Unfortunately, AFAIK right now Bahia is pretty much the farthest beach area to reach in Ecuador from Cuenca. It should be soon remedied when neighboring Manta gets improved airport connections…. but untill then, it takes two flights from Cuenca to Manta and the peak travel time (aka weekend flights) cannot really be considered “connecting” flights in that you have to stay overnight in Guayaquil or Quito. A drive to Bahia by private car is about 7-10 hours depending on roads and traffic, add a few hours if going by bus. For fellow North Carolinians, its analogous to driving to The Outer Banks from Asheville along HWY 64 in 1960.

That being said, Bahia ROCKS! Its clean, calm and picture perfect. Its the first coastal city thats more or less “environmentally aware” lots of sustainable horticulture, agriculture, and other ecolodge / projects going on in that region. Across the bay in neighboring and burgeoning Canoa, the surf and sun is right for a tranquil getaway that’s hip with the backpackers and surfer crowd. Its much more downtempo than Montañita to the south.

I hope the purported growth of Manta doesn’t pollute the environment in the Bahia de Caraquez …. but its almost inevitable.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

<?php
exec ("/opt/local/bin/fortune -s", $lines_of_output, $error_code);
if (!$error_code) {
	foreach ($lines_of_output as $line) {
		print $line."\n";
	}
} else {
	print "script failed with exit code $error_code, see http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/exitcodes.html";
}

Check out the two beta versions I’ve created here (Hit refresh in your browser to get a new fortune).

• Your daily online fortune cookie.


• Steven Wright aphorisms.

These are meant to be part of a larger project intended to expose these quotes via RSS to incorporate them into some dynamically created “signature” lines, which is part of some new Gmail functionality available from Google Labs.

Living as an uninformed expat for the past two years, the American media hype (dross, drivel, spin, or whatever your personal flavor of the day may be) typically arrives months or sometime years late—if it arrives at all.  Today, however began with a pleasant and rather timely headline. Former US Vice President, Al Gore, has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. This is a great day for our planet, and could prove to be an essential turning point, if Gore can channel this latest success in a meaningful way. He’s already promised to donate his share of the prize to the non-profit Alliance for Climate Protection.

I have to admit that the original hype arrived to me and Ecuador a bit late about Gore’s acclaimed film on climate change.  I only recently was provided the opportunity to watch an english version of the film that a house guest bestowed upon me. Special thanks goes out to Brian at the Landever Foundation, who passed through Cuenca in the closing phases of his year-and-a-half-long mission to travel, research, and volunteer his way through central and South America, leaving an aire of consciousness (cultural, political, and otherwise) in his wake.

Brian is in the research and development phase of his Landever Foundation,and I’ve pledged to help get his non-profit off the ground by designing and maintaining his website.  The main function of the organization is to provide the necessary circumstances for healthy inter-cultural exchange experiences to kid in the States, with the lofty goals of opening young minds to the notions of cultural identity, respect, and interracial teamwork and dynamics.

:: chameleon
climate fluctuates-
little color changer waits
basking on a stone

:: a stroll
dew drop turns to frost
crossing the park through the grass-
crisp and clear the sound!

:: wandering
lonely traveler
welcoming rain on his back
many months from home

:: snowsounds
owl greets the snowfall
silent night and wide awake
fieldmouse heeds the tune

For some reason, all these haiku have come out with a distinct feeling of serenity and loneliness, so i applied the theme “isolation” to the title of this article. I hope you find something interesting in it. Please let me know what you think.

1. In general, how is bus travel in Ecuador?
2. Do Ecuadorians travel with livestock on buses?
3. What is the lechero?
4. How can I avoid the lechero?
5. What are the travel times between the major terminals in Ecuador?
6. Night bus versus day bus for long distances?

1. The Quito bus terminal… logistic

   
   

   In general, how is bus travel in Ecuador?

   Bus travel is by far the most popular means of public transportation in Ecuador. Whether you are going to pueblitos within a specific province, or heading across the nation long distance, you can generally find a bus to get you there at a very low price. Quality, however, varies widely between routes and bus companies. A good model to keep in mind for longer distances is that they should charge you betwee US$1.00 and US$1.50 for each hour of travel. As nothing is ever “certain” in Ecuador, this factor does change in various circumstances. For example, the route between Guayaquil and Cuenca is now operated by an alliance of bus companies who, working together, have devised a schedule by which a bus leaves every 40 minutes during peak hours eachway and fixed the price at US$8.00 (for a 3.5-4 hour ride). This seems to me a bit outrageous when the most luxurious night bus between cuenca and Quito (twice the distance & time) costs only $12.

   In general, tickets are only sold the day of travel. If you are planning one of the longer interprovincial night busses between Quito/Cuenca or Quito/Guayaquil, call ahead to find out the schedule for the evening as each company usually have 2 or 3 busses heading out each night. Buy your ticket in the afternoon, or try the true ecuadorian way by showing up 30 minutes to an hour early to get your ticket. Its only slightly more risky because these busses rarely fill up the notable exception being during holidays when busses are packed out, stuffy, and stinky.

   Do Ecuadorians travel with livestock on buses?

   Outside the larger cities, livestock is a way of life, and occasionally you do see people bringing smaller farm animals such as chickens or ducks onto the slower provincial buses. But certainly it is a rarity to see this type of thing on a daily basis, especially on interprovincial buses that don’t stop every 5 km to drop off or pick up locals. I’ve never seen a sheep on a bus, but it doesnt mean it wont happen to you!

   What is the “lechero”?

   I’ve heard Ecuadorians say something to the effect of “i caught the lechero”, which, in busing terms, means they caught the bus that is always slowest to arrive to a destination, because of frequent stops. These “lechero” buses are provincial (but also sometimes long-distance) buses that tend to stop in every village waiting for a “minimum” number of people to straggle in to warrant onward travel. They are also characterized by driving extremely slowly (10 to 15 km per hour) on the road out of town picking up every additional man woman and child until filled to literal capacity, in order to make an extra dime. These buses are the most interesting (read: dangerous) vehicles on the road, because if they are willing to overload the bus with passengers to exorbitant levels, then they are also as equally likely to throw caution to the wind, disobeying ever traffic law imaginable, in order to get to the next stop more quickly. Doubting, anyway, that any traffic laws are enforced or heeded by the majority of the public transport system.

   How can I avoid the lechero?

   In some smaller out of the way places, the lechero simply cannot be avoided. This could be because not many people happen to be traveling at that moment, and waiting for the bus to fill up is the only viable means of turning a profit. In other places, where there are different companies going to the same place, you have more options, and a better chance to avoid the lechero. It takes skill and a keen eye to succeed in beating the lechero. Here’s my tips for avoiding a long painfully slow, generally uncomfortable ride:

   1. Be wary of older buses covered in dust. They usually take the “long dirt road” home.
   2. Regardless of what the chofer (driver) or cobrador (guy who takes your money) tells you about when they are leaving, don’t ever get on a bus that is stationary with fewer than 6 people. Exception: large bus terminals where buses must come and go more or less on a schedule.
   3. Given a choice of buses: always pick the one with fewer medallions hanging in the rear-view and pictures/slogans of the virgin Mary or Jesus. These superstitious buses tend to throw all caution to their god(s) putting faith in these plastic or furry objects that they will arrive in one piece.
      
      What are the travel times between the major terminals in Ecuador?
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

      Route	Time	Cost
      Quito – Guayaquil	8-10hrs	~$10.00
      Quito – Cuenca	8-12hrs	$9.00-12.00
      Cuenca – Guayaquil	3.5-4hrs	$8.00

      
      Night bus versus day bus for long distances?

      Trips between Quito and Cuenca are arguably better at night, if you can sleep through voracious speeds and curvy mountain roads. During the day, the options for direct buses are few and far between, meaning if you dont plan well, you will lose an entire day on a lechero. Direct day buses are nice because there’s lots of beutiful scenery between the two andean cities, but, again, not for the faint of heart. If you know you easily get bus sick, i recommend going for a flight: 30 minutes, US$49… well worth the price in time saved and avoiding constant nausea.

      In the end, as stated above in the sections about the lechero, some busses are light-years more comfortable than others. Its worth paying a few extra dollars for the $12 Flota Imbabura direct night bus.

      Now-a-days its not so necessary because the newer buses have heating, but on older night buses a heavy blanket, or tons of layers is a must.

      QUICK TIP: If the night bus you are on seems to be really cold, its probably because

      1. Some windows are cracked, stuck, or left open. An obvious problem in ecuadorian buses, but often very hard to fix.
      2. The bus lacks enough bodies to produce interior warmth. This is also something that can’t really be helped.
      3. The window shades are open! Subtly, these fabric/canvas shades do a lot to keep a buffer between the interior warmth generated by body heat and the constant stream of cold night air pushing against the glass windows from the exterior. Close as many as possible around you, and get others to do the same. This also helps keep distracting oncoming headlights from ruining your good nights sleep
      
      
      The Quito bus terminal… logistics?

      The quito bus terminal is in a sketchy area on the southern end (near to nothing of relevance for a tourist). If you are in the northern part of Quito looking to go south, ask around for the Panamericana or Flota Imbabura (has the newest busses in Ecuador). Instead of heading all the way to the
      very southern part of town to the terminal, correct me if I’m wrong about this but both of these companies have offices from where night busses leave in the Middle to Northern end of town.

      ]]> http://elementalidad.com/2007/01/11/ecuador-by-bus/feed/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/12/29/send-money-now-mom/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/12/29/send-money-now-mom/#comments Fri, 29 Dec 2006 19:36:07 +0000 James http://www.gedanken-experiment.com/wp/2006/12/29/send-money-now-mom/ Part One of my series on SAGEFAQ tries to help solve your money problems… no, we’re not giving away free money

      Money Issues, a.k.a ”$end mon€¥ ₦ow, Mom!”

      1. How do I carry around my money?
      2. Should I take traveler cheques with me?
      3. Are Visa, MasterCard useful and are ATMs available in South America?
      1. Debit Versus Credit?

         How do I carry around my money?

         Well, this is really a very personal question and thus requires an analysis of your personal preferences. I think every traveler I’ve ever met has a different scheme for toting his monetary wealth. The solution depends on a handful of circumstances, and the first thing to realize when you asses this situation is to consider how you deal with your money at home. Do you have a bank checking account with direct access via a check (debit) card. Are you currently under a wealth of credit card bills? Do you skip the tax and banking system altogether? Do you carry a fat wad of dough in your pocket? All these things add up to your monetary awareness. And now my personal solution, (so everyone knows where i hide my money at night): when I’m on the road…. i do things like MacGyver or your everyday boy scout would: a little bit of everything:

         When traveling I rely mainly upon my trusty tarjeta (an ATM card) that has direct access to a small checking account where i control the amount of funds available from my bank’s secure website. I also have the everyday allotment of efectivo (cash) in my wallet that I’ve budgeted for daily use. You’ll find a tiny stash of travelers cheques (travelers checks) in the bottom of my backpack. And a kanguro, a flat, hidden waist belt i picked up at the market in Otavalo containing my passport, some extra cash, keys to tiny travel locks in placed on my backpack, to keep out curious fingers, and finally the ever useful earplugs. I dont keep cash in my backpack because of the three things I have when traveling (my pack and my clothes, and my person) i figure the pack is the most likely to get violated or stolen.

         Should I take traveler cheques with me?

         Why even bother with TCs in South America, when 1) almost no negocios (businesses) in SA accept travelers checks to pay for goods, and 2) most bancos (banks) charge a commission to exchange them or even buy new ones (eg, Banco de Guayaquil changes and sells them for $3 on every $100.)

         Well, again, I think this has everything to do with personal preference about your illusion of security. If you get robbed, and you have the cheque numbers memorized or stored somewhere safe. Then yes, you can get some of your money back, but not without hassle. You’ll probably have to pay for an international call to file a claim and get the reimbursment. It is a little known fact that most banks in South America (particularly in Ecuador) that issue travelers checks will not reimburse you for checks lost. Don’t even bother going to one to complain that you lost money. Instead find out from a local where the nearest Western Union, go there and get their transfer id. Then make your call to the TC issuer to file a claim on the missing cheques. You give the TC issuer the numbers of the lost cheques and the Western Union id, and they give you a transfer code which you then take back to said Western Union to pick up your cold hard cash! Luckily you pay no commisions in this process other than the phone call (the TC issuer will pay for the wire transfer).

         I suppose its really to your advantage to have some cheques, in the case that you loose all your money, your ATM card and your credit card. Then, independently, you still have your pride (and this essential wild card) to avoid the embarrassing “E.T., phone home” scenario to borrow more money.

         Are Visa, MasterCard useful and are ATMs available in South America?

         Here is the deal (quick and dirty) with ATM machines: ATM machines are indeed ubiquitous in Ecuador and everywhere else in South America. They work flawlessly for both debit (check cards) or credit cards on the Visa Plus and MasterCard networks [others beware!] It goes without saying that you definitely need your PIN to withdraw funds from either check or credit cards at ATMs. I highly recommend using ATMs as opposed to relying on changing travelers cheques, if and only if you 1) have your money in a bank that has affiliate banks abroad (in whatever country in South America you are visiting) such that they dont charge you a boat load for each withdrawal. PS, Make sure you tell your bank (in person, to a real person) you are traveling to X countries for X amount of time, so they can put a note into their security systems not to flag your account when it starts seeing money being withdrawn from abnormal locations.

         Debit versus Credit?

         You won’t know till you get there, but the odds are that credit card providers will charge more of a commission per withdrawal than your banks direct debit ATM card. For instance, I have both credit and debit cards issued from the same bank in the USA, but the Visa credit card fines me a hefty $10 commission per withdrawal, where as my debit card charges NO commission from withdrawals at affiliate bank ATMs, and a $2 commission for withdrawals from non-affiliates in Ecuador.

         ]]> http://elementalidad.com/2006/12/29/send-money-now-mom/feed/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/12/29/sagefaq/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/12/29/sagefaq/#comments Fri, 29 Dec 2006 18:27:33 +0000 James http://www.gedanken-experiment.com/wp/2006/12/29/faquasage/ Being one of few (active) members of the HospitalityClub.org and CouchSurfing.com living in Cuenca, Ecuador, I have the really nice opportunity to be contacted by lots of people traveling through ecuador. On my profiles, I advertise my willingness to help people with any questions they have. I’ve been receiving travel questions for quite a few months now and always try to be as detailed as possible in my responses, and so decided to start logging them here on my blog for posterity and to be able to refer people to view my views on my website, given that providing a link, albeit not heartwarming as a personal response, is 1000 times more useful and efficient that responding with the same answer twice.

         [ my HospitalityClub profile ] [ my CouchSurfing profile ]

         So here comes a series called “SAGE FAQ” or South America, the Galapagos and Ecuador Frequently Asked Questions. Topics being updating over the next week few weeks include:

         Money Issues tips on traveling with cash, traveler cheques, ATM/Debit & Credit Cards in South America and Ecuador.

         Ecuador by Bus tips on how to make the most of Ecuador’s transportation system; logistics and tips for avoiding the infamous lechero.

         Galapagos Islands how to experience evolution and pure nature on a budget.

         Host Families some people come to South America (and Quito or Cuenca Ecuador, in particular) to study Spanish or Portuguese (in Brazil). Its a good idea to bring a token of hospitality to their host families. Here is an outline of tips for choosing a gift. coming soon…

         Guided Excursions Helps you choose whether or not you need a I need a guide to summit a volcano, do a National Park trek, visit the Amazon, et cetera. coming soon…

         SA Geography an outline of the typical Ecuador travel route, a.k.a the Ecuadorian stretch of “The Gringo Trail”, as well as some lesser-known out-of-the-way travel gems. coming soon…

         Statistics How about some Ecuadorian superlatives? The highest volcano, the farthest point on earth you can stand away from the nucleus of this planet, etc.

         ]]> http://elementalidad.com/2006/12/29/sagefaq/feed/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/10/28/senryu-one/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/10/28/senryu-one/#comments Sat, 28 Oct 2006 08:40:56 +0000 James http://www.gedanken-experiment.com/wp/2006/10/28/senryu-one/ Senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction but tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature. Senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are serious.

         tilled Andean hillside
         under alpaca yarns
         all of Ecuador shivers

         safely locked posessions
         traveler returns home
         key lost in the dark

         sleepless
         a series of Senryū
         swiftly surfaced

         lay man prays
         but quietly hates
         the next day

         family asleep
         in separate rooms
         peace at last

         ink stains cross
         scattered and wrinkled papers
         another caffeinated night

         As a beginner, this is my first attempt at writing senryu. This series tries to maintain the recurrent theme of sleep and darkness. I feel like some of my first attempts here lack the essence of true senryu, however, I’m keeping my head up.

         ]]> http://elementalidad.com/2006/10/28/senryu-one/feed/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/10/20/rio-amazonas/ http://elementalidad.com/2006/10/20/rio-amazonas/#comments Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:01:50 +0000 James http://www.gedanken-experiment.com/wp/2006/10/20/rio-amazonas/ I just arrived in Manaus deep in the middle of the amazon this morning at 4:15 AM a bit battered and beaten by 6 days and nights on a riverboat headed upstream from the delta into the interior. sleeping in hammock on the crowded boat was not very comforable at all, and the bathrooms were fairly substandard, but what the boat lacked in quality and efficiency was made up for ten times over by the unbelievable sensory experience of the Amazon. oppressive heat combined with the afternoon doldrums where there is no breeze to cool you off. Then, taking a shower on the top deck in an incredible torrential rain beating down for 30 minutes. Surreal sunrises and sunsets, not to mention the full moon that just passed over. The end of the dry season means the waters are at their lowest points and the high water mark being a good 30 or 40 feet (10 or 12 meters) above the current point of surface tension.Yesterday reached the dubius climax of the trip when the capitain in a fit of pure brazilian logic, spite, anger (whatever you want to call it), just couldnt wait another minute for me to get back to the bottom of the dock along its incredibly steep and precarious bridge… [in stead of arriving in Manaus at 4:17 AM] decided he would leave me stranded behind during a minor express mission to find a bottle of water in a tiny amazon village. The story from folks on board coraborates my suspicion that capitan did indeed blow the “warning” horn twice as they were throwing the moors from the dock imediately without the customary 2 or three minute wait. Some brazilians and other travelers I had befriended on the boat begged him to wait for me, but he only yelled at them to go away and threatened to throw one nice girl who was sticking up for me in the water! So i had a bit of a drama act to run down the riverbank to hire a small motorized canoe to chase down the big boat that was over kilometer away! Everyone on board was watching the events unfold from the three decks of the riverboat. It was a great moment of intense drama for many of the passengers whose only other exposure to that kind of action on the trip was the daily dosage of evening novelas (brazilian soap operas) piped in by a ginormous satelite dish on the top deck. Throughout the trip, I became hugely popular on the boat and had conversations with everyone, met some interesting locals and a few other travelers and overall had a pleasant time getting to know the amazon bugs from the sweaty confines of my hammock.

         I realize now that it will take two weeks before i arrive back to Cuenca, Ecuador. Mainly due to the extremely slow process of upstream river travel. Tomorrow I catch another boat (wednesday 11th october) at 6pm to Tabatinga/Leticia further up the Rio Amazonas at the triple border with Colombia and Peru. Hop the border to Peru and head up another 12 hours by speedboat to Iquitos, Peru´s version of Manaus (big amazon city further up the Rio Amazonas). From there i head up a tributary river called Rio Napo into Ecuador for a trip of unknown length to the small town of Tena. I heard the Napo is really low right now, so it might be a because the boats are getting stuck in the sand. With that in mind, this morning i went to look for a flight to Quito to speed up the trip, also to allow me to hang out here in the jungle for a bit, instead of being restricted to the random schedules of the riverboats. theres no direct flight to ecuador from here, actually nowhere in brasil has a direct fligh to ecuador, the price (via panama!) is outrageous and so my only option is by boat.

         thats all the travel routing information i have for now. more to come…

         namaste,

         James

         ]]> http://elementalidad.com/2006/10/20/rio-amazonas/feed/