Into Ecuador

Nov. 29-30

The architecture alluded to in the previous post was the Cathedral that is famous for how it protrudes from the side of a canyon and has a bridge across the river below providing access to the opposite side of the canyon. There are areas that the original construction is visible but the majority of the building has been refurbished with a concrete parging then painted with a brick pattern to give it appearance of new fresh brick perfectly restored. Aside from this little detail the rest of the facility is all original including the stained glass windows and the numerous Angel statues. There was a service in progress while we were there so we could only sneak a couple of pictures inside.

On the way out we were surprised to find our bikes had company, two big BMW 1200GS’s had parked beside us. These are the first big bikes we have seen and they are Colombian to boot.  The owners Felipe and Carlos were on a two week road trip from their home in Bogota down  through Ecuador and into Peru. Great guys enjoying the countryside and their bikes, they were just heading into the Cathedral so we said our goodbyes with the expectation to see each other again at the border.

There are motorcycles under all that luggage.

Checking out of Colombia was a piece of cake, we parked on the sidewalk in front of the Aduana office then I went into the office expecting there to be a long line and a slow process. I was second in line and in about 5 minutes I was outside at the bikes with the Customs official, he looked at the VIN and then said we were done. Next was the immigration office for our passport stamps, which took a little more time as there was a line-up.  While in the line Felipe and Carlos showed up.

The next step is on the Ecuador sign in the reverse order, passport 5 minutes, bike importation 2 hours...They want copies of the passport stamps, copies of the SOAT insurance which we did not have the first time we made it to the front of the line. Argh...back across the street pay the $10USD for the insurance, back to the copy office, then finally back to the Aduana window and finally stamp stamp, we are done. It really is quite the system that none of the official offices have photo-copiers and we have to run back and forth. Oh ya, WE ARE IN ECUADOR!!

Now down the road in an effort to get to Ibarra or someplace close. We made it to a gas station in Tulcan, while filling up we noticed that it had gotten strangely cold, the sky had darkened and it looked as if we were in for a good soaking. Instead of pressing on and riding in the rain we went back into the center of town and got a Hotel room. I had inadvertently started an arguement between two front desk clerks at neighboring hotels. You see, I had gone into each hotel to get room information and they both thought I was taking a room from them, so when we pulled up on the bikes the ladies were waiting on the sidewalk to greet us. That is when the gig was up, they started arguing and looking at me with dismay. I could not understand the words but the body language and the cutting looks said the story. I closed the argument by pointing at one lady and saying Yes. She was happy and the other lady stormed off back into here hotel. The rain settled in shortly after we got the bikes unloaded and parked in the secure parking area around the corner from the Hotel. We wanted to try the Ecuador street vendors but the rain made us wimp out and eat in a restaurant, chicken and rice and potatoes, can’t go wrong with that.

The next morning we woke to a partially cloudy sky but no rain, so we were happy in our decision to stay put instead of riding in the rain. We had a short ride of less than 100km to Otavalo, which is famous for its Saturday market, and as today is Friday we are just in time. We decided to stay in Otavalo to see if this market lived up to its’ reputation and we were not disappointed. The vendors started setting up booths on Friday evening and it seemed that everyone had an assigned spot. There is an area where a permanent produce market is located and they have a roof over the entire place. In there we seen everything from fruits and nuts to veggies and pig heads, and of course no raw meat market would be complete without the smelly fish section. The street vendors that set up on the blocked offside streets were selling all kinds of crafts, clothing, household goods, and even artwork. We are once again limited on what we can carry so the artwork, even rolled into a tube, is not an option. Neither is the pottery, wooden masks, Indian head-dresses, hammocks, or blankets.

What we did find room for was a beautiful woven scarf for Brenda, if she can’t pack it she can wear it home. The market engulfed a large portion of the downtown streets but did not overflow into the central parks, they were all very tidy and the vendors very courteous without any high pressure sales which was nice, we could walk and look without having to say “No Gracias” a million times. We understand that they are all trying to sell their wares and make a few dollars but after a while the selling tactics wear thin, so it was very enjoyable to not be looked at as a cash machine. This is just more of the very polite and hospitable Ecuatorian culture. Brenda managed to find the smallest woman on the planet and we snuck a photo to prove it, the little lady was up to Brenda’s waist. I wonder what she thought of this extremely large female beside her?? The other thing we came to realize is that their short stature explained how they farm on the steep hills, if they are facing up the hill then they would not have to bend over to plant the crop. If you have ever shingled a roof you know what I mean, the steeper the roof the closer it gets. Then I seen what looked like a Hobbit, the man was barefoot (which alot of them are) but he had large feet and a large bulbous nose, combined with the traditional Ecuadorian hat and poncho he looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. Funny part is we are close to the Middle of the Earth. Too weird. So after enjoying the market for a few hours we loaded the bikes and rode off. We must have like the town more than expected because after about an hour of riding we were right back in Otavalo, we took the wrong highway and had to backtrack about 40km, then circle around a bit looking for the proper road, which we never did find. Finally we just settled for the main highway as we were running out of afternoon sun and wanted to get to Quito before dark, well just North of Quito to San Antonio.

The Sol Museo is in San Antonio, luckily we only traversed the North end of Quito and were able to not get sucked into the vortex of 10million people. We made it to the Museum just in time to catch the English tour and Brenda got to see the infamous water trick. In the Northern hemisphere the water drains counterclockwise and in the Southern hemisphere is drains clockwise. You guessed it, on the equator it does not spin in either direction, it just goes straight down with no swirling.

The same principal is also true for Hurricanes, tornadoes, and typhoons. At least that is what the guide was telling us, I will have to look that up the next time we get internet. Our guide showed us many things about the Ecuador ancestors and that even today there are still tribes that live the indigenous lifestyle of a world we long ago left behind. These tribes still live naked in the jungle with little or no contact with the outside world, they don’t care about all our problems with the economy, job stresses, retirement planning, education for our kids etc etc. They are just living in the day, hunting and gathering enough until tomorrow when they can do it all over again, and maybe just maybe go to war with the neighboring tribe. So really the same as us, just on a different level.

We found a nice hotel just down the street from the Museum and called it a day, almost, it was Sunday and means laundry. The hotel did not have a roof top laundrymat but they did have a terrace, so we used the shower in the room and hung the closes on a makeshift clothesline on the terrace. We were not worried about other guests using the terrace as we were the only ones in the hotel at the time. I did not feel like writing or watching TV so I decided to was the bikes, they have been a little neglected and were starting to turn heads for the wrong reasons. I asked Frank, the desk clerk/husband of the hotel administrator for an old floor rag. Frank and I had an awkward first meeting, when I was checking into the Hotel I used the usual line of “Pardon muy poco Espaniol” which I think means “pardon my little Spanish” which, to my surprise and delight, he replies “You speak English?” As it turns out Frank grew up in New York City and as he spoke a bit more I could pick up his NY accent. He was born in the South of Ecuador but his family of 10 moved to NYC when he was a teen and he only returned to Ecuador two years ago. So, while I was washing the bikes Frank came over for a visit and to offer that I could move the bikes up to the Hotel under the lights as it was now dark. I thanked him for the offer but said that if I have more light I will have to clean them better. We both enjoyed a chuckle before he went about his evening, I finished the bikes and noticed that Brenda’s skid plate was loose, I would have to tighten a couple of bolts in the morning when I could see better.