Cloud forest of Puerto Quito

This is actually the story of our trip to Puerto Quito, Oct. 30 – Nov. 3.

We had originally read of fishing possibilities in Puerto Quito when we were researching Mindo.  Puerto Quito is in the lower coastal region of Ecuador between Quito and the beach.  It was originally planned to be the port for Quito, which never did happen, so it is still a pretty sleepy town.  Colin had a five-day weekend from school because of All Soul’s Day (Nov. 1), Dia de los Difuntos (Nov. 2) and Cuenca Day (Nov. 3), so we decided to go there and see if we could find some fish.  Several things delayed our vacation, but we finally made it there and enjoyed some swimming, fishing, and just being away from most everything.

One of the big frustrations we have living in Ecuador is trying to get information, from the name of streets (usually no street signs, and sometimes people don’t even know the name of their own street) to information about places we want to visit.  Puerto Quito is listed only briefly in our Lonely Planet Guide as a stop between Mindo and the Coast, but no accommodations are listed.  We could only find a couple places searching on the web, one of which was no longer in business, one of which did not respond at all to our emails or calls, and one other that just seemed way too expensive for us.  So what do you do when you can find a place a place to stay ahead of time?  You go on an adventure.

Buying tickets to leave Quito for the weekend

We stayed a night in Quito so that we could start off early for Puerto Quito in hopes of arriving early enough to find a place to stay, figure a few things out, and still have the afternoon for fun.  We arrived at the bus terminal a little later than we thought (after an hour on the city bus), but even at 10 am, it was a lot like the Chicago airport with weather delays on a holiday weekend.  Of course it was a holiday weekend, and more people travel on buses than any other mode of transportation in Ecuador.  Lines of people stretched in front of ticket windows, some snaking back and forth because there wasn’t enough room for the “cola” (line or tail) to fit between the ticket window and the other end of the parking lot.  And it was sunny, so some of us huddled in the little bit of shade available, while others in our parties took their turn in line.  We waited in line for over two hours to get tickets on the 1 pm bus to Puerto Quito. The only good thing about this is that all those people are not driving their own vehicles with associated emissions and traffic (another post on this later).  Once you actually do get on the bus, there really is no traffic to speak of.  Ticket in hand, we all went to the bathroom one last time, got some lunch, and got on the bus for our 3 ½ hour ride.  (Tip:  Always go to the bathroom before going on a long bus ride in Ecuador.  Most buses do not have bathrooms.  Sometimes there is no pit stop (usually a place where men get off the bus and pee on the side of the road) at all.)

Sometime before 5 pm (not early like we had hoped) we arrived at our destination.  We walked around town looking for an information office, hotels, etc. and for the first time, I think we were the only “extranjeros” (foreigners) in town.  After checking out two hostals that didn’t meet our standards, we ended up at a hotel that was nice enough but still more expensive than we usually pay.  We were all glad to be done for the day.  After a bit of fishing in the river, some swimming in the pool (our first accommodations with a pool) and dinner, we were ready for bed.  The Gran Hotel Puerto Quito turned out to be a good spot to stay.  Though we were still hoping for something a little more jungle-ish and off the main highway.

I loved this tree next to our cabaña

By a stroke of luck the owners at the Gran Hotel led us to our next accommodations.  They offer their guests a free tour of the fruit farm they have outside of town where we tasted many new tropical fruits; new kinds of mandarins, oranges, and something like a cross between a lemon and an orange called a lima.  And there were fresh macadamia nuts, a fruit like a cross between a cashew fruit and a peach called an “arazá”, and then a huge new fruit that tasted something like a great mango.  Amazing!  On the way back to the hotel from this tour, we saw Hosteria Malacatos and stopped to ask about their rooms and prices.  After a few more calls to other places, we decided to head to Malacatos outside of town and away from the main road.  It was a good change, only slightly cheaper, but beautiful grounds, better food, a tilapia pond for fishing for dinner, and the river right across the road, not to mention a beautiful pool.  Colin swam a lot, even though the pool was cool and the weather was overcast and not very warm.  He also was fishing a lot in the tilapia ponds, though mostly catch and release. I was just relaxing!  No internet available in Puerto Quito unless you go to an internet café.  And we were not anywhere near one there.  I knew work with colleagues in the US was fine without me.

Pressing “jugo de caña,” sugar cane juice. Excellent with “limón!”

View from our cabaña at Malacatos

Tilapia for dinner

A regular, normal day

“Regular” and “normal.” Two words that are the same here in Ecuador as in Wisconsin, our U.S. home. And today was remarkably similar to a regular, normal day back in Wisconsin. Except that it began at 5:30 AM, which is when Colin must get up for school here. Oh, and the uniform he wears each day, with the name of the school on his shirt and grey, v-neck sweater.

After breakfast and making lunch, he is at the bus stop by 6:30 and at school by 7:00. This morning, we had the dishes washed, the trash out at the curb, and a liter of fresh milk straight from the farmer cooling in the fridge also by 7:00. Yes, we finally found a local farm where we can buy the freshest of milk, just like we do from Amish neighbors in Wisconsin. And they would be happy to know that here in Ecuador, we don’t need to drive a car to pick up our milk– it’s only three blocks!

Not as much cream, but still that good, fresh taste

After Natalie and I did some work and a postal errand, I laced up my running shoes and she clipped on her bike helmet. Away we went for a 30 minute jaunt outside of town, where we saw cows and horses grazing, houses being built, and breathed plenty of fresh (albeit a bit thinner) air. On the way back we stopped to talk at the local bike shop, then had a fresh-squeezed orange juice at the Solid Rock Café. Next the grocery store, then a produce stand for local avocados and oranges– okay, we don’t get local avocados or oranges in Wisconsin.

Rural running and riding outside Cotacachi

Home for a shower and lunch, some more work, then Colin came home from school. After an afternoon of homework, phone calls, talking about our Christmas vacation, replacing an empty propane tank (no natural gas here), talking about boats we’d like to build and places we’d like to visit before we leave South America, we had dinner, did more homework, and finished reading Los Tres Mosqueteros (The Three Musketeers) out loud– an abridged version, in Spanish. Now Colin is in bed, we’re staying in touch with friends via the Internet, and another post is done… Un día regular, normal.

Cuicocha boat tour

After two months in Cotacachi, we finally visited Cuicocha, a caldera lake at 10,000 feet with three volcanic domes in the center. Beautiful setting, in the Cotacachi-Cayapas Reserve, and only 8 miles from our house. What took us so long?

The vertical sides of the caldera and the deep, clean water reminded us of Crater Lake in Oregon. We still haven’t taken the boat tour of Crater Lake, so we’re doing well here. The boat tour was 25-30 minutes, around the islands to a spot where rising volcanic gases are visible in the water. The lake was nearly calm, and we had a diverse group of Americans, Taiwanese, and Ecuadorians on board.

The only birds (or wildlife of any sort) we saw were coots near the shore, diving for aquatic plants. Some coots had red patches above their bills, some yellow. The sun came out for our boat ride, but it was still cool at that altitude.

After some tea and empanadas, and a walk through the interpretive center, Natalie and I hiked to a viewpoint where we could see the lake in one direction and the valley where Otavalo lays in the other. After a 15 minute taxi ride home, the clouds closed in and major thunder came with rain. Good timing!

Cloudy at our arrival, but the sun shone for the boat tour

Putting on "salvavidas," life jackets

Headed into the passage between two islands

The small bubbles are sulfur gases rising from volcanic vents

We counted 47 coots near the shores of Cuicocha, diving for food

Tour boats rounding the island

Viewpoint from Cuicocha, looking back to Otavalo

Colin’s favorite pictures

This is a gallery of thumbnails– click to see pictures full size.

Amazing things in Ecuador

Every day we come across something amazing in Ecuador. This post is not about the mountain views, the tropical birds, or another new species of fish that Colin has caught. It’s about everyday things, like the roosters in our backyard.

Almost our backyard. It’s our neighbor’s, but they don’t have a house. It’s an empty lot, with the usual 8′ high wall surrounding it, and nothing but grass, a few bushes, and about 15 chickens. This makes our daily composting easy. We throw our daily collection of vegetable and fruit trimmings over the wall. That’s not as difficult as it might seem– we just chuck them from the third floor roof terrace, an easy toss.

Gallos y gallinas

The amazing thing is that in our home town, there is chicken legislation that limits households to no more than six chickens (or is it three?), and none of them can be roosters. I don’t know how many roosters we have next door, because there are plenty more in the neighborhood, and any of them can start crowing about 3:30 in the morning despite the lack of any sign of dawn approaching. They certainly aren’t as loud as the volume-distorted electronic church bells which start ringing at 6 am, so maybe that keeps the complaints down. At any rate, I don’t think anyone in the municipal offices could keep a straight face if a complaint was made. Another amazing difference to life here in Ecuador.

The lack of footprints in the dog droppings on sidewalks everywhere in Ecuador is another amazing thing. How is it that so many piles of dog doo-doo can be missed by so many pedestrians? We’ll spare you the picture here.

Following this animal theme, the next amazing thing is the prevalence of horses and cows grazing on empty lots and public parks in nearly every city (including the third largest, Cuenca). We find two groups of horses grazing within a block of our house each day, and last week I watched an entire herd of cows and sheep (with two token goats as well) crossing our street  and making good use of the string of empty, grassy lots east of us. We’re on the last paved road at the edge of town, and they were being driven on the first dirt road, but still… amazing.

Those of you who know Jerry will appreciate this next item. Jerry’s been talking with a carpenter who lives nearby about building a small skiff, something to cartop or store at Lago San Pablo, Ecuador’s largest natural lake which is only 40 minutes away. Plywood panel boats with seams sealed by epoxy are fast and inexpensive to build, but while Ecuador has marine plywood available, epoxy resin is nowhere to be found. Unless you happen to find a Quito amateur boatbuilder on a U.S. online forum who happens to have three extra gallons of epoxy in his shop which he imported from Colombia… amazing.

Most people who research Ecuador as a place to visit, volunteer, or retire find Cuenca listed as the third largest city in Ecuador. This year MSN named it the best place in the world to retire (for everyone? Thank goodness none of us is everyone!). What’s amazing is that Cuenca is not the third largest city by population of Ecuadorians– New York City is!

Two amazing things next: the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, was held hostage by members of the national police force  for nearly ten hours on September 30. They went on strike to protest a cut in benefits proposed by the President, and he went to their offices to talk with them. His security detail was broken, he ended up in the Police hospital for ten hours unable to leave, he was assaulted with tear gas, and an elite military unit had to rescue him. That he was taken and held is amazing. That it was all over the next day: transportation, business, and politics back to usual 24 hours later, and only a small handful of police are being charged with any offense, is also amazing.

The multicultural nature of Ecuador’s population is commonly recognized: mestizos, “indigenas” from many tribal groups, afro-ecuadorians. But a further difference is recognized and respected with this term: plurinacional. In other words, there are many groups who recognize a right to govern themselves yet who are a willing part of a single nation, Ecuador. They actively participate as part of the national government as long as their legacy of cultural identity and their right to preserve it is respected. The fact that some 40% of Ecuador’s population count themselves as native, indigenous peoples helps account for this strength. Where we are in Cotacachi, that means the indigenous language and customs are respected and part of daily and municipal government life. The mayors of both Cotacachi and Otavalo both have strongly indigenous characters. This is an amazing difference vis-a-vis native Americans in the U.S.

Many times I wish I had the camera with me. Today I was out running and saw a local bus parked on a side street, and sounds of wrenching coming from inside. On my return I saw the street side of the bus: door open, parts spread on the pavement, including all the pistons from the motor! The engine was being rebuilt right then and there. Why tow a big bus to the garage when it’s easier for the mechanic to make a “street” call!

And did I mention that the largest natural lake in Ecuador, Lago San Pablo, sees very little boat use? Three small boat rentals, and a few people bring their windsurfers and jetskis during the school vacation season. We’re aiming to change that. Coming up, a post about meeting our neighbor Carlos, the carpenter, and the boats we plan to build together.

Safe in Mindo

Mindo, a very small town in the NW cloud forest of Ecuador, was our fortunate choice for travel yesterday. We left Quito just one day before the police strike closed the airports and the long distance bus terminals. Mindo reminds us a bit of Viroqua, our small hometown in Wisconsin: population around 3,000, farming and tourism are its mainstays, and the surroundings are beautiful. Lush, green, filled with the sound of rushing rivers and a tremendous variety of birds, it also reminds us of the humid Pacific Northwest winters– though much warmer. Rarely does the temperature fall below 65 degrees.

There are no signs of the political protests or transportation stoppages currently widespread in Ecuador. We feel safe– especially after this afternoon’s events. Three young tourists from Europe who were on a chocolate tour at the “hosteria” (hostel) where we are staying were suddenly called away with the message that their room had been burglarized. They returned a while later, reporting that several small things had been taken but they had their money and passports still.

A few minutes later the staff went into the street to see what the noise was from the town square, and they returned to report that the “ladrones” (thieves) had been caught and were being punished. They explained that thievery was “prohibido” in Mindo, and that when a theft occurred the entire city united to find and then publicly punish the thieves, so that they would not return to Mindo. The report was that a few Colombians were found with stolen goods from two burglaries in their car, and that they would remain in jail for four days, being punished publicly each day, before they would be released.

The victims were relieved to hear that they could expect to retrieve their possessions at the police station. Shortly the owner of their hostel appeared to escort them to identify their things. This feels like a human-scale town, where the people know and watch out for one another– something we can all take to heart, no matter where we live.