Around Cuenca

16-Jan-2003 - Got up and did the usual. The first thing we did was drop off our laundry, and then went to get breakfast at El Pavón Real; the pancakes were pretty good. The next thing we did was walk to the airport, to investigate tickets to Quito for the next morning. The TAME office said that they were full, but if we showed up in the wait line, that we would not have a problem.

We spent the bulk of the day exploring Cuenca. Cuenca is a very pleasant city, with a small town feel even though it is the third largest city in Ecuador. Unlike many of the cities that we've seen, Cuenca was relatively free of litter. With its very elegant colonial Spanish architecture and immense churches and cathedrals, one might think that we were in Spain (except for the fact that every financial institution from banks to the local Western Union have guards with pump action shotguns). Today was market day, so the markets were in full swing, so that was pretty neat even if the markets were targetted for locals for the most part. There were also some Inca ruins in the city, though they were nothing compared to what we've seen in Peru.

More ruins in Cuenca

Come the evening, we got our laundry and got good Mexican food at the El Pedregal Azteca. While they did not open on time, the food was quite good, and worth the wait. Since the TAME flight we were planning to take was leaving at 8 AM the next day, we got to sleep early.

17-Jan-2003 - Got up early, and got moving. The hotel said that hot water is normally turned on at 6 AM but we made a special arrangement to have it on earlier, and the people came through (Yay Ecuador!) We got to the airport, and got into the standby line for TAME, and someone approached us from another airline, Icaro, saying that they had space on their 8:15 flight, so we ended up taking it.

While going through the process, one can't help but be reminded how flying in South America is like how flying was in the USA in the mid eighties; they still use paper boarding passes and the system appears to be quite informal, but most importantly, the experience is much more pleasant. Down here, they don't screw you over if you don't buy tickets at the last minute. It seems amazing that flying can be so nice here and that in the USA, where everyone flies everywhere, the airline industry is in shambles. The more I think about it, the more and more I am opposed to the US government bailing out the incumbants. Let Adam Smith's invisible hand lay the smackdown on these decrepid, aging dinosaurs.

The other thing that we were contemplating was the name of this airline, Icaro. This name is clearly a Hispanization of Icarus, a mythological figure who flew with wax wings. The only catch was that Icarus flew too high, and his wings melted...

Quito; around Parque La Alameda

We arrived in Quito at about 9 AM. We got our luggage and went next door to TropiBurger (a local fast food place) to figure out our lodging plans. While outside, we got approached by a couple shoeshine boys. Curious this shoeshine boy phenomenon that seems common in every country that we've been to, I wonder how far away they can be found.

We took a taxi to the Residencial Marsella, which seems to be a nice place. My first impressions of Quito have been positive; it seems like a reasonably clean and modern place. After taking a breather, we headed out.

We walked up through the park and past an observatory that is supposedly the first observatory built by Europeans in the New World. We got a bite to eat for lunch and decided to check out El Mitad Del Mundo.

0? latitude; El Mitad Del Mundo

El Mitad Del Mundo (The Middle of the World) is a monument built an hour's bus ride north of Quito directly on the equator. After we got off the bus, there is a long walkway to an obelisk/viewing platform. There is also a line marking where the equator lies. The place is also crawling with tourists. The puzzling thing about the place is while it is exactly on the equator, it doesn't lie anywhere interesting on a longitudinal basis. We hung around there for a bit and headed back to Quito.

Once back in Quito, we went back to the hotel and then went to the bus station to investigate rides to Otavalo for our day trip the next day. The busses turned out to be pretty regular. We then looked up a place to have dinner (we wanted to get Ecuadorian food), took the trolley and a taxi there, but for some reason the place was closed, so we went to a good Thai place instead.

Straddling two hemispheres...

18-Jan-2003 - Got up and had breakfast at the hotel. We took the trolley down to the bus station and boarded a bus bound for Otavalo. The ride took about two hours, part of which was spent watching Warner Bros. cartoons in Spanish.

We arrived at Otavalo at 11 AM and spent a few hours exploring the immense market. The market was not much different than the ones we've seen before, with the exception of the size. The market was immense; it covered several blocks. I ended up purchasing a rug and an ornamental sword. We also got lunch at a local pizzeria, and I also had my fortune told by a monkey (the monkey reached into a box and pulled out cards that had the fortune). Funny part was that two of the fortunes were the same. Incompetant monkey.

According to my guidebook, there was supposed to be a cockfight at 3 PM but apparently the time was off; the cockfight was at 7 PM. Rather than stick around, we got on a bus at 4 PM and headed back to Quito.

Once back in Quito, we went back to the hotel to drop our stuff off, set out for dinner. We took the trolley up to Mariscal, Pradip got money out of an ATM, paid me back for the plane ticket, and we went across the street to get dinner. The restaurant was called "La Jaiba", and we both had rice dishes. We then went down the street and had a few drinks at a bar that would not be very out of place in the USA. Then we got a cab back to the hotel.

Otavalo

19-Jan-2003 - Slept in, got breakfast and set out to explore the old town. I also got my first experience with robbery.

The old town of Quito

On the way down to the old town, three guys steped out and jumped me by complete surprise. The next thing I knew was that they were trying to take my day bag. However, they wern't armed and I was able to keep a very tight grip on my day pack, and it took two of them to hold me down, and they failed to pry the strap out of my hands. After a few seconds when a crowd started to form, and a bus pulled up, they gave up and ran off.

I came out of the situation with my day pack and just a few minor scrapes. We found some cops and we explained what happened and we all walked town to the scene, and the cops talked to a few of the shopkeepers. We told them that I didn't lose anything, but I later would realize that they got my watch.

As much as I would have loved to have seen those guys physically mutilated, I for the most part came out of the situation without really losing my cool, though Pradip was pretty shaken, since the incident took place in broad daylight. But we both decided that the best way to continue would be to just go about the rest of the day normally.

We took the trolley down to the old town, and explored the major plazas (Plaza Santo Domingo, Plaza San Francisco, and Plaza de la Independencia), and also went up to the top of El Panecillo, a hill where a statue of the virgin Mary resides. Interestingly, there were these large steel girders scattered around the area. Apparently, an elaborate Christmas contraption collapsed the last Monday. I bought a new cheap watch and for lunch, we got empanadas at Cafe Modelo. After that, we went back to the hotel, where I wrapped up my rug and ornamental sword so it could be checked on the plane. We also filed a police report (just to do our civic duty, not because we expect anything to happen), and got dinner at the Rio Amazonas, which in a way was like a diner. I had a hamburgesa grande, which was weird in that it was two hamburgers on a hot dog roll. After dinner, we caught a bus back to the hotel.

Once at the hotel, we took it easy for the rest of the evening. We bought some water, packed things up, and goofed off for the rest of the evening. We finally sat down to translate the cards that had my fortune one to our eerie surprise, one of them mentioned the possibility of a robbery. Weird.

20-Jan-2003 - Got up at 5 AM, got ready, and got our taxi to the airport shortly after 6 AM. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:40, but the flight was delayed, so they put us on an earlier flight at 7:40. Given that they searched my bags (and my package that my rug resided in), and having to go through Ecuadorian passport control, it made for one hair raising hurry...

Let me add how much I despise going through customs and passport control. I understand why customs is necessary, but I fail to grasp why it is necessary to go through fancy procedures when leaving the country. Hey Ecuador (or Peru, or Bolivia, or Korea, or Japan, or any other country that does the same thing), get a clue! I'm leaving your country! You don't have to deal with me anymore! We don't need to do that in the USA, why do you? (Then again, the USA makes up for it by having the most irritating incoming procedures that I have ever seen, like requiring incoming passengers collect their luggage, going through customs, and rechecking it all...)

Despite the hurry, we made our flight and soon we departed the land of warm weather and cold showers, bound for the land of cold weather and warm showers (and toilets that always have seats, and plumbing systems that can deal with toilet paper, and where things always run on time...)

Despite all of this afore mentioned negativity and irritations, and despite Bolivian altitude sickness, crooked Peruvian travel agents, Ecuadorian hoodlums and a case of the shits of mysterious origins, my visit to South America was a success. From the mysterious Inca ruins to sprawling markets to tiny busses packed with campesinos, this was definately a trip to remember.