August 19, 2006 – The Trip Back to Arizona

This is probably kinda boring stuff compared to some of the interesting stuff we did in Ecuador, but hey, it’s part of the trip, so here’s our tale of our arduous trip home to the States. We knew it would be a long travel day for us, starting with an early morning flight out of Quito to Miami, where Mom and John would catch a connecting flight to Los Angeles, while I flew from Miami to Dallas and then on to Phoenix. We started out very early, arising at Hotel Los Alpes around 3:00 a.m. We had planned to head to the airport round 4:00 a.m., but Walter arrived a bit early, so we got to the airport around 4:00 a.m., which was a good thing, as the line for American Airlines moved very slowly unless you were a VIP member. We got to the front of the line and it seemed that whenever a person at the counter opened up, up walked a VIP person right then. When I got up to the counter the person I spoke with told me that my reservation was for today, but my ticket was for tomorrow. Huh? I asked how my reservation could be for a different day than my ticket, and for a few moments I was worried that somehow they had messed up my ticket. But, without explaining her initial comments, they got me my boarding passes to fly out this morning. This first of a number of real or potential snafus we’d run into today. We went through a few checkpoints where people would search our bags, etc. More than you ever go through at a U.S. airport. While we’re waiting at the gate, the power goes out for a few minutes at the airport. We wonder if Tungurahua has acted up again, hitting Ecuador’s power supplies, but the power comes back on in a few minutes. We are among the first the board, so Mom won’t have to stand up so long.

So far things are looking ok for our departure around 7:00 a.m. But then we sit on the plane and our departure time comes and goes. Then we get a message that they need fourteen people who are on the airplane to get off with their luggage so we can take off given the elevation and temperature. This sounds quite odd, as there’s nothing unusual about the elevation and temperature at Quito compared to other days. They then also announce that there is a mechanical problem and that further, due to the short power outage, there is a problem with TSA safety rules, so they are going to have to deplane all of us and having us go back through screening for our carry-on luggage. I started wondering between it all if we would get out of Quito at all this morning or today. John later told me that the mechanical problem was that the auxiliary power unit wasn’t working and they couldn’t get it fixed and that’s why they needed to have 14 less people on the flight, as they had to fly with less weight. They did get some volunteers to stay in Quito until a later flight, so that seemed to have been taken care of. The security problem was another story. After telling us we’d need to deplane and be rescreened, we just sat there on the plane for close to another hour. It turns out that they only had so many people to do the screening and they had another American Airlines flight next to us that they wanted to get off the ground before they rescreened us, so that’s why we sat there for a good long while. We eventually did depart the plane, forming a long line for the screeners to do their thing. I don’t really get what the power outage had to do with it though. They went through my bags as they had previously, with the only additional thing that was done being that they frisked me (as they did everyone), whereas they hadn’t done that before. But I don’t know why a power outage would relate to them not frisking me the first time around? Oh well, not worth worrying too much about. We do finally take off from Quito, about two and a half hours late, around 9:30 a.m. or thereabouts. All three of us had two hour layovers in Miami, which seemed sufficient to go through customers and catch our connecting flights. But we knew we had no chance to make our flights in Miami with such a late departure from Quito. We were far from alone in this circumstance.

We were also quite hungry, as we didn’t have any breakfast in Quito, and the anticipated breakfast on the plane didn’t come until it was getting towards noon. Mom and John did have a number of granola bars left from what they had initially packed down to Ecuador, so that helped a bit. We did get some nice views of the Andes Mountains as we headed north from Ecuador, and got a view of the Panama Canal also.

We got into Miami at about 2:15 p.m., wondering what later flights would be available to catch, as we all were quite intent on sleeping in our own beds tonight. Fortunately we zipped through customers very quickly. I didn’t get a single question from the customs officer. He just stamped my form and I was through. Then we got in the American Airlines line with all the other folks who had missed their flights and were trying to find other flights to get to their destinations. Fortunately we all got on flights, with Mom and John getting a 4:30 p.m. flight to Los Angeles, and I got a 4:05 flight to Dallas, with a connecting flight then to Phoenix. I used John’s cellphone to call Isaac and Sally to let them know about the delays, as they are picking me up at the airport in Phoenix. I have to rush to get to my gate for my 4:05 flight, saying a quick goodbye to Mom and John as they head off to their own gate. We’re not sure who will get home first, as they have a direct flight, but they have to take a shuttle from the airport a good distance to get home, while I live relatively close to the airport in Phoenix. Surprise, surprise, my flight to Dallas ended up being delayed for over an hour, as the plane we were to use was late getting in from Heathrow. But at least I figure it gives more time for my luggage to get onto the plane to Dallas!

We arrived in Dallas just before 7:00 p.m., with quite a number of people on the flight again missing connections. I should be able to make my connection, as the flight is at 7:45 p.m. to Phoenix. I get to my gate with a bit of time to spare, but there’s a plane in that gate for Chicago, and they are in the midst of boarding, so I don’t see how they’ll be boarding my plane to Phoenix for a 7:45 departure. Well, I go grab a quick bite to eat and then come back, and the Chicago plan is still sitting in the gate. I ask the person at the gate if the Phoenix flight is still leaving there on schedule from that gate, and incredulously to me, he says yes. Well, within a few minutes he announced a gate switch for our Phoenix flight, so we scurry over to the new gate and we get boarded there, departing Dallas around 8:30 p.m. or so. While in the Dallas airport, a number of television screens have the New England Patriots vs. Arizona Cardinals preseason game on and the Cardinals are losing. Phoenix residents know well the constant failings of the Cardinals franchise, so seeing them losing on television reminds me that I’m getting closer to home.

We get into Phoenix around 8:30 or so local time, meaning that I’ve been traveling now for, oh, almost nineteen hours. Time to get home and get a good night’s sleep. I get my luggage and Isaac and Sally, my good friends from church, pick me up and take me home. I’m home between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. I figure with my delays that Mom and John may have gotten home before me, but it turns out that they called me at about 10:30 p.m., and they were still at LAX, just getting their shuttle to take them back up to the Antelope Valley, as the shuttle before didn’t show up to pick them up. They end up not getting home until around 12:30 a.m., so technically their trip lasted a day longer than mine, a distinction I’m sure they weren’t excited to achieve!

August 18, 2006 – Our last day in Quito and Ecuador

After the hectic events of yesterday, we took it a bit easy today and just did a few things around Quito before packing for an early morning trip to the airport tomorrow.


The front desk at Hotel Los Alpes


The front room at Hotel Los Alpes


The dining room at Hotel Los Alpes


A view of the front of Hotel Los Alpes


And looking down the street from Hotel Los Alpes is the entrance to the United States embassy

We had our usual Hotel Los Alpes breakfast and then later in the morning Walter came by to pick us up for our last run around Quito. We first headed to Old Town Quito, which this particular morning had very heavy traffic. We first stopped for a visit at the Santo Domingo church, which was finished around 1620. It’s being restored, so there were workmen in some areas, and there was also a Mass being held in a side area. Another very spectacular church that’s definitely worth the visit. Very impressive paintings on the ceilings and a huge silver throne in the front that is said to weigh hundreds of pounds. In the Plaza de Santo Domingo, in front of the church, is a statue of General Sucre, pointing to the slopes of Pichincha, where he won a decisive victory in Ecuador’s fight for independence.


Santo Domingo church


The statue of General Sucre, pointing to Pichincha


A cross near the entrance of the Santo Domingo church

As tourists on our last day in a foreign country, we do what is every tourist’s duty, we shop. Old Town Ecuador has lots of little shops, so Walter and Mom take us on a little shopping foray in the streets near the Santo Domingo church. John and I aren’t real impressed by the shops we find or the prices they charge.

We then spend a little time trying to find the Quichua Christian and Missionary Alliance church building in Old Town Quito. When Mom was growing up in Quito, this was the Spanish-speaking Alliance church she attended. It’s on Cuenca street, but we didn’t’ seem to have much luck finding it, partly due to the continued heavy traffic. After a bit of fruitless searching, Mom calls off the search and we decide to get out of the Old Town and its traffic jams.

We decide to head to the Ipiales area, where John had gotten his new pairs of pants when we first got to Ecuador, as we recall that they seemed to have reasonable prices and a wide selection of things one might shop for. We get there and walk around a bit, but don’t find much to buy, and one place we might buy some stuff we can’t find our way back to, as the building has a number of levels, which generally slope up and down, as well as connecting to other nearby buildings. It’s around lunch time, so we stop into a little cafeteria area to get something to eat. Mom and I have some ceviche, a traditional Ecuadorian food that consists of a little container of a type of soup with a little meat in it. This is then poured onto accompanying rice, with popcorn and banana chips on the side. It was pretty good, but nothing outstanding. We hadn’t had ceviche up to this point because you have to be careful to make sure it’s fully cooked, but Walter assured us that in this case it was. John was less daring, having rice with some tomato sauce on top.

Walter then has us over to his home, showing traditional Ecuadorian hospitality. He gives us some ice cream and cookies and we get to see on their table the tablecloth that Mom gave to Walter’s wife. Unfortunately Walter’s wife isn’t there to join us, as she had to run one of their daughters to the doctor. We then head back to the Hotel Los Alpes, stopping off on the way for John to download some pictures from his camera onto a CD.

Back near the hotel we stop by the Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal, just a few blocks from our hotel. It’s a great little market, with a wide variety of Ecuadorian goods a tourist would be interested in, at generally reasonable prices. We didn’t even know it was there until today. Too bad, as it’s a better place to shop than some other places we’ve gone. We pick up a few things and then Walter needs to drop us off so he can go pick up the Peugeot, his regular taxi cab that’s been having its radiator fixed, but which we need to take us and our luggage to the airport tomorrow. So we bid Walter farewell for the day after he drops us off at the hotel. Mom’s ready for a rest, but John and I head back to the mercado to make sure we do our duty as tourists to shop the final day of our trip. Mom gives John some money and tells him to not come back until he’s spent it on good Ecuador stuff. We wander the aisles of the market, buying various things. When we get back to the hotel, Mom seems to approve of John’s purchases.

We had started packing the night before, and continue to pack so things are ready to go tomorrow morning. We have dinner at Hotel Los Alpes. We haven’t been real impressed with the dinners we’ve had here, but it seems that when we eat here we’re the only ones that do, and the cook/waiter seems so eager to have us eat here that it’s kinda hard to not eat here. Plus we’re a bit tired and it’s easier to eat here. Mom and John have spaghetti and I have ravioli. As far as Tungurahua, it seems to be quiet now, so we expect our flight tomorrow to take off without any volcano-related hitches. Time to finish packing and get everything squared away to head home. Our flight is around 7:00 a.m., so we plan to leave the hotel around 4:00 a.m., arriving at the airport by 4:30 a.m. We figure between the early hour and having at least two and a half hours, that we should have enough time. We are trying to make sure we don’t have liquids and such with us in our carry-on luggage following last week’s terrorist plot being foiled in the U.K. and the U.S.
It’s been quite a trip, with many an unexpected turn of events, but a great time has been had by all of us and we’ve all stayed pretty healthy. This is my last blog entry from Ecuador. Maybe when I get home I’ll do a wrap up blog entry, waxing philosophical or something. So this is Bob signing off from Quito.

August 17, 2006 – The Day of Tungurahua

Today’s plan was to head west from Shell Mera after breakfast, passing through Banos and Ambato on the way back to Quito. After two days of driving over long segments of poor quality roadways, we were looking forward to driving back to Quito on nice, paved roads. I woke up early, and recalling that I needed to plug in my camcorder and battery charger, I went to plug them in and they didn’t light up, so I tried another plug, with similar results. I then tried turning on the room light, but no luck. Well, the power is out, but I suppose that happens on occasion around here, so no big deal as I’ve got other batteries charged that I can use if need be. I go back to sleep for awhile. I and others wake up a bit later and the power still wasn’t on, but we made the best of it, having porridge and rolls for breakfast.

Glenda, one of the folks that runs the place came into the building and told us that she had heard at the corner market that the Tungurahua volcano had erupted last night and that the road to the west through Banos was reportedly closed. Tungurahua was also responsible for knocking the power out, as this region relies on a major hydroelectric plant on the Rio Pastaza, not far from Tungarahua (we later learned that power was knocked out in all or part of Ecuador’s four jungle provinces due to transmission lines getting knocked out. Sounds like they need some transmission line redundancy!). We also hear rumors of mudslides in the Banos area and evacuations. This all makes us quite nervous, as we are scheduled to fly out of Quito in two days and our main route for getting back to Quito is blocked for who knows how long. Basically our options are to wait to see if the road through Banos opens back up, a dubious option given our flight schedule, or to retrace our steps the last two days back through Puyo and Tena. This option hardly thrills us, as we remember all too well the many rough sections of road we passed over, never thinking we would be contemplating a return trip. But a return trip it must be, as the consensus is that there’s no other good way to get back to Quito on a timely basis. Will the little Chevy Cista, with it’s lack of clearance, hold up after the beating it took the first time? Well, today we’ll find out. It’s rather cloudy out, including to the west, so we don’t have any view of “Mama” Tungurahua and the trouble she is stirring up.

At least we’re getting a relatively early jump on things as we’re leaving Shell Mera by 8:30 a.m. We bid farewell to the folks at Shell Mera, including a German family who are also heading back to Quito today and will traverse the same route as us (though they’ve got an SUV that can handle the route better than our Cista). We head east a few miles, hit Puyo and then we’re heading north to Tena. We note the different road conditions as we remember them from our drive in the other direction.


Fun road conditions

One event I didn’t mention yesterday, but I will now, is our run-in with a grader on the road between Tena and Puyo. The non-paved roads in the area we were passing through weren’t good, but we were doing ok, as we headed south yesterday. Then we come upon an area where something has pulled boulders and rocks of all sizes out of the ditch and into the middle of the road, forming a bit of a barrier in the middle, as well as a scattering of different sized rocks scattered along the rest of the road. Why someone would do this puzzles us, as these rocks are not what you want to have in the road to drive over! Part of the problem is deciding which side of the middle barrier to go down, and wondering which way the on-coming traffic will choose. We start going down one side and then come across the transgressor who is creating such road havoc. It’s a grader and he’s running down one side of the road, using his blade to pull the rocks back into the roadway. We look at each other, wondering what the guy running the grader is thinking. Our lane is now narrowing down too much to continue, so we hop out of the car and John, Walter, and I move enough rocks and dirt from the middle barrier to allow our car to get back over to the other side. We continue on, but several times run across a bus or big truck coming the other way, and it was a very tight squeeze for both of us to fit down one side of the road and pass each other. Well, anyway, today as we’re heading north from Puyo, we run across the same telltale signs of the grader run amok, as large rocks run along the middle of the road with various rocks scattered elsewhere on the roadway. We reach a point where there is no lane that we can drive down that is wide enough to not go over sizable rocks that would do unpleasant things to the underside of our Chevy. So for one segment of road John and I hop out of the car and walk in front, kicking and throwing rocks out of the way to make a way for Walter to drive the car forward. In Ecuador you just never know what you’ll be doing from one day to the next. After a little while we’re in the clear, past the segment of road where the grader continues to make life difficult for people who actually have to drive on the road.


More fun road conditions


The Rio Napo, at Puerto Napo

Another thing we did a few times was when there was a particularly bad rut the car had to go over, John and I both got out and walked, lightening the load for the car so it would have a little bit more clearance. This seemed to help a bit. We’re still having a few scrapes on the bottom of the car, but not as many as the first time we passed over these roads. We reach Tena a bit before noon and decide to push ahead rather than stopping to eat or rest. The road north from Tena is pretty good until past Archidona, when we hit the long stretch of bad road that lasts most of the way to Cosanga. One strange thing on this stretch of road is that for several short stretches there are segments of new road, but on other side of the good segment are long segments are quite rough road. We ponder why they would build a short segment of good road while not connecting it to more good road in either direction? Well, hey, I’m just an American visiting the beatiful country of Ecuador, so I won’t worry about it too much. The weather has gradually cleared up a bit and we gradually plug our way along this long stretch of mostly bad roads. Walter seems to be doing better at avoiding the bad scrapes on the bottom of the car, assisted at least to some extent by our spotting of especially bad bumps. It sure seems we’ve spent a lot of this trip driving from one place to another, especially given that Ecuador isn’t that big of a country and we’ve mostly stayed in the central part of the country.


These guys don´t seem to mind the road conditions!


What could be around the corner? More bad road, that´s what.

As we climb in elevation, it starts drizzling a bit, but not enough to cause any problems. Eventually we emerge 7.7 kilometers from Cosanga to the civilized world of well-paved roads. Woohoo! We pass through Cosanga and then stop in Baeza for a late lunch at a little cafe there. Our lunch includes some rice and lentils, which Mom says is very fitting, as Grandpa and Grandma Cedar would have rice and lentils sometimes as they traversed this area too and from Quito on mules or horses. With this sustenance we now push on toward Quito, passing through Papallacta again. Puzzlingly, the roads through and near Papallacta are not paved and are the worst this side of Cosanga.


Bad roads near Papallacta


Several water falls near Papallacta


The river near Papallacta ( I forget the name right now)

The Andes Mountains are partially masked by intermittent clouds and fog, a view Mom says was very common in the days when they lived in Ecuador.
After passing through Papallacta, we head into the paramo, the high, mostly treeless region of Ecuador. It’s hear we again hit the high point of the road before starting our journey down to Quito.


The paramo, high in the Andes Mountains. Kinda reminds me of Scotland!


And more paramo

The remainder of the trip is relatively uneventful, and we arrive safely back at Hotel Los Alpes in Quito, anxious to find out what’s happening with Tungurahua and let folks back home know that we’re ok. The whole trip from Shell Mera to Quito took a bit over seven hours of driving, plus stops, but as we find out the extent of Tungurahua’s effects, we’re glad we chose the route we did.

We bid farewell to Walter and settle into the hotel for the evening, having dinner after resting a little while. Tomorrow will be our last day in Ecuador, and we plan to spend it doing a few things around Quito. We read and watch the news coverage of Tungurahua’s destruction, with early reports of one death, three villages destroyed, a number of other towns damaged, major evacuations, significant property damage, etc. If the eruption had taken place, oh, six or nine hours later, we might have found ourselves in a very challenging situation, as we’d be on the road through Banos to Ambato that was heavily impacted by the volcano. Someone at our hotel mentions that he heard the Quito airport is closed due to ash, but we haven’t noticed ash in Quito and news reports we see only reference airport closures to the south, in cities like Ambato, Riobamba, and Guayaquil. But we’ll have to keep an eye on things the next day or so, as who knows what might happen next in the unpredictable country of Ecuador.

August 16, 2006 – Dos Rios to Shell Mera

Tena is at a much lower elevation that we’ve been at, under 2,000 feet, so it’s a bit warmer and a good bit more humid than the rest of our trip so far. So the air-conditioning we have in our rooms at Hotel Los Yutzos is quite welcome. We have a good breakfast at the hotel, including a small plate of fruit, rolls, and scrambled eggs with ham mixed in for each of us. Should keep us well satisfied for our drive south the Puyo and Shell Mera today. Toward the end of breakfast it starts to rain and it’s a real good bit of rain coming down. As we return to our rooms before heading out of town with Walter, we are hoping that the rain doesn’t cause us road problems between Tena and Puyo or when we first track down Dos Rios, where Grandma and Grandpa Cedar had their mission station and Mom grew up her first years. We’re not sure what, if anything, we’ll find, but we’ll give it a try.

We get loaded up in Walter’s car and there’s a good bit of dialogue between Walter and Mom, as Walter thinks Dos Rios is south, on the way to Puyo, while we’re all pretty sure it’s north, based upon maps, Mom’s memories, etc. we’ve consulted. Walter’s great in many ways, but if he gets his mind set in a certain direction, it takes a good bit of effort to steer him elsewhere. But Mom prevails and we go just to the north edge of Tena, where we find a bridge crossing the river as we thought there should be. We cross over and drive a little bit, including passing an evangelical church, and we see a sign for Reuben Larsen barrio. Reuben Larson was the missionary in this location before my grandparents, so that’s a good sign.


The Ruben Larson sign

We then stop and Mom starts talking to a man at a nearby house. His name is Jose Castillo and it turns out he put the sign up as a way to remember Reuben Larson and the mission work that was done here. Mom and he are quickly into much conversation and then John and I and Walter come into the house and sit down. Jose comes into the room and presents us with two wood spears, a short one and a long one, as gifts. We accept them, knowing we can’t take them through customs when we leave the country, but we will give them to Walter to have. Jose is a doctor and he shows us a number of plants he’s growing that have various beneficial health and medical effects. He tells Mom that the church we passed by near his house is an Alliance church and also tells us that just down the hill, on the upper side of the road, the house and barn where Mom lived her first years and Grandpa and Grandma Cedar lived are still standing. Jose tells Mom that if she will come back again, he’ll heal her arthritis in her knees. We very much enjoy Jose’s hospitality and eventually it’s time for us to leave.


Jose, Mom (with spear), and Walter


Walter, Jose, and Mom in an animated conversation

We bid Jose goodbye and then go just down the road to see the house and barn where Mom grew up her first years. The house doesn’t look to have been used for many years, with just the framing in the walls intact. Mom also says that the kitchen, which was added on to the back of the house, isn’t there anymore. The barn has actual siding and looks to be in use, as there’s a couple pieces of clothing hanging out a window and a dog barking, so we don’t go up close to look. Still very exciting though to see the original structures, which Mom says were already there in 1937 when they came. The rain has now subsided, which is nice for taking pictures and also probably a good sign for our trip to Puyo.


Grandpa and Grandma Cedar's mission home, where Mom spent her first years


Grandpa and Grandma Cedar's barn, where they kept animals, etc.


The Christian and Missionary Alliance church just down the hill from Granpa and Grandma Cedar's old home

Time to exit Tena and get to Puyo and then Shell Mera. John had e-mailed several folks at Shell Mera about our schedule being bumped a day, but hadn’t heard back, so we’re not totally sure of where we’re staying tonight. The big question is whether the road to Puyo will be paved and nice, or will it be in bad shape like much of what we had to drive over yesterday on our way to Tena. So far so good, as the first 20-25 miles from Tena are paved and in good condition. But then suddenly the paved road ends, and we’re back to bouncing around a rocky road that at one point today made me think we were driving down a riverbed, rather than a road. The only good thing is we know that we won’t have to go as far today on bad roads as we ended up doing yesterday. However, at one point we were going through some mud and the car stopped. Uh oh! Walter started the car back up and, thanks to the front wheel drive, the car crawled out of the mud and kept going. Then, just moments later, the red battery warning light comes on in the car, so we stop and pop the hood. Now we’re about halfway from Tena to Pujo, really in the middle of nowhere, so any kind of substantive car trouble could make things real interesting. Well, we check the battery, which looks fine, make sure all the fuses are in place, and give it a general look over. But we really don’t see anything that would have cause the red light to come on! Well, we get back in the car and Walter turns it on, and in a few seconds the red light disappears and doesn’t reappear for the rest of the day. I’m not sure what went on with the red light, but Mom says she was praying, which has been know to help in all sorts of situations.

Ecuadorean roadside mud


A roadside spectator

So we continue on and finally escape the rugged road just as we enter Puyo. We then gas up the car and stop for a snack of fish soup to give both us and the car a rest. We’re back on decent paved roads. We head to Shell Mera, just a short distance to the west of Puyo, where we hope to stay at the guesthouse at the HCJB facilities there. We first find the HCJB hospital in Shell Mera, where a nurse helps guide us to the main HCJB facility in Shell Mera. It’s not easy to notice at first, as is often the case with Protestant facilities in Ecuador. This is due to Ecuador still being primarily a Catholic nation, and Protestant groups tend to keep a low profile, to try to avoid unnecessary trouble with the Catholic majority, who still at times not real tolerant of non-Catholic groups. But we get to the HCJB facility and meet Glenda, a lady who with her husband used to run the facility but now are retired and just filling in while the current administrators are on furlough. It turns out they do have room for us (as well as Walter) to stay tonight in the guesthouse. The guesthouse is the original hospital at Shell Mera, and will be torn down soon, as a new one is being built, so we’re staying in a building with a good deal of history within its walls.


The HCJB guesthouse in Shell Mera, where we're staying tonight


The original plaque, dedicating the hospital in 1958

We get settled in a little bit and then Glenda lets us know that the facilities of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) are nearby, where Nate Saint flew from before his death in the famous outreach efforts to the Waodanis and which continues to serve various mission needs in the area. So we decide to go have a look, and we see the current hangar where the mission flies out of (though nobody is around right now), as well as the Nate Saint school for missionary children and the two old homes where the Saints and others lived and continue to live as they serve with MAF. Pretty interesting. We then head for an early dinner at a restaurant Glenda suggested that was owned by a Christian Quichua family, where we have a good meal.


The current Mission Aviation Felloship hangar


Nate Saint's house in Shell Mera

We then head back to the guesthouse, where Walter starts washing his car and John and I decide to take a walk. We pass by Walter and he’s talking to someone, who he introduces to us as Javier. It turns out Walter knew Javier through Walter’s sister working in the HCJB hospital in Quito. We chat for a few minutes and John asks Javier about Nate Saint and the buildings we saw earlier. Javier offers to walk over there with us, as he lives in an apartment at one of the buildings. We walk over there and while we’re walking, Javier asks us if we’d like to meet Marj Saint. Well, at least that’s what we thought he said. It turns out to be Margie Grant, principal at the Nate Saint school. She is tied up until after 8:00 p.m., but says she’d be glad to come visit and talk to us and hear about Mom’s Ecuador experiences. So she came over to the guesthouse a little bit after 8:00 p.m. and Mom shows here a number of pictures and things and gives her a copy of Mom’s recently completed story of Grandpa and Grandma Cedar’s missionary times in Ecuador. Margie is very interested and spends a little over two hours with us, hearing about Mom’s Ecuador experiences and sharing a little bit with us about what she does and some of the challenges facing MAF these days. An enjoyable time is had by all. So time to hit the sack and get some rest for a full day tomorrow as we head back to Quito. Hopefully we’ll get some clear weather so we can take advantage of our last opportunity to see Tungurahua and Chimborazo.

August 15, 2006 - The Road to Tena

Today is the day when our jungle trip begins, barring any unexpected change of plans. We had our usual Hotel Los Alpes breakfast, which we’ve become rather accustomed to. Shortly after 9:30 a.m. Walter came to the hotel. His taxi was still in the Peuguot repair shop, so he had his daughter’s car, the same car went in to Otavalo yesterday. It’s new and we fit well in it, but it’s a small 4-door Chevy Cista (sp?), so we don’t have a lot of clearance if we hit any bad roads.

We head east, dipping down from Quito into Cumbaya and then head up the Oriental range as they call the mountain range on the east side of the Avenue of the Volcanoes. We keep going up and up, eventually topping out at around 13,400 feet, higher than when we went up the Teleferico last Sunday.

A view at 13,400 feet

Roadside on the way to Tena

Another Andean view

John and Walter looking at a roadside sign for the Reserva Ecologica Artisana

A note on Ecuadorian roads at this point. The main roads between the bigger cities are quite good in quality, being paved and giving a relatively smooth ride. But if you’re not on the main roads, the quality drops quickly, providing regular bouncing and at times possibly risking the undercarriage of your car. So far heading east from Quito, the road has been paved, the traffic has been light, and we’re making good time. We’re now headed down the eastern side of the Oriental range, into the Amazonian jungle. It starts raining and after a little while it’s coming down pretty good. We pass through Papallacta (at about 10,500 feet), known for the best hot springs in Ecuador and as Mom notes, a regular stopping point for Grandpa and Grandma Cedar when they made the five day journey between Quito and their missionary station in the jungle at Dos Rios.

Papallacta

The Ecuadorian oil pipeline alongside the road

Things are looking much greener and more like a jungle. We notice a man on the side of the road using a large leaf as an umbrella, as Mom had described Grandma and Grandpa Cedar doing when they were on the way to a wedding in the jungle many years ago.

Another thing to note that we saw in our visit to Ecuador. Every once in awhile on the main roads there’s be a checkpoint where you often pay a $1.00 toll and there is a military or police person who will question you as they see fit, possibly look at your papers, and whatever else they might choose to do. With Walter, he’s quite good with people, so he’d pull up, give the officer a Halls mentholyptus or a caramel, chat for a few moments, and we were through the checkpoint with no problems.

A roadside sign for the Parque National Sumaco

Well, back to the drive to Tena, where we now got to Baeza and then Cosanga, two more stopping points during Grandma and Grandpa Cedar’s five day trips. The rain has now stopped and the sky is clearing up just a bit. Until shortly after passing through Cosanga, the nice, paved road had for the most part continued, with just a few short rough areas where there was construction or something. But after leaving Cosanga the good road suddenly ends, with a rocky, rough road (“the bad road”) in its place. Not what we like to see, driving a compact car with limited clearance and still quite a few kilometers to go before arriving in Tena! Walter did a good job of trying to maneuver through the ruts, rocks sticking up, potholes, etc., but quite a number of times we heard the painful scrape of car undercarriage making contact with the road, a confrontation that the car generally loses. This continued for quite awhile, with a few respites of better road, but for the most part really poor road conditions, particularly when you consider that this is the main road from Quito to Tena. One of my guidebooks says that the paved road will eventually be extended all the way to Tena, and there was some construction taking place, but they’ve got a long ways to go! We seemed to be just crawling along, and a number of times after another scrape of the ground on the car’s undercarriage we would look behind the car, thinking we might see a piece of the car or a telltale oil trail or something, but we didn’t.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the road started getting better (at least in spots) as we approached Archidona (where Grandma Cedar walked to one night to deliver a baby) and the last few miles into Tena (the capital of Napo Province) were better.

The city square and church in Archidona

Rio Napo

But for a supposedly major artery in Ecuador’s transportation system, this section of the road to Tena was nowhere near what it should be. We were wondering how most things get to Tena, and speculated that maybe they come from the south, through Banos and Puyo, as we can’t imagine a lot of it would travel the route we just did. We’ll find out tomorrow what the road to the south is like.

Well, to finish today up, we did arrive safely in Tena, found our place to stay at Hostel Los Yutzos, a nice place right on the shores of the Tena River. We had dinner at a restaurant called Chiquitos, overlooking the river, and parted ways with Walter for the night, hoping that all would be well with the car the next couple days and that we wouldn’t have a repeat of “The Road to Tena.”

A view from my balcony at Hostal Los Yutzos in Tena



Some rowdy guy upstairs!

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August 14, 2006 - To the Jungle or is it Otavalo?

Well, it doesn’t seem like any day has gone as it was planned on this trip, and today was no exception. We were scheduled to head to the jungle today, staying tonight at Tena before heading south to Shell Mera the following day. We were packed and ready to go and we had our usual Hotel Los Alpes breakfast. Walter called and was running late but showed up with his taxi after a little while and we loaded our luggage in the back and got in the car, ready to go. That’s when the best laid plans of mice and men, well, you know the rest. Walter pops up his hood and is looking at something with John. He then comes into the car and tells Mom that he has to take the taxi in to get it fixed, so we can’t go to the jungle today, but he’ll get another car and we’ll go to Otavallo today instead. Well, one would think that he’d figure out his taxi needed fixing the night before or sometime before we’re all loaded in and ready to head out, but I guess not. So we take our luggage back into the hotel, call our hotel in Tena to change our reservations, e-mail Shell Mera to see if we can change the night we stay there, arrange to stay at Los Alpes tonight rather than Wednesday night, grab a few things, and we head out with Walter. He takes us to his house, where it turns out we’re using his daughter’s new car to go to Otavalo. We hop in that car, he gets a driver to take his taxi to the Peugeot dealer to be fixed, and we drive to the Peugeot dealer and then head north to Otavalo. We’re just hoping his taxi does get fixed, so we can head to the jungle tomorrow, as any further delays might put a real dent in our jungle visit. Basically at this point we’re flipping our planned Thursday to today and then bumping the jungle trip back a day.

So today we’re now heading north to Otavalo, the famous market town, as well as Agato, where Grandma Cedar had diapers made according to Mom, as well as Cotacachi, known for its leather goods. It’s another mostly clear day, so we have nice views of the Cayambe, Imbabura, and Cotacachi volcanoes as well as Lago San Pablo on the drive north.


Imbabura volcano, I think

We arrive in Otavalo, and there is a sizable marketplace of various goods to purchase, though reports are that the Saturday market is much larger and in fact one of the largest in South America. But today’s smaller market is fine, as there aren’t any crowds to fight. There’s still a very nice selection of items to choose from and we do a bit of shopping at the Otavalo market.

The famous Otavalo market


A lady we did some business with


And another lady we did some business with

Walter has spoken to someone in Otavalo who tells him that the place in Agato that Mom wants to visit is only open on Wednesdays and Sundays, so we can’t visit there. So we then head up to Cotacachi, a little ways northwest of Otavalo, and we do a bit of shopping there for leather goods. It’s now a little past lunchtime so we figure we’ll have a light lunch here in Cotacachi and then have a more substantive birthday dinner tonight for Mom (her birthday is August 25th, but since we won’t be in Ecuador then, we figure we’ll move the celebration forward a bit.

Walter suggests a place called La Mirage in Cotacachi. We arrive and it looks like a real nice place, so we decide to have Mom’s birthday celebration here, rather than waiting to do it somewhere in Quito this evening. We are seated in an area that has a nice view of the garden with flowers and peacocks. The interior of the restaurant is set up with panels and other features so that each table has a good bit of privacy. We do hear a bit of the conversation of some big-whig businessmen next to us talking about doing big business dealing in mining and other areas. The restaurant has the Ecuadorian delicacy cuy (that’s guinea pig to Americans) on the menu, so all three of us decide to order that. As the menu states, cuy is known here as the “Specialty of the Incan Gods”. I should mention that Aunt Janet (Mom’s sister and another native Ecuadorian) graciously gave Mom some money to provide for a very nice birthday celebration for Mom. So thank you to Aunt Janet for this very good meal we had today!


La Mirage

The plates are these big metal plates with some designs around the edge and Mom really likes the doilies (sp?) on the plates. They also ask us where we are from and when I tell them we’re from the U.S.A., they place a little American flag on the table. Then they bring us these warm, damp towels to wipe our hands clean. I think the only other time I’ve done that is once when I flew in first class on an airplane. As usual on this trip, to drink we have agua, sine gas, meaning bottled water without bubbles. They first bring each of us several small, but tasty, pieces of bread. Then things get real interesting, as each of us has a musical box placed in front of us. It sits there playing its music for a few seconds and we look at each other and wonder what this is all about! Well, one of us take a peek inside, and there’s a little plate with a little fork, and a little fried appetizer in each of our musical boxes for us to eat. Mom is particularly taken by this way of having food presented to us.


John contemplating his musical box/appetizer holder

Now it’s time for the main course, and they bring us each a plate with three pieces of cuy on it, as well as potatoes, some avacado in a little hollowed out cucumber piece, and half a tomato filled with some vegetables. The pieces of cuy each have little while coverings on the narrow end of them to be used to pick up each piece. We begin eating and the cuy is quite good, with it tasting a good bit like chicken. It is all quite good and we all finish off our cuy.


The cuy dinner


Mom chomping on some cuy




Then it’s time for dessert, with Mom getting a lavender ice cream desert and I got a dulce de leche assortment, with John happy to get a cup of coffee. The desserts are quite ornate and also taste very good. We finish them off and are quite full and happy. Thanks again Aunt Janet! And good suggestion Walter!


Mom and her lavender ice cream dessert


My dulce de leche dessert


Several of the young Ecuadorean ladies that served us

With that John and I walk out and take a few pictures in the garden and then we hop into the car with Walter. It’s getting later in the afternoon and it’s time to head back to Quito.


Looking back from the garden at La Mirage

We get back to Quito fine, though we had several close calls with people coming near to hitting us. Although we haven’t seen many fender-benders, one thing I won’t miss is the seemingly chronic close calls we experience as all the cars seem the weave around road, often with little recognition of solid yellow lines and such. But we’ve made it so far without problem, so I trust that’ll continue for the rest of the week until we head back to the States.

We are now back at Hotel Los Alpes and we have some clean laundry waiting for us. It’s quite nice, as you leave a bag of dirty laundry on your bed and when you come back later it’s there clean and folded. Not bad! I kinda wish it would work that way back home! We’re still rather full from the scrumptious late lunch we had, so we decide to skip dinner and rest and get ready for what we hope is the beginning of our jungle visit tomorrow. One thing I brought along with me to do when I’ve got some spare time in the evenings is several episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on DVD. Specifically, I’ve got episodes 413 and 414, titled Manhunt in Space and Tormented, respectively. I’ve watched Tormented and will probably watch at least a bit of Manhunt in Space later tonight. And I’m about halfway through my book on the Templars, but I’m holding off some on it so I’ll have some if it to read on the flight home.