Highlites and Lowlites on Ecuador

Now that we have been in Ecuador almost three months, I thought that it was time to explain some facts regarding living in this country and specifically the city of Cuenca.

When I was researching Ecuador I read a lot of BLOGS as I felt that they gave me a more realistic perspective than reading what professionals wrote in magazines like International Living. Not that the magazine writes untruths- I'm a fan- but people like me actually living here told me much more of those details in which I was interested. And now that there are others researching  and actually reading my BLOG, I'd like to return the favour.

Here are my findings on several topics;

Availability of certain things I can't live without
When we packed to come to Ecuador I brought Peanut Butter, Freezer Baggies ( hadn't been able to buy either in Italy) shampoo, conditioner, and face cream among other things.
I have found that I could buy all of these here though peanut butter was rather expensive- $7 for a 490gram jar. I even found hair colour for blondes, panty liners and depilatory cream- all items I cannot live without!

Drinking Water
In Salinas and most other parts of Ecuador( and most countries I have visited in general) we buy drinking water. In Cuenca as long as you live in a reasonably modern building, you can drink the tap water and we do with no adverse effects.

Buying vegetables/fruit at the Mercado( Farmers' market)
Both in Salinas and Cuenca, we go weekly to the Mercado to buy our fruits and vegetables. We soak  them for 5 minutes in a solution of  Kilol ( available in grocery store) a natural bacterial cleaner. We speak little Spanish but as long as you can point at what you want and understand numbers below 10, you will have no problem. We normally walk away with 2 large grocery bags for under $8.

Grocery Stores
We normally shop at Super Maxi ( there are many others) a large grocery store equal to any we have shopped at in the USA,Canada or Italy. We even have a discount card for sale items. The store carries any type of grocery including beer, wine, meats, fish, produce, dairy products, fresh baked goods, pharmacy items, cleaning products, detergent- even towels & pillows. In other words, anything you can buy at home you will find here at a lower price if you stick to local brands.

Restaurants
If you insist at only eating where the gringos eat you will pay gringo prices though even these are lower than at home. In Arizona, Uwe and I would have a pub lunch with wine or beer for approximately $30 ( $40 in Canada). Here we would normally pay for the same between $15-20. But if you go to an Ecuadorian restaurant and order their Almuerzo  ( a 3 course lunch consisting of soup, meat/fish with rice & veggies, dessert and juice) you would pay anywhere between $1.50 to $3 per person with an additional $1.50 if you ordered beer as well. There is also a great variety of restaurants such as Chinese, Indian, burger joints, Italian, pizza places and ,of course, lots of fast food places including KFC, Burger Chef etc.

Buses
We've taken buses in both Salinas and Cuenca. In Cuenca, there is even a great little colour coded booklet showing a guide for all the 29 different bus routes. We've taken buses at 25c each to all over town.  They come often- have never waited more than 10 minutes, usually much less- safe and go almost everywhere.

Taxis
Taxis are very cheap in both cities and safe in our experiences. In Salinas, $2 will get you almost anywhere and in Cuenca we have paid up to $4. Of course since we walk almost everywhere and take buses, our taxi experience in Cuenca is limited.

Personal Safety
Our favourite past time is walking. That said we have walked extensively in Salinas, Guayaquil and Cuenca and have NEVER felt uneasy, threatened or leery of our surroundings. In both Salinas and Cuenca we have walked home at night ( never later than 9PM because we are early birds not because we were worried) and again have never had a bad experience. That said, we do not go out late at night even when we lived in Phoenix and Collingwood and , as in all cities, there are places to avoid though we have yet to find them here- at least during the day.

Haircuts & Pedicures
It took me awhile to find a hairdresser that spoke English- she advertised that fact on her sign outside store. Regular looking Hair Salon- both Uwe and I had our hair cut there- $7 each - and a good job. I also had a pedicure- nice relaxing chair with attached warm water basin- much like in Arizona- nice foot massage and all for $10.

Ecuadorian People
In all three cities we have visited so far, we have found the people extremely friendly, helpful and welcoming. We do our best with our 2 word sentences to speak Spanish and they, in turn, do their best to understand and help us. While doing our daily walks, we often get stopped by those who speak English asking how we like their city- all are very proud of Cuenca as they should be. Those that only speak Spanish say  good morning to us. Cuencanos are also very outwardly affectionate. It is common to see married couples holding hands along with their children or even openly embracing on the streets. Young couples are always seen hugging/kissing as they walk along the river or hang out around the university.

Some Lowlites
Just so you do not think everything is rosy here are some cons. Stray dogs, though not very common in Cuenca, are everywhere in Salinas. Though not vicious, none are fixed and it is a sad sight to see so many unwanted dogs and puppies roaming the streets together. The sidewalks are major walking hazards other than downtown in Cuenca and along the malecon in Salinas. Always always look where you are going. Manholes are left open without covers, changes in height  ( up & down) occur without warning and dog poop is common( no one poop-scoops).

Dec.23- 25- Christmas in Cuenca

We seem to discover new sights in downtown Cuenca whenever we go there and at Christmas it was no exception. In beautiful Calderon Park was a huge Christmas tree decorated with all things Ecuadorian- Panama hats, local dress etc.

As well, many tempory stalls were set up around the church selling children's toys and Christmas cards

On Saturday, Christmas Eve, Cuenca has their annual Christmas parade called

El Pase del Niño Viajero which consists of miles of decorated vehicles with every child in and around Cuenca dressed up. Even the parade watchers are dressed up and hundreds of decorated horses and colourfully decorated young riders join along. The parade takes more than 6 hours to pass.

When we left our apartment at 9AM, several miles of decorated vehicles were already lined up along Av Gran Colombia, the street close to our home.

The parade had not yet started but everyone was already lined up ready to go. Uwe and I decided to walk along the parade and try to reach the beginning so we could see it start. We walked several blocks before it was reached and the closer we got the more people were lined up waiting for the procession to start.

It was a very colourful scene- with vendors selling toys

And cotton candy

Angels singing

All waiting for the parade to start

Finally it began led by a line of police on horse back. We stayed there and watched for awhile and then decided we could see more by walking along the parade route back towards it's end. As many people accompanied the parade by walking along side as were in the parade. So many cute little children all dressed up.

and lots of vendors selling food along the route including whole roasted pigs.

And such beautifully decorated horses and cute little senoritas astride

Uwe and I walked all the way to where the end of the parade still stood waiting to start- many many colourful trucks, cars whatever- all decked out for parade day.

By the time we walked back to our apartment, that part of the parade was just starting to move- yes, a very long parade.

That evening we went for a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner at the Secret Garden Restaurant- this time the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes http://jardinsecreto.webs.com/.
Joe & Joseph, pictured in our reservation below, were kind enough to reserve a table for us and four friends.

We had a wonderful feast lasting several hours.

Dec.22- Trip around the countryside outside Cuenca

On Thursday we hired Angel to take us to see  some sights outside Cuenca. We first travelling northeast up the Pan-American highway through Azogues past Canar to the Inca ruins called Ingapirca. It was about a 80 kilometer trip through some wonderful pastoral countryside.
                           Here we are high up overlooking wonderful scenery.

                      We had to drive the last few kilometers along a narrow potholed road

                                     And even there we saw some beautiful scenery

We finally got to Ingapirca, an Inca ruin dating back to the 1400's. Uwe and I walked for quite awhile admiring the old artifacts builts by the very talented mysterious Incas.

The whole complex from a distance.

Closer views of left over building walls

And one building left

And yet again, more great views from the site

When we left, the nearby village was having it's Christmas party in the school yard.

Little girls doing some traditional dances.

And proud parents watching

Next we went back south towards Cuenca stopping for lunch along the way. We had always wanted to try Cuy- guinea pig- a local favourite. Angel found a roadside stand where a cuy was on the barbecue and we ordered it for lunch.
                                      Here is the cuy turning on the barbecue

And here it is ready to eat on our plates.

We found it very difficult to get at any meat. I peeled off the skin though Angel ate his. Then you basically had to pick it up and eat with your hands. It tasted pretty good, like very dark duck or chicken meat. Just a lot of work for very little meat. Now obviously Uwe and I were not experienced in this at all as Angel ate every little bit- all he had left were bones!

After lunch we continued on, turning off the main highway towards the town of Gualaceo. We stopped at a place where local artesans still did natural weaving and dyeing of threads used.

Here are some of the weavers.

And it was explained to us how natural dyes were used to achieve the varied colours of thread.

We also saw how beautiful patterns of scarves, shawls etc were produced and we bought a beautiful cotton/silk very colourful shawl to use to decorate our new condo.

Next we drove to the  Ecuagenera Orchid farm- www.ecuagenera.com  Here a guide took us through the complex to explain how they farmed orchids.

First using mother plants, they fertilize and place tiny orchid plants in recycled bottles all labelled with type of orchid and date planted.

Many many bottles and the tiny plants stay in there for up to 2 years.

Then they get replanted into trays where in very humid conditions, they mature.

Into these magnificent colourful Orchids- many many variations. All the colourful ones were hybrids.

All with different scents- this one smelled like chocolate!

So many varieties- some with very large blossoms

And others with many many tiny blossoms

This was a very special educational and scenic stop- we both loved it.

Next we continued south through Chordeleg to the village if Sigsig where Panama hats are still made by hand. Yes, Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador.

Here is the world's biggest Panama hat

And the women who make them by hand.

Uwe and I definitly have to buy one before we leave Cuenca.

Dec.12 to Dec.18- Back in Cuenca

This week was pretty boring as far as posting in my blog however I do have a couple of interesting things to report.

First of all, while in Salinas we had  bought some living room furniture for our new condo. In order to get our amazing deal, the idea was that we paid all cash immediatly before delivery. This would not have been a problem except we could only withdraw a small amount out of the ATM per day. So the furniture seller gave us his name , bank account number & bank name and what I assumed was his bank ID so that we could deposit the remainder once we got back to Cuenca.

On Monday we went to the Bank of Guayaquil in Cuenca to do this- please remember that our Spanish is very limited. At that time, we just took a deposit slip back to our apartment to try to figure out which piece of information goes where.

What we had assumed was his bank ID ended up being his Cedula/national ID number and of no use on the deposit slip. We were confused as how to proceed as back home you needed a bank account number plus a branch/bank ID number in order to make a deposit to someone's account at another branch. I sent email queries out to several friends hoping someone had done this before and received the reply that here all you needed was the account number and name!

Next day we returned to the bank and , no problem, the computer matched his name and account number and our deposit went in.All that worry for nothing.

Later that week we went to a tile store that handled the brand of tile used by the contractor we had hired back in Salinas to renovate our condo. What fun that was!
We picked floor, wall and trim tile mixing and matching the many, many choices until we both agreed on which combination we liked best. All we had to do was write down the numbers and we will email our choices to Mike. Now all that was left to choose was our paint colour.

On Saturday we went for a wonderful fried chicken dinner at our favourite restaurant, The Secret Garden. There were  cocktails and mingling before dinner and we ran into a fellow Canadian who along with his wife had decided to settle in Cuenca after trying out many places. He even recognized our names as he is a reader of this BLOG- how great is that.

 As well, we also ran into another couple we had met at Thanksgiving. We had given them our email at that time but my printing was so bad that Cody couldn't figure out the correct address and therefore never got in touch. Hopefully we can maintain contact this time.
                  our new friends, Cody and Michael with Uwe and I.

Dec.5 to Dec.11- Trip to Guayaquil and Salinas

On Monday we went by car to Guayaquil. We had hired Angel at anhelp_68@yahoo.com to drive us. He picked us up right on time at 10AM in a very nice SUV and we started. Our trip took us through the Cajas National Park. WOW!!! What incredible scenery! After we left Cuenca, the landscape became more and more mountanous. I can only equate the scenery with Switzerland where I had been this summer. High mountains, green meadows, cows grazing, little farm buildings- totally idyllic.
                      Scenery before we entered Cajas Park

                  Once we reached the Park we went above the tree line further & further.

Until we actually arrived at the continental divide- rivers on the Ceunca side flowed to the Atlantic and rivers on the other side towards Guayaquil flowed to the Pacific.

We even saw lots of wild Llamas on the side of the road as we drove through the park.

This group even posed for us.

After an hour and a half of totally stupendous scenery along a very good road- do not miss this drive if you go to Cuenca- we arrived back down to jungle level.

We then drove another 1 1/2 hours through what could probably be called Ecuador's bread basket. We passed fields of cacao, rice, mangoes, sugar cane and many many banana farms.

Our driver then dropped us off at the Hampton Inn in downtown Guayaquil. I had made reservations for one night using my normal methods www.hotels.com and the hotel was modern, had a free breakfast and WiiFii.

Since we had a whole afternoon to explore, we headed once again to the Malecon- I just love it there. Very scenic, clean and so many things to see.

The next day we explored a bit of the city in the other direction- going down one of the main streets ' 9 de Octubre'

We ended up at a very pretty park and saw this local resident sunning himself.

After our condo closing later that afternoon ( yes, we bought a beach-front condo in Salinas) our good friend Eddie drove us back to Salinas where we were staying in our  new place. The next couple of days were very busy, meetings with a contractor to address renovations we wanted done, shopping for furniture, buying some small items so we could survive for a couple of days in the condo eg coffeemaker. Eddie took us furniture shopping at the nearby town of Atahualpa where all the artisans actually make furniture out of this amazing wood found only in Ecuador and where he helped get us a pretty incredible deal for a living room set which will be delivered once all our renovations are complete.

And of course we found time for our good friends Connie & Darvin and Edit & Gary- two couples that we had become good friends with while living in Salinas during October. One night we all went to dinner with drinks later at Connie & Darvin's condo.

And another afternoon for cocktails at our new condo.

At the end of the week, Eddie drove us back to Cuenca. We finally met his wife Paola, a dentist, who came with us as far as Guayaquil where most of her family lives.

This time the drive through the Cajas Mountains was foggy and rainy and we saw nothing until we crossed the divide. On that side the rain stopped and the sun actually came out and I was able to take a couple of scenic shots.

And we saw yet more wild Llamas

We arrived back in Cuenca later that afternoon, bought supplies- wine & beer- at Supermaxi and picked up a Pizza for dinner for the three of us. After spending the night in our apartment, Eddie left early Sunday morning for his long drive back to Salinas- see you at the end of January!