A day in the life of an Ecuadorian

One of my favourite things about traveling is learning about how people live in other parts of the world. Some cultures value certain aspects of life more highly than others, and find different ways of accomplishing the same goals. As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Or as Richard sometimes says “The Chinese know 101 ways to wok a dog”.

Yesterday we left Ecuador behind, and right now I am sitting on a bus in the Northern part of Peru driving towards the country’s capital city of Lima. Having just finished spending a month in Peru, I am now reflecting on some of the things I noticed about their culture that intrigued me, or was distinctly different from society in Canada.

Before I start, I want to quickly mention how AMAZING the bus we’re riding on is. First of all, the seats have more leg room and tilt back farther than the typical Greyhound bus – not to mention have individual leg rests. They just served us a hot dinner that was delicious: chicken and rice. They’ve brought drinks around twice and are showing movies for us with the sound on quiet; just in case I’d rather listen to my ipod (which I did). Each person is provided with a pillow and blanket upon entry into the bus, and there is onboard Wi-Fi! I’m actually posting this to the internet from the bus. The bus ride is 15 hours overnight, and it costs 85 Peruvian Nuevo Sols, or around $30 – not bad value.

One other quick update before I begin that unfortunately is not so good news: Jordan had a bunch of his stuff stolen at the Peruvian border including all his entertainment devices (ipods and such) and a fair chunk of cash. It’s definitely left a dark cloud over the group for today, and is causing us to be even more careful with our belongings.

But I digress, back to the main point of the article. From what I’ve seen, people in Ecuador seem to value above all else family and community. These values appear to permeate many areas of their life: work, leisure, and just overall how they spend their time.

Leisure

A great example of how important family is to Ecuadorians is when we were on a bus between Otovalo and Quito, after we’d just finished checking out the Otovalo market and the Cockfight. On the bus James was sitting beside a woman and her daughter, and was trying his best to make pleasant conversation with them in Spanish. These people, like most in mainland Ecuador did not look wealthy – and just taking the time and money to bus from Otovalo to Quito would be quite an investment for them. When James asked them why they were going to Quito, they said they were bussing there to celebrate a fiesta that was being put on for the woman’s uncle’s birthday. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a birthday put on for one of my aunts or uncles, never mind taken a 4 hour bus ride just to attend.

The impression I have received from people in Ecuador is that birthdays and other holidays are times for large family gatherings; and these fiestas form a key part of the people’s social lives and activities. There are at least a couple times when we were walking down streets and would see community halls rented out for some sort of fiesta or family gathering.

Work

One of the most surprising things I’ve found in Ecuador is the very minimal impact big business seems to have had on the country. I could count on one hand the number of fast food chains I’ve seen, and I don’t think I’ve run into even one Starbucks. Business in Ecuador is almost exclusively small businesses: mom and pop shops.

I’ve noticed a few implications of this phenomenon. First, there are some AMAZING salesmen here. I think when there are not many big businesses to work for, people are forced to sell products themselves. And with all the practise they have, some people get really really good. For instance, on one bus we were riding a man came on and started talking really loudly in Spanish. I have no idea what he was saying, but he kept his spiel going for about 20 minutes, and finally at the end started placing useless trinkets and fake jewellery in people’s hands. By the time he got off the bus, he had sold a useless trinket to over half the people on our bus! I was blown away.

But perhaps more interestingly, the lack of big-box companies forces Ecuadorians to be mini-entrepreneurs, and puts them all in an ownership position of their income. One result of this is that we constantly saw people bringing their children to work with them. I saw children “working” at fruit stands, restaurants, markets, travel agencies, hostels, you name it. Not that it is child labour, but rather the whole family tends to live at the place of work. My guess is that most people can’t afford to hire day-care workers to care for their children while they run their business, so instead they just bring their kids with them.

Sugar Cane ready for cutting. Lots of the people in Mindo processed sugar cane and turned it into sweet treats.

Spare Time

Not surprisingly, the activity of choice for Ecuadorians is soccer. All the children seem to play it, and days for kids are spent at the soccer field once school is done. James and Jordan and I joined the kids in a soccer game recently in Galapagos, and found their soccer skills quite impressive.

For adults, however, there is a different game that dominates the culture: soccer volleyball. The first time we encountered this sport was in Ecuador’s capital city of Quito. We were walking through the park, when we saw a huge crowd of probably 100 people all standing around a volleyball court. Naturally, we were curious as to what high calibre volleyball players must have been attracting all the attention. After watching a few rallies it didn’t seem like the players were any better than we probably were. And at that, they kept on cheating by “throwing” the volleyball instead of volleying it properly.

We’ve encountered very similar games going on all over the country, all with equally large groups of on-lookers. Our Sherlock skills have concluded that this is not an anomaly – this is a legitimate game that is not quite volleyball  but similar. Unfortunately the games were a little rich for our blood. If you want to play, you have to put up at least a couple hundred dollars, and the winners for the day go home with most of the bounty. For Ecuadorians its not just a sport, its a form of gambling as well.

Overall Take

I think there are alot of really good things about the culture in Ecuador, and their sense of community and family commitment seems great. However, there is one odd thing about people in Ecuador: they rarely ever smile. 

People seem to avoid eye contact, and for the most part don’t make jokes or show a positive interest in you and your life. I don’t think its something Ecuadorians hold against white people, or Americans, or anything like that. I think its part of their culture. For that reason, I don’t think I’d want to live in Ecuador for significant amounts of time.

Crossing the border to Peru really emphasizes this downside to Ecuador; Peruvians are very friendly, have big smiles, and are very welcoming to strangers.

Tomorrow is Jame’s birthday, so hopefully we’ll be able to find some cake for him!

Galapagos Islands: Part 2

The Sea

The Galapagos Islands has alot to offer on the land, but in my mind the most fun is had wearing goggles and a snorkel.

Every day our cruise allotted us at least one snorkel session, and sometimes two. We learned quickly that to get the most out of the snorkelling, we needed to follow our guide, Washington, around in the water. He knew all the absolute best places to go and he showed us some cool animals.

The most graceful creatures in the water are the sea turtles. They swim very slowly, taking no heed to the 16 tourists swimming after him snapping photos. I probably saw half a dozen of them, and our guide told us that they can dive 600 metres under the water. My ears hurt after diving only 2 metres!

On our second day of snorkelling, I could hear some sort of commotion going on, so I lifted my head up from the water to see what it was about. A group of people were huddled around Washington near the rocky shore of an island. I swam over, and was informed that we were outside of a “shark cave”. 

I ducked my head under water in time to see our guide, Washington, holding his breath and swimming INTO the shark cave. I dared not go in as far as Washington, but I poked my head just in far enough to see a family of White-Tipped sharks chilling out in the underwater cave. At the time, it looked to me like there were maybe 5 sharks in the cave; but after watching some footage of the cave that our guide took with his under water camera, I could see that there were actually about 12! I tried to load the footage onto this blog, but there seems to be some sort of technical error. The footage is incredible, so ask me to show it to you if your in Calgary when I get back in December.

James scouting out a possible snorkeling location

Other animals we saw under the water were Sting Rays, Marine Iguanas, lots of colourful fish, Barracudas, a Galapagos Shark, Starfish, and Eels.

But the highlight of my Galapagos experience (and James and Jordan’s too) didn’t come from following Washington to his secret snorkeling spots. On the fourth day of the cruise we were dropped off on a beach to enjoy snorkelling for 2.5 hours while the boat was re-stocked with supplies. Unfortunately, the water was so cloudy it was practically opaque, and on the sea floor there was nothing to look at but sand. We were all a little peeved that we had to spend 2.5 hours on this beach with no activities to do and no snorkeling.

I threw on my snorkelling gear anyway and walked down the beach a little ways to see if the water would get any better. On the other side of some rocks I saw some black bodies lounging on the beach that looked like Sea Lions. Upon closer inspection, I verified my observation as true, and went to take a look. The Sea Lions were just sleeping, and didn’t seem to be going anywhere, so after a few minutes I hopped into the water and started swimming back. 

I took a look over my shoulder, and to my excitement, one of the Sea Lions had awoken and was waddling into the water. He started swimming towards me, and then all of a sudden he darted right past me. I swam after him, and then he started swimming around me, like he was playing. For the next hour I swam with the Sea Lion, trying to keep pace with his quirky antics. From then on, James, Jordan, and I made a point of seeking out Sea Lions every time we went snorkeling. We found the younger ones were a lot more playful than the older ones, but most of the Sea Lions seemed just as curious about us as we were about them.

A photo taken by our guide. The Sea Lions swam really close to us!

By the end of the cruise it seemed like we had seen almost every animal there was to see, except for whales and Dolphins. But on the last day, a crew member knocked on our door while we were napping and was hollering “whale, whale!” Sure enough, a mother whale and her baby were swimming nearby our boat. The mother’s robust back was gently cresting out of the cool Humboltd froth while the spunky baby whale gracefully danced through the warm Galapagos air with several Elvis Stoiko-like leaps. The crew said they were Humpback Whales. It was a great way to cap off our Galapagos Sightseeing Tour.

Tomorrow morning the Three Amigos head back to the mainland so that we can take a bus down to Lima, Peru. After a month, we’re finally leaving Ecuador behind us. I wasn’t incredibly excited for Peru before, but now that I’ve started reading a bit about the country I’m now really stoked. It sounds like we’re going to see lots of history in the country’s Incan ruins, and there should be an interesting variety of climates and topography.

To make this trip a little more interesting, we’ve started a survivor nfl football pool whereby the Three Amigos make a pick each week as to what team we think is going to win. There’s alot of pride on the line,  not to mention public humiliation in the form of a forced friar cut. Jordan and I both picked San Diego to win -- so root for the Chargers this week!

Galapagos Islands: Part 1

A penguin on Island Rabida

Hola again, amigos. James, Jordan, and I have just arrived back to civilization in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galapagos Islands. The blogs have been quiet lately because we have been cruising around the islands for the last 8 days (without internet) on a boat called the Yolita II.

After we left Banos last week, we bussed it back to Quito to catch our flight to the Galapagos Islands where we immediately booked a last minute cruise around the islands. The tour was jam-packed every day with activities, and we saw a ton of neat things – both on the islands and in the ocean with snorkels. Because there’s so much to talk about, I’m splitting this post into two parts: Part 1, with the wildlife we saw on land, and Part 2 with everything underwater.

The Land

What makes the Galapagos Islands so unique is the way in which the islands were formed. Similar to Hawaii, they are volcanic islands that formed out in the Pacific Ocean. What’s really interesting, however, is that the islands were never connected by land to the rest of earth. Therefore, the only way that life could arrive on the island is by floating there on the sea or blowing in the wind. The life that did arrive on Galapagos has evolved for hundreds of thousands, even millions of years, without coming into contact with humans or any other mammals. What this all means, is that the animals on the Galapagos Islands have no fear of humans at all, and you can get really close without alarming them.

When we first arrived in Puerto Ayora last week, we saw strange sights like huge pelicans standing next to people on the pier, and a sea lion laying on the sidewalk right in the town.

Jordan, our Norwegian friend Nicholai, James, and Sleepy Sea Lion

Everyday during the cruise, we went on land excursions looking for wildlife. Our guide took us to all the good spots, and was amazing at imitating animal noises; which came in handy when, for example, he wanted to get two blue footed boobies to start dancing. Blue footed boobies do the “boobie two-step” which is a ritual they do before they mate. Another interesting thing about Blue Footed Boobies is that to catch fish, flocks of boobies all dive bomb the water at the same time like kamikazes.

Me with a Blue Footed Boobie

The islands also have lots of iguanas, which come in two species: land and marine. The marine iguanas are black and a little bit smaller, but have long tails that are adapted for swimming. The land iguanas are bigger and more colourful. They can live to be 120 years old!

Tortoises are probably the coolest land animal on the islands. There are 11 different species, and some of them are really huge. On the first day of the cruise we went on a walk in a field of tortoises, and learned that when people arrived on the islands about 500 years ago they used to bring the huge tortoises with them on their boats. They would eat the tortoise meat and use the oil for light and heating. Now, the tortoise numbers are dwindling so there are rehabilitation programs in place to bring their numbers back up.

Jordan getting ready to race a tortoise. James is acting as referee

We’ve also seen a ton of exotic birds that are unique to Galapagos. I watched male Frigate birds inflate their huge red “balloon” that they use to attract females, I saw huge albatross take flight from the edge of cliffs, was chased by Mockingbirds in the sand, and watched Pelicans scoop fish out of the sea. But definitely the most amazing thing I saw was Jordan pulling a sweet backflip off the top deck of the Yolita II!

Jordan taking a leap of faith from 7 meters

I’m currently getting chirped by James and Jordan for not starting my PADI reading. Jordan and I just signed up for a scuba diving course so that we can get certified, and Jordan’s already way ahead of me in the homework. So I must make haste. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon.

The Banos Treatment

When we left off last, the three amigos (James, Jordan, and I) were just wrapping up our time in the fun jungle town of Mindos where we were jumping, swimming, and swinging away in the humid forest. All 3 of us agree that the Tarzan Swing in Mindo was easily the best $5 we’ve ever spent. We then enjoyed 2.5 hours of white-knuckle Ecuadorian bus riding back to the capital city of Quito, and another 3 to the resort town of Banos.

James overlooking the town of Banos

Banos rests on a cliff overlooking a rapid river on the one side, and an active volcano on the other. Our hostel here, called El Chimenea is easily the best one we’ve stayed at on the trip so far. We have a private room, balcony overlooking a pool and hot tub, and we wake up to delicious homemade bread and fresh squeezed juices. I don’t want to leave this place!

There are lots of fun outdoor activities to do, including mountain biking down the “Rutas de Cascadas” (which translates to Route of Waterfalls). The Rutas de Cascadas is a narrow, windy, shoulder-less highway built into the sides of the mountains high above the river. It also appears to be a major trucking and bus route. It felt like I was training for the downhill portion of the Tour de France as we sped down the highway, dodging cars and catching glances at the vista surrounding us. Here are a few pictures of the waterfalls we saw.

My favourite part of the ride was when a pick-up truck drove by with a family sitting in the back seat. One of the kids leaned over the side, and passed me a piece of sugar cane to chew on while I was riding. We rode for probably around 20-30 kms downhill, and thankfully there were pickup trucks waiting at the end to drive us back up to Banos!

While the best $5 I ever spent was on the Tarzan swing in Mindo, I’d also have to say that the best $3.50 I have ever spent was on the Ecuadorian Steam Bath in our hostel here in Banos. Today, after a full day of rafting down the cool river, the three amigos were eager to try out this unusual spa treatment.

First, you step into personal wooden boxes with seats inside and a little slit for you to stick your neck out of. Then the staff closes the box around you, leaving only your head on the outside of the box. The box quickly fills with steam and heats up, and the natural scent of an unknown local plant saturates the air. After a few minutes you are let out of the box and you wipe yourself down with a cool rag before being led back to the box again. You repeat this process 3 times, and then the staff leads you to a curvy chair where you splash yourself with cold water. Then back to the box again. The grand finale comes when the staff takes you to a stall and hoses you down. The whole process sounds very unusual, but my skin has never felt so good before as it did after that!

Tomorrow we’re hoping to rent some all terrain vehicles and race them around a dirt track, and afterwards complete our Banos spa treatment with massages. We’ve also booked our flights to Galapagos Islands, so we’ll be heading back to Quito to catch out flights on Monday. I’m really looking forward to seeing some Blue Footed Boobies on Galapagos!

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A quick note on the photos: As James reminded me, under Canadian Copyright law, it is required that credit on all photographs be given to the appropriate photographer. The beautiful photographs you saw in the last post "First Taste of S.A." were all taken by none other than Mr. James Cavanaugh.