Ecuador Journal: 2007

Santa Domingo, Ecuador: 2007

 

Friday, January 12:  Quito

 

Had a nice, easy day. today.  Surprise'--spent much of it walking!  The weather is warmer than I’d expected--in the 70´s, and sunny.  So I spent the day changing clothes, trying to figure out what would be comfortable. 

 

Spent the morning walking down and back to the Old Town area of the city--the part that is more historical, more original, as opposed to New Town, which is where I’m staying.  Not sure I can really tell the difference between them, actually, other than Old Town has the Plaza Grande, which is large, lovely, and surrounded by significant buildings. 

 

Then wandered back, slowly, with tourist map in hand, back to the hotel for a little rest before heading out for lunch.

 

Meals are always a getting acquainted adventure, especially when I’m on my own.  After surveying many scenes, I hit upon what looked like a pleasant little restaurant with outdoor patio, which was perfect for the day’s weather.  Looked at the menu, realized that oh yes, in Ecuador (as in much of Latin America), the noon meal is the big one, and I wasn’t in the mood.  Fortunately, there was a very nice waiter there who spoke wonderful English (he’s studied at the U. of Maine of all places!)  Told him my dilemma, he recommended a soup which was excellent--potato, with some cheese, and some fresh avocado slices.  And before that, an empanada, which I’d had before in Chile and loved.  That, plus Coke and water, and I was very well fed. 

 

Spent some of the afternoon walking around again, including going to my first Mercado for this trip.  Overwhelming, as you might imagine.  Bought nothing, as you might guess.  But it was interesting.

 

Quito is quite a pleasant city.  Looks to be quite prosperous, too.  And surprisingly enough, I see almost no signs of American companies.  No food chains (well, I did see exactly one KFC, but no others), no brand names, no nothing.  Really surprising to me.

 

The other surprise so far is I see practically no gringoes.  In fact, I see practically no one who is not Ecuadorian, as best I can discern.  I guess the real tourist attraction of Ecuador is the Galapagos, and maybe this is merely the stop along the way of getting there.  Anyway, if I thought about it long, I’d feel like I really stood out.  But I don’t feel the least bit out of place, even though I am.

 

No one else is here from my group as far as I can tell.  Ron and Gloria were here, but yesterday they went to someplace else for a couple of days.  Another couple was here last night and talked briefly with me when I arrived, but they, too, are off to the place where Ron and Gloria are and will return tomorrow afternoon.  I asked what the attraction was.  They said it has a fantastic large Saturday market.  I was happy they were going, and I wasn’t.

 

So tomorrow’s plan will be much as today, which is fine.  Lots of walking, occasional sitting, wandering around looking at and in shops, reading in between times, and by the end of the day, we’ll be gathering as a group and beginning the group things, starting with dinner together.

 

So all is well, I am happy to be here, and hope all is well with you.

 

Saturday, January 13:  Trying Again

 

Just typed and lost a long e-mail.  So I’m trying again, but may not have as much patience.  Sorry about that.

 

Another good day today.  Warmer than expected, but with a nice breeze and a few clouds to break up the heat.  Low humidity helps, too.  Certainly am not complaining.

 

Did some more exploring all day today.  Walked to a park north of here this morning, a great place beautifully maintained.  They do love their parks, here.  Like most good cities, parks are the only respite for green, so everyone loves them.  Lots of families, some dogs, people jogging and running, lots of soccer playing, some others doing aerobics, and many of us just sitting in the grass, enjoying the day.  Benches are something they don’t seem to like many of, so sit or lie in the grass works.  Spent some nice time there, then walked back going through a modern mall with nice looking shops, but again, virtually none of them familiar.  Except for Cinnabon and Radio Shack, neither of which I entered.

 

Went back to the hotel, which is just off Reina Victoria Street--Queen Victoria Street.  Go figure.  It’s also just up from a British pub restaurant, and an Irish pub restaurant.  Didn’t know the Brits made it here, but I guess they did.

 

Had to move next door to another hotel.  Something about the local person having "forgotten" to make reservations for us (she’s in love, with a former volunteer, so that’s her excuse.)  My new room is a little smaller, but still fine.  And an improvement in that it’s quiet.  My former room backed onto a bar, which had loud music playing from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. (I’m not kidding.)  Fortunately, earplugs plus no particular need for deep sleep meant it didn’t matter.  Still, quiet will be nice.

 

Headed out after a while to a less-traveled area.  Still fine, just less traveled.  Stopped in one of the many restaurants available, where some locals were eating (always my indicator.)  Wanted to have an empanada but "no bananas" was the excuse.  So had the "lunch" instead.  Homemade potato soup, freshly squeezed juice, an entree plate of beef, rice and beans, and a fruit-flavored water.  Great meal for the princely sum of $1.75.

 

I´m still trying to figure out prices here.  Lunches are $1-2 for the 3-course meal.  Gas is $1.50 per gallon (yes, gallon, not liter.)  Beer is $1 for the large.  Coke is $1.50.  (You can guess what I’ll be drinking.)  The official currency is the US $, though you will get change in Ecuadorian coins.  And with these prices, coins is usually what you need.  Reminds me of when I was little.  A $1 bill was usual, a $5 was occasional, and a $10 was really unusual.  Sort of like $50 or $100 bills today. 

 

Continued wandering and returned by way of a park I had been at yesterday.  Today, there was an art exhibit plus a crafts fair. So I wandered through the stalls, surveying the array of stuff.  Lots of similar things, but always interesting.  Lots of woolens, some carved figures, some jewelry, some baskets. 

 

Got back to the hotel to find that most of the group was there.  Met many of them (a few are still to come in this evening.)  Seem pleasant enough.  Quite homogeneous though, more so than other groups I’ve had.  All seem to be at least 50, mostly 60´s or older.  Most from California.  Only 2 are first-timers, and most have been with Ron and Gloria before.  None of this really matters, just interesting to me.

 

We went off to a coffee bar for Coke, beer, coffee, whatever.  Beginning of getting acquainted.  Much talk about other trips, including New Orleans, where several of them have gone.  Doesn’t take me much to get to talking about New Orleans, of course.

 

Gathering about 7 tonight to go to dinner together, then a little orientation from the local person who’s in love with a former volunteer.  We head off sometime tomorrow for a 2-3 hour drive to Santo Domingo.  The drive is supposed to be quite beautiful.  The city is supposed to be "very hot and humid" (but remember the context--usually in the 60´s with virtually no humidity.)  We shall see.

 

Internet cafes and copy centers abound here, and I suspect they will there, too.  So next time will probably will be from there.  Hope all’s well with everyone and that you’re enjoying Saturday.  And that this time, I’ll succeed in sending this!

 

 

Sunday, January 14: Ola from Santa Domingo

 

So I´m sitting in the lobby of our low-end hotel in Santa Domingo, a good-sized city (200,000+) with no known attractions, in the lobby are 4 computers with high speed internet connections available to anyone at no cost, wireless capability for anyone who brought their laptop, and a roommate uses his cell phone (4 bars) to call his wife in California and gets through immediately. As Tom Friedman would say, the world is indeed flat.  It’s just the U.S. that doesn’t quite get it.  Still.

 

The drive down was longer than expected, but otherwise uneventful. Santo Domingo is about 80 miles from Quito, downhill as the crow would fly, but up, over, through and down the mountains along the southern branch of the Pan American Highway as we drove.  Took almost 4 hours. And the road is in excellent shape.  It’s just.....curvy and hilly.  Some of it along a river, far below, with lots of little streams flowing into it.  Not the sort of place that encourages you to look beyond the guardrail, since beyond it is......way down.  Much of the time we were driving in the clouds so visibility wasn’t that good.  Still, beautiful scenery. 

 

Passed through a couple of towns along the way.  Saw more of the rural poverty common to all countries.  Still, the towns had plenty of stalls with all sorts of fresh products for sale.  Hogs hanging from hooks, ready for your dining selection.  Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  And lots of people, all strolling the sidewalks on Sunday.

 

By arrangement, stopped at a cafeteria along the way, for lunch about 3:00.  We were ready.  Really good food, and a nice scenic location high above the river, with a couple of peacocks in the yard and a zip line for the kids.  Perfect place to have had Ethan and Wesley.

 

As often happens on Habitat trips, the basic rule is be flexible.  Several changes already, including the choice of hotel in Quito and now the choice of hotel in Santa Domingo.  The one we’re in is quite comfortable and comes complete with a sauna, a hot tub, and a gym for working out.  Haven’t seen any of this yet, but understand there was some activity in the sauna by a local couple prior to dinner.  And again, this is a very modest, low-end hotel at very low cost (probably around $10 a night for bed and breakfast.)

 

Work begins tomorrow.  That’s another change.  Only one work site, because the other owner hasn’t yet been able to get clear title to their property.  But we are assured there will be enough work to keep 17 people busy.  Hope so.  And if not, we’ll do what we do.

 

That’s it from here for now.  With Internet available so readily, I won’t have any excuse not to be in regular contact.  Which also means you will get probably far more than ever before (but I promise not to make the mistake of sending something a second time.  sorry about that.)

 

Monday, January 15:  A Day On

 

Good first day.  Accomplished much, feel good, am clean and almost dry already.  What more can you ask?

 

The work site is in town, but about a 20-minute bus ride from our hotel, through the downtown area.  Passed a casket shop on the way out.  Passed a different one on the way back.  Seemed more likely to be needed then.

 

The work site is in a general neighborhood rather than a neighborhood of Habitat homes, though there are a couple others in the vicinity.  The homeowner is a single woman, mother of 9, who will have two of them living with her, plus 3 grandchildren, plus someone else who is related somehow.  They currently live in a house on the same lot.  Their current house is about the same size as their new one (400 square feet or so) but sided in bamboo and roofed in metal rather than sided in concrete block and roofed with some material I don’t know about.

 

Current house has electricity and plumbing, so the new one will, too.  And we won’t have to dig the septic tank!  Though perhaps we’ll need to dig the trenches for the pipes to connect.  Still, much better than the septic tank I helped dig last year.

 

Today’s project was digging the foundation and bending the rebar for the concrete.  Also, unloading 50 bags of concrete (110 pounds) and carrying them to the site.  And carrying various other building materials to the site.  I began to understand how a pack mule must feel.

 

I spent much of the time digging, though carrying got some of my time as well.  There was adequate work for all, partly because there were ample tools (a pleasant change) and partly because some of the people needed to take periodic breaks.  Still, by day’s end, we were beginning to run into one another.  But all in all, a satisfying day and a good start.

 

Jose is the maestro in charge of the site, the homeowner is there plus several of her family, including several small children, plus some neighbor kids.   I probably have more tolerance for little kids than I would have before Ethan and Wesley.  They want to be involved, and it’s sometimes a challenge to figure out how to do that.  But we do. 

 

The home site is down a hill from the road, adjacent to a little stream, with banana trees growing along the stream, plus flowers growing wild.  The soil is so fertile, and the climate so moderate, anything grows everywhere.  A machete is a required gardening tool.

 

Don’t have too much of a feel yet for the city.  It does lack charm, but it certainly is busy with people.  The shop across the street is the "Chivo Erotica."  I’m told that means "Erotic Goat."  The sign also advertises "comida tipical"--typical food.  The imagination wanders.

 

That’s about it for now.  We’re off to the welcome dinner in a local restaurant, complete with introductions, speeches, etc.  At least we’re having it after a day of work rather than a day of traveling with jet lag.  Should be better able to hold up through the festivities.

 

Tuesday, January 16:  Work in Process

 

Another good day of good work, the right amount for everyone I think, which means that I kept busy, others who wanted to keep busy did, and those who wanted a few breaks, got them.

 

Main activity today was building the frames for the 9 pillars which support the house (3 along each side, 3 down the middle (which involved cutting rebar into 9 foot lengths, making innumerable squares, something I did in a former job, and tying the squares with wires.) Also mixing concrete, consisting of cement, sand and gravel, and carrying it to the various places.  I did a mixture of these things-cutting the rebar, tying the squares, mixing the concrete, carrying the mixture, etc.  A nice blend of activities, and we accomplished our goal for the day--building, erecting and pouring the 9 columns. 

 

The interesting news today is that there could be another job site if we start to run out of work for all of us.  This is good news to those like me, and our leaders, who really like to work.  We haven't decided whether to actually start it yet, since the logistics are a bit difficult.  The site isn't nearby, so it would involve driving to two different places, hiring a second site supervisor, and coordinating the lunch.  Will see how this develops as it develops.

 

A couple of updates on things.  The Chivo Erotica turns into another place during the week.  The sign now says it is a vegetarian restaurant, serving breakfast and lunch daily, Monday through Friday.  We're interested to see what happens come Friday night and weekend.  I'm trying to drum up a couple of people to go there if it morphs into the Chivo Erotica again.

 

The sewer system at the house site turns out to be....the stream.  As in the toilet bowl is connected directly to the stream below.  Occurs to me just to eliminate the middle toilet bowl step. 

 

Food is always an interesting question for Habitat trips.  The two dimensions of interest/concern are quantity and quality.  Some trips rate low on both, others mixed, others high.  So far at least, this one rates fairly high on both dimensions.   Breakfast at the hotel is standard, always eggs so far, but with excellent cafe con leche and some good breads and excellent juice.  On site, we have two fresh fruit breaks each day, morning and afternoon.  Some of the best watermelon, pineapple, and bananas you can imagine.  Lunch is prepared and brought to the site by a local woman who runs a small restaurant.  Both days it has been a version of the basic potato soup I've had elsewhere, plus chicken, rice, and two other things.  All quite flavorful and actually too much.

 

Dinner has been less desirable.  First night was in the hotel, and the fixed meal was some sort of fish which several thought may have been dried, thawed and fried.  Last night at a restaurant we had a choice of three entrees.  Having had chicken for lunch, I chose fish for dinner.  It was only marginally better than the previous night.  Tonight, we're on our own, so we'll experiment with someplace else.

 

A couple of the people in the group are particularly interesting.  Howard has lived all his life on Vancouver Island.  Worked as a commercial fisherman for 30 years.  For the last 8, he's owned and operated grizzly bear tours on the island.  Really a nice guy, and delightfully Canadian, eh.

 

Kit and Brenda are counselors who have semi-retired and spend 5 months each year in Nicaragua, working with a very small community, together trying to improve their lot through education, medicine, construction. 

 

Enough for now.  Time to let someone else use the computer before dinner.  Tomorrow will be a 1/2-day of work, followed by a visit to a local orphanage.  Should be.....interesting.

 

Wednesday, January 17: Bites R Us

 

I was culturally sensitive on Monday, wearing my jeans to the work site.  Quickly confirmed that it was humid, especially when doing work.  Jeans were soaked to the knees by mid-morning.  Resolved to throw cultural sensitivity to the wind and wear shorts.

 

Wore shorts yesterday, a delightful difference.  Cooler, of course, and dryer.  Also noticed that the young man, son of the homeowner, was wearing shorts, so didn’t feel too culturally obnoxious.

 

Continued with shorts today (and will hereafter, today notwithstanding) and discovered the penalty of doing so.  Because of the work we were doing, was fully wet by mid-morning.  But overnight, it had rained, so the mosquitoes were out with a vengeance.  My legs are now brightly speckled with black spots, courtesy of the mosquitoes.  Ah well, at least I wasn’t so hot.

 

Good half day of work, by design.  Today was virtually entirely heavy labor.  Shoveling gravel into wheelbarrows, trekking them to the site, dumping, repeating.   Endlessly.  Until the gravel hill was done.  Then shoveling sand, mixing with cement, then shoveling stone, mixing with sand and cement, then water, mixing with.....then shoveling concrete into pails and carrying to the site, pouring the base of one wall.  Repeat tomorrow, and tomorrow, and...you get the idea.  Good spirits, all, but many are grateful we’ll have a break this afternoon.

 

The faucets on our sink and shower are a curiosity.  Noticed that our sink faucets have "F" on the left, "C" on the right.  Decided this meant freo (cold) on the left, caliente (hot) on the right.  Sort like Britain.  After testing, though, decided that actually, one of those was right: both of the faucets run exclusively cold water.

 

The shower faucets are both clearly labeled "cold."  This was discouraging.  Until we tried and discovered that actually, after a bit, the left one ran very nice hot water.  So once again, one of the faucets is correct, and the other is (delightfully) wrong.

 

Must go clean up, then off to the orphanage (not a phrase I’ve used before in my life), then to the restaurant of the woman who cooks our lunches.  For a reason I can’t understand, we’re "helping" her prepare our dinner tonight.  Maybe this is a woman thing.  I’m holding out for sitting around, possibly drinking, and then eating.

 

Thursday, January 18:  Steppin’ Out

 

Another good workday.  Finished building the frames for the foundation, pouring the concrete for them, and leveling the floor which involves putting back much of the dirt we removed Monday when we excavated the foundation.  Something Sisyphysian about that, but it’s in the nature of the building business.

 

Someone remarked at lunch, after the full foundation had been poured, that you could really better see just how big or small the house is.  They noted that it looked a little smaller than a 2-car garage, which is about right.  I think the usual 2-car garage is about 20x22, and the house we’re building is more like 20x18.  Puts the size into perspective.

 

We’ve been blessed with great building weather.  It rains at night, decent cloud cover during most of the day, which is merciful, temperature probably in the high 70´s.  Couldn’t ask for better working conditions.

 

I have begun moving beyond my usual paths and doing a little exploring in the city.  Tuesday night we were on our own for dinner.  A couple of us heard there were some restaurants at the mall so we headed down there.  Found out there was only the usual food court, including KFC and a Chinese place.  I noticed that across the highway from the mall was what looked like a typical, open air Ecuadorian restaurant.  Convinced three others to join me there.  It was really great.  Limited menu (carne asado, chicken asado, and something ) but excellent and fun to be eating in a real place.

 

Yesterday afternoon, before going to the orphanage, I did a little wandering into the city.  Incredible number of small shops, loaded with stuff, lots of street vendors offering stuff, no chains of any type so each must be owned and operated individually.  Ventured into a bakery and had a wonderful piece of flan, one of my favorite things. 

 

At dinner, Gloria and I were sent out to buy some beer for the group.  Found some at one of these hole in the wall places.  They had 6 bottles.  We wanted to buy them all.  They asked for a "prenda"--something of value to be left as a deposit on the bottles until we returned them.  Gloria negotiated a price--50 cents per bottle.  (The beer cost $1 per bottle.)  These were consumed fairly readily, we took the bottles back, then looked for another store.

 

The next store had beer but didn’t want to sell it to us without our turning in empty bottles first.  Shades of the old milkman.  Finally decided she would, but only for a prenda.  Gloria offered money.  No, she wanted "something of value"--a wedding ring, or a bracelet, or a wristwatch.  Gloria persisted, and finally the woman agreed on 50 cents a bottle, but only on the express promise that we would return all 10 bottles today.  I’m guessing that the bottling company must really make a big deal if the shopkeeper doesn’t return the empty bottles for all the beer they’ve sold.

 

Also discovered a great ice cream place a couple doors down from us.  First night, fantastic coffee ice cream, one of my favorites.  Last night, rum raisin was the choice.  Good, but not great.  Will be working down their flavor list in coming nights.

 

Enough for now.  Time to think about finishing off the beers we had leftover

"because we have to return the empty bottles."  What a guy.

 

Friday, January 19:  One More Notch

 

Another good workday.  I’ve been very pleasantly surprised that we all have been able to be kept fully occupied on only one work site.  This is a testament to the skill of our maestro, as well as the availability of plenty of tools and materials. 

 

Weather today started blue sky, full sun--something we’ve avoided so far.  Got hot fairly quickly, but by noon, some clouds had come in, along with a breeze, and that helped tremendously.

 

More making/pouring concrete today for some more of the foundation.  Then leveling the floor in one of the rooms, prior to pouring concrete for it tomorrow.  Will also level the remaining floors tomorrow and perhaps, get some more concrete poured in them.

 

I’ve always wanted to learn how to use a machete.  And now I have.  Used it to split wood pieces.  Involves holding the wood, starting the machete, then whacking it on a rock, hopefully moving your thumb before it is removed for you.  So far so good.

 

Noticed this morning that I was pulling my belt in one more notch.  Possible explanations include my belt gets soaked daily, dries out at night, and probably stretches, cement mixing and dirt shoveling are great for trimming the waistline, or I’m not visiting the panadaria or helado store enough.  I’m choosing the last, vowing to go to the bakery and ice cream shop more often.  Last night’s choice was coconut, which was excellent.

 

A little group demographics.  We are 17 people, 11 men and 6 women.  5 couples, 6 men traveling alone but almost all with spouses back home, 1 woman traveling alone.  3 from Maine, me, the rest from California.  3 first-timers, the rest having been with Ron and Gloria on at least one prior trip.  No one younger than 50, the median age probably in the mid-60´s.  No one with food issues, which is a distinct change from my prior groups, and a great relief.  And all in all, a very congenial group.

 

One of my personal goals is always to make a connection with the maestro--the local site supervisor.  Usually takes a few days, and this is no exception.  Connection began getting made yesterday, continued today.  After lunch, Jose and I actually had a conversation, in Spanish.  Nothing elaborate--talked about our families, the work plan for the project, the meaning of our respective tattoos.  But it was most gratifying to be able to actually have a conversation in Spanish, even at a fairly low level.

 

We returned the 10 empty beer bottles on our way back from the worksite.  The shopkeeper was very pleased, and relieved.  Gringoes really do live up to their promise. Sometimes.

 

Saturday, January 20:  Pause to Refresh

 

Worked a half day today, by plan.  Another morning of excellent weather for working.  We really have been fortunate so far.

 

Today’s work was more of the same.  Hauling sub-flooring material, also known as gravel, up to the house to level the rooms.  Then mixing and hauling concrete to put in the final floor.  We managed to get 1 room finished today, which was the maestro’s plan.  At that point, it was shortly before noon and he announced ¨no mas¨--and no one argued.

 

After lunch, on the way home as they say, we stopped at a local village where the indigenous people of the area maintain a museum.  I must confess I didn’t find it all that interesting. But perhaps that’s because we were still all grubby from working, hadn’t had a chance to get cleaned up or even sit down for a bit.  I expect it was interesting, but I didn’t find it all that much.  Felt pretty touristy to me.  But it’s what we did.

 

We will have a day of rest tomorrow, too.  Plan to spend some time in the local markets, Sunday being apparently a ¨big¨ day for street markets.  Later in the morning, we’re headed out about 10 miles to someplace where we’ll relax, perhaps take a walk along the river to a waterfall--or perhaps not.  Have lunch, and then come back.  Sounds suitably relaxing.

 

I still marvel at the ability to insert a plastic card into a machine and get back....money, when my account is in the U.S. and I am in Ecuador.  Or Zambia.  Or wherever.  The interconnectedness of the world continues to impress me.  Although today, when I did it, I got money and a receipt....but no card back.  Panicked a bit.  Quite a bit.  Noticed a guard standing by, asked for his help, he looked a little perplexed, walked over to the machine....and reached in and withdrew my card for me!  Ah, the stupido gringo!  And relieved, as well.

 

On our own for dinner tonight.  Planning on trying a new restaurant.  I’m always reluctant to go back to the familiar.

 

Sunday, January 21:  Contrasts

 

Today is a day of contrasts.  Began with going to the Sunday market in the city.  I'd have said that it's always market day, with lots of street vendors, lots of people selling all manner of fresh fruits and vegetables, lots of open air stands, several pedestrian streets with stalls.  But Sunday is even more so.  Some of the side streets are used, along with several of the main streets, a few of which are closed to traffic, others are just clogged with people and vehicles.  All manner of produce available, some animals, both living and dead, and lots of stuff.  I did manage to find some Ecuadorian soccer shirts for Ethan and Wesley, at a price I was willing to pay--they were $25 in the mall--though I don't know whether I got the right sizes.  Figure they will always be growing and can use them later if they're too big now.

 

The spirit in the streets during a Sunday market is also nice--much more relaxed and convivial than during the workweek.

 

Later in the morning, we all headed out to a reserve about 10 miles outside of town, up in the hills.  Very beautiful, very quiet, very lush, virtually devoid of people.  There was one other family besides our group.

 

The reserve has a river rushing through it, a 9-hole golf course that the owner built for himself, a lily pond complete with frogs that looks reminiscent of Monet, a nice trail through the woods.  Three of our group decided to play the golf course.  The rest of us went on the hike through the woods.  It's incredible what 12-hours of daylight every day of the year, temperatures varying only slightly during the year, regular mist or rain, etc. does for plants.  All sorts of tropical plants growing wild, beautiful colors, birds of varying colors, etc.  And of course, quiet enough to hear frogs, birds, the beating of hummingbird wings.  A far cry from the bustle of the city.

 

Last night we had one of those wonderful experiences.  A group of us was walking to a different restaurant.  We knew its name and thought we knew where it was.  Couldn't find it, so we stopped at an open store to ask for directions.  The storekeeper knew the place, gave us directions, then decided she wanted to lead us there, just to make sure.  So she did.  And the restaurant turned out to be the best meal I've had in Ecuador. 

 

It's been a nice day and a half off from the work site.  Building resumes tomorrow.  I'm ready.

 

Monday, January 22:  Last Monday

 

A couple of us were talking last night.  Someone remarked that tomorrow would be Monday, and if he had to wake up every Monday and "look forward" to a week of mixing concrete, he’d probably kill himself.  I don’t feel nearly as strongly, but his point is well taken.  Doing this sort of work really provides a perspective on our "real" life.

 

Today was indeed another day of mixing and carrying concrete.  We had poured the floor for 1 room on Saturday (I think.)  Today we poured the remaining three rooms.  Plus 2 of the 9 columns that support the walls and roof.  That means, of course, yet another day at least of mixing and pouring concrete for the remaining 7 columns. 

   

We also got the first load of concrete block delivered--1,000 blocks.  We had to unload them from the truck (my job) and move them up to the job site (others´ job.)  Since the block didn’t arrive until after lunch, we didn’t get finished unloading it until past 4, our usual quitting time.  But we finished it, plus a last pour of concrete.

 

At the start of work last week, we had an unusual number of injuries.  Nothing major--a sprained wrist, a cut on some barbed wire, a few other minor cuts--but more than I’m accustomed to on these projects.  Then, nothing. 

 

Today, the injuries resumed, including Jose dropping a concrete block on his toe and a few cuts.  So far, I’ve avoided any of this.

 

I’ve become a reluctant convert to Deet insect repellant.  I normally avoid putting anything on--that’s just me being me.  But after the onslaught on Wednesday, I put someone’s 100% Deet on my legs Thursday.  No bites.

 

On Friday, I put someone else’s 32% Deet on.  A few bites.  So Saturday, I returned to 100% Deet below the knees.  Only a couple of bites, all above the knees.  I think I’m done with my experimenting in this country at least.

 

Had a gustatorial delight for supper last night--yogurt con pan de yuca.  This involves what is basically a yogurt smoothie with your choice of fruit (I chose blackberry) and a half dozen pan de yuca--small rolls made out of yuca, freshly baked to order.  I had had one of the rolls earlier.  They have a slightly sourdough taste and a wonderful chewy texture.  So I knew I’d be in heaven with them, and I was.  Nothing like warm, freshly baked bread and a grande blackberry yogurt smoothie to fill in the gaps!

 

A couple of weeks ago, I began to think and say to myself "....next Friday, I’ll be in Ecuador" and envision what I might be doing, where I might be staying, etc.  Today, I begin the reverse--"next Monday I’ll...." in my real life.  I love my real life and all that it entails.  But this thought transition also helps me remain focused on the here and now, enjoying and absorbing everything about today and this week.  I am.

 

Tuesday, January 23:  Pace Quickens

 

The work pace picked up today, in part because the end is nigh, in part because we were in position to do several tasks at the same time.  Sifting sand for mortar, mixing concrete to pour three more columns, and starting to build the back wall.  The site was a beehive of activities, and Jose was kept hopping trying to keep them all going and to keep monitoring them.

 

When Jose and I talked last week, I mentioned that I loved to do concrete block.  So today, when we began building the wall, he asked me to start.  It always pays to suck up to the boss.  Anyway, I did a fair amount of building of the back wall, helped by a couple of others and closely watched by Jose.  The true test, of course, comes tomorrow morning when we see whether he invites me to resume building or shifts me to sifting sand.

 

We did complete pouring 3 more columns, so tomorrow we’ll be able to continue the back wall plus start 2 sidewalls.

 

The weather finally caught up with us today.  It was nice most of the day, but about 3, the rain came, in various intensities.  Fortunately, we were just about done with what we could do today, so it didn’t really affect us much.  Got a little wetter, but since I was pretty well soaked with the usual sweat, it was hard to notice.

 

After cleaning up, treated myself to a massage.  This is something I’ve done in several other of my trips.  A good way to begin getting some of the building knots and kinks out of the body.  Each is different, each is good.  This guy’s particular thing was feet, with special emphasis on the toes.  That, plus placing smooth stones all over and moving his hands over them.  Wasn’t quite clear what the purpose of this was, so I’m hard-pressed to know whether it worked.  But overall, it was a good massage.  Though as Socrates might have said, a good massage, but not a great massage.

 

Off shortly to the farewell event from the local affiliate.  It involves going again to the local office and having food that won’t qualify as dinner.  So after that, I may hit the yogurt and pan de yuca shop again, though I might also try Alcatraz, a restaurant I’ve tried to go to for 3 nights but they’ve always been closed.  They specialize in ceviche, and I’m ready to try it.  Crab ceviche, if they had it.

 

Tomorrow’s a half-work day, so that means frantic working until noon-ish.  We’ll then leave sometime in the afternoon and go to Mindo, a rain forest reserve about 2 hours from here.  There until Thursday afternoon, then to Quito again for a final day of R and R.

 

I’m not looking forward to tonight’s event, but who knows, maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.  Or not.

 

Wednesday, January 24:  A Croaking Cacophony

 

Jose told us yesterday that he had a full day planned for our last half day.  I expect we didn’t quite complete all that he wanted, but we did more than a half day’s work in our half-day.  We did manage to pour two of the remaining three columns, which was high on his list.  Plus build some more walls.

 

I was affirmed in my concrete block work by being invited to build another wall.  Gloria asked Howard to show me how to do it, forgetting that only yesterday she and I were building together, plus last year in Mexico.  Ah well, I always am happy to take instruction.  Howard, to his credit, quickly figured out that I actually had done this before (he wasn’t there yesterday--he had cut his arm and had to have stitches so he stayed back) and reverted to assisting.

 

It was indeed satisfying to build half of another wall.  And I must admit that when I look at my work, I’m satisfied.

 

After another lunch of chicken and rice (this time fried chicken, which actually was good) for the 8th time, we headed back to the hotel.  After cleaning up, I made a final visit to my local panadaria for a final piece of their chocolate cake and cafe con leche.  Then said goodbye to the staff.

 

Our drive to Mindo took a little over 2 hours.  It involved going up about 3000 feet in altitude a crossing the Equator twice, ending up back in the southern hemisphere.  Went through land that is incredibly lush, incredibly green, very fertile with all sorts of crops, and very little evidence of people.

 

Mindo is a small village that is devoting itself to eco-tourism.  The highpoint of the evening took place shortly after we arrived. We were advised that the Frog Chorus began shortly after sundown (I’m not making this up.)  So we quickly called the Mindo taxi service (two open-back trucks) which took us a little ways out of town to a beautiful area that has been very nicely naturalized.  It has a pond with a wide variety of frogs, and every night after sundown, they croak.  It’s actually quite interesting, though having this as a local highlight does suggest the pace of the place. 

 

The event also included a little walk around their area, including looking at some phosphorescent insects and wood.  As I say, a little light on the bright lights/big city.  But charming in its own way.

 

Tomorrow is a day of outdoor activities.  Planning on taking a tubing trip down a river and probably in the afternoon, a zipline trip over the canopy.  The area looks beautiful and should be fun.  Should be a day of recreational fun rather than working fun.

 

The travel books do advise not coming here in January or February because of heavy rains.  We are advised.  And here. 

 

Thursday, January 25:  Wet and Wild

 

Went to sleep last night listening to rain falling on the tin roof above me.  It’s actually not all that restful, the song notwithstanding.

 

At breakfast, we talked with a local about the temperature of the water in the Rio Mindo that we were going to go tubing down.  He said it was about 60 degrees.  And since it was about 60 degrees outside, a number of people backed away from the tubing plan.  Most, in fact.  After a little thought, and remembering that I regret the things I don’t do more than the things I do, I joined 4 others for the great tubing adventure.  And it was wonderful.  The river is very wild, constant rapids, lots of whooping throughout the journey.  I quickly realized that the only tough part was sitting down initially in the tube, since that meant.....my butt was firmly settled into the water.  After that, it was just detail.  Within the first 5 seconds of the ride, we all were completely drenched, and it only got better from then.  All agreed it was well worth being cold and wet afterwards.

 

Back to the hotel for the advertised hot shower.  Turns out.....today wasn’t the day for it.  So after waiting awhile to see whether the water would eventually get hot, I decided this was stupid, I’d be warmer with clothes on, and I could take a shower in Quito.

 

Great lunch at one of the many restaurants in Mindo--pasta with peanut sauce.  Simply must learn how to make that.  Mindo is an interesting small town, trying to grow a tourist business.  It’s about 2-3 hours from Quito, making it a weekend destination.  And it’s on the Lonely Planet and other guidebooks list, so it gets lots of gringoes.  But not in January (remember the advisory about rain?)  So while there are an incredible number of restaurants and hostels, there were no people.  We were it in our hostel.  We were it in the restaurant last night.  We were it in the restaurant this noon.

 

The afternoon activity was zip lining.  Again, most of the folks decided against it, but 5 of us decided what the heck, when in Mindo....The mist was just beginning as we loaded into the Mindo taxi/open air truck again and bounced up to the place.  It’s a series of 10 zip lines, of various lengths.  You get a harness on, plus gloves for helping to brake you, and off you go, one at a time.  All above the canopy.  Sometimes far above.  Really wonderful.  And you go different ways--upright, spread-eagle Superman style, upside down (I declined the last.)  As we went, the rain got steadier, and heavier.  In the end, we could barely see ahead of us because of the low clouds.  Which only made it more eerie.

 

Turns out I didn’t listen too well at how to brake yourself.  So on several different cables, I was heading directly into....the tree at the end.  But never quite made it, thankfully.  By the 10th one, I had learned, finally.

 

Back to the hotel for a quick checkout, into the van for the long, cold, wet drive to Quito where it is.....cold and wet.  Low 50´s and raining, at times quite hard.  Happy to get to the hotel room, see the sign advertising "hot water during 24 hours" which my roomie said meant that sometime during the 24 hours there would be hot water.  Hopped into the shower, and waited.  And waited.  A little trickle of barely lukewarm water, figured what the heck, started to shampoo, got all lathered up and....no more water.  Finally came back on, still nowhere near warm, rinsed, got out, and headed for my bed to get warm.  It’s all about expectations--would have been happier not thinking they’d have hot water.

 

We’re in Quito tomorrow, doing some more sightseeing.  Hoping it’s like it was when I was here 2 weeks ago--sunny and unusually warm. 

 

Then, home on Saturday.  It is good to be here, and it will be good to be home.

 

¡Hasta luega!

 

Friday, January 26:  I Am Tired

 

Had a good morning with visits to two Equator museums.  The first actually was rather boring, the second was surprisingly good.  The weather also cooperated.  At first it was misting, drizzling, then by the time we got there (it’s about 45 minutes from here) it was beginning to clear, stopped precipitating and actually got a little brighter.  We have been incredibly fortunate with the weather.

 

The 2nd museum actually focused on the exact location of the equator (rather than a mistaken place nearby, where the first museum was) and was very oriented toward the indigenous people and how they discovered and in some ways worshipped the equator.  Most interesting.

 

This afternoon, we’re on our own.  It drizzles off and on, but nothing to really notice.  I’m glad to have my Eddie Bauer jacket to keep the drizzle off.  But the clouds did make us decide not to take the funicular, since all we’d have been able to see was clouds, rather than nice views of the city.

 

I took a leisurely walk down towards Old Town, past some of the shops I’d seen before, and to one of the local markets one last time.  Then back by way of a panadaria for a last bite, then discovered "La Pasion del Chocolate" and had a fantastic concoction--espresso, condensed milk and cacao.  Truly delightful.

 

Need to go back now and pack for tomorrow.  I’m told I need to take a taxi at....5 a.m. to get to the airport by 5:20 for my 7:50 flight.  You can imagine how happy I am about that.  Almost lost it, but quickly recovered and smiled and said okay. 

 

And that’s the tip-off--several times in the last 24 hours I’ve almost lost it.  Managed to recover each time with little or no damage.  But I realize I’m tired.  I need to be home

 

See you real soon.  I’ll try and call from Miami if I get time after going through passport control and customs, just to let you know that I haven’t lost it and am banned from flying forever.  (I’ll be good.  Promise.)