From drunken Quito to beautiful Baños

If you want to simply see the pretty pictures, scroll down. Or you could put up with a bit of bullshit beforehand, as I had to. This blog applies through last Saturday. I’ll add more pictures later this week of my weekend adventures!

Right now I am in Baños, where there are countless little stores where you can use the computer by the hour or make international calls to anywhere in the world. Baños is a beautiful little town of about 12,000 people nestled in the Andes mountains around 1,800 meters in elevation (somewhere around 6,000 feet). The people are friendly and all say “hola” like in Anchorage. I am actually having difficulty composing my thoughts here in English because I have been interacting only in Spanish all day. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I arrived a day late after engine trouble caused me to miss my flight from Miama to Quito. After an awesome unplanned 1st class flight to Costa Rica for an overnight stay, American Airlines arranged for me to take a flight to Quito with Taca Airlines. My bags arrived 3 days later. Because my final flight was with Taca, needless to say, American Airlines refused to speak with me (in broken Spanish) about my bags, and gave Taca only minimal information. After eight taxi rides to and from the airport, I was finally able to get my bags and travel . I am very angry about this because not only did I have to spend 3 unplanned days in Quito, but I was unable to enjoy it. Also, I paid $100 for trip insurance, and AA and Taca supplied with with no compensation in the form of money for clothing, toiletries and cab rides.

During my stay in Quito, I stayed in the Hostal Galapagos in New Town Quito. Quito is a nice city of about 2 million during the day, but at night, it feels dirty and full ofdrunks (barrachos) and drug addicts. There were also people on the street trying to sell all manners of goods to passing cars and pedestrians, many in indigenous dress. The saddest sight I saw was a man who was drinking petroleum and blowing fire in the street for money. His wife and four dead-eyed children huddled in the traffic circle in the middle of the freeway.

Despite my experience with the airlines, however, the people in Quito are very eager to help me, often walking me to my destinations after I ask for directions. People were eager to talk with me in Spanish, despite my lack of skills. I found my time with the people in the Hostals less interesting and rewarding than time spent with locals. New Town was very touristy and full of drinking and English language signs. Most people were traveling as couples or were primarily there to party with people of their own nationality. Though this isn’t really my scene, I definitely indulged a bit!

The first night I met a kid named Santiago at a purportedly “Mexican” restaurant (I had a strangely salty burrito). We ended up going to a karaoke bar that was all locals except for me. Santiago was super patient with me, and only spoke a bit of English; we spoke mostly Spanish, and it was hard for me to understand him in the karaoke bar. Everyone was singing traditional Latin American music, but I opted for some American classics: Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” and, of course, “Bad Romance”. The bar sang along, I guess a bit surprised by the lone gringa. I felt much safer walking through the taxi-laden streets with Santiago. The drivers are constantly swerving and honking at pedestrians, but I was a bit more intimidated by the unstable drug addicts or the more stable criminals that prey on tourists there.

The next day, after a trip to the bookstore and more frustrating negotiations with American Airlines, I met a chick named Dani at the hostel. She lent me her computer to make calls and deodorant – thank God! We ended up going out for traditional Ecuadorian cuisine, (including cuy) and then went to a concert with some local friends of hers- a band called, ironically, “Biorn Borg”. It was really my kind of music, and, again, we were the only tourists. Dani, who hails from Boston and Las Vegas, works as a roadie professionally, assembling and disassembling stages, taking pictures, and traveling all over the world. She had many hilarious “30 second stories” and an awesome laugh. The bar was too expensive and so we snuck sips of Jaeger in the bathroom (I have never seen a country with such a range of prices – 70 cents for two liters of water and, down the street, $10 for a shot of whisky. Stupid.). Afterward, we went dancing with her friends, Carlos and David, in an exclusive salsa joint. I felt super awkward, and have vowed to never try again- “I dance better by myself” is my new line for the more ambitious men around here in Baños.

The next day, with the help of my new favorite taxiste, Juan, who helped me negotiate the release of my bag (though we did have to walk between customs and Taca’s office three times, as I had done alone the day before) I was off to Baños from the bus station. Along the way, I experienced many new things. A dubbed version of the movie “The Transporter” was playing stupidly loud throughout. At every stop, (if you could call them “stops” when the bus didn’t really stop) vendors would get on the bus, yelling about their wares; they would get off wherever the bus next stopped after making their sells, presumably to return on a simlar bus in the other direction. I bought a juice and some version of banana bread that was still warm.

Most of the houses in Ecuador are cube-shaped units, kind of built as cells, out of rebar and cement. Many are brightly colored. The were constantly being built and destroyed along the roadway. There were many junk yards. As in Quito, there was grafitti everywhere. Though it is not legal, the law is not really enforced in any form. People can paint murals in broad daylight, advertisements in the dusk, and less officially sanctioned subjects at night. The mountainsides, always present, were full of farmland, however steep the terrain. There were animals everywhere, especially dogs (my favorite taxi driver knew the dogs who lived on the street on sight: “those are a pack of three males and a female. They are with her because she is in heat.”) There were also cows and chickens and even horses in seemingly urban environments. When we entered the more oppressive, closer hills, I new we were getting close. Two of the women also riding on the bus kept catching my eye, seeing my amazement, and smiling. I was, again, the only tourist on the bus.

When we arrived, I knew this was my kind of place. My host family runs a hostel in their upstairs, “La Hotel de Adaluz”, named for their daughter. Three generations live here together; the grandmother, two of her daughters, Silvia (my host mom) and Lorena, and their four kids, Adaluz, and three younger boys, Cesar, David, (Silvia’s sons)and Angelo (Lorena’s). The father works as an engineer on the coast. During my stay, relatives are continually coming in and out. Silvia cooks three traditional meals a day, and everyone sits at the table until everyone’s finished eating. We drink beverages after the meal, usually tea or milk or some form of "colada" (smoothie). She serves and the boys and girls deliver the meals to the table. The family is very warm, and interact with me with patience and humor, correcting my English, and including me in their jokes when possible. They are very curious about Alaska, and ask the question I have heard throughout: “¿Hace mucho frío, no?” My answer is always, “A veces”.

I have attended the baños here twice; first alone, and a second time with my host family Saturday night (just before I started composing this post). There are several “piscinas” (pools), and each have hot pools and cool pools of fresh water – I can barely speak Spanish after switching it up a few times, my nervous system gets so crazed! The naturally-heated hot springs are considered Holy Water, and tourists come from all over Ecuador to bathe in them. The complete name of the town is Baños de Agua Santa (loosely, “the baths of the holy water”), after a legendary miracle that occured hundreds of years ago: a man fell down a waterfall but was saved by the Virgin Mary after he prayed to her three times in rapid succession before hitting the bottom.

My first two days in Baños I went on two gorgeous hike, each including religious icons: a giant cross caps one peak here, and a giant statue of the Virgin Mary caps another one. Though everyone seems to be capable of climbing the steep streets in town, very few locals exercise in the mountains for the sake of exercise. In fact, it is mostly only the guides who hike, bike, raft, etc. There are tourists all over this town, and they travel in packs from outdoor activity to outdoor activity. Despite a lack of hiking for sport, there are people living all the way up the mountainsides, farming on steep terrain. While hiking, I often came upon houses with sheet metal roofs. At the top of one mountain, there was a family with five children, and the kids led me across their cow fields to where there was normally a view (obscured by clouds). It was about 65 degrees but raining pretty hard, and they seemed very concerned that I was cold in my tank top (I was not, and, being the Alaskan chick I am, I had extra clothes, to boot).

A little on my classes: I have been taking classes at Raices Spanish School for 4 to 5 hours per day one-on-one with a man named Marcello. Marcello is very patient, and considers discussion of cultural practices, social issues, history, music, etc., to be a critical part of the curriculum. Before starting official instruction he pinpointed my level of Spanish with a conversation. His method of teaching is very effective and I get constant practice; my companions here have been entirely local.

Here in Baños there is again a strange mix of economic situations. While there are tons of livestock that live openly near city streets, almost everyone has a cellphone. Also, there are many tiny stores everywhere offering similar, very particular services. On the same street, I might find four fruit stands, three cabinas (places to make calls and use internet), and two places offering to rent bikes for tours in the Jungle.

Anyway, the pictures will be more interesting! I will post about Sunday (a crazy bicycle adventure with waterfalls!) later this week. I need to get running before the rain really hits. Caio for now!

My room in Quito ($10 per night, bathroom and breakfast)

Santiago is on the right - lots of taxis

¿Can you spot the Cuy (guinea pig)?

Dani looking like she is from Boston and the least American milkshake.

Biorn Borg

Luz and Matias of la Hostal Galapagos

A taxi-eye view of Quito

The view from my room in Baños the first night

Baños in the morning

A traditional Ecuadorian lunch (the juice is similar to Guava - guayacaba)

A view of Baños from a hike

Bellavista, at the top of one of the mountains - lit up neon at night

una mariposa bonita

At the baths con mi familia! This is one of the cold baths.