04 Jul Kristen’s Dream

I was pretty excited that my adult daughter Kristen proposed a trip to a foreign destination with me, her mother. We both had enough free travel points to go almost anywhere; we just did not have much money once we got there. So after some discussion, Kristen proposed Ecuador. I was initially skeptical about this choice since we would be traveling in August, and didn’t Ecuador mean equator? Kristen put me at ease pointing out that due to its high elevation in the Andean highlands, where we would be traveling, the temperatures would not be blistering but temperate.

Her information about the temperature was spot on. The weather was so agreeable (in the 70’s) that only a sweater was needed. As a matter of fact, most Ecuadorians were wearing llama wool sweaters. I would say with a little hyperbole, “10,000 Ecuadorians, 10,000 beautiful sweaters.” And lots of llamas everywhere in the fields on our bus rides to destinations northeast and south. Also remarkable was the sun’s day arc, the sun’s path, starting east continuing in a straight path directly overhead, a visible explanation of the sun’s latitude at 0 degrees.

Although we arrived in Quito, we did not stay long in the capital city. We took a bus after a couple of nights’ rest from Quito to Otavalo, northeast of Quito. My first time on public transportation in this part of the world included many surprises: clowns going home after a gig; vendors selling candy, sandwiches and drinks; street singers entertaining from one stop to another.

Otavalo is a recommended destination from many reputable sources: Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, National Geographic. A photographer from National Geographic was at the famous, largest indigenous artisanal open air market the day we were there. It lived up to its hype, although we were awestruck by all the options. And opted to buy nothing on this first go-round. We took a taxi to a small town nearby, known as a city of leather. Cotacachi was a shopper’s paradise if you like leather (and who doesn’t like leather?). I had found a circular (36”) leather case that was copper colored in the softest texture. It also had the added feature of a case within a case within a case, like a Matryoshka Russian doll set. Kristen told me to put it back. At $37 US dollars, what exactly was I going to do with it? I had no answer so I put it back. I’ve regretted putting it back many times in my life with the one exception being when we went through Customs on our return. No agent stopped me with my purchased souvenirs inside a giant yellow plastic potato sack. No delays going through Customs, they just knew looking at the yellow sack we were not people of great wealth trying to evade import taxes on luxury items.

I’m glad we went first northeast to Otavalo because our trip south to Banos was every bit like turning a page and starting a new, and very different, chapter. Banos (Banos de Agua Santa) is an adventure destination where the brave can go (e.g. swing to the end of the world, zip lining, river rafting, hiking, bridge jumping). Our time would be limited so we had to cram both river rafting and a trek to the Amazon jungle into 48 hours.

The tour guide for our river rafting preferred that we come the next afternoon but we were already committed to our Amazon trip so he arranged for the next morning. Did I say “arranged?” Well, we arrived and we were the only two besides him in a 9 person raft down a Category 3 river. Praise God that it was a Category 3 because as we were approaching big rocks in the river bed or overhanging trees, he would yell from his perch, “Left side, left side!” I would also yell the same. To Kristen. For she was the entire left side. However, the river was quite tame for a Category 3, not at all an angry river, and for that we were thankful.

Later that same day we met up with our second tour guide Jorge who had disclosed that because we had only two days and one night, we would be traveling a lot. We started our estimated three hour journey into the Amazon. (If truth be told, going into the Amazon jungle, think big snakes, is probably the last adventure I want on this earth, but I was too cowardly to admit it to my daughter who was so anxious to go.) The transportation into our final resting place (no pun intended) would include a school bus out of town, a pick-up truck with about 8-10 people, us included, standing up in the bed of the truck through winding roads on the side of a mountain, a luxury bus with TVs (don’t ask), a modest city bus, and a taxi. All in all it took over 5 hours.

After boarding the luxury bus, our third conveyance, I was able to settle down from the experience of standing up in the pick-up truck looking at miles of steep mountain slope to the right of the bus, going straight down into infinity. No guard rails, don’t be silly. But then suddenly, the bus stopped. Everyone was de-boarding. The narrow road had disappeared; in front of us a mountain of rock and sand had covered the road. Crews were constructing a new road and blasting above us, and the explosion had caused an avalanche of rock and sand to cascade and block our road. Our guide said we needed to get off the bus and cross those giant rocks. There would be another bus to continue our journey waiting on the other side of the blockage.

So with hands and feet firmly planted on rocks, giant rocks the size of a small room, we grappled our way across about 20 feet, then a small respite. The next danger spot was not rocks to hang on to, but a massive slide of sand. Repeating: nothing to hang on to. The heretofore Miss Universe beauty who was in front of me on this slippery slope, lost her nerve about halfway and all hell broke loose behind me. Other adventurers were anxious to get out of this mess and started going below me shifting the very unstable sand under my feet. I can’t tell you if I was praying or calling out to God disrespectfully, but God did show up and we safely got to the other side. That’s when I remembered I was not alone, but the good news was I saw Kristen right away.

We then climbed on top, yes on top of a school bus, and used the luggage straps so we wouldn’t fall off to continue our journey to a small town where after lunch we hired a cab to take us the rest of the way to the shelter in the rain forest. The shelter was probably the most international gathering I have ever been a part of. No other Americans, people from all over the world, many from Scandinavian countries. We went for a swim in a secluded pond and my fear of snakes was now no longer an issue. I felt I had survived the worst. Little did I know.

Our guide made a delicious dinner and, forgetting all caution about drinking unpurified water, I drank a couple of cups of delicious hot tea. It was about this time that I realized I had made fast friends with a small peacock. He was following me everywhere. At bedtime, Kristen and I shared a 4 person, 2 bunk bed arrangement with a couple from Sweden. They made soft cooing noises as they said goodnight before going to their respective bunks.

At first light, I opened my eyes to mosquito netting. The mosquito netting was moving, crawling with insects. About that time I realized that was the least of my problems. Last night’s tea was stirring up my innards. I ran to the outhouse, and for the sake of those with weak stomachs I’ll abbreviate the rest to say, I was thankful for the stream beside the outhouse and for the companionship of the little peacock who was ever watchful from the foot bridge. I was also thankful that the encampment of about 40-50 people was still asleep.

Next Kristen was waking up and looking for her eye contact solution. Our guide then called out to Jose in a stern voice to return the solution. Jose was the camp pet monkey who also was an accomplished thief. And that solution bottle looked like a delicious beverage to him. We quickly decamped, and as there was no way to get a taxi in the middle of the rain forest, Jorge with his machete (and a roll of toilet paper I asked him to bring) hacked our way out for over an hour. All the adrenaline from yesterday returned as I was the last one and was sure to be picked off by an anaconda, native to these parts.

When we reached a small settlement of raised thatched huts, we saw the skin of an anaconda on the side, sort of like a decoration. It probably measured 30 feet long, and 6-7 feet wide. But rest assured, they told me that the anaconda was killed near there about 3 years ago. We then took a small, rickety, tin gondola (more like a bucket) across a wide river and got back to the small town where yesterday we had eaten lunch.

The road back through the mountainous terrain included a Shakespearean twist. A roadblock with government officials would not let us through without payment and the promise to take the drunk guy with us. No one knew the drunk guy. It was 10 am. I really have no confidence in people who are drunk that early in the morning.

We had the same harrowing crossing with the rocks avalanche in the road but this time it was mostly rocks, and not a sandy part. However, after we were all safely on the luxury bus on the other side, Jorge, our guide, said that the second crossing was much more dangerous than the first. I really had no standard to judge, I was glad to be alive. The drunk guy was proud that he’d made it through; he was already sitting down on the bus when we walked in. My hair being red at the time, I think he was referring to me, when he said that even the red-headed whore had made it. He said it in Spanish, but I know when someone is giving me a compliment.

After returning to Banos and our comfortable room in a private house, I was talking to the owner. I was anxious to know if she had ever heard anything like what we had just gone through. She assured me that, “Yes, all the time, buses fall into the cavernous nothingness a lot.” Stunned, I asked her why she didn’t warn us. She answered that we seemed so excited about going, she didn’t want to ruin our fun. Nice!

I’m glad I didn’t die in the Amazon rain forest and I’m really happy Kristen didn’t have to live with the guilt that she says kept crossing her mind. How was she going to explain to her brother and sisters that she had killed their mother in the Amazon? I learned a lot about traveling from this trip and now I opt for Europe, and if I’m feeling real adventuresome, I think Eastern Europe. And Kristen, I hope she’ll still want to travel with her mother.