Ecuador (and the only person smuggling white powder INTO Columbia)

"Someone said the truth will out,
I believe without a doubt...in you."

Ecuador 2015

Those of you that know me, maybe even know 'some' of my secrets, know that things happen to me novella-style.  Things that some author would scratch for a while to come up with.

(Ok, maybe not but it's never flat is it?)

2015 Feb 7 - London  (great position and timing see Tube pic here.
 

The start of my 3 leg journey from London-Heathrow to Manta 'aeropuerto eloy alfaro' airport, Ecuador, North West coast of South AMERICA... seemed to start smoothly enough.

(Far better than the far simpler Turkey trip last year, see that post for more...)

 

First leg, connection via Bogota, Columbia.

 

Got to Heathrow fine.  Bit of a wait....

 

...Then....Delayed 30 mins...
...Delayed 1 hour, 2 hours….then….

 

"Flight to Columbia cancelled".

 

This obviously stuffs up all connecting flights.

 

People are not happy.  Latin Americans let you know this. 

 

The Brits sit.

 

Hotel overnight in London, an interesting print on the wall:

 

(if you cannot read it, search for "world metro map")

 

 

I chat to a few people, including Claire a girl going to Costa Rica (Central America) to play with Monkeys. (Ok she is working professionally with animals, including primates, to enhance her
CV-Resume with zoo vet-nary aspirations - I try not to condescend.)

 

One guy is missing a big Columbian party where he was introducing his parents to his girlfriend.

 

One is marrying his Columbian fiancé in days and still has no paperwork, so is worried.

 

So it's then a hotel in both Heathrow and Columbia.  Both paid for by airline, both high quality with food.  Not a problem for me as I have no inflexible deadline.  Nice!

Columbian flight food.... (EVERYTHING is OK!):

They also do not find my Creatine Monohydrate (a white powder)
that I use for physical performance enhancing.


An 8 hour wait in Quito, Ecuador for the mini flight (the bus is 4 hours but I speak no Spanish so was not 100% comfortable with that.)

Quito is very high altitude:

...and the other side of the airport

48 hours of travel, and I finally land in Manta.  Met some good people and had a good laugh.

I met a Canadian couple (while getting off the plane) and had an ephemeral chat with them, they have a place here, and escape the cold winters.

 

Good on em…

 

He was indignant though (and a touch vitriolic) at my asking “Do I hear an American Accent” – and of course regardless of protestation Canada ‘is’ the north most part of the American Continent, Argentina being the bottom-most.

 

I told him about a USA-friend, who will remain nameless (but you know who you are Jack) that has "travelled as a Canadian". (I would love to hear the accent mate, “What’s it all aboot, Alfie”.)

 

I myself deny being British here, I am Icelandic but born in Guyana SA, which stems off any passport-reasons-interest from anyone….if you get me.
Guyana has an official first language of English.  So it fits.

 

I can speak English, and a tad of French and less Italian so I can confuse people up a lot (enough).  Same as in the West!

 

I do some research and I can walk the coast road, from the airport, in an hour.
So I decide to burn off some Glycogen!
(those evil wheat-based flight 'butties', I did ask for a second...)

I was shocked at the 'poverty' here, it looks 3rd world or even war-zone-like.  I guess that if it is warm all year you do not need insulation and most buildings basically look like unfinished dwellings.  Which of course in the U.K. and Northern America would be like forgetting the tea-cosy finishing that we have and need!

 

I use the cash machine across the road, that the hotel owner says works but...

...it doesn’t – not my UK Barclays bank card, or USA HSBC cards.

No food, now no money.


So I’m on that.  Haven’t eaten for more than 24 hours as I stuffed myself in hotels and flights for 3 days then fell asleep last night cash-less and woke at a quiet 2am w/everything closed.
(This 'rise time' of course being 7am UK time which I am used to.)

Lucky I had met a very nice young lady, Claire, who wasn’t a big eater, I got 2 flight and 2 hotel feeds for 1 each time….nice..

 

I’ve plenty of fat cells anyhow….just need to train today, but used to that on an empty stomach anyway for 23 years. – just not on a ‘really’ empty one (24+ hours).

I have a contact here, the second cousin of my USA friend Lucy, she and the landlord of the Hotel speak pretty good English.  So that is a great help.

 

She asks a stoic cleaning lady to show me a cash machine, not overly far away, we walk through packed (15th Feb is the annual Carnival) streets, it's like some bond movie...

I am the handsome, strangely dangerous, foreign protagonist...of course...

 

 

 

...we march directly to the machine and back again.

 

….It worked, whew ….

 

(So have a bit of chicken for me…and some clean carbs! I myself will try to avoid the dirty ones.)

 

(Note: I’ve noticed only maybe 1 in 5 cash machines work with a MasterCard, some just with Visa….some not at all.)

 

 

Spanish coming on slowly, as always I make an effort “when in Rome”.

 

I feel a bit off getting cash out of the machine as it feels exposed…I do a James Bond-like walk around the hotel first so no-one can see where I’m coming/going as bank opposite hotel.

 

Better to be safe….but people do seem friendly.  I’m just not a ”stupid tourist”, cap and hood I blend in and just don’t walk at night.  A confident “Alpha-walk” is developing, slow, with strong eye contact…mouthing ‘Ola’ without them hearing an accent.

Juxtapose that with a “scratching head, map in hand, staring about, taking photos” tourist – which makes you stand out and obviously may become a target.

 

I guess it’s all a good push to get on, build some money mills and get myself back to “civilisation” again, whatever that means!

SHARKS!
 

(forgive my 'waist-height' secret-photo-taking, don't want to be flash or tourist-looking)

If you click below, at the top you see some fishermen bringing produce to the beach eatery.

Don't hate me...

 

 

12 Feb

Had a great walk on the beach last night in the dark. The beach is full most of the day and late evening.  People running, jogging, etc.  It’s great to see and of course you feel safe too.

 

Got a little scared by the boat builders hanging out in their “Under boat home”.
But I feel safe.  No-one approaches you, etc.

 

13 Feb 2015 (yikes Friday 13th!)

 

Carnival – as my first Friday here I think it must be everyone:

“Wake up early, say 5am, TV on loud, do a bit of Karaoke and to hell with the guy sleeping next door...., Friday.”
Maybe it’s a one off, getting ready for Carnival on Sunday, let's hope so.

 

The main thing is a culture shock really, it’s real 3rd world. With the very-odd overly-secured pristine-new-properties, it’s a weird juxtapose of poverty and affluence (not many though at all).

 

 

 

But at least they have parallel dip bars and chin up bar in the beach gym area.
I made some friends the other night with the guys training there.

 

Very nice friendly people. It’s amazing how much you can convey with just 3 Spanish words
and a hand shake!

Confidence wins in any human group.
(they may have been saying all sort of nasties to me I would never know...)

 

It’s all body language I guess.  Reptilian-Brain stuff.



14th Feb


Chat-Mojo immunity:

 

I saw 3 girls. Doing a weird 'same photo' two participants dance.
I said, "dres?"(phon.) Meaning three in one photo instead.
They gave me the camera, and I resisted the urge to mock-run.
'One' understood when I jokingly gestured that I was going to cut all their heads off....the photo.

 

But post-photo (apeing my fathers style) my comment:
"This would be a great photo with any other 3 girls."
Went untranslatable into the ether.....  Dam.

 

I am virtually powerless here.
(Bar the elite-ish-body-for-my-age and that youthful subtle cheeky-smile-with-slight-head-tilt.)

15th Evening, Party Town:

 

Cost of living bit:

 

In 2000 Ecuador switched to US Dollars.

(Divide dollars by 3 and times by 2 for UK pounds.)

 

Crappy little noisy-room TV/Wifi $6 per night.  (just 4 of your human-earth-pounds)

 

Finally, food prices (supermarket, not the multiple local stalls):

Again dollar prices, knock 1/3 off for UK Pounds.
 

 Whole small/medium chicken $7
 Beef 500g $3.04
 Slice mixed meat 500g $2.89
 3 litres UHT milk $2 (offer)
 Lettuce $1.78
 15 eggs $1.99 (USA Shoprite did 30 for $3 from memory.
                           I bought 180 once...or twice)
 Yogurt drink (peach, sugary) $1.59
 Sardine t-sauce 450g $1.29
 Oat 500g $0.69 cents
 UHT milk litre p-bag $0.77 cents
 Banana medium $0.11 cents

 

Finally, on prices, you save big on gym fees....

 

...The beach equipment is obviously free but so is the pool...."el Océano"....

....AKA, The Ocean.

Heated....and all free, my kind of place!

 

 

Finally....,

remember how lucky you are...

 

 

 

...and remember that others are far worse off.

 

 

 

...and far worse again in other parts of the world.

Have you read my weekly "Friday Thought" blog?

more photo's on the photos area.