On the way to the mall in Guayaquil

Guaya Mall Shopping- A modern clean, busy, upscale, urban experience.

FACTOIDS:

If you like cream or creamer for coffee, bring some in packets that will get through TSA because cream and creamer are hard to come by.  Same with mustard for some reason.  Ketchup here is not the same either- it is very sweet and not at all like we are accustomed to, so may want to put that on the list as well.

Pharmacies are great.  Have diarrhea?  No problem.  Walk in ask for Cipro 500mg.  1 week supply $9.00, no Rx needed.

They even have a no Rx Lunesta ( Zetix 7.5 mg, Dalay(medication for $10.00 in case you can’t sleep.  Just ask for medicina para dormir (my Spanish is so bad, I’m thinking I wasted both those years in high school?), but anyway, you can get a lot just by asking and it is cheap.

Thankfully I didn’t need any dental care.  I did want to visit a hospital to see how this “great” care really is, but that will be next trip.

Now a serious word.  A number of internet sites like “Internationaliving.com, and to a lesser extent, Liveandinvestoverseas.com” get a LOT of press these days as they pander to baby boomers on the precipice of retiring, but perhaps without the financial means.

I strongly urge everyone who is thinking about relocating to another country to look at these sites with about a million grains of salt.  Hear me now, hear me loud and hear me clearly.  Everyone has a motive.  I stated mine at the beginning of the blog (I want to have a central repository of things I have learned about Ecuador that I could refer to, and I wanted to educate anyone who also wanted to learn.  I wanted an excuse to use my camera, and to write.  My final “agenda” is to have an adventure to share. Those are my only agendas- period.

Now back to the “expat” sites.  Look at them carefully. You will notice that they have one agenda- to get your money.  I don’t begrudge anyone the right to make a fair wage for fair work, but when it comes to moving to a third world country, you are in the Wild Wild West, and you may see your money disappear before the ink dries on the page.  Worse yet, you may inherit liabilities that you never imagined.

Here are some stories that I heard, and I heard them regularly, so I believe them to be true.

*Land ownership issue- Builders build on land they don’t own.  They hope to be able to buy it with sales of the units they sell, but guess what??  Nope.

*Double Dippers, Rope-a-dopers- No MLS or real estate regulation.  The realtor may just charge commission to everyone (double dip).  Another classic move is to ask the seller what he wants- say $50K.  He meets buyer, sells for $70K + double dip, keeps the extra 20K- ouch.

*Rental properties- a good thing to do for 6 months to a year to see how things work and be sure you want to live in an area.  Be careful here too, as I have heard that many managers will refuse to service the units with problems, especially on weekends.  See gringotree.com and see recommendations section.

*If you go to a country, find a variety of expat sites.  If they have “Ambassadors” etc, (internations.com) , beware of these as they are usually somehow profiting from your move into the area.  I advise trolling the bbs’s or trying to meet people who have nothing to sell.  Strike up friendships.  Personally, I made a pen pal from Canada.  I went to Ecuador first and reported back to him.  When he goes, he will report back to me.  Best Intel ever

*My best advice is this.  Once you cross the border, you are on the road to adventure or highway to Hell.  The road is one in the same.  The only thing that makes it different is the attitude of the traveler.  Go to another country BECAUSE you want to experience something new to you and different to you.  Go to a 5 star resort in the USA if strange looking sights, sounds, and smells are going to offend you.

If you have read this far, I will risk assuming that you are a fellow adventurer.  On the road in South America, you will stand out as a white face.  Not to worry however, you will be welcomed.  The problem however is that not many people speak English, so learn as much as you can.  If you know no Spanish, that is the best reason to come- now.  What an adventure.

Here is the deal.  There are a few Ecuadorians who speak English and are glad to practice with you.  Gringos are around here and there and they are also usually, actually unusually friendly and helpful.  When all else fails, you will get by.

When you get to a new town, find out where all the gringos hang out, and go there to get the “skinny” on things.  They will set you straight, tell you who to avoid, whom to go to, etc. 

Remember, life is and adventure.  That highway doesn’t go straight, and sometimes, you just see a side road that beckons and you have to explore it.  Don’t resist it.

Street Scenes on the way to the mall:

Limon vendor in the busy street-$1.00/bag

  Street vendors selling balloons

 

Mall of the Sun entrance under renovation.  

  Ladies in a kiosk making fresh squeezed fruit juice- very sour.

 

 

Store with ladies cosmetics.  They advertise that they accept credit cards.  Also notice the modern, fashionable dress.

 

Not interested in cosmetics?  How about a new home in a gated community?

 

Pick your house style and payment plan.

  

 

Despite being a Catholic third world country that is supposed to be very “conservative”, there is a strong sexual undercurrent that is barely beneath the surface.  In any event, Ecuadorians have exploited the fact that sex sells.  This young lady is hawking prizes in exchange for signing up for something.

Also notice in the background is Cinemark Multiplex Movie Theater with current release movies-English with Spanish subtitles.

 

Food court like many in the U.S.A.

Burgers, Pizza, you name it, you can get it, and it is cheap.

 

 

With Dunkin’ Donuts, you know you will be safe- cops all over the place- right?

 

Currency is the U.S. dollar.  The brass coins are dollars, which they use in addition to our paper currency and our coins.  A dime is pictured bottom left.

 

This kiosk is a great idea, and one in which I had to partake in.  The Magnum Ice cream bar comes without any chocolate.   Tell the clerk how you want it personalized, and bingo, it’s all yours, and it is yummy.

Tomorrow, we will check out a hostal.

Parque de las Iguanas (aka Parque Bolivar)

Parque de las Iguanas, aka Parque Bolivar

FACTOIDS:

I am behind in the writing and posting, understandably, however, I want to post important tips in real time even though they may not synch with the actual experience.

When getting into a cab, always try to get an English speaker- I mentioned this previously.  Get the price BEFORE entering cab.  They will whisk you bags in and it will be a hassle to get them out.  So be warned.  Get the price before you let them touch your bags.

In going from Salinas to Guayaquil a bus will cost about $14/person.  A cab ride ranges from $45- $60.

Be prepared- a cab ride can be a family affair.  Your cabbie may bring the wife and kid.  If that is fine with you, go for it.  If not, hail another cab.

Some cabs may only go to the outskirts of Salinas and then hand off to a second cab.  There definitely is a good old boy system here that I don’t understand, but it worked out for me.  I was en-route to Cuenca (Southern Sierra).  The second cabbie tried to take me to Cuenca and offered to do so for $200 USD, and came down to $120.  I declined, in favor of bus for $12.00 USD.

Here is where I got hustled.  On arrival to Guayaquil, I was handed off not to the terminal where I requested, but rather a strip mall with a bunch of private cab services to Cuenca- $14.00 USD each.  I went for it with the promise that there would only be 2 people total. Did I say three, or did I say 5?  Don’t believe it.

Final tip.  Though I have had no problems so far, I suggest that you consider a suit case lock or a Kensington type lock for bags containing all valuables.  Valuables= anything you don’t want stolen.  My valuables basically include my camera gear, and I take it with me at all times.  The rest I can replace.

Before I talk about the park, I do want to reiterate that I have had no problems, and this country so far is lovely.  The people are very friendly and eager to help. They are hospitable.

Of course documenting the trip is major goal of this blog.  Another major goal is to communicate the textures, sights, smells, and experiences, so that the reader, as much as possible cans a real connection through my writings and photos.  It is a tall order since I am not a writer, nor am I a professional photographer.  I do have a passion for both and a passion for meeting new people and learning about them.  If at any time you the reader want to learn more while I am here, please ask or leave comments, and I will do my best to find out.

The Parque is actually a treasure that most people don’t truly understand.  To begin with, the park has at least dozens of land iguanas.  Pardon me while I go zoologist/evolutionist on you.  In my opinion this is the treasure.  This may be the only, or if not the only, then one of only a handful of places in the world where land iguanas exist.  Interestingly, the park can get very crowded and the children and adults are more entertained by a solitary red squirrel that doesn’t fail to entertain.  This squirrel is notorious if not famous, as I read about him in a travel book.  Sadly, small children harassed him to the point that he took refuge up a tree before I could get his picture.

The iguana picture gets a bit interesting from a zoological point of view.  The question is, “how did they get there?”  The answer is…speculation.  My favorite theory is called the raft theory and goes like this.  The Galapagos Islands, has unique iguana species and lies about 600 miles to the west of Guayaquil. It is impossible for iguanas to swim this distance.  If one were to look at the Guayas River at any given time, one would be struck by the amount of bio-debris floating downstream.  It is entirely possible that viable eggs or a few iguanas could have hitched a ride on one of these rafts and survived the journey.  The rest is history.

One last thing on the topic of zoology, and hopefully you haven’t fallen asleep on your keyboards. It is important to understand what the definition of a species is.  The most basic and functional definition of species is that two individuals, no matter how much alike they look, and given that they are fertile, cannot breed together and produce a viable offspring.  Therefore, the land iguanas in Guayaquil according to evolutionary principles separated from the Galapagos iguanas many years ago, likely thousands of years ago, the environment acted on them “weeding out” the less and selecting the genetically superior specimens (natural selection by definition).  In the wild, the males tend to be larger and more colorful to attract the females, who in turn are attracted to the males whom they feel will have superior genetics to pass to the next generation.  Ahhh ain’t it great. 

Charles Darwin’s sailed to the Galapagos in his boat, the Beagle.  He was so struck by the biodiversity that it was a backbone of his famous book “On The Origin Of Species’, published November 24, 1859”.  Actually, his book never explained it.

The Park was AWESOME, and well worth spending a couple of hours or more if you are amused and entertained by large pre-historic appearing critters that are docile.  The square is immaculate, and safe.  Many guards are present and visible.  Families and people of all ages are present and enjoying themselves.  The children were fascinated by my silver hair, and camera, but mainly my camera.  The children loved to have their pics taken. 

Let the pics however will speak for themselves:

Officer showing baby iguana.  Many are pilfered.  Some have died recently due to visitors feeding them "bad" things.  

baby iguana, waiting to play with the big boys

Local children, always eager to pose.  Also, very beautiful!

 

And now, iguanas, the stars of the show!

female left, male right

proud, handsome, male- Note that each iguana has beautiful and individual colors and markings.

The next photos are admittedly very POOR pics.  I wouldn't usually show them, however, I was extremely lucky to witness this, let alone get any pic at all. I was not set up for an action shot, no excuses.  So here is what happened.  The iguana decided to actually walk (really run) on water using just his hind legs.  It was amazing.

On your mark

GO!

 Avid tree climbers

Avid tree climbers

Literally hundreds of iguanas.  A word to the wise, do not stand directly beneath them.  Enough said.

They are docile and sweet

Some will even hand feed

Interestingly, the "famous red squirrel" was present at east the end of the square opposite the church, and had a huge crowd of kids and adults.  The squirrel evidently was used to being hand fed as it was comfortable with people.  The crowds preferred the squirrel to the iguanas, obviously not knowing what a unique treasure they have.

The iguanas were wonderful critters and would make a great "pet" for those inclined.  For me, they belong in the wild.  A great experience to be up close and personal with a reptile that hasn't changed much since pre-historic days.  I was also totally shocked at how fast and agile they are considering they are cold blooded animals, but that is another didactic lecture, and I have waxed boring already.

Two other points of interest that I photographed:

Statue of Simon Bolivar with cathedral in background.  For extra points, does anyone know the meaning of the positioning of the horses hooves?  Does one up = wounded, two up= killed in action?  Does it mean anything at all?  is it a local custom?

Inside the cathedral.  This was a long exposure photograph taken on tripod.  The cathedral was originally build in 1500's  (the best that I can tell), and reconstructed in 1936 after being destroyed by a fire.  It is beautiful, and Neo-Gothic in design and dominates the west end of the park.

More on Guayaquil on next post, so keep an eye out!

*if you discover any errors, or would like to suggest anything to be covered, please indicate in comments.

The Peasants of Ecuador

Ecuadorans as one may assume, are diverse.  As a modern people, they have been shaped by the land, and specifically, which area of Ecuador they live in.  They have also been affected by conquest of the Spanish in the early 16th century.  Until the early 1970's, Ecuador was primarily a rural society, however the discovery of oil has prompted an urban explosion.

Campesinos (peasants) are commonly found in the Sierra region, and they work very hard to eek out a meager living in the rocky, volcanic, mountainous soil.  The Campesions work the harsh land, that is usually owned by rich landowners.





image taken from: Campesinos 
Mountain-dwelling people called "the serrano" live in the harsh mountain areas.  They have been described as rugged, hearty, and they are known to have a love for their Andean music.






image taken from: Serrano

Coastal peasants live in close harmony with nature in the fertile and verdant lowlands of the coastal region.  These are the costenos (coastal dwellers).  Life is much easier for these peasants, and it is reflected in their reported dispositions- easy going, not too concerned abut "manana", but quick tempered.





Image taken from  Costenos

The indigents of the Oriente are the ones that I find the most interesting.    These people comprise only 4% of the population.  For centuries, they have lived isolated, and therefore, they have changed relatively little.  Fascinating.  These people have been described as light-hearted, self-confident, and accustomed to living from a generous bounty of nature.  Sadly, this is threatened with logging oil exploitation.  These are people that I really want to meet and get to spend time with.





Image taken from:  Oriente

I will blog more about Ecuador soon.  Stay tuned.  I just discovered some interesting "stuff" about the coast, so that will be on deck soon.  However, there are many, many, many, more, peoples of Ecuador who are "civilized", and it is important to present a well rounded picture of this South American gem.


Copyright ©2014, Scott E. Kasden, M.D., all rights reserved.