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22 August 1981, from Quito, Ecuador (by Robert)
There are many ways to prepare a warm welcome to a new city in
a new country. But the one that Quito had in store for us couldn't
have been better: When we hurried to the post office, there were
l4 letters and two postcards waiting for us! Even the lady who
gave them to us seemed very much surprised. Thanks a lot to all
of you, it was much more than we had dared hope for. It took
a lot of pushing from Surain for me to grasp the pen, and it won't
be easy to continue on the way she has started, but I'll make
an attempt.
We had entered Panama by land. In order to be permitted
into the country, however, you must have in your possession a
plane ticket that will take you to any place in the world outside
Panama (It won't do telling them that you plan to swim
to Colombia). So, we had purchased a ticket Panama to
Medellin (Colombia's second largest city). Yes, it's true that
we had previously decided to skip Colombia completely, but the
air fare directly to Ecuador was quite expensive. Also, the
parts of Colombia most known for robberies and attacks are Bogota and
the northern parts of the country, which we could avoid completely. It
would take only two buses from Medellin to get to the border with Ecuador. So,
on Monday, August l7th, we wanted to check in at the airport.
At 8AM we lined up at the SAM counter (SAM is a Colombian, non-IATA-affiliated
air line; this was the cheapest ticket). But to our surprise
we were told that we couldn't check in unless we had in our possession
an air ticket out of Colombia! They kindly volunteered
to sell us one Medellin to Panama for $87, which is
the cheapest possible route and which, we were told, we could
easily refund in Medellin. We were hesitant, would prefer an
IATA ticket, which can be cashed in anywhere in the world.
But not a soul was at the Pan Am or British Airways counters,
and since we didn't want to change our reservations to two days
later and go back into Panama City from the airport,
we reluctantly purchased one SAM ticket each. Otherwise we were
lucky. It turned out that Surain was carrying 59 pounds and I
myself 77, but we didn't have to pay although the maximum is only
44. Good meal and free beer and Scotch (guess what Surain preferred).
Medellin was cloudy, and the drizzle had just stopped.
We charged immediately to the SAM office at the airport. Guess what -- "No",
they couldn't help us, but instead gave us the address to their
downtown office. And guess what we saw while running around the
airport in Medellin, Colombia? Olympia Beer!
Here's the refund coupon that we sweated and labored for:
Took a bus to downtown and sipped some Colombian coffee while
waiting for the office to open after lunch. The coffee was OK
but not as outstanding as one would expect in the world's most
famous coffee country. At 2:00 sharp we made our way into the
SAM office, craving for our refund. However the lady kindly informed
us that she could not refund our tickets unless we had another
ticket out of the country!!! Whew! We felt we were running into
a wall. What could we do? One alternative was to go and buy
an IATA ticket somewhere, show it to SAM and have our SAM tickets
refunded, continue on to Ecuador and there have our IATA ticket
refunded minus the 11% Colombia tax. Lots of hassle! But what
else the $l74 we had spent on the tickets would surely
be worthless in Ecuador. We kept arguing with the SAM personnel.
Finally they informed us that we might be able to get a permit
to have our tickets refunded directly, and they gave us an address
to go to 14 long blocks, but we hurried there. And
once there, believe it or not, a very nice man informed us that
he could in fact issue us such a permit and, much to our surprise,
it was even free of charge. He then asked to see our tickets
... Tickets? ... the tickets ... where were they? I had left
them at the SAM office! I ran back to the SAM office, collected our tickets from the
very embarassed lady, and walked back (puff puff -- I could be in better shape).
Just a half hour wait and we got our permit. Triumphantly we
made our return to the SAM office. They looked at our permit,
talked amongst themselves for a while, handed it back and told
us to go around the corner, up to the 4th floor and ask for a
Senor Hernandez. We did that, waited 5 minutes, and were
sent back down again. Another 5-minute wait
but then, finally, we were given 9164 pesos, the equivalent of
$l66 ($8 in Panamanian tax was lost). We could hardly
believe it was true after all. We luxuriantly hailed a taxi and
went directly to the bus terminal. Bought tickets for the 8 p.m.
express bus to Cali. (We could have got on an earlier
bus but felt it would be much safer on a bus with only two stops.)
Meanwhile we tried some delicious Colombian food -
such a welcome change from the Central American diet! Potatoes,
vegetables, and beans with good spicing. Arrived in Cali
6 a.m. the next morning. We immediately bought tickets for the
8 a.m. bus to Ipiales, which is the border town to Ecuador. And
we arrived there about 6:30 p.m. Surain says it was a beautiful
trip. I don't know. Because of a very bad headache (it had started
the day before - mildly), I had to keep my eyes closed during
the entire ride and couldn't eat. People on the bus were very
friendly actually all through Colombia
and tried to help. Surain led me to a hotel in Ipiales, where
I spent the entire next day in bed, not very concious of the environment.
Surain says it is a nice and friendly town.
But on Thursday, August 20, we crossed into Ecuador with all
our belongings still in our possession and headed to Otavalo,
the most famous weaving area in Ecuador. Enroute, the road reached
3300 meters (11,000 ft)! For about half a minute we saw a beautiful
sight: Above the terraced hills rose a giant, snow-covered
mountain, 5843 meters (l9,000 ft). That's the first snow we've
seen since Mt. Shasta in northern California! Otavalo is at 2600
meters (8600 ft) and has therefore chilly nights. But the sun
is very hot and burns the skin easily it's only about
25 km from the equator!
23 August l98l TL6 continued
Saturdays are the big market day in Otavalo with 3 markets
one for animals, one for weavings, and one for produce. In anticipation
of this, we spent Friday in the area doing some dayhiking to a
nearby lake, seeing lots of local Indians in their traditional
clothing and natural habitats. The restaurant we ate in Friday
evening needs special mention. It's run by an elderly couple,
a supereffective woman who does all the work and her half-senile
husband. It's quite small with four small, square tables in the
middle pushed together to form an "L" and narrower tables
along the walls where one sits on stools and face the wall. It
was quite full when we entered but we were waved to two seats
in the middle. The place is very busy, so it took a while before
we were noticed. The woman was mostly in the small, adjoining
kitchen cooking; now and then coming out to give orders to her
crew. Her husband is moving along slowly, taking orders, handing
out meals and collecting money. He does take our orders, one
"meal" each, but seems to forget it at once. There's
a younger woman serving soup from a giant pan on a table. The
pan is so high that she can't actually see what she's scooping
on the big plates, as full as can be of soup (surprising she doesn't
spill more). There are also two elderly gentlemen helping. They
seem even more senile than the husband. They take out the dirty
dishes, moving slow in comparison to snails, and rinse them in
cold water. A wipe with a dirty towel completes the cleaning.
(We guess that they get a free meal for their "help".)
After we have waited for 10 minutes, the woman asks her husband
why he hasn't served us soup yet, but he is busy collecting money
from someone else, so he again forgets. Another 10 minutes later
the young woman finally hands us a huge bowl each. It
is a hearty soup of quinoa (a starch which is one of the staple
foods in the Andes) and potatoes and quite good.
Then we get a place of rice, some vegetables and meat (to me
it tastes like goat meat), also quite good. Surain even get a
coke. There's also dessert a cup of hot water with
oats and sugar in it also good (but surprising as
a dessert). The price is astounding: $1.30 for both of us!!
Saturday morning we are up before 6, heading to the animal market.
We join in with the Indians leading their cows and pigs down
the streets. As can be appreciated, it is a lively market where
you have to watch out for crossing cows wherever you walk. People
bargaining over fat hogs, then someone dragging the squealing
and fighting pig away (how can anyone live with that noise?),
chickens. The sheep have their legs tied together and are carried
like flour sacks. It's cold in the morning, but we can watch
the sun rise over the mountains, finally reaching us with its
warmth and painting the scene with bright colours.
The weavers market is quite different. Here it is quieter but
more people, notably more tourists. The sweaters are beautiful,
and so are the colourful baskets, but we are a little disappointed
over the weavings. Admittedly, they are quite nice, but ... maybe
our expectations were too high? We don't go to the produce market,
but catch a bus to Quito instead. On our way we pass the equator
and come "down" to the Southern Hemisphere! But what
a disappointment! It looks just the same as the Northern!
We liked Quito immediately, a white-walled, red-tile&-roofed
colonial city at 2896 meters. A word about our plans after Bolivia.
We had previously hoped to be able to cross over to the famous
Iguazu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina (near Paraguay)
and from there to Rio de Janeiro. Then north through Brazil
to Venezuela and Barbados, from where there are cheap flights
to Europe. A second look at the map has convinced us of the enormous
distances. We have found reasonable flights from Santiago, Chile
(last year Santiago to Luxemburg $420), so now it looks as
we'll try to reach Tierra del Fuego instead. We've heard a lot
about the beauty of the lake district in Patagonia (both in Chile
and Argentina) which, by the way, has the only growing
glaciers in the world.
This will be enough from me.
now 27 August, l98l Surain writing
Excuse me for delaying Robert's fine composition from the mails so long. Since the above, we've crossed the equator two more times and are back in Quito. We've been to the northwest coast of Ecuador, a lot of traveling through jungle ... interesting trip, and novel, to say the least. The only land approach to the town of San Lorenzo is by rail. This "train" is not what one usually thinks of as a train. To cover this 7-hour-plus distance tying San Lorenzo with the main roads of the country, these creative people have put truck- and bus-bodies onto railroad car chassis! One "bus" we saw still had the highway wheels hanging down, too. Seeing the jungle was interesting, too; but within a few days we'll be southeast of Quito, on the other side of the Andes and into the Amazon! There we expect to take a "real" jungle trip ... hiking and by canoes.
Robert does some fine descriptions, but I think he's not as fascinated as I am perhaps with the native dress of the local Indians we've seen thusfar. They are truly beautiful and elegant. The Otavalo women wear long skirts, the underlayer white and fresh like a pillowcase, the overlayer a large square of heavy, navy blue wool wrapped so that one side remains open to facilitate walking. The bottom edge of this fine, white fabric is trimmed with lovely handwork. Their white blouses have much embroidery on the bodice and puffed sleeves. Long shawls are draped around and used to carry loads on their backs often a small child peeking out. On the woman's head is a square of fabric folded thick and square. Rows of red beads wrap her wrists, many rows of gold beads around the neck and draping the chest, and always big, dangling earrings.
The Otavalan men are just as fascinatingly beautiful. They wear white pants, and I amaze at how they are always fresh and clean. The pants come to between the knee and the ankle, and their sandals are an off-white woven string. They wear heavy wool ponchos of an elegant style, nicely finished with collar and edging. These are draped to fold back over the shoulders unless it's real cool out, when they're left down to cover their full arms. When folded back, the inside is shown off, frequently a different color or a contrasting solid to plaid. The man always wears a felt hat ... somewhat of a "bowler" style (women frequently wear this hat, too) -- and he has long hair in a beautiful braid, often reaching to the waist.
Robert weighed himself the other day -- He's lost 10 kilos! ... 22 lbs! I think that's enough! I'm not sure at this point what I've lost, but I'm sure it's less than 10 lbs. Unfair! Why do men always lose more than women when traveling? He says he's lost so much because of so much activity. Hmmm ... Since we're doing the same things, he and I, does this prove then that I am the more active person when at home?
Adios for now!
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[Letter 6] |