Sunday, March. 23, 2003 - 3:07 p.m.
To Vilcabamba and Beyond
I had thought that my family would get bored of Cuenca within a week, but fortunately that wasn't the case. They took their time taking it easy, adjusting to the altitude, visited the main cathedral and plaza Parque Caldaron as well as some museums in town. Also I signed them up on a day trip on Wednesday (March 12th) to Ingapirca, the Incan ruins. It included transportation, food and an English-speaking guide. It was expensive, by Ecuadorian standards, at $37 per person, but they had a great time and felt it was worth it.
Saturday, March 15th, we all left for Vilcabamba, the village in a beautiful green valley about 6 hours away by bus. The family wanted to go there after my raving about the place when I visited in November. We took the bus from Cuenca to Loja and then a minibus for one hour to Vilcabamba. On the bus a man put a bag in the aisle right next to Mom. After awhile we realized that there was something alive in the bag since it would occasionally move a little. I think it was a chicken or a hen or something like that. Sometimes the bus would go around a corner until the bag was touching Mom's feet. I could tell this made her a bit uncomfortable. After awhile the man with his bag disembarked from the bus. The bus ride was fine, we picked a good bus company, expect they never made any bathroom stops since the WC wasn't working! We got to Vilcabamba without any problems late afternoon. We stayed at the same place as I had before, a hotel and spa just outside of town called "Madre Tierra" (Mother Earth) and got one large room that we shared for $13/person/ night that also included a delicious breakfast and dinner. They also have a swimming pool, jacuzzi, trampoline, basketball court, ping pong table, bar, spa and massage parlor. We met some other travelers; American, Canadian, German and Peruvian and one CEDEI teacher, Briana was there with her mom visiting from Philadelphia.
For our extended weekend, we did a whole lot of nothing, which was very nice, especially since I was still on the mend. Different people (including myself) were dealing with nausea and diarrhea so we all took it easy. On Sunday we walked into town and I showed the family the nice church and plaza there. Every town and village in this country seems to have a main plaza / park with the church on one side in the heart of the community. In Cuenca it is Parque Caldaron with the main cathedral bordering one side. We asked around about day tours to the nearby national park, but most included several hours of horseback riding, which I didn't want to do. Plus it was a little pricey. It then started to rain on our walk back, but the rain wasn't cold, so that was good. The next day Heidi and Dad went horseback riding ($10 for 4 hours). Mom and I didn't go. I went the last time I was there (remember I was kicked by my horse?). Heidi and Dad returned that afternoon, both sore. It was very peaceful and relaxing at the hostel. We also treated ourselves at the spa, everyone got back massages ($11 for 30 min) and I splurged by getting a back & foot massage as well as a facial--all for $25!
On Wednesday (March 19th) we returned to Cuenca. That evening we had dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant (so I was surprised that night when I got sick from the lasagna I ate). As we were walking to the restaurant, we heard foreboding drums and then saw a steady stream of people exiting the cathedral with candles in their hands. I believe it was an anti-war protest about the war that had just begun with the United States and Iraq a few days before (we had been in Vilcabamba at the time). We quickly walked away, trying to avoid the parade of people.
The following day we flew to Quito. But first we went to a co-op that sells all sorts of indigenous crafts and goods where the family bought some souvenirs. Then we went to the travel agent who said there were no spaces on the flight to Quito! I was surprised because it was mid-week, why would all the flights be full? The agent called TAME, the Ecuadorian airline, and discovered there were places on a flight at 4:45pm (45 min from then), so we quickly caught a taxi to the airport. When we got there, the airport was pretty dead. We waited in line with only one other person and no one was at the TAME counter. Then a man approached us and said that there was room on another airline, Austro (the one that the travel agent said was full). That flight was at 5:30pm so we took that flight, which turned out to be a small propeller plane with a capacity for maybe 25 people. We also had reservations at a hostel in Quito that night. So we flew to Quito (takes about 45 minutes, $65) and took a cab to the hostel. I was floored when the cab driver tried to charge us $10! More than twice what it should've been. I was able to argue the idiot down to $6, which was still too much. He had also lied and said that he had a meter (which all cabs are supposed to have, but few really do). I have to say that all my experiences with cab drivers have really soured me to the point that I try to avoid taking them as much as possible. However when you have 4 people, each with a lot of luggage, it's unavoidable. Well, our hostel was nice, we all shared one little room. It was in New Town, very close to where I had stayed before, so I was familiar with the neighborhood, which is very touristy with a lot of restaurants to choose from.
On Friday I had wanted to do a bunch of sightseeing. Originally we were going to go to Otavalo, the famous and largest indigenous market in Ecuador, about 2 hours bus ride away from Quito. But again, some people weren't feeling well, so we ended up taking it easy again. We went to the Central Bank Museum, the same one I went to on my first trip to Quito. The family liked it a lot, it has wonderful exhibits about the history of the indigenous people in Ecuador and their crafts. When we left the museum we discovered two unpleasant facts: it was pouring rain and there was a group of protesters blocking one side of the street. I suspect they were more anti-war protestors. After assessing the situation we quickly left the museum, walking in the opposite direction from the protestors and returned to our hostel. That night Dad and I went to a restaurant for dinner. Mom and Heidi weren't hungry. The food was good, but overpriced. However, they had wonderful juices. My absolute favorite is maracuya (passion fruit) juice. I also enjoy making this juice at home. That night I got sick from my soy burger. I wonder if it was from ghosts of my amoebas.
The next day, Saturday March 22nd we went to the airport to meet my brother Dave who flew in midday from Miami. He could only get one week off from work, whereas the others had a 3 week vacation in Ecuador. We returned to the hostel and then went out for lunch. That afternoon we did some sightseeing in Old Town and first went to the church and plaza of San Francisco, the oldest church in Ecuador, built in 1534. We went inside the ornate and gold-plated interior. Before arriving in South America, I had forgotten that Catholic churches tend to have many religious figures. This church was no exception, having many statues of saints and holy people. After walking around for a bit an Ecuadorian man in a tweed suit approached us speaking English. He said he was a tour guide and offered to show us the cathedral. We did so and he started to tell us about all the statues, figures, wood carvings and chapels. It was interesting. Like a typical Ecuadorian, wanting to take advantage of a prospective profitable situation, he then offered to take us on a tour around Old Town. I was wary of being ripped off and not sure if the family was interested. But they were, so we bartered on a price before we agreed to $14 for an hour tour (cheap by American standards, expensive by Ecuadorian). He took us to the Plaza de la Independencia, a cathedral nearby, the Governors House, a library ex-university, and the oldest houses in Quito (400 years). One hour went by fast. Also I ran into Pippa who's traveling with Louisa, Frank, Penny and a few other teachers during our spring break.
Later on, the family and I walked through parts of Old Town where they have a make-shift market, stalls and booths where people would sell anything from CD's to fly swatters. Then we went to a different market in New Town where we did a bunch of shopping and bought lots of Otavalan crafts. That night we prepared for our Galapagos cruise of 5 days and 4 nights. We needed to bring as little as possible so we consolidated our belongings into a few bags and left some at the hostel. Everyone had a carry on. My Harry Potter poster (in Espanol) was rolled into a poster tube so that the family could take it back home for me. One less thing for me to bring back after my years adventure in Ecuador. I will miss having it in my bedroom. Heidi says it will be taken good care of in her apartment until I return!
