Here’s a little breakdown of Mom and Dad venture to Ecuador for a little adventure:
Hotels (not motels…motels are rented by the hour)
Hotels in Ecuador like to book reservations based on the number of people in your party rather than the number and/or types of beds needed. If you declare four people, well then, they want to give you four beds. The first night in Ecuador we were in a HUGE room with four beds (enough room to sleep 7 people) because my friend Elizabeth accompanied me to meet my parents in Guayaquil. You really have to make yourself clear if you want a specific bed arrangement. “ Una sencilla y un matrimonio por favor,” otherwise you end up sleeping in three twin beds.
A local’s point of view
Dad, taking after Grampa Ike, loves to make friends with any old stranger. You would think it would be harder to do in Ecuador what with the language barrier and all, but, you’d have to see it to believe it, my dad can converse for hours with the locals with his slight Spanish skills and their eagerness to listen. Dad made friends with David and family on a train ride to La Nariz del Diablo in Riobamba. He met sweet Olga, a small woman living alone at the peak of a vista point in the mountains of Baños, and – can’t remember her name – he spoke every morning with the woman who served him coffee. She came to recognize him when he walked through the door as “ café para llevar” man.
While trekking up the mountains behind Baños one day and beginning to conclude that we were never going to reach the mysterious little town of Run Tun at the very top of the mountain, we met a mountain local, Manuel. Manuel hailed us from the road insisting that we needed to rest and drink some tea…in his little concrete mountain house. I, as I always am here, was very weary and ready to say no. Well, we tried, but in true Ecua fashion, he refused our refusal and we ended up sitting down to a cup of tea and some cookies inside Manuel’s tiny, immaculate house. He insisted we stay for a while and even took his Nixon mask off the wall and put it on for a little show. He sat back with the mask on, held up two peace signs and said “ No so ladrón,” I am not a thief. It was at this point I had a hunch we were not the first wandering tourists to be sharing an afternoon cup of tea with Manuel. I became sure of this hunch after he led us back to the trail and then put his hand out politely requesting a tip.
Jungle time
One of the must sees for Mom and Dad was the jungle of Ecuador. We booked a one night trip out of Baños to go to the jungles of Puyo. The three of us had a private guide, Carlos who “ spoke English.” Carlos was awesome and definitely knew how to survive the jungle life. He lead us to our lovely rustic cabanas, where we would be staying for the night and then went to the kitchen to “ prepare the food.” He always said he was going to go prepare the food and he would be in the kitchen much longer than all the other guides who were individually preparing food for their groups. We soon realized our wait was well worth it when, after we’d been jealously eyeing other travelers eat their heaping plate of pasta, Carlos presented us with cream of mushroom soup, grilled garlic and herb chicken and fresh veggies. I assure you, this is not normal for food served on jungle trips, let alone food in Ecudaor. Carlos continued to wow us with his gourmet dishes.
It was after the first jungle hike and night’s stay in the rather shabby rustic cabins, that Mom and Dad agreed they were happy we had only booked one night. Jungle tour agencies here hardly ever warn you of the physical condition you should be in in order to participate in jungle trips. Jungle tour guides are part animal and just don’t consider that other people aren’t. After our first day’s hike we had had shared homemade yucca alcohol with the village shaman, painted our faces with ink from a jungle plant, climbed yet another tall tall mountain to a vista point, and swung over a large mud pit on a vine like Tarzan. Well, Carlos did, Dad did, and I opted out after witnessing the result of Mom’s turn. You’ll have to ask her about that story…
Our next day hike was even more strenuous and done wearing panchos because the rainforest rains had begun to fall hard. We inhaled some water mixture made from the bark of a tree that was supposed to clear our sinuses. Not only did it clear our sinuses, but it brought tears to our eyes, as well as our jungle guide’s eyes. On this day we were told we were going to hike to a waterfall and could swim. We all assumed the swim was optional. This assumption was put to rest when we had to begin hiking upstream in waste deep water. Then we stopped and Carlos informed us to leave our things on the embankment and swim around the rock ahead to get to the waterfall. Mom’s “no way am I swimming on this rainy day” attitude was confronted and conquered.
