Well....I've been craving another travel experience, something unique, rich with indigenous culture, a destination not too far, and one that is inexpensive enough to allow me a stay at least 6 weeks. Also an acquaintance of mine mentioned a love for Vilcabama,Ecuador and that their house might be available for me to stay. In addition to that, my friends, Judy and George invited me to do a rental car road trip through Ecuador.
So here I am in Ecuador, April 2008 and I'm ready for an adventure.
About Ecuador: It is a small,diverse,amazingly beautiful country on the west coast of South America,south of Colombia and north of Peru. It is blessed with the Andes Highlands, the Amazon jungles, Coastal beaches (including the Galapagos), exotic flowers and colorful birds, and Inca ruins.
At 11pm I arrived at the Quito, Ecuador airport where a friendly, handsome guy was standing with a flimsy paper sign that said - "Rosa".
A 10 minute ride brought me to my bitty room with one small squeeky bed and a private bathroom. This whole place was as clean as my childhood Dutch home, because it was spotless. I even checked under the bed.....there were no spider webs.
$12 a night includes an airport shuttle pickup,a warm family welcome, the room, a table-clothed, sit down breakfast,shared computer for internet and an old Quito morning tour. So today I was told there is a special Ecuadorian dinner tonight and a rum party....to celebrate an award that the hotel received for being "most friendly".
I slept just ok and I've had no effects from the 9,500 altitude so far. The weather is gray and cool like san francisco and occasionally pours. Quito has a population of 1.4 million, and so far in the "new area" I've noticed alot of cement and block style buidings.
The included mini bus tour took us to the Old Quito and that was very quaint with beautiful historic buildings, churches, parks and indigenous women with bright colored shawls. I´m told the people here do not want their photo taken, because as in many countries, they believe it takes part of their soul. I found that true of many countries and for that reason, in the past I didn't get many people photots.
I had a great 2 hour spanish lesson, which included a saturated, muddy walk out in the rain to get my cell phone activated and a new chip. Then we walked to the pharmacy, to get the prescriptions I absent mindedly left at home in San Francisco on the kitchen counter. It´s great to know you can buy anything you want here, without a doctor´s prescription....so easy!
I am excited to start my journey of Ecuador!
Below is a U-tube video "Ecuador at it's Purest".
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