Downtown Valentine’s day, Shot from Turi, a town overlooking Cuenca, a few shots of Azogues (one of the very many trips to get my residency). Then dessert at Tutto Fredo, a few dinners, and a picture from Banos town looking down on my Apartment building.
There is too much to say about that in one sitting. Dead laptop for a few months, busy with traveling, finding a new place to live…. it has been crazy! In the next few posts, I will try to put up as many pictures as possible to give you a sense of things I’ve done. There won’t be much text. You have any questions, just post a comment!
A trip to Saraguro (tried Cuy aka guinea pig), Loja and Vilcabamba. The Asheville of Ecuador (hippies). Stayed at Vilcabamba Hotel. Very nice. Runs about $50 a night incl. breakfast.
One of the places I have really wanted to go see is the Pumapungo Museum. I finally got to that yesterday! The building is 4 stories, but it felt a bit sparse. I found the pottery quite interesting as it went way back in time, but most of it was in the 1400-1700 year range. I had hoped to see more Inca artifacts or more from the Canari people that preceded the Inca. I did really enjoy taking the slow walk through the various exhibits. The best part came when I finished. I went outside and walked through the huge dig site.
I love history. I read all I can. I have had a love for history for decades. I thought I knew a lot about the Incas. I didn’t. Yes, sure I know a lot about the various “Kings” and battles, dates etc. I know the main King with all the plans was named Tupac. Yes, seriously! But until you see the layout of the Inca capital, located in Cuenca, and built on the previous city of the Canari, you don’t have a true picture.
I would prefer to draw it out, but words will have to do. First, the chosen location. Cuenca is located in a valley surrounded on all sides by extremely tall mountains. That makes the valley safe and isolated. In the middle of this valley, there is a large hill. This high ground gives a 360 view of the surrounding mountains, but also of the valley itself. There are 4 rivers that flow through the valley, and right next to the hill. The valley is fertile land and can grow various crops year-round. The temperature is basically 72 degrees every day of the year. It is perhaps one of the most perfect locations in the world to grow and thrive. Too high for mosquitoes to live, so it was pretty disease-free.
Beyond the physical location, the way of life and the detail of the planned community was amazing. The Incas were extremely wealthy. But what does wealthy mean? How about for starters, no hunger? They had a network of brilliant storage faculties that would hold food for many years and not spoil. They kept about a 6-year food supply on hand at all times. If one area of the empire had famine, the resources were sent to take care of them. While they were a war-like society, it was based on an amazing pre-planned vision. The armies would go to various territories and offer to have them part of the empire. Most communities agreed, but those that didn’t were killed. They were offered education, food, a place to market their goods and security. The downside is they were required to provide workers for various projects. The constructed one of the largest road systems in history. It was about 14,000 miles worth of roads, much of which was in extreme mountain areas of the Andes. These roads provided a communication network, the ability for commerce, rapid troop deployment, etc.
Back to the Capital design! Around the valley floor encircling the hill would spread village huts. Circling the hill was a series of micro-farms.
You can see int his picture the circle of the micro-farm, Yes, the pathway is now paved for tourists to get close. You can see that each micro-farm had an assortment of crops and were tended by a group of families. Various animals were also kept in these areas. These circled the base of the hill.
Going up the hill, the next ring that encircled the hill about halfway up was a series of storage houses and army barracks. The buildings were rectangular and the basic same size.
The next area nearest top was a grouping of buildings that housed women, They provided weaving skills, crafts, and the daily duties to support the top level.
The very top kept the Scientists, the Priests as well as the noble class. There was an area that measured the stars and the locations of various outposts and villages outside this valley. They had a great understanding of Astronomy and used it in the layout of construction. They took into account daylight, moonlight, star location, etc. when planning. Yes, they held sacrifices. Primarily children. A concept that goes back thousands of years all over the world. Abraham was told to sacrifice his son. He was going to do so because it was part of the culture up until then. They did not appear to have massive sacrifices like the Mayans or Aztecs but did have their share. They worshiped primarily the Sun. Many sacred locations are found on mountain tops, as they felt it helped them communicate with their God better.
Also along the sides of the steeper areas are terraced. These are also for food and paths for walking.
The is a central set of ovens near the top. These ovens are about 20 feet or so across. they contain man-made bricks as well as extremely precise stonework. Food was cooked for the entire upper community in these ovens or massive BBQ pits. Here are top and side views.
For the ancient world, they achieved peace, wealth and health unknown throughout the rest of the world. They had massive amounts of gold and silver, however, they didn’t use this for money. They really didn’t have money. The closest things that could be used outside of bartering was beautiful necklaces and metal “scrapers”. That is my word for it. They look like the scraping knives that tanners use for animal hides.
The gold and silver were basically used for art. They decorated houses, objects, clothes, etc with it. If you had walked through the hilltop back in the day you would have seen gold decorating doorways, walls, as well as endless statues and art pieces.
Gold, in particular, was associated with the Sun God due to its everlasting brilliance and never tarnish. Art and worship were nearly one and the same.
After my afternoon of exploration, I decided to check off one of the restaurants on my list. I made a stop at Terra Luna. It could be called either a very late lunch or early dinner as it was just after 3PM. They were open and I got to be the only person there for a while. It was delicious!
Andrea was my waitress and her English was quite good. She is a recent immigrant from Venezuela so we had a lot of notes to compare moving to Cuenca. The owner, Gerardo is an extremely friendly and pretty funny guy. The place is spotless (I saw in the kitchen) and the food was as good as anywhere. I have King Prawns. YUM!!
This was the view from my balcony, facing away from the city. The area you see is a minor suburb. This to notice?
Watch the bottom right corner. Observe those people. Around 25-sec mark they light a fire. It is custom here to have bodies in effigy. It could be a politician, a relative… whoever they want to burn out the old year with. Once the fire is it, they will jump over it. If they make it, it will be good luck in the coming year. If they don’t, well… perhaps some ointment and bandages?
Also, notice the fireworks are all over the place. While there is a major display downtown, virtually everyone has fireworks. Many sound like big explosions. The fireworks went on from around 8 PM until 1 AM. Car alarms everywhere from the force of concussion of some of them. There were probably 20,000 of those bonfires around the area.
To my dismay, I discover that I now need an FBI crime report. Understand that before I came I checked several times with the attorney as to what I needed and the specific report needed. I was informed that the county I lived in the past 6 years or more was where to go. SO I did, And I had it legalized, and went to Raleigh to get an Apostille. But now it’s changed. Now I need an FBI report. When I was still in the USA, no problem. Cost about $16 and peace of cake. But now, being out of the country, the cost is $65, PLUS the apostille of $195 PLUS international shipping. So now I have to come up with about $300.
So now what? I need to get fingerprints taken that will be accepted by the FBI. If they reject, I have to pay again. There is also a time limit. In about 5 weeks my Visa runs out, and without that report, I will have to leave! No pressure!
I try to find out where I can get this done. I discover the FBI has an office in Bogota, Colombia! So I check flights. This time of year, around the holidays with no notice? Over $2000! Nope.
After days of research and discussion, I jump in a taxi with an address in hand. I arrive and of course, no one speaks English. I whip out my translator and we have a back and forth until they eventually send me away. I go to two more places with the same result. Just as I am leaving, someone hands me a paper with yet another address. Off I go! I arrive at the “Criminalista”. Looks promising!
I arrive to find a line and the office closed. This is about 2:30PM. So I wait, enjoying the beautiful weather. I notice a crystal clear sky with puffy clouds.
The guy shows up and about 8 people flood in. Turns out that five are there on appointments for some sort of national ID, and it takes 1/2 hour each. The FBI guy tells me to come back manana at 3pm.
Of course, I come back the next day at 2:30 being compulsive on time kind of person. I wasn’t there but 5 minutes when he came and opened up. Another guy was having a fit because I was being taken first. I understood the argument! Progress! The FBI guy explained how I had been there before and it was 2 days now, and I was going first! But… nowhere around was a pen with black ink, needed for the form. When will I learn to expect the unexpected? So he leaves and comes back nearly 20 minutes later with a black ink pen. Off we go stamping my fingers in ink. One at a time, each hand, then 4 fingers at once, thumb again, etc. This went on for two copies. My hands were an inky mess! While he signs and stamps I go into his bathroom. No soap. No warm water. No towels. No toilet paper! I find a slip of paper on the floor and wipe best I can. I then put my hands in the back pockets of my pants and scrub them semi-clean.
When I got here, got my place and was ready to start my new life, I needed a ton of stuff. All those things that accumulate in your life, I had left behind. I needed cleaning supplies. I needed soap. I needed toilet paper! And choosing those things on brands you never heard of is tough. What is going to work well? We have had years of experimentation deciding if you like Scott tissue or some generic paper. We already know if Irish Spring leaves us to itchy, or if Dove soap is to lotion-y. The little things we take for granted are all new explorations. Choosing ” Familia AcolchaMax Megarollo” is NOT an easy decision!
But even before that begins, the big question is WHERE do you go. I will break down for you the stores that will compare the most with what we are used to.
MegaMaxi- This is basically a large shopping mall. The one near me (about 8 minutes by cab) is Mall del Rio. Yep, you guessed it… Mall by the River!
A close cousin is the Millennium Plaza. It is near downtown, It is 2-story also, but smaller. The beauty of it is the English speaking movies. That was a whole other experience I will have to write about! It also has a great smelling Papa John’s Pizza!
The next one to mention is Coral Centro. It is kind of like a Super Walmart. It has 3 floors of department store like products and a food section. I am not crazy about the place. It reminds me of a rummage store. The food is “eh”. Edible but not tasty. The bakery puts out an inferior product. The fruit is not the best. The place is always busy because it is convenient, but nothing special for me at all. Too bad, since I live 2 blocks from it. No pictures!
Then there is the SuperMaxi! It is like going to a Krogers/Wegmans/Harris Teeter type store. Great if there are American brands you can’t live without. Just keep in mind it will likely cost you 2-4 times as much as you are used to! How about a bottle of Prego spaghetti sauce (on sale for $1.79 there) for nearly $10? Yep, you can get Hershey’s, Kellogg’s, etc. But be prepared to pay through the nose. Corn Flakes… $5 a box? On the other hand, the place has the best bakery I have seen! The bread is amazing. The meat is priced great. 2 lbs of 80/20 burger for $1.65? It is hard to go wrong there though. I suggest using it at first until you sort out local replacements. It will take some time to get your grocery shopping figured out. I’m 7 weeks in and still working on it.
I HAVE to tell you about the milk! An entire aisle for milk. And it is on the shelf, warm!
Yes I know, I mentioned milk before… But I am still in awe!
Now if you want to shop locally, go to one of the Tiendas (local grocery stores about as big as a room). You can also go to the daily “Farmers Markets”. They have freshly butchered meats, fish brought up from the coast and all manner of fruits and veggies. When you sort that out you will save a ton of money. I’m still trying to figure out how to go and be able to carry everything from place to place.
You can also stop and sidewalk carts, stalls, and even wheel-barrows. The best strawberries I have seen were sitting in a wheel-barrow tended by a native woman. You will also pay pennies for things there. It may be the lowest end of the food chain in cost and overhead, but the food is generally raised by them or their families.
YOU can bargain as well. I am not comfortable with it. Not because I am shy, but rather I am aware of the value to me, and what they ask is more than fair. On the other hand, it is truly a disservice to the economy if you don’t honor local pricing so I am torn. I am not alone. It is a typical dilemma when you come here. Keep in mind though, the Spanish word for business is Negocio. That explains a LOT about how things are done here.
You can spend over $100 a week here if you want to really blow a budget. But if you are careful about your money, you can live off $25 a week, and be eating fresh, local, totally organic fruits, veggies and meats. A third alternative is just to go out and eat. It sounds like another topic!
I have been so busy and lost my internet a while, I haven’t made any entries for a while. No possible way can I catch up at once so I’ll just start with what is top of mind! This will likely be more of a stream of consciousness thing.
I have taken a lot of pics recently so I will work them in. This very minute, my “team” of house cleaners arrived! They come every Wednesday at 11 am and spend a few hours scrubbing the place down. When they first arrived (on a recommendation of the building maintenance guy) they wanted $20… 2 people for two hours. I gave them a $10 tip, so that has been the going thing the past month and a half. Today is Dec 23, so I plan to give them a $20 each extra Feliz Navidad gift.
They are always happy, smiling and laughing so it is a highlight of my week.
I mentioned I lost the internet… well, the truth is, the internet has SUCKED since they installed it. It goes out all the time and half the time it is slow as snails. Paying $100 for business class fiber optic didn’t seem to be working out for me! I tried to let them know, sent them speed reports etc. But finally, it went down for good. I raised hell. Not the best thing to do here, but I was pretty upset. In this rare case, it actually got their attention. They sent two people out the next day. More in a minute on that.
So when the internet went out for good on a Friday morning, I foresaw a dismal weekend since everything I do seems to be related to the internet. So I decided to go check into the Hotel Cuenca downtown for the weekend. I had a great time! I did a lot of walking those two days. Here are some pics of that.
Those are from Saturday evening. There was a ton of various church services, with Christmas plays, singing, and a zillion young girls dress in white dresses and wings walking around.
The next day I got up, showered and went for another walk. I hung out in a park for a while, then went to lunch.
Sunday night I decided to eat in the hotel restaurant. It was dead since most everyone had been partying, shopping etc for the past few days and we’re all home with family. It was a great dinner. Beautiful place.
I had emailed a few people before I left the USA to ask about various properties I would see on the internet. You need to realize there are a couple of pricing tiers. There is the “live like a local” pricing that will get you a tiny (yes, tiny) apartment with an outdoor wash rack and minimal space. These can be found from 150-300 a month. Decent and cheap, not a bad way to go. No real amenities or much in the way of security. If you want to live on around $800 a month or less, this is a good way to go. Not the way I wanted. I am spoiled and prefer not to give up my comfort. The next tier is the upper-class local price. The third tier is the “new in town gringo who doesn’t know better” pricing. It doesn’t take long in your search to figure that out fast. You see, rentals are quite inexpensive compared to the USA. What I currently live in would be $1500-$3000 a month in most parts of the USA. You will find out soon, be patient!
I gave Brandon a “Hello I made it, and am ready to look” email. He was one of the people I emailed the few months before I came. We made an arrangement to meet up. Brandon is an American in his 20’s I would guess, who came to live here when his parents moved here. He has been here a few years and speaks decent Spanish. His girlfriend of the last year, Alexandria was driving as they picked me up at the arranged spot. We planned to see three apartments that afternoon.
The first one was nice. The entrance was a bit off-putting but nothing bad. We rode up the elevator a few floors and came to this nice apartment in an unfinished building. A lady met us there. It was her place and she had to rent ASAP as she had to leave town. It was furnished but it was extremely tiny. Yes, I know. I beat that word to death. But it’s true! The people here tend to be smaller, hovering around 5 feet something, and therefore everything is built for them. Chairs are too low. Toilets are too low. I can close my eyes and imagine how an NBA player feels in our world.
It was a nice apartment, but I wasn’t feeling it. On to the next.
This next one was very very nice. It was in a nice quiet street but near everything. It had a fingerprint security gate and a beautifully landscaped building. Wide modern entrance and a few steps up to a very nice apartment. We looked at two-bedroom and a three-bedroom. It was nearly what I wanted. I would have been very happy there. The furniture was OK, and the price was around 650.
We go to the last one of the day. We approach a large building that in fact turns out to be four-building surrounding a courtyard. It is all nearly new build. A nice entrance, and a lobby with a very pleasant armed security guard in uniform. He waves us through, knowing why we are there, and we step out into a beautiful huge outdoor courtyard with benches. You just want to run over with a cup of coffee and chill!
Courtyard inside the four towers
We proceed along the walkway past a few businesses including a bakery shop, to a card-required entrance. With a wave of a blank white card, the door clicks open. From here I can see into the gated indoor parking garage as well. I notice a keypad on the wall with a speaker. I learn later there is a code. After security clears your guest by calling you and announcing them, he lets them in. But then to get past the next door, they must enter a code so you can buzz them in. No one is getting into this place!
We enter the building and there are a few elevators. Brand new, fast and quiet. A real quality feels to them. I like that because I never wanted to die in an elevator. We ride up to the seventh floor. There are nine in total, ten if you count the extra areas. We step out into a wide hall and there is the place. We open the door and I swear I heard trumpets. The furniture wasn’t me, and everything has a high-end look at an average quality construction. But it was perfect. It was large, three-bedroom and two baths. One bedroom I could use for an office for this sort of thing (blog) as well as a book I may never finish, and some online consulting work. I felt it right away. It was far from downtown, but I didn’t care. As a bonus, the brand new Tranvia due to open in June 2016 is two blocks away. That means ride downtown or across town will be $.25, quiet, clean and fast. Sweet! Lots of arguments here about if it will ever be finished.
Cuanto es? (how much?) $500 a month plus utilities. A total of around $700/mo incl. fiber internet lights gas etc. I see it as a score. I leave but I knew I wanted it. Maybe an hour later or less, I announce I want it for sure. I also realized that a one-bedroom would have never cut it, so I went back to the B&B and told him I wouldn’t be looking at his place. I also paid him his rate for the few days I stayed there. Brandon rushed everything for me and I was able to sign the lease and move in the next day.
For the first time since I arrived, I felt like I was home.
The flight was less than an hour. The seats were intended for someone maybe 5 feet tall and 90 pounds. The isle was not intended to walk down. Tiny is the word for that flight. But it was the last hurdle after a year of preparation and anticipation. I couldn’t see out any of the windows. It was dark. You see, the sunrise and sunset are exactly the same every day of the year, so by 7 PM, it is dark. We land, taxi and come to a halt. People are trying to find ways to teeter in the isle and get their bags from overhead. No one can breathe. At long last, the door opens and people start squeezing through the opening. It was a bit surprising to find a rolling ladder at the door and an outdoor walk to the terminal. Not good or bad, just surprising. We line up at the baggage carousel. It was tiny. Maybe 15 feet long and a sharp turn back. You could watch them pull up and toss the bags through. I am standing there waiting as if in a trance. It had been a long few days, and I was beat. I had eaten almost nothing and still was weak from my medical stuff. Added to that was the ever-present lack of oxygen. In researching, I was aware of it but hadn’t thoroughly grasped the idea. I mean, we were at an altitude that if you are a pilot you go on oxygen or risk passing out. The slightest movement causes you to gasp for air. Add to the fact that over the previous few years of inactivity I had blown up to the size of the good year blimp, it was taking its toll.
My bags come around and I muscled them off. And I’m exhausted again. But I have to walk. I pile my bags on a cart (all four of them) and start moving in the direction of the crowd. We turn a corner and see a rope line with hundreds of welcoming spectators. Some held up signs, others smiling and waving. Flowers were in many arms. On any other day, it was a sweet sight. But here I am, lacking a single muscle in my out of shape body, struggling with a few hundred pounds of luggage while feeling like a guppy flopping around out of the water. It was hard to be excited when you feel like you are dying. Tunnel vision and the “eeeeeeeeeeee” sound in my ears, I plod onward. I am looking for a short dark-haired girl that was going to meet me. Do you remember my friend that had recently moved to Cuenca? She agreed to meet me with her uncle at the airport and transport me to a B&B downtown.
In my planning, I also looked for places I would live. I found that there are many nice places for a good price. One of these was a condo in a high rise on the same property as the Hotel Oro Verde. The upside was it was in a great location. The downside was it was a one-bedroom. But I had talked to the owner, who was an ex-pat American with an Ecuadorian wife. She owned this little B&B downtown. He offered to allow me to stay there basically for free for a few days while we got a chance to go see it.
There on the line is the girl I was looking for, holding this long, purplish dried flower as a welcome gift. While normally I would have really appreciated the gesture, I start off my first contact in Cuenca with an indifference. My body language probably read…”Oh great, what am I suppose to do with this? I can barely handle the stuff I’ve got now! Where do I put it? What do I do with it? Do I pretend and make a fuss?” Yep, there I am, being welcomed by people and I’m probably being an ass. I will say this one last time (that is likely a lie!) I was trying to survive. I was so damn weak, tired and worn down I could barely put one foot in front of the other. They hustle me outside to look for the car. I nearly took a dive off the high sidewalk because I was so out of it. The short dark-haired friend saved me from a face plant.
They both seemed more than understanding and helped me each step of the way. We loaded up the car… or rather the uncle did, and I fell into the back seat. Since the plane arrived I really hadn’t seen anything except my feet. I have no idea what the airport looks like, and the drive to the B&B was without awareness. I tried to explain I had no idea what to do with the flower but thank you for the thought. You can imagine how it went over. It sucked knowing someone tried to do something nice and it was basically blown off and you were doing the blowing. I couldn’t help it. Not now, not feeling as I did. Looking back it was a really nice 5-foot tall dried flower and would look great in my apartment. But to top off my rudeness, I forgot it and left it at the B&B. Kill me now.
We arrive and struggle with bags to the place. I am welcomed again, and shown a room… up a flight of stairs. What the hell! The stars are aligned against me! I don’t want to completely expose the extent of my total lack of manhood at that point, so I start wresting one of the large bags up the stairs. I get to the top and into the tiny room and I am so dizzy I am about to fall over. The rest of my stuff appeared and I am ready to pass out. I am not sure what happened next but people started disappearing. I recall talking to my friend then it is morning. At some point, I had just fallen asleep. This plague of weakness stayed with me for over a week.
I survey my surroundings. I am in the tiniest of rooms (yes, we continue with the tiny theme).
The next day I awoke to this bed, covered in about 50 blankets, all kicked off to the side.
Luggage stacked, I start pulling them apart to look for towels, toothbrush etc. I gather up my stuff and realize I am wearing it again. Gasping for air that doesn’t exist. I feel every bone aching and each movement a chore. I hobble out into the hall down to the community bathroom and try not to fall over the railing to the room below. It was wide open in the old Spanish style. The bathroom is a tiny room with a toilet, and outside next to it is a glass door to a tiny shower. The entire ceiling of the upstairs was essentially a sunroof. I get my shower which totally used up what little energy I had. I hobbled back to the room and dropped into the chair. Now what?
The man had shown me a little basket with 3 or 4 teabags made of coca leaves. He suggested drinking some tea as it relieves nausea from the altitude. I figure when I get my next round of energy I would give that a shot. But first, it is time to regroup and plan out my next moves. They were already planned actually so it was to review the plan. Step one… get a phone chip so I had communication with the world again. Step two, open a bank account so I could stop carrying around so much cash. Step three, find a place to live. Step four, meet with my lawyer and hand over the paperwork I brought with me.
My friend shows up, having taken a day off work to assist me. We walk (oh my God yes, we walked!) up the street in search of a bank and a phone place. We stopped at a bank. I took a number and waited. Our turn came and we lacked a document. She left to go get it and I stayed. I stayed because I couldn’t walk anymore at that moment. I wish I had drunk the tea! She came back and we get a new teller, and he has a whole new list of requirements. We leave and try another bank… their list was even longer! We hiked around in circles for a while and then I decided to just get the phone going. So we make our way to the phone place. “Movistar” is the company. No, it isn’t movie star as in the movie. It is movi as in movile as in mobile phone. So there we are, choosing a plan and handing over documents. After a few hours, I get my phone working. The speed of service is not a thing here, and you need to get used to it and accept it with a smile. Remember, you are the foreigner here. Things work just fine for them and it is the way it is. Things don’t need to make sense. Just roll with it and you will be much happier.
Day one… just a phone. Nothing else. It felt like a failure. I fall asleep early, wake up to the tiny shower, and managed to drink the tea. It did help. It removed constant nausea and even helped me breathe a bit better. I was still a mess, but it helped.
The next few days I managed to meet with my lawyer. He took me to a bank and talked them into opening an account. I got rid of half my cash and felt better. He took all my documents. We had a good time meeting and talking, and his lawyer buddy drove us around. Keep in mind all he was paid to do was receive the documents. The driving me around, helping with the bank etc were all just kind gestures. People here tend to be very kind and generous. Even if it is a dried flower.
I planned for months. I have my special Samsonite bags. I have packed and repacked to try to bring what I can. I am allowed two large bags to check, no more than 50 lbs each. I can also carry on a bag as well as a personal bag such as a laptop. So that’s what I did… four bags in all. I pack it all in my little BMW convertible. The car is done and gone. I spend the night thinking about the trip and if I forgot anything. I had arranged for the plate to be picked up and turned in the next day. I may be leaving but I don’t want any fines, insurance issues etc to haunt me.
The night before the flight I drive to the Comfort Inn next to the airport. I remove the plate and hide the key as per the previous arrangement for the new owner. One more item off my checklist.
I sleep well and wake up to get the shuttle to the airport. I look at the “breakfast” the hotel sets out. It was mostly inedible. As in NASTY. Some people will eat anything. I got an orange juice and a coffee half chocolate milk. They call the shuttle guy just for me, and he loads my overweight bags (did I mention they ended up 65 lbs each?) and off we go.
My two main bags. 65 pounds each. $100 extra charge each for being over 50 pounds. Ouch!
I am flying American Airlines so I’m in luck.. they have curb baggage check-in. He kindly points out I am overweight and it will cost me $100- each bag. I am starting off my trip with tears in my eyes. I am early (I am always early. If you are on time you are late). But I go stand in line with my two bags. I hold the one bag like my life depended on it as it had all the cash I was bringing. Keep in mind…. Never bring more than $10,000 unless you want a boatload of problems. And when you come to Ecuador, try not to carry more than $5000. No one told me that part. It cost me three hours in customs.
I get through the magic machine. You spin around and it looks at you naked. I gather my shoes and belt and wallet and phone and change and bag one and bag two, as well as my jacket. I need more arms! I hustle over to the post-trauma area where I can pull my pants back up and tuck away all my goodies. I shuffle along to the next station. It was pretty easy from there, just wait till the flight is called. Now when you buy your flight online (as I did four months before) you can select your seat. If you pay attention, you can get extra legroom and be called at the head of the line. So I was called in the group right after first class and got a nice leg roomy seat. Keep in mind the keep shrinking the size of the actual seat. Seriously. They have gone from around 24 inches wide down to 19-inch width. Take a deep breath before you sit!
In my case, I had to get the stewardess (can you still say that?) to help shove me down into the seat as I couldn’t do it alone. It’s not too bad… just the part about not breathing gets a bit rough. But in truth that is good practice for what is to come.
I get to Miami and find my next flight is on the very opposite end of the airport. Of course, why wouldn’t it be? Having had my last operation only a few weeks before, and technically still under Doctor bed-rest orders, the hike wasn’t the most fun. But you just put your head down and keep moving. Thank God for my Marine Corps training!
So again I am called in early for the flight and get to my nice cozy seat. I didn’t even have to get wedged in. I think I was permanently deformed by then anyway. It was a five and a half hour flight over Cuba. I’m bored to tears. They bring around a yummy looking dinner but I wasn’t hungry. They hand out customs papers to fill out before arrival. They didn’t hand out pencils. So I ask the stewardess. That was a story in and of itself but I won’t go into it. I eventually got one but had to pledge with a raised right hand I would be sure to return it to its owner, the first class stewardess. So I filled it all out and was ready. We land in Quito. I will have to find my bags, walk them through customs and proceed to check them in the next day for the flight to Cuenca. I get through the customs window pretty quick. They stamp my passport (by the way, you do not need a visa to go to Ecuador. You can go for 90 days without one.) and I move along to find my bags. I need a cart and find a guy handing them out for $2. I go to the area that says “overweight bags” and wait. And wait. And wait. There are no more bags! So I go look around and see them circling the carousel with regular bags. Damn. So I drag them off and stack them on the cart and go to the exit point. Nope. Not so fast! They pull me over to a long table and go through my bags. They question me on a number of items. They ask if I am carrying any cash. They call over an Army guy and some other kind of official. They remove an item from my bag and hand it to the Army guy. He takes my passport, fills out a form and says I can pick it up in the morning at his base. No, I won’t tell you what it was! But it was silly.
I am then invited into a room with the official looking guy. He has me go to the back behind a partition. He wants me to show him any cash I have. So I do, I pull out two big stacks from my carry bag. He counts it, the slowest counter on earth. He kept moving the little piles around and recounting. There ended up endless $20’s all over the place as well as a small number if 100’s. Let me tell you about the 100’s. DON’T BRING THEM! No one will take them and you cannot cash them. I managed to get them into a deposit but that’s another story. So he counts out less than ten thousand but more than five thousand. More paperwork. Where did I get it? Why do I have it? I spent three hours there. Now don’t get me wrong. The guy was very nice. Very polite. He saw I was about to pass out and got me water (remember the operation? Also… Quito is 9500 feet up. You can’t breath when you arrive). After three long hours, I am free to go. With all my money. Oh… some of the delays were I forgot to bring out the $400 that was in my wallet. So he had to start counting over again… from the very first 20. What the hell, he had to get through his 8-hour shift somehow!
Now it is past midnight. I haven’t eaten and I feel nauseous. I am tired and my next flight isn’t until 6pm the next day. So I decided to find a place to stay. I was going to hang in the airport but I was paranoid about falling asleep with all that money and feeling terrible. I go to information and she recommends a place. She calls over someone to take me to a car. He tells me to NOT go where she said. It is not safe. He knew a better place. What the hell. Worse that could happen is get raped robbed and murdered, right? So I go for it. He calls ahead and in English gives my name etc. It’s a long drive and we end up on a back road. Hmmm, was this the smartest move I ever made? The driver seems a bit lost, but then we see a sign… a tiny little sign. We turn down a dirt road and there it is, A guy opening a gate (everything here is behind gates) and smiling widely. He helps the driver with bags and invites me into his B&B house. It turned out to be a great choice. He and his wife were extremely friendly and helpful. I have a nice hot shower and slept great until the roosters crowed (I swear everyone has a rooster, even in the city!) The next day his wife made me some coffee and orange juice. She offered all kinds of stuff but I wanted to heave actually. We talked a lot about many topics. Around 2 pm they took me to get something to eat. He offered to help with phone etc. They were just wonderful people. They drove me to the airport and helped with bags etc. We exchanged info and I plan to invite them to come to visit me. His wife has never been to Cuenca. Total cost was about $36. I gave them extra for hauling me around, driving me to the airport etc.
