<--------- I've only been here 10 minutes and I already have guest in my tent....go ahead and make fun of my 75 lbs of luggage...but do you have the spray to combat this little bitting ants??
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My trip thus far…..
I have made it safely to my tent camp and per the suggestion of my trusty driver and tour guide (Sandy), I am way at the end of the “street”. It is four o’clock in the morning right now and I have awoken partly from all the cerveza from last night and the Malaria medicine. And….probably the mosquitoes! ( I put up the mosquito net after an entire day of “getting to know Ecuador”…and Pilsner) When the sun comes up, I will make my way to the kitchen where the internet is plentiful. I plan on finding a YouTube video on how to properly put up the net. I’m sure there is a disclaimer that says “drinking all day in the hot sun and then putting up the net to save you from Malaria infected mosquitoes is contraindicated!
I’m grateful that Sandy was the person to pick me up from Guayaquil and transport me to Ayampe. It’s normally a two and a half hour drive but we made it in three and a half. After stopping at the gas station, detours, no cell signal and a less than clean bathroom (thanks mom for the toilet paper, forming hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes) we made it here in one piece. Sandy can speak broken English and I can speak broken Spanish so together we were able to communicate the entire trip. I think I know her entire life story in English and in Spanish, however, my favorite sentence was when she told me “you no what I was expectin, I think I pick up mujer like me”. Guess she thought I would be wearing a bright colored beach dress with long hair. Instead, I show up for transport with 75 lbs of luggage, cargo shorts, t-shirt and a pair of keen sandals..
She introduced me to “el doctoro” who is some big political guy in these parts. He also owns a hotel kind of place. We drank some beer with his family and then he had one of his workers show me around the property. If I ever get married, I want to spend my honeymoon in the marriage suite. I’m sure his place is “mucho carro” but anyone that agrees to marry me should get the best despite any cost. He is distantly related to the author of Don Quiote and he named the place after the author.
Sandy took me all over the town as well as to Porto Lopez after she noticed she needed air in her tires. Woman in Ecuador, even in their 40’s, don’t change tires or put air in them! At the house of “el doctoro” two young men tried to change her tire but gave up after ten minutes of trying to figure out the jack…”Quantos hombres necissito para “change tire”…she thought it was funny!
I’ve met all of David’s cousins in a short time but I’ve spent most of my time with Sandy and Caesar. Caesar tried to sell me his house already, which isn’t such a bad idea. It’s close to the beach and the town and he built the entire house with his own hands…did I mention he is a sculptor/wood carver??? The entire house is filled with beautiful cabinets and a handmade hardwood floor…eat your heart out Home Depot!
After more Pilsner than I could count we headed to dinner at the hotel. I’ve been instructed to make a good impression on the cook. Of course, I’m not sure exactly what the hell I’ve been eating since I got here, I made sure than Sandy knew that “yo soy una hodia” which is Spanish for I am Jewish and “no puedo comeda churletta” (I can’t eat pork chops). I know I had octopussy (haha…octopus in broken English) and fried fish so far. I’ve eaten enough green plantains to begin to grow on a tree and I’ve fallen in love with this hot sauce here, Texas Pete has nothing on this stuff.
I will begin my research after a few days of practicing Spanish on the beach…I know, it’s such a hard life here in Ecuador. I’m in a tent camp within walking distance to the beach and I know where to buy beer.
In the words of Ida Mae with an Ecuadorian twist, “you can get beer when you can’t get a glass of milk”.
I’m grateful that Sandy was the person to pick me up from Guayaquil and transport me to Ayampe. It’s normally a two and a half hour drive but we made it in three and a half. After stopping at the gas station, detours, no cell signal and a less than clean bathroom (thanks mom for the toilet paper, forming hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes) we made it here in one piece. Sandy can speak broken English and I can speak broken Spanish so together we were able to communicate the entire trip. I think I know her entire life story in English and in Spanish, however, my favorite sentence was when she told me “you no what I was expectin, I think I pick up mujer like me”. Guess she thought I would be wearing a bright colored beach dress with long hair. Instead, I show up for transport with 75 lbs of luggage, cargo shorts, t-shirt and a pair of keen sandals..
She introduced me to “el doctoro” who is some big political guy in these parts. He also owns a hotel kind of place. We drank some beer with his family and then he had one of his workers show me around the property. If I ever get married, I want to spend my honeymoon in the marriage suite. I’m sure his place is “mucho carro” but anyone that agrees to marry me should get the best despite any cost. He is distantly related to the author of Don Quiote and he named the place after the author.
Sandy took me all over the town as well as to Porto Lopez after she noticed she needed air in her tires. Woman in Ecuador, even in their 40’s, don’t change tires or put air in them! At the house of “el doctoro” two young men tried to change her tire but gave up after ten minutes of trying to figure out the jack…”Quantos hombres necissito para “change tire”…she thought it was funny!
I’ve met all of David’s cousins in a short time but I’ve spent most of my time with Sandy and Caesar. Caesar tried to sell me his house already, which isn’t such a bad idea. It’s close to the beach and the town and he built the entire house with his own hands…did I mention he is a sculptor/wood carver??? The entire house is filled with beautiful cabinets and a handmade hardwood floor…eat your heart out Home Depot!
After more Pilsner than I could count we headed to dinner at the hotel. I’ve been instructed to make a good impression on the cook. Of course, I’m not sure exactly what the hell I’ve been eating since I got here, I made sure than Sandy knew that “yo soy una hodia” which is Spanish for I am Jewish and “no puedo comeda churletta” (I can’t eat pork chops). I know I had octopussy (haha…octopus in broken English) and fried fish so far. I’ve eaten enough green plantains to begin to grow on a tree and I’ve fallen in love with this hot sauce here, Texas Pete has nothing on this stuff.
I will begin my research after a few days of practicing Spanish on the beach…I know, it’s such a hard life here in Ecuador. I’m in a tent camp within walking distance to the beach and I know where to buy beer.
In the words of Ida Mae with an Ecuadorian twist, “you can get beer when you can’t get a glass of milk”.
My flight(s) here…..
I remember when I booked my trip I thought that taking multiple airplanes to get here was a great idea partly due to my paranoia of a DVT (blood clot). However, after sitting next to this crazy weird man on the first leg that was rude to me when I had to go to the bathroom…I take my decision back! The six hour flight from Houston to Panama was for lack of better term, “interesting”…I was between a large Asian man who cleared his throat every three minutes (I counted) and three Hasidic children that thought it was mucho fun to play in the aisles of the plane….no rest here!!!!! I think at one point during the flight I had a vision of tying the children down by their own tzitzit!
Arriving in Panama was hot…the local temperature at 2000 was over 90F and humid! The airport was super confusing but I made it to my gate with three minutes to spare on a two hour layover…I arrived here in Ecuador around 2300 and headed to immigration…
My first encounter with the people of Ecuador was fantastic, even at customs. They make you go through immigration before you can get your bags from baggage claim. They kind of just let me through immigration when the officer realized that my Spanish sucks and I could only say “I am a graduate student from the United States, I will be here for four weeks and I am going to Ayampe”. I guess since it was the middle of “carnival” which judging by the people dressed in black paint and pelting the car with water balloons, is equivalent to American Halloween, he didn’t think it was strange that I was going to the beach….
As I approached security, which is nothing more than a man in a pair of shorts and flip flops, I didn’t have some paper that I was supposed to get on the airplane he said “no worry, have nice day”. Guess he didn’t think I needed to declare my Clorox wipes, water bottle, medicine and enough bug spray to deter any mosquito from dinning on my skin…
I made it to the hostel in Guayaquil around midnight or so…it was so beautiful on top of the mountain. My room was situated in the lower portion of the hostel and it had air conditioning…something that seems like a faint memory. The owner of the hostel was a nice woman who jumped at the chance to practice her English with me. When I had problems connecting to the internet she said “I have MAC, it work great”…so once again, I am contemplating buying a MAC…
Two things that I have learned so far….
Cash is king in Ecuador (thanks David for telling me to go and get some cash before I got here, the hostel in Guayaquil only takes “effectivo, no puedo payar con trajeta de credito”)…..only cash, you can’t pay with a debit card
Everyone is so nice, even the damn mosquitoes who want to give you Malaria
Arriving in Panama was hot…the local temperature at 2000 was over 90F and humid! The airport was super confusing but I made it to my gate with three minutes to spare on a two hour layover…I arrived here in Ecuador around 2300 and headed to immigration…
My first encounter with the people of Ecuador was fantastic, even at customs. They make you go through immigration before you can get your bags from baggage claim. They kind of just let me through immigration when the officer realized that my Spanish sucks and I could only say “I am a graduate student from the United States, I will be here for four weeks and I am going to Ayampe”. I guess since it was the middle of “carnival” which judging by the people dressed in black paint and pelting the car with water balloons, is equivalent to American Halloween, he didn’t think it was strange that I was going to the beach….
As I approached security, which is nothing more than a man in a pair of shorts and flip flops, I didn’t have some paper that I was supposed to get on the airplane he said “no worry, have nice day”. Guess he didn’t think I needed to declare my Clorox wipes, water bottle, medicine and enough bug spray to deter any mosquito from dinning on my skin…
I made it to the hostel in Guayaquil around midnight or so…it was so beautiful on top of the mountain. My room was situated in the lower portion of the hostel and it had air conditioning…something that seems like a faint memory. The owner of the hostel was a nice woman who jumped at the chance to practice her English with me. When I had problems connecting to the internet she said “I have MAC, it work great”…so once again, I am contemplating buying a MAC…
Two things that I have learned so far….
Cash is king in Ecuador (thanks David for telling me to go and get some cash before I got here, the hostel in Guayaquil only takes “effectivo, no puedo payar con trajeta de credito”)…..only cash, you can’t pay with a debit card
Everyone is so nice, even the damn mosquitoes who want to give you Malaria
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