells a lot, and even more today since it was Sunday. They rang and rang and rang. We tried to count how many times, but always lost track!

The side of the church - across from the hotel

Cotacachi Vegetable Market

We got to spend some time in Cotacachi before we were to leave for Quito and we went to the fruit and vegetable market. It was an open air market with every kind of vegetable you can imagine – beautiful, large heads of cabbage and plantains, and vegetables that I recognized and vegetables that I didn't. Most of the group stopped and had a fig sandwich (which they said was delicious) but I went to the food court since I couldn't have the bread – they had a row of little restaurants nearby. I went to order pulled pork at the place that had the pig heads on either side of the counter where you ordered – they were cooked, but still, you couldn't miss it!

Fig sandwich at the vegetable market in Cotacachi

Vegetables at the market in Cotacachi

My $2.50 lunch

There were a couple of things that were interesting. They wouldn't let me pay when I ordered. I was to order my food and then they would bring it to me, but I was to eat before I paid. They had cold Coke there, which was a pleasure because today was a warm day and cold Coke was a treat and not often found. I ate and then I went to pay for my meal. I had pulled pork on a bed of lettuce and hominy along with fried potatoes and a Coke. The cost of my meal? $2.50. When I went back to the table, there was an old woman who was scraping the leftovers from my plate into her aluminum pot. It was heartbreaking.

There were some beggars there in Cotacachi and Otavalo. I'm sure there were beggars all over, but that is where I saw them – most of them were old women who wanted quarters. I did give away a few quarters while I was there – once I figured out why they were following me around! I'm slow. Anyway, some of them aren't doing too badly because I did see an old woman counting her quarters – she had quite a few from what I could see from a distance. But, there are poor in Ecuador and I certainly don't begrudge them a few quarters so that they can survive. The lady eating my leftovers, though, that was just a pitiful way to have to survive.

Cotacachi Market

After lunch we went to the smaller market in Cotacachi. We shopped. One member of our group (our workshop leader, also named Valerie) had a belt fitted right there at the market. Several of us bought some jewelry from a vendor and he gave us bracelets made from a seed that grows in the Amazon that is supposed to keep away evil spirits. Everything in Ecuador has a story attached to it. It's quite fun to learn all the stories.

Valerie getting a belt fitted at the Cotacachi market

Ecuador Funeral

We walked down "Leather Street" again and looked at the shops and went in a few. One interesting thing, especially since I work for a funeral home was that I got to see a funeral procession in Cotacachi. I wasn't sure at first what was going on because I saw a car backing up the wrong way on a one way street, but it was doing that because the funeral was coming down that one way street the wrong way.

There was a small car with flowers on it at the front and then a pickup truck with flowers. After that was a van with a casket inside and then the priest and mourners walking behind him. After that were a number of cars following the walking mourners.

First car in the funeral procession 

A van served as a hearse. The priest and other mourners walked behind the "hearse".

Back at the Land of the Sun Inn, we had to prepare to leave. It was hard to leave – we'd grown close to the people at the hotel as well as the quaint little Inn. We were told to leave our bags outside our rooms when they were ready and they would be loaded into the bus to go back to Quito with us. I carried some of my own bags down, but Eduardo worked so hard carrying everyone's bags!

 We settled up the hotel bill and the bill was so much lower than anyone expected. The rooms were paid for in our fees that we paid for the tour, so we just paid for some of the meals at the hotel. Most of us had individual bills of  around $20 or less. So, we turned in our keys (real keys not key cards) and paid for our meals and said our sad goodbyes to our new friends in Cotacachi and got on the bus to head back to Quito.

The Trip Back to Quito

So, when we left Cotacachi, we went once again by bus to Quito. The trip is primarily on the Pan American Highway and the roads are nicely paved. There was even a toll or two along the way. On the way back to Quito, we saw the biggest most beautiful rainbow ever. I wish we’d been able to capture it, but try as we might, no one could get it very well from the moving bus.

One interesting thing that I noted was that there were lots of cows, but few fences. Many cows were on tie outs in a yard or field, and some were being herded as we drove past by men on foot. As we got closer in to Quito – and believe me, Quito is not a place I’d like to try to drive – we say a whole family – a mother, a father, and two babies all on one motorcycle – it scared us to see the babies on there like that. No helmets – one baby on front, then the dad driving, another baby, and mom in the rear. The streets were crowded and it just didn’t seem safe, but I guess they are used to it.

We passed the site of the new airport that is being built in Quito. Apparently a Canadian firm is building it. It won’t be ready for a while from the looks of it, but at least it is a little bit out of the city, so it won’t look like you’re landing in the middle of town!

We passed the Super Maxi, which is apparently a large grocery store in Quito and all of us ladies got a chuckle out of that one!

We got back to the Stubel Suites and had dinner. I had corvina (sea bass) and jugo de pina (pineapple juice). We were tired, but still had a lovely time on this, our last night together.

April 30, 2011 Peguche Falls Continued and Cotacachi

The Facilities at Peguche Falls

There were a few things I forgot to mention in yesterday's post. One was that the bathroom at Peguche Falls was a bargain – it was either fifteen cents or a quarter to use the facilities, but there was a young girl, maybe about 10 years old who was the attendant and she was quite generous with the toilet paper. There was no soap, but given a choice between more than 3 sheets of toilet paper and soap, which would you choose?

The restroom at Peguche Falls

Cotacachi

We went back to Cotacachi and had time to walk around the town some. We saw a pickup truck full of some kind of beans that they eat there. They said the name, but I didn't write it down and I certainly don't remember it. I was told it was kind of a fuzzy white bean that has a sweet flavor.

Beans sold from the back of a truck in Cotacachi

I bought some more tagua jewelry and we window shopped some more in town -- The leather works in Cotacachi were stunning. Such care obviously went into all of the craftsmanship -- not only of the leather, but of most anything we saw there. It was kind of like stepping back in time when people had pride for their work.

Tagua

Tagua seed

Gorgeous leather child's saddle in one of the leather shops

We returned to the hotel for a lovely dinner. For an appetizer, I had ceviche de camerones (shrimp ceviche) and for the main course I had the sea bass with rice and a salad. I just had coke, but some of the group had wine or beer and we toasted our driver and guides and new friends with whatever we were drinking.

We determined that we all had bad toilet karma and bad internet karma since we had trouble with both while we were there, but it was the rainy season and I'm sure that had something to do with the internet issues. Some of our group had more toilet issues than others – I just had periods of no water pressure coupled with periods of extreme water pressure. It was a good experience and since I'm not a delicate flower, I thought it just made the place all the more charming to have its cranky side. After all, the hotel is over 100 years old. It was a great experience. The only part I didn't like -- the COLD sheets when you crawled into bed at night. There were heaters in the rooms, but the sheets seemed to always be very, very cold when you crawled into them – they seemed almost wet, but eventually body heat would warm them. I didn't move much at night!

The weather was mostly nice while we were there. The average high temperature is in the mid 60s and lows are in the 50s. It may be lcose to the equator, but the altitude is high so it is cooler than you might expect. A jacket was almost always necessary, but definitely in the mornings and evenings. And although it rained some, it didn't rain during any of our excursions, so we were quite fortunate. It was such a lovely trip.

April 30, 2011 Peguche Falls

Breakfast, Again, at The Land of the Sun

Up and out for breakfast by 7:30 a.m. It helps that Cotacachi doesn't do Daylight Savings time, so it felt like 8:30. Breakfast was a yummy fruit salad with all fresh fruit – watermelon, papaya, and pineapple. The fresh juice of the day was a combination of tree tomato and blackberry. Tree tomatoes are a fruit -- something that reminded me a little bit of a pear.

Fresh fruit salad and tree tomato and blackberry juice

Lunch

Our group, I think, did the workshop in the morning and then we had lunch, but I'm not actually sure about the order of that anymore. I guess it really doesn't matter though. The next thing in my notebook is info about lunch – did I tell you that the food in Ecuador was yummy? Lunch was started with a serving of corn with cheese on top followed by a delicious potato and cheese soup with slices of avocado, a cheese empanada (I couldn't have that because of the wheat, but I was told it was delicious). Carne Colorado, a specialty there (beef with red spices – I know not what spices they actually were) and ice cream for dessert. It was vanilla ice cream, we think, but it was brown – I guess because of the vanilla beans. It was served with cookies, but I removed those (again because of the wheat) and ate the yummy fresh ice cream.

Corn in Ecuador had very big kernals! Here, served with cheese on top

Delicious potato soup served with avocado

Carne Colorado served with salad and fried potatoes and a piece of plantain

Our Entertainment at Lunch

There was a guitar and flute player there – he played both – at the same time -- at the hotel to entertain us and then a small band. They were performing and selling their CDs there. It was fun!

Guitarist who also played a mouth flute in the hotel courtyard

A small band that played at the hotel - the musicians were all quite good

One thing about Ecuador – things move at a slower pace there. The Land of the Sun Inn was a little more "American" style in that the food was served quicker and drinks were served quicker, but anywhere else we went in Ecuador, the drinks were served later in the meal and the service was slow. Now part of that is that most things are made fresh and that takes a little longer. The other thing was that I was in a group of 10 or 12 people most of the time, which also takes a little longer. They served food as it was ready, so you couldn't really wait for everyone to be served. None of this is a problem if you know what to expect, so if you go to Ecuador, just know that things move at a slower pace and don't be in a big hurry. Get to know the people there – they are wonderful!

Peguche Falls

Our group visited Peguche Falls. We were told that in June or July, the Indigenous people have a ceremony where they shower in the falls to cleanse the body and their aura. I was told that we were going to "hike" to the falls. Well, that's not quite right. There was actually a very nice stone path that led to the falls. It wasn't steep and it was quite an easy and pleasant walk. There were animals – cows even along the way and beautiful trees and it was just a very, very pleasant experience. I was expecting a hike, I got a lovely walk down a picturesque stone path. The falls were beautiful and there were people there offering food to either gods or Pachamama, I guess, but they were doing it with a Shamana at the falls. I didn't understand the ceremony, but I did understand that it was something that was sacred to them and that had deep meaning.

Peguche Falls

Ceremony at Peguche Falls

The Village of Peguche

We went to the Village of Peguche, which is a village of weavers. We went to El Condor and to the shop of Jose Cotacachi. I even had my picture taken with the designer of the tapestry I bought!

The weavers are amazing. They don't use patterns and they create the loveliest work. I bought several tapestries and I'm trying to find the perfect place to hang them now.

Woman using a back strap loom

The Shamana

Next, we visited a Shamana. A shamana is simply a female shaman She talked to us for a while (I didn't understand much) about plants that are used for food and medicine. She let us smell different plants and told us things about how different plants were used for different things – she talked about detoxing the liver and that sort of thing. She talked about how figs can help with monthly problems for ladies and how cilantro seeds can help with labor and childbirth. The Shamana treats many illnesses for those who live in Peguche and they don't need a pharmacy – their pharmacy consists of the plants.

We were asked to stand in a circle and hold out our hands. The Shamana then touched our hands with the leaves of a plant and then she took some liquid from a Coke bottle (it had alcohol in it, so it wasn't completely unsanitary – sort of) and spit it on our hands. It was some sort of blessing if I understood it correctly. Two of our group got the "full" treatment and rubbed a candle on themselves which the Shamana then "read" to determine the amount of negative energy each of them had. Then a ceremony was performed with plants and liquid (spitting again – in a fine spray – it really was a skill) and fire and it was incredibly interesting. There was loud music played during this.

Note the fine spray -- that takes some real talent!

At one point the Shamana lit a cigarette and we all kind of looked at each other and thought "couldn't she wait?" but what was really happening it that it was part of the ceremony. Tobacco is a plant and it is used for purification in the ceremony.

Afterwards, the Shamana prayed to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and to the volcanoes, mountains, rivers and more and to Jesus and the Virgin Mary, I think. We were all asked to dance around in a circle to loud music to bond and to wake up Mother Earth and help her. She evoked the energy of the volcanoes and waterfalls and plants and rivers and mountains.

The Shamans and Shamanas are taken very, very seriously in Ecuador and they are well respected. When the Spanish came into Ecuador, the Indigenous people were forced to accept Catholicism, but they also kept some of their cultural practices as well. Hence the Shamana praying to the Virgin Mary as well as to the mountains, volcanoes and rivers.

It is interesting that about a year or so ago there was a law passed giving rights to Pachamama or Mother Earth because of damage in the Amazon region because of oil drilling or oil work there. Now a citizen can bring a lawsuit on behalf of Mother Earth. The people have a high respect for the land and for their culture and customs.

It is also interesting to note that the Shamana that we saw was an engineer, but went back to school and became a Shamana

April 29, 2011 Otavalo Market

Awakening to the Adventures of Ecuador

Getting up in the morning at the Land of the Sun was always a little bit of an adventure. This morning, the water pressure was non-existent. The people there were always quick to respond to any problems and I think the auxiliary pump was checked again and within a short while, the water pressure was back with a vengeance! It nearly beat me to death!

Watermelon and Coconut Milk at Breakfast



Breakfast

The "juice" this morning was coconut milk. We had a slice of watermelon, toasted amaranth and yogurt and eggs and ham. I don't drink coffee, but someone sitting at the table was drinking coffee and when she opened the sugar bowl, I noticed that the sugar was brown. It wasn't brown sugar, though, it was just unbleached, natural sugar. I always had aromatica, the lemongrass tea, while others had their morning coffee. Breakfast, as usual, was a lovely experience. Eaten ouside and served with care.

The lady that served most of our meals was named Consuela. She looked quite young, but was probably a little older than she looked, I don't know. She served food and took care of everyone's needs with such a quiet grace about her. Everyone in our group noticed it and commented on it. She was wonderful and anticipated our needs and it was a pleasure to be served by her because she seemed to get such pleasure from serving us.

I learned that the indigenous people of Ecuador had their own language – it was actually spoken in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. It is called Quichua and there are many dialects. Most of the people also speak Spanish and some English as well.

Otavalo Market
The Spanish words for today, however, going to the Otavalo market, were "quanto questa?" How much? And "desquento, por favor" or Discount, please. The market people were bargainers and they, of course, wanted to get the best prices. The quality of the items seemed to be very good and there was a wide variety of items – everything from silver and beaded jewelry to embroidered items to sweaters and blankets and hats. The market was not overly busy, as we were there on a Friday, but we were told that it is usually a madhouse on Saturdays. We were also told there are pickpockets, unfortunately, and to keep our bags in front of us.

At Otavalo

On our way back from the market, there was a hailstorm, but we were in the bus and cozy by then. It's funny that when you're not in your usual environment, you are surprised by things that would happen in your usual environment – like hailstorms, for instance. It just kind of surprised us all that there was a hailstorm in Ecuador, I think. It was a lovely day and I think everyone was happy with their purchases.

Land of the Sun Inn

When we got back to the hotel, Eduardo, who works at the hotel, had made us coconut balls with an almond in the middle and chocolate on the outside. I don't care for coconut, and I hate Almond Joys, but those coconut balls were delightful. And we praised Eduardo highly for his work at keeping a group of women in chocolate!

I noticed that each morning I would get a headache and I was later told that it was likely due to the altitude. It wasn't bad, and an aspirin took care of it right away and didn't interfere with any of my fun.

"Leather Street"

We walked down "Leather Street" - a street with numerous leather shops that had handbags, shoes, belts, luggage, coats, you name it, all beautifully crafted. The smell of leather was intoxicating and looking in the shop windows was a wonderful experience. Later, dinner was at a local restaurant in Cotacachi not far from the hotel. I had Arroz con Camarones (rice with shrimp) and it was yummy. I also had fresh jugo de pina, or pineapple juice, also yummy.

Arroz Con Camarones

I think perhaps because of the weather, it rained a bit while we were there -- and there was the hailstorm, the internet at the hotel was cranky. We didn't have internet again and there are no televisions in the rooms at The Land of the Sun. It's actually kind of nice, although I'm sure not everyone would see it that way, but for me, it was nice to be away from everything for a short period of time.

Quaint and lovely, removed from the hectic everyday American life, in an area of the world that I'd never dreamed I'd actually ever see. It was turning out to be a really nice vacation.

April 28, 2011 - Laguna de Cuicocha

The internet and hot water were cranky at the hotel, but the water at least could be addressed with an auxiliary pump. I did mention that the hotel was rustic and this was just part of its old world charm.

Breakfast

Breakfast was yummy and was always a multi-course meal at The Land of the Sun Inn. I always enjoyed a hot cup of aromatica and was told that they grow the lemongrass there and use it fresh for the tea. Even yummier! A small plate of fruit was served to each person along with a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice. The fruit and fruit juice were whatever kind they prepared that day. Then a small bowl of granola and yogurt or amaranth and milk or quinoa and milk, and then fried or scrambled eggs (your choice) and a piece of either bacon or ham, whatever they were having that day. Breakfast was quickly becoming a favorite meal! It sure beats the Chex cereal I usually eat at my desk at work anyway.

Lake Cuicocha
Our excursion was a visit to Laguna de Cuicocha – Lake Cuicocha. We took a boat ride around the lake with a guide, but he spoke in rapid fire Spanish and I missed a lot. Some was translated by fellow passengers, but I know that the guide knew and said much more than I understood. It's a shame, I'm sure it was incredibly interesting. However, I will tell you what I gleaned from him and from the fellow tour-goers…

Around 3100 years ago, the lake was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption. There are two islands in the middle of the lake with over 400 varieties of vegetation. The lake is important to the indigenous people there and there are ceremonies 4 times a year. It is called the "Lake of the gods". At equinox, there is a big celebration of the Sun to honor Pachamama (Mother Earth). There is a thank you to all the elements – and our guide went through them, but I'm not sure if I caught it all, basically it's something like a thank you to the water because without water there are no plants and a thank you to the plants because without plants there are no animals and a thank you to the sun because without the sun there is no life. I may not have caught all of that, though, but that's at least part of it.

The lake is now an ecological preserve and is protected. The lake has no fish. They put trout in the lake at one time, but the fish did not reproduce. Our group speculated that there may be an oxygen issue. There were other forms of life around the lake – plenty of birds, for instance. There were gas bubbles coming up that our guide stopped to show us. He also stopped to show us a waterfall and I imagine he explained a lot about the waterfall that I had no way of understanding.

Waterfall at Lake Cuicocha

Lake Cuicocha - the picture does NOT do it justice!

The two islands have caves. There are condors there – even though they are near extinction, they can be seen near Lake Cuicocha at this preserve. Between the islands is a canal that we boated through called the "Canal of Dreams".

The water was clear and very cold and on the boat, it was cool. We were properly outfitted in life jackets, though they did have to widen the girth on many of them because the Ecuadorian people are very small – the Americans, not so much.

After the boat ride, we stopped at the welcome center and were served what tasted a lot like apple cider. I have no clue what it actually was, but it was good. Then, we took a short hike up the trail to see the lake from a different vantage point. We not only could see the lake, but also some surrounding farmlands and volcanoes and/or mountains. The pictures here don't do the views justice. You absolutely must see them for yourself.

Farms and mountains/volcanoes we could see from the
 outlook point where we hiked at Lake Cuicocha

The Views
After the trek up the hill (and a huffing and a puffing we all went with most of us not used to the altitude), we got back on the bus to go to La Mirador (English translation: The Viewpoint), and it did have an awesome view of the lake and the island, and pretty good food to boot. I had trout which was served with corn, a "salad" which was cold cooked broccoli and carrots, rice and potatoes. Several juices were offered including pina (pineapple), naranja (orange) and naranjilla (kind of a cross between orange and kiwi). The juice was fresh as it was everywhere. Chicken and vegetable soup was served (no noodles, so I could eat it – yay!) with popcorn. It was quite good. There were fresh flowers at the tables. It was a lovely little restaurant with a lovely view.

Back to the Land of the Sun Inn
On our way back to the hotel, we saw horses grazing on the side of the road, laundry drying on rooftops. The sun was shining and it was warmer than it had been previously. On our arrival back at the hotel, we had coffee, or for those, like me, who preferred, aromatic, and a quinoa cake snack with jam. It's been so long since I've had jam, served with a little bit of raspberry sorbet. I could eat in Ecuador at this hotel for the rest of my life and be happy, I'm telling you, it was amazing! And to have a snack like that gluten free. Yummy!

One of the meeting rooms at The Land of the Sun with its
hide covered bar area

That night, at the hotel, there were artisans that came bringing their lovely wares. There was silver jewelry, ponchos, scarves, alpaca blankets, watercolor paintings, masks, knitted animal hats that were adorable. The rain had hurt some of the vendors and they were able to show us their things at the hotel and our group contributed greatly to the Ecuadorian economy that night, but they were so thankful and grateful for our business. It made us feel good to help these people – plus we are coming home with beautiful items for ourselves and our loved ones.

Dinner

For dinner at the hotel, we started with quinoa soup, which was delicious. I actually make a quinoa chicken soup at home that is quite tasty and this one reminded me of that, but I think the hotel's was better. I had camarones – shrimp, quinoa vegetables – kind of like a quinoa cake (like a crab cake but with quinoa and vegetables). That wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad and potatoes. For dessert, we were served "tree tomato" – very good, said Consuela. She was right, it was good – not great, maybe not my favorite fruit ever, but not bad. It was kind of like a pear, but not quite as good as a pear. And it was cooked and served in a little bowl. It was a new culinary experience, though, and I enjoyed trying it.

The internet at the hotel was better, and they had a VOIP phone where we could call back to the States for free, so I took the opportunity to call one of the kids and tell them a little about my experience so far. It was good to hear from home, but I was still enjoying my trip.
I did discover that night that I am not a fan of noise machines. Cotacachi is a busy little city and it is noisy, so the hotel provides noise machines to help their guests sleep better. I hate bathroom fans, too. To me, it wasn't much different – even though there were different choices of noises. Still made me grind my teeth. And the water noises made me want to pee. I wasn't bothered by the city noise – a good thing since I am defective when it comes to noise machines – instead of soothing me, they apparently annoy me.

Figures, I've always been a little weird.

April 27, 2011 Quito and Cotacachi

I woke up early on Wednesday the 27^th as Ecuador is not on daylight savings time, so it is an hour earlier there. I looked out the window at the beautiful view – it is amazing how close we were to the mountains – and saw that at 7 a.m. the town was already stirring – people and dogs were walking from here to there and cars were traveling along the streets and curvy roads. The view was marred by thick fog, but you could tell the mountains were there through the fog.

Breakfast

Daily breakfast was included in my tour, and never one to miss a good meal (or miss an opportunity to take a picture of it), I headed to the hotel restaurant to see what I might be able to eat since I can't eat a lot of standard breakfast fare served in hotels as most of it is wheat-based. I was cautiously hopeful and was pleasantly surprised that there was a variety of fresh fruit – papaya, pineapple, cantaloupe, and watermelon along with eggs mixed with bits of ham. There were breads and jams available also and fresh juices – and I mean fresh. It was yummy. I was having a wonderful culinary experience already.

Breakfast at the Stubel Suites in Quito, Ecuador

I had word from the night before that our group would meet – the tour was a workshop combined with a travel experience, so our group met for a bit that morning in a conference room. We had a snack of plantains, fruit, cake (not for me, but it looked yummy) and water. The plantains and fruit were delicious. I did not know that I lived for food quite so much, though looking at me; you'd think I'd know that!

Christian, our bus driver, on the left and Alberto, our Ecuadorian guide on the right

After the workshop, we met Alberto who was to be our Ecuadorian tour guide and our bus driver, Christian, who must be daring as driving in Quito must be quite the experience with the traffic suggestions – there were traffic lights – I'm not so sure about crosswalks – and I'm not sure we ever actually stopped at a traffic light or just always bulldozed our way through with everyone else. I really don't know, but I trust that Christian did what he was supposed to – and we always arrived safely wherever we were headed. After the airport to hotel experience, the bus was a breeze and I was grateful to feel a safer while traveling. We also met Bonnie, another of our guides who is quite knowledgeable about Ecuadorian culture and shared her knowledge freely. She has wonderful stories, some of which I'm sure I'll share.

Olga Fisch Gallery

Our first stop was not far from the hotel in Quito, it was the Olga Fisch Gallery. (On our way, we passed Casa Giron Funeralia, the only funeral home I saw while in Ecuador – just a side note for those I work with.)

Olga Fisch was a Hungarian woman who is credited with raising Ecuadorian craft to art, and her gallery shows that. There are fine arts from all over Ecuador in this one small shop. There is a museum upstairs, but it was closed the day they were there and no pictures were allowed in the store. The items were beautiful, some in a primitive way and some were just plain beautiful and not so primitive. The handmade paper there made me think of my college roommate, Martha, who made (and I assume still makes) handcrafted paper.

I bought a set of glass coasters that caught my eye and they were packaged up for me for travelling – a nice touch. It is one of the few places in Ecuador that takes a credit card. Some places had a cash price and a credit price. I paid in cash and one of my bills was torn. The lady asked for another. Apparently the banks in Ecuador are very strict about the bills they will accept and if the bank will not take the bill, then the store is out the money. Interesting. I gave her an un-torn bill and collected my beautifully packaged coasters. There were a number of things I would have liked from the Olga Fisch Gallery, but it was my first stop, so I restrained myself to see what else Ecuador had in store for me.

Hilana

Hilana, a store in Quito, weaves and manufactures fine textiles that are absolutely gorgeous. The store had a very beige and white feel about it, very neutral, but also very beautiful, and there was some color. I bought a very roomy and lovely purse with an alpaca design. There were coats and shawls and blankets and even very lovely women's suits. Absolutely gorgeous. Exquisitely crafted and I'm proud to own the purse.

El Crater

Lunch was in or maybe just outside Quito – I'm not sure. Quito is miles and miles long, and also at about 9200 feet elevation. It is the capital of Ecuador, but not its largest city. Quito has around 3.5 million people, but Guayaquil has around 5 million people.

View from El Crater

The restaurant, El Crater, is on the rim of the Pululahua Volcano, an inhabited volcano. It was interesting looking down on the farms that were down inside the crater. We were pretty high up as the farms had a grid-like appearance. The soil is rich there, I'm sure, but I'm not so sure I'd want to live in a volcano, even one that's been extinct for many, many years. I guess it's all in what you're used to and grow up with. The restaurant was quite nice and we were told it would probably be one of the most expensive meals that we had in Ecuador.




Shrimp Ceviche at El Crater



Popcorn, plantains, and corn nuts served with the ceviche at El Crater

 
I had shrimp ceviche served with popcorn, corn nuts and plantain chips and water all for around $12. Popcorn is served instead of crackers in Ecuador. It's great for me since I can't have crackers, and I never would have thought to use popcorn instead of crackers in soup. It's actually a lot better than it sounds like it might be. The ceviche was excellent and the view was amazing. The signs on the bathrooms were not expected, however. On the ladies room, a pair of breasts, on the men's room, well, it was what you might imagine it to be. Yes, really, it was. Honest.

They had a small art gallery on the El Crater property and they opened it up for us to take a look. We looked at the art – it always amazes me what people come up with, turning whatever raw material they have or can find into a piece of beauty.

Mitad el Mundo (Middle of the World)

Admission was $2 to see the monument at the Equator and to see the shops and everything there. And Ecuador uses the US Dollar as their currency, by the way, so buying things was easy – no exchange rate. They used to have their own money, but have adopted the dollar. They do have their own coins, but also use US coins as well. I saw more Susan B. Anthony dollars there than I've seen in a while!

Me, goofing off at the Equator

Anyway, back to the Equator…we stood with one foot in each hemisphere and everyone had their pictures taken like that. The true Equator is not quite where the French placed the monument, but they were close. There is also an indigenous part of the park and they were a little closer to where the Equator actually is, but neither was quite right.

Toilet paper sales - there's a
business in everything, I guess.

While at the Equator, I learned an important lesson about Ecuador. Only luxury bathrooms in Ecuador actually have toilet paper and soap at no charge. There was a toilet paper machine where you could buy toilet paper for ten cents. Well, I didn't have change, and I do not like tinkling au natural.

However, some things can't be helped and sacrifices made when in a foreign country. I would be prepared the next time, I vowed. We even had one lady on the tour who thought to bring toilet paper, but it was in her luggage. It would be in her purse the next time!

The weather cleared a bit while we wandered around the shops and such at the equator. The weather, because of the altitude was somewhat cool. And we could just see a snowcapped mountain/volcano in the background while at the Equator – kind of paradoxical, but that's the way it was.

People keep grilling me about the weather thinking that at the Equator it has to be hot. It wasn't hot. The weather was quite mild most of the time I was there. Some days got a little warmer, but it was, for the most part quite comfy, around mid-sixties most days and most days I wore a jacket only taking it off in the middle of the day.

Land of the Sun Inn
Cotacachi, Ecuador

We stayed at the Land of the Sun Inn for most of our stay. It reminded me of old Western movies with its wrought iron light fixtures and courtyard surrounded by meeting and dining rooms and the kitchen on the lower level and guest rooms on the upper level. There were beautiful hardwood floors and tile and it was lovely.

When we arrived, there was coffee, aromatica (a lemongrass tea that quickly became my favorite), and a cake made out of quinoa. Quinoa is a seed that is often used as a grain and it is gluten free, so I was in heaven. Do you know how long it's been since I've had cake? It was delicious – even to those who have had cake recently. The kitchen also used amaranth flour for me as well to stay within my gluten free limits. I quickly fell in love with my newfound culinary delights!

We checked in at the hotel where we were given a real, honest to goodness key. Not a key card, but a real key. And filled out a form with our passport numbers. Apparently you have to do that at the hotels in Ecuador. I wonder if people traveling from Ecuador to the US staying in hotels have to record their passport numbers. It would make sense, I guess, I just don't know.

Soon after, our group rambled toward our rooms – our bags had already been carried there by the hotel staff. The room was rustic, with a large bed, hardwood floors, throw rugs, a wrought iron overhead fixture and wooden furniture. The bathroom was distinctly 1950s, with a shower, toilet and sink and the tiniest little shelf to put your things on, but it was sufficient, if not luxurious.

The profits from the Land of the Sun Inn go to helping the Indigenous people of Ecuador. There was a young night clerk who was going to college on a scholarship through the program. An American couple created the foundation to help the people there and the hotel is part of that foundation now. It's a noble cause and I'm sure has helped many and will continue to help more of the people there.

And that was the end of my second day in Ecuador.

April 26, 2011, Quito Ecuador

Yes, the blog is a week or so late, but better late than never – and I took good notes, so hopefully you won't miss too much!

I left Greenville by car to go to the Charlotte airport. The sky was overcast and threatened rain, but nothing could dampen my spirits on this day when I was leaving on my first ever trip out of the country. Everything went smoothly and on through the checkpoint to find the gate and wait. A couple of bathroom breaks in there and all was well and I was sitting on a 737 anxious for the first leg of the trip.

Waiting in Charlotte
Now, waiting on planes is interesting. The flight attendants have to get a verbal agreement from all the people in the exit row that they will hang out in a burning, drowning, whatever plane, while they help all the other passengers get the heck out of Dodge. All six people agree. I keep wondering if they're lying. Would I wait on the other passengers? Or would I high tail it out of the burning plane? I wasn't on an exit row, so my honesty wasn't tested, but it does make me wonder if they'd slide out of there and leave me to fumble my way around trying to get my seat that can be used as a floatation device out and my fat rear end down a slide by myself. I know, I think weird thoughts. Aren't you glad you're not in here with me ALL the time?

On the Plane
We waited our turn to taxi out to the runway. The captain came on and said it was the result of "sequencing" that they're doing at the Charlotte airport now. Basically it just makes you sit out on the runway longer I think waiting for your turn and stop and start a lot -- kind of like rush hour traffic. I'm not really sure what the whole idea is, but I hope it works for them. The plane creaked and moaned and groaned and finally the roar of the engines got louder and louder and we were speeding down the runway for a one hour and 35 minute flight time (ticket says about 2 hours, but some of that is loading the plane and waiting and all that mess). It is always really weird to me that feeling of weightlessness you get when the gigantic plane with lots of people on it (and it was a full flight) just takes off and is in the air. Your tummy feels funny (well, mine does anyway) and it's just utterly weird feeling.

Clouds
I don't often think about clouds from the other side. We so often look up at them that it becomes our only perspective (unless you're a pilot, I presume). They are maybe even more beautiful when you look down on them. There were some astounding cotton-like puffs interspersed with blue sky and jet streams from my limited view from the center seat. The mountains of cotton were in my sight much of the flight while my ears popped repeatedly as we continued to increase in altitude. As a child, I played the "what do you see in the clouds" game. And on the airplane, I found myself doing the same thing. There were lions, fighting Schnauzers, rams with circled horns and teddy bears that were so much larger than life. While I was enjoying my imagination, the people on either side of me were oblivious to the wonder of it all and were sleeping soundly. How? Why would you want to miss this? Can you get so used to seeing the clouds from the other side that it becomes old hat to you? It's a very sad comment on human nature that we can become so used to amazing things and no longer see them as amazing. Of course, maybe they sleep because of the deafening roar of the plane engines. I don't know.

Through those clouds that I imagined were at least as big as glaciers, I occasionally saw a spot of land, and before too very long, I felt the altitude changing. The descent started about 30 minutes from Miami and seemed to continue forever until I heard the whirr of the hydraulics which I assume were opening the compartment to let the landing gear out. There was a grid like pattern to Miami from the air. I guess there is to many cities. And then, off the US Air plane and onto a LAN Airlines plane. The gates of the two airlines were close, so I had time for lunch – always a good idea for me as I do get motion sickness. Miami got me ready for my trip to Ecuador – I was asked if I was "finito?" when I was done!

LAN Airlines
LAN Airlines is a well-respected South American Airline (at least that's what I was told) and after flying on the airline, I believe them. Boarding was an experience as we boarded by rows and I had to brush up on my Spanish numbers to get it right. I was in Seat 40L – at the very back, so after first class and people with children and the elderly, I was listening really hard for the word 40 in Spanish. I succeeded, obviously, since I made it on board.

The plane was a 767, so it was the largest plane I have ever been on. It had three rows of seats in the back, something I'd only seen in movies. There was a blanket and pillow in the seat waiting for me. Did I mention I really like this airline? There was a screen on the back of the seat ahead that showed a world map and where we were.

I had a window seat this time and after takeoff, I saw many of the orange tile roofs so common in Miami and lots of water. The screen in front of me continued to give me information about our speed and altitude and even the outside temperature – it's no wonder planes are so cold  since the outside temperature for much of the trip was -63 degrees F. Yes, there is a negative sign in front of that number. Of course, we were also at 37,000 feet. There were blue skies above us and scattered clouds below, and no, I won't go into another cloud description, so don't stop reading!

The screen showing the flight information was a touch screen so that you could do a number of other things as well, such as learn about destinations where LAN flies. I read a little bit about Quito and some other areas.

I was a little worried on getting to the Quito Airport. The original plan was that the tour guide would meet each person coming in and ride to the airport. I was on a later flight, so the tour guide called (while I was in Miami) and said everyone was doing okay, so the driver would be there and she wouldn't be meeting me. All I could think of was that she didn't know my ability to get lost and turned around – and in a foreign country no less. No need to get discouraged – only one thing to do – move forward…

Cuba, Panama, Pacific Ocean
The captain came on and spoke to us – for a long time in Spanish and then for a shorter time in English. Have you ever noticed that? When someone is speaking in Spanish it goes on for 10 minutes and then the translation is something like "And they climbed up the mountain." Or something equally short. Makes you wonder what you're missing. I've got to dig Rosetta Stone out and work with it some more.

Anyway, we were out of US airspace pretty quickly and were told we would then be in Cuban airspace, Panama airspace and then over the Pacific Ocean before arriving in Quito. I saw Cuba. It's a very large island with very clear water surrounding it – at least the part I saw. I imagine it would be a beautiful island up close. I didn't see much of Panama – we were still at quite a high altitude, but I saw a bit of land and beach, I think.

On Board Entertainment System
OK, I mentioned the screen that showed the altitude and that sort of thing, right? Well, it also played a short movie (in English and Spanish) about the safety instructions, oxygen, your floating device, all of the normal stuff.

The flight attendants came around with earpieces so that the onboard entertainment system could be used (at no charge), so I started to look at my movie options and settled on "The Fighter" since it was supposed to be such a good movie and I had not yet seen it.

At some point during the movie, I was handed two Immigration Cards to complete.

The on board entertainment system, in addition to the touch screen, had a remote. There were a number of kids of all ages on the flight and they were well-entertained as the system had games. I even played a round or two of Tetris. There were quite a few movies and games (Tetris, Battleship, Sudoku and more) and even TV shows to choose from – usually in Spanish, French or English. The Fighter was in English with Spanish subtitles (because I chose English).

I was surprised when the flight attendants came around not only serving beverages (we had had a beverage on the US Air Flight after all), but also food. They even served complimentary wine on the flight. The food that day was a pasta dish, which I couldn't eat because of my gluten intolerance, but since I wasn't expecting food, I had something with me in case I needed it, plus I'd had lunch in Miami.

After the movie, I still had a bit of time, so I watched most of an episode of Big Bang Theory. There was some turbulence as we got closer to Quito, so we were advised to stay seated and keep our seatbelts on.

Quito
Flying into the Quito airport was interesting. First, there are mountains on either side of you, and then you start seeing buildings on either side of you and you become concerned – or maybe that was just me that was concerned. I'm not really used to airports being in the middle of town, but this one is. I expected we might have to climb stairs down, but we had a jet way. It was all very civilized. We walked for a while and were herded – well, not exactly herded, but there really was no other way to go, into Customs to show passports and such, so I waited in line and read the sign that basically said don't exploit Ecuadorian children.

Okay. I wasn't planning on that, so I guess I have nothing to worry about. I wanted to see Ecuador, certainly NOT the inside of an Ecuadorian jail. It is unfortunate that a sign like that even has to be there. My passport now bears an Ecuador stamp and I was officially in the country and ready to find my driver. (All my luggage going in was carry on, so I didn't even have to deal with baggage claim).

I walked around until I found a young man who looked very much like a Native American, and I guess he was – just he was a Native South American instead of a Native North American, holding a sign with my name. I signed some papers – Lord only knows what – probably something for liability based on the trip to the hotel. So, I unknowingly get into the car and the nice man carries all my luggage – for which I am grateful – my backpack was getting pretty heavy. He put the luggage in the trunk – the car was an older model van playing Ecuadorian (presumably) music. We traveled through Quito right and left and around and around.

We saw areas of Quito that I'm not sure were nice based on the glass attached to the tops of walls – apparently broken glass is as much of a deterrent as barbed wire. Apparently there are only traffic suggestions instead of traffic laws during rush hour in Quito. I stopped looking at where we were going and started looking out the windows to the sides. It seemed more prudent and I decided I really didn't want to know how we were getting there. I don't think I will ever drive in Quito. On the upside, I survived the trip to the hotel and was met by a hotel security guard who took the luggage.

The Hotel
The tour group I was with stayed the first night at Stubel Suites, a nice hotel in Quito. I went to the front desk and was greeted by a desk clerk who spoke perfect English. Like I said, the security guard took the bags – a little odd, but I found out later that one of the others in my group had asked about that – and the other security measures at the hotel (you had to use your key card to move the elevator and open a hallway door and open your room door). Anyway, they were told that we were in a luxurious hotel in a luxurious area of Quito – we had to be protected. I guess we were targets for pickpockets in that area – us being gringos and all. There are the poor in Ecuador, and we must seem awfully rich to so many of them.

View from Stubel Suites - very foggy that night!

The hotel is built on the side of a hill. The lobby is on the 5^th floor. The room was on the 2^nd floor, so it was strange pushing the down elevator button to get to the room. A bellhop carried bags and the room pretty much looked like any nice American hotel compete with soap and shampoo trial sizes. The only exception – no thermostat. A small electric space heater was provided.

Dinner

Dinner at Stubel Suites in Quito

Dinner was in the hotel restaurant where I met a few of my group. Our official tour did not begin until the next morning. My dinner, called Lomo a la Plancha, included two generous portions of grilled steak with chimichurri sauce (kind of a salsa, but in oil), steamed vegetables, a small baked potato with cheese and a Coke. Now, hotel meals are seldom cheap, but that dinner cost around $10, including the Coke. I wasn't too unhappy with that.