Ecuador September 28-September 30, 2010

Well, first of all, I'm disappointed because last night I was going to post to this blog and realized that there is no way to post pictures here from my iPad. Maybe they will come up with an app for that...anyway, for now you will only be getting words and I will update with pictures when I get back in the U.S.

Our first day of travel was pretty uneventful. We arrived in Houston on time and ate at Pappadeaux's thinking we would indulge in some seafood. But, we decided on a wedge salad instead because you're not supposed to eat fresh greens in Ecuador. Good choice, the wedge was wonderful.

We had an hour and a half layover in Panama City, Panama. The airport is small, but fairly modern, and nice. We spent our time just walking around looking in the shops. We arrived in Guayaquil a little bit late, but we had no trouble getting through customs (although the security guard didn't think I looked like my passport picture....does anybody look like their passport picture?), and Jessica was there ready to take us to her home.

After a good night's sleep, albeit a little short, we had a good breakfast of some sort of plantain concoction which was delicious, and a short visit with Jessica's son and daughter-in-law. Off to the airport again to pay for a future domestic flight, and then to the transportation service where we missed the noon van to Cuenca. For a little bit extra per person, we opted to take a private van that could leave immediately instead of an hour later. Not sure that was a great idea, only because we got a driver who was CRAZY and couldn't keep his eyes on this curvy, mountain road. Marsha and I, who have never been car sick EVER, both almost puked on the way. The drive is supposed to be one of the most scenic in Ecuador, but the clouds were so low that we couldn't see much. I tried to sleep, but every time I almost dozed, the driver jerked the wheel and jerked me awake. Finally, arriving in Cuenca a little late, our driver, who insisted that he "knows Cuenca well," couldn't find our condo and had to flag a taxi driver over and follow him to our destination.

At a small restaurant about 30 minutes
outside of Cuenca.

The clouds broke enough for us to see part of the
Cajas National Park

Judy and Allen, friends of my aunt and uncle, rented us their condo for the week, and it is absolutely gorgeous. It overlooks one of the three rivers that runs through Cuenca. It supposedly has trout in it, but they say they are difficult to catch. For one thing, the river is running pretty fast! Judy and Allen gave us a tour of the condo, and they were so warm and welcoming! We are just a couple of buildings over from about 100 stairs that we can climb and be just blocks from the main downtown plaza, so we dropped off our luggage and walked all over the downtown area. They had told us of a great little cafe that had great, typical Ecuadorian potato soup. So we went and all had the soup. It was delicious with a huge slice of avocado floating in it. Yummy!!! We walked back to the condo and got ready for bed. It gets really cold in Cuenca at night!!! There is no heater in the condo, so we piled every blanket we could find on the beds and finally fell asleep.

This morning, Thursday, when we got up, we learned that the police forces in Ecuador were staging an uprising and had forced the President out of office. What??? Surprise!!! Boy, do we know how to time our vacations! We got dressed and walked back to the plaza where we got up close and personal with the demonstration of the police in Cuenca. They were basically having a parade around the plaza. Honking, and yelling, and crowds. Marsha told me, "If you hear gunfire, hit the dirt." I think she was only half kidding.

We boarded a double-decker bus and took a two-hour tour of the city. It took us all around and then up to a famous look-out spot on the mountain which has a GREAT view of the whole city. Back down at the bottom, we caught a taxi to the Homberto Ortega Panama Hat factory. It was closed for the next hour, so we waited in the bus terminal and watched TV in Spanish, and was full of information about the demonstrations. President Correa was hospitalized because he suffered near asphyxiation from the tear gas that was thrown at him. We made our way back to the hat factory, and once there, went through the museum and then got to see the process by which the Panama hats are made. Panama hats are NOT made in Panama. They were exported first from Panama, but all Panama hats are made in Ecuador. It is a long process to make these hats, and the very nice ones can take up to six months to make! After the tour, we tried on hats in the store, and bought a couple to ship home to Marsha's relatives.

The lady at the hat shop told Jessica about a great restaurant that serves typical Ecuadorian food. They sell meat by the pound!! We had some wonderful corn on the cob and a couple of other side dishes that I can't remember their names. It was served with a great picante sauce that we put all over everything. Then came our pound of pork that had been grilled on a pit outside the restaurant. It was thin, and delicious! We also got to taste a tomato that grows on a tree! It was quite sour, but was really good. We caught a taxi back to the condo, and had a cup of hot tea.

Throughout the day, we've learned that most of the major airports in Ecuador are closed, and we are hoping that the police demonstrations will die down by the time we need to travel to Quito on the 7th. Until then, we are going to stick to our plans and have a great time here where the food is great, the weather is perfect, and the people are friendly.