Cuenca Part 1: El Viaje
So while all of you were working hard last Thursday and Friday I was quietly enjoying one of Ecuador´s three city honoring holidays. The three major Ecuadorian cities honor their founding dates with a nice jovial holiday. November 4th celebrated Cuenca´s foundation and thus I decided to take a trip 15 hours down the Panamericana to check out what is heralded as ¨Ecuador´s cleanest city.¨ I am going to break the trip up into three parts as Cuenca has a ton of awesome aspects, so let´s start with getting there.
There is one bus that leaves Ibarra for Cuenca at 7:30 PM. It arrives around 7:00 AM. It´s run by one of the better bus companies in the country, Flota Imbabura, which is outstanding. However what wasn´t outstanding is that I was not able to catch said bus because of my teaching schedule. Thus I was faced with the choice of a) not going, b) catching the next day´s bus, or c) testing my luck with a trip to Quito and trying to find a bus to Cuenca from there.
Ecuador runs an intricate bus system that begs one main question of travelers for long trips. Are you a day or night bus person? Day buses run during the hot sun and stop frequently, but you can see the countryside and know your bus driver is going to be awake. Night buses allow you to maximize your time in a city, but you sleep only very little and the bus driver commands the wheel all night. I decided to take the night bus so that I could see more of Cuenca during the day, and I had heard that night buses are truly an adventure. Little did I know that adventure meant ¨strap into your seatbelts here we go roller coaster¨, and not ¨oh boy I took BART to Oakland!¨
Thus we boarded a bus in Ibarra headed for Quito at about 7:00 PM. I always get so excited to see what movie the bus company is going to show, as ANYTHING can happen. Last Wednesday I was treated to a wonderful Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon flick completely in Spanish. It´s always exciting to hear Kung Fu Masters cuss at each other in Spanish and in this particular flick a young woman was trying to kill an effeminate man who had killer her parents. Or something. Needless to say the girl kicked some serious butt. My most pleasant suprise at the movie, however, was that it did not contain a title, a list of actors, credits, or any sort of honoring the participants ritual. Completely popped on and went black without acknowledging that any real person had ever even touched the film.
Thus all was tranquil as my bus arrived in the aforementioned Terminal Terrestre of Quito. The nice thing about Quito is that you can catch a bus anywhere in the country at all times of the night. However, so can everyone else, and thus last Wednesday night at 9:30 PM everyone else in Ecuador was at the Terminal Terrestre. We had figured that Wednesday night might bring less bus enthusiasts but ho ho ho sometimes you can be so wrong. Thus we prepared ourselves for a ridiculous lucha.
Everyone we had talked to sincerely doubted our abilities to catch a bus to Cuenca from Quito on Wednesday night, and we stared in the face of doubt ourselves when window after window turned down our request for a passage to Cuenca.
Every bus terminal has a ticket booth area to buy tickets and then an outside area where you go once you have bought your ticket to wait for your bus. We thus decided to forgo proper bus etiquette and enter the outside area without any sort of ticket or reservation. Very brave considering Quito´s rep for danger, but also very exciting. Couldn´t think of a more perfect realization of ¨Out of the frying pan and into the fire.¨
Luckily for my eye level was high enough above the millions of ecuaheads in the outside area that I saw the group of buses headed for Cuenca. We headed out to stake our claim, wheel and deal. We were Matt Damon at the Russian John Malkovich´s poker table. All in, with nothing but our Spanish bartering game faces to bail us out.
Thank god for Ally. Now women in general have a reputation for their powers of persuasion. Take that power of persuasion and multiply it by the national debt to a Gringa woman asking an Ecuadorian man for anything. In a country where Machismo reigns, women are treated with kindness as all Ecuamen are convinced that they have some booty coming their way. Thus Ally walked up to an Ecuabus driver while I waited in the wings. She asked if there was any seat available and found out that the driver could convince a woman to put her small child in her lap to free up a space for Ally. That´s when Ally´s ginormous companero walked in looking for his seat too.
Ecuadorians are actually all very nice and warm. Most people in this country are incredibly kind even to extranjeros. He looked at Ally, looked at me, and then went back on the bus. He came out ten seconds later with a milk crate and a pillow. We´re going to Cuenca. Huzzaa!
We also have Kane sitting on a milk crate in the aisle of a run down Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Bus. The floor is covered in dust and dirt. What is one man to do for ten hours? Let me just tell you that I did what any other Ecuadortraveler would do. I pulled my hooded sweatshirt over my head and layed down to catch some shut eye. Probably the worst nine hours of my life as far as physical comfort goes. Dusty, grimy, bumpy, and cramped, my body cried out for help in some way shape or form. Three days later I can still admire the bruises on my hips from where my body bounced around on the floor. But mentally? Couldn´t have been happier.
This is why people travel when there young. This is why I am here right now. Though every morning I recite my ¨Cold Water Builds Character¨mantra during my shower, this is what I bought into when I signed up for a year in Ecuador. I am ¨Living the Dream¨as they say in the gym on the top floor of Jackson and Scott Streets. I chose to embrace a life of less comfort, security, and amenities, because I know that in the end I will be a better person. As stated before, our world´s boundaries are expanding further and further. People in Ecuador now know so much more about the US than Michael Jordan and KFC. If I am going to truly make in impact in the world as an adult I hope that these experiences will help gain me an avenue into the psyches of foreigners, non native US citizens, and even US citizens with a foreign heritage. Every person has a story to tell, but you can´t really ¨hear Jimmy¨ until you know where he came from. I am sure Sydney Dean and Billy Ho would agree with me.
Ah enough of this schmaltz. Let´s be serious. On the way back we actually reserved a direct ticket from Cuenca to Ibarra. Even bought some sleeping pills for the ride. I mean there´s no reason to sleep in the aisle if you dont have to right?
More to come....
kane
There is one bus that leaves Ibarra for Cuenca at 7:30 PM. It arrives around 7:00 AM. It´s run by one of the better bus companies in the country, Flota Imbabura, which is outstanding. However what wasn´t outstanding is that I was not able to catch said bus because of my teaching schedule. Thus I was faced with the choice of a) not going, b) catching the next day´s bus, or c) testing my luck with a trip to Quito and trying to find a bus to Cuenca from there.
Ecuador runs an intricate bus system that begs one main question of travelers for long trips. Are you a day or night bus person? Day buses run during the hot sun and stop frequently, but you can see the countryside and know your bus driver is going to be awake. Night buses allow you to maximize your time in a city, but you sleep only very little and the bus driver commands the wheel all night. I decided to take the night bus so that I could see more of Cuenca during the day, and I had heard that night buses are truly an adventure. Little did I know that adventure meant ¨strap into your seatbelts here we go roller coaster¨, and not ¨oh boy I took BART to Oakland!¨
Thus we boarded a bus in Ibarra headed for Quito at about 7:00 PM. I always get so excited to see what movie the bus company is going to show, as ANYTHING can happen. Last Wednesday I was treated to a wonderful Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon flick completely in Spanish. It´s always exciting to hear Kung Fu Masters cuss at each other in Spanish and in this particular flick a young woman was trying to kill an effeminate man who had killer her parents. Or something. Needless to say the girl kicked some serious butt. My most pleasant suprise at the movie, however, was that it did not contain a title, a list of actors, credits, or any sort of honoring the participants ritual. Completely popped on and went black without acknowledging that any real person had ever even touched the film.
Thus all was tranquil as my bus arrived in the aforementioned Terminal Terrestre of Quito. The nice thing about Quito is that you can catch a bus anywhere in the country at all times of the night. However, so can everyone else, and thus last Wednesday night at 9:30 PM everyone else in Ecuador was at the Terminal Terrestre. We had figured that Wednesday night might bring less bus enthusiasts but ho ho ho sometimes you can be so wrong. Thus we prepared ourselves for a ridiculous lucha.
Everyone we had talked to sincerely doubted our abilities to catch a bus to Cuenca from Quito on Wednesday night, and we stared in the face of doubt ourselves when window after window turned down our request for a passage to Cuenca.
Every bus terminal has a ticket booth area to buy tickets and then an outside area where you go once you have bought your ticket to wait for your bus. We thus decided to forgo proper bus etiquette and enter the outside area without any sort of ticket or reservation. Very brave considering Quito´s rep for danger, but also very exciting. Couldn´t think of a more perfect realization of ¨Out of the frying pan and into the fire.¨
Luckily for my eye level was high enough above the millions of ecuaheads in the outside area that I saw the group of buses headed for Cuenca. We headed out to stake our claim, wheel and deal. We were Matt Damon at the Russian John Malkovich´s poker table. All in, with nothing but our Spanish bartering game faces to bail us out.
Thank god for Ally. Now women in general have a reputation for their powers of persuasion. Take that power of persuasion and multiply it by the national debt to a Gringa woman asking an Ecuadorian man for anything. In a country where Machismo reigns, women are treated with kindness as all Ecuamen are convinced that they have some booty coming their way. Thus Ally walked up to an Ecuabus driver while I waited in the wings. She asked if there was any seat available and found out that the driver could convince a woman to put her small child in her lap to free up a space for Ally. That´s when Ally´s ginormous companero walked in looking for his seat too.
Ecuadorians are actually all very nice and warm. Most people in this country are incredibly kind even to extranjeros. He looked at Ally, looked at me, and then went back on the bus. He came out ten seconds later with a milk crate and a pillow. We´re going to Cuenca. Huzzaa!
We also have Kane sitting on a milk crate in the aisle of a run down Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Bus. The floor is covered in dust and dirt. What is one man to do for ten hours? Let me just tell you that I did what any other Ecuadortraveler would do. I pulled my hooded sweatshirt over my head and layed down to catch some shut eye. Probably the worst nine hours of my life as far as physical comfort goes. Dusty, grimy, bumpy, and cramped, my body cried out for help in some way shape or form. Three days later I can still admire the bruises on my hips from where my body bounced around on the floor. But mentally? Couldn´t have been happier.
This is why people travel when there young. This is why I am here right now. Though every morning I recite my ¨Cold Water Builds Character¨mantra during my shower, this is what I bought into when I signed up for a year in Ecuador. I am ¨Living the Dream¨as they say in the gym on the top floor of Jackson and Scott Streets. I chose to embrace a life of less comfort, security, and amenities, because I know that in the end I will be a better person. As stated before, our world´s boundaries are expanding further and further. People in Ecuador now know so much more about the US than Michael Jordan and KFC. If I am going to truly make in impact in the world as an adult I hope that these experiences will help gain me an avenue into the psyches of foreigners, non native US citizens, and even US citizens with a foreign heritage. Every person has a story to tell, but you can´t really ¨hear Jimmy¨ until you know where he came from. I am sure Sydney Dean and Billy Ho would agree with me.
Ah enough of this schmaltz. Let´s be serious. On the way back we actually reserved a direct ticket from Cuenca to Ibarra. Even bought some sleeping pills for the ride. I mean there´s no reason to sleep in the aisle if you dont have to right?
More to come....
kane
posted by ecuadortraveler at 3:35 PM
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