Mitad del Mundo - Part 2

Our previous blog mentioned that about 35 years ago the Canadian army came in with GPS equipment and discovered the "center of the world" was in the wrong place. To the left is the original monument, and to the right is the new monument dedicated to the actual site. No doubt the gift shop owners were upset - until they figured out that now they have two chances to claim some tourist dollars!

 

 

The new site showcased some interesting history.  For instance, the indigenous Ecuadorians mastered the art of the shrunken head.  Here's a diorama showing the process.  They would capture their enemy and then wear his shrunken head around their neck as a warning to others.  Some of you are probably thinking you could have used this process for an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend or two ...



Here is one of the indigenous people in his habitat.  That cup covering his genitals isn't for modesty. It's for protection from the fish. I guess if you pee in the rivers here, there's a little fish that will swim up your uretha and then continue to grow until it shuts off your kidneys.  So don't pee in the rivers in Ecuador.  I'm thinking that adding a few of those little fish to public swimming pools may be an idea.






A couple of fun challenges at the equator were balancing an egg on the head of a nail - one of us was able to do it - and trying to walk a straight line along the equator.  It seems that once you lift your foot, your center of gravity is off to one side or the other and you are pulled off the line.  Our group spent half an hour trying to stay on the line, and then decided we would all fail the drunk test.  Here's Ken making it about a foot and a half before heading north.  I was able to make it about five feet, and then headed south.



Anyway, as tourist attractions go this was one of the most fun.  Hooray for the Canadian army!

 

 

The Center of the World

Mitad del Mundo

On the way back from Cuenca we had an 8 hour layover in Quito, so we decided to go to Mitad del Mundo - or the center of the earth.  There are actually two tourist attractions there.  The first was considered the middle of the earth for years.  It has a yellow line painted through it representing the equator, and a big monument declaring itself as being 0 - 0 - 0 degrees.  It also has a church with the line painted all the way through the center so people can get married standing on either side of the equator.  Other than that, it's all gift shops and restaurants. 

However, the Canadian Army came in with their satellites and GPS gear around 35 years ago and discovered that the real equator was about a kilometer away.  The new Mitad del Mundo was more interesting with exhibits of Ecuadorian history and demonstrations.  Did you know that water flows straight down the drain at the equator, but swirls clockwise to the south and counter-clockwise to the north.  Watch our Youtube video at http://youtu.be/9z3HmngBnns  or click on the blue Mitad del Mundo heading above.

More on the Centre of the World later.
 

Maresey Doats

Although we felt like we were starting to understand Spanish in Costa Rica, I now think our teacher Ileana, our neighbours and our local shopkeepers were so used to us saying "despacio" (slow down) that they automatically talked to us like two year olds.  Not so much in Ecuador.  Here we often feel caught in the tides like the poor octopus being hunted below (we found out our camera works, just not the viewfinder).

It's like the nursery rhyme. We may be aware that the words are "Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy", but to most of us it sounds like "maresey doats and dosey doats and little lambsey divey".  Spanish here is multi-accented - some natives have a sing-song pitch, some a nasally pitch and some mix it with words and expressions from one of the many native dialects spoken in Ecuador, but whichever it is, it's all spoken very, very fast and sounds like "maresey doats" to me .  We are still trying to practice our Spanish, but most of the time end up feeling like a big, blue-footed boobie.

  

Boobies!

Ken was sitting out on the balcony overlooking the pool yesterday while I was in the kitchen making coffee, when he suddenly yelled "Shelley there's boobies out here".  He started to laugh when I yelled back "They can hear you at the pool you know".  Turns out he was watching some blue-footed boobies diving for fish just off the shore line.

The blue-footed boobies kind of look like a cousin to the penguin.  They soar above the water like pelicans, but unlike the pelican who does a kind of ungainly face plant when they dive for fish, the boobie goes rocketing in like a heat-seeking missile.

We also found out that the boobie's feet are a vibrant blue when they're in a "mating mood", otherwise they just turn a soft grey-blue.  Check out this group photo and you can tell who is in the mood and who is not.

 After doing our trek to the beach today we were approached by a young man who offered to take us out on a tour of the harbor for $3.  We saw hundreds of boobies sitting on the rock walls, watched the pelicans catch their fill of fish, and motored around the fishing boats in the harbor. 

The fishing boats have so many nets on board it's amazing the boat holds them all.  The entire black mound on the back of the boat below is netting, while the yellow balls off to the right are the buoys attached to them. I wouldn't want to be in charge of keeping this load from tangling.  With the dozens of boats like this in the harbor, it's amazing that there are so many fish left over for the boobies and the pelicans.

 

Beachcombing for Octopus

 

We finally figured out that instead of scrambling over rocks to the beach in high tide, you can actually walk the entire shore line at low tide. When the tide goes out it leaves a hard surface (sandstone & coral?) that looks like rows of waves. The rock surface is smooth on the top but curls under on the side facing shore where pools of water are left by the receding tide.  We wondered why there were so many locals walking along poking at the pools of water with a big stick.  Turns out they're hunting for octopus.
 

As the tide recedes, octopus get caught in the water on the shore side of the rock waves and burrow in.  The locals have long sticks with a big hook on the end and use these for digging in the pools until they find an octopus hiding in the rocks.  They then use the hook to retrieve it and bag it for making one of the many octopus dishes served here (soup, stew, grilled, calamari, etc).  As we no longer have a camera or a phone, this picture was retrieved from the internet and does not show the wave like rock formations. The picture above that we took when the tide was higher shows the beginnings of the formations, which go out a couple of hundred meters during low tide. Note the stick in this guy's right hand and the octopus in his left.

Anyway, we like to stroll along the shoreline mid-morning and watch the pelicans, the octopus hunters, the fishermen checking their nets after the morning's catch has been delivered, and the occasional whale jumping in the distance.  It's about two kilometers to the Malecon which is a wide sandy beach surrounded by restaurants and shops.  There we'll stop for a late breakfast or early lunch or a visit with people we've met at the various ex-pat functions before heading home for a swim and an afternoon nap.

 

The Fish Market

One of the best things about Manta, Ecuador is the fish market.  Every morning and evening we see the fishing boats out on the water, and by 7:00 a.m. (because we're not getting up any earlier), the fish market about a mile down the beach is bustling.  There are around a hundred vendors selling tons of fresh tuna (this is the tuna capital of the world), mahi-mahi, swordfish, sea bass, shrimp, octopus and other strange creatures.  In the picture below you'll see fresh ahi tuna in the front, mounds of giant shrimp behind and octopus being cleaned over to the left.  You just walk up to your favorite vendor and ask for the quantity you want of whatever you want and they'll gladly slice off a piece for you.

We bought a pound of swordfish, cut into two inch thick steaks, and a pound of mahi-mahi for a total of $8.  I grilled the swordfish and served with a homemade salsa of papaya, orange and sweet onion, plus fresh little potatoes and plantain.  Ken has decided he is going to become a fish eater after all.

Ecuador 2 - The Jury's Still Out

Ecuador is a whole lot different than Costa Rica or anywhere else we've been, and although I keep trying to stay positive as we've booked two months here - the jury's still out. 

On the negative side, we haven't lived in an apartment or been without a car for 30-40 years.  Although it's a modern and comfortable apartment, I don't think we're apartment people.  Also it smells bad here.  They say it's sewer gas as they don't use traps in the drains and they're trying to deal with it, but it's really not pleasant. 
Also if we're not looking out at the Pacific or at the well-manicured gardens of the expensive gated community next door, the entire colour palette is beige and brown, which is a shock after the lush and vibrant colours of Costa Rica.  It reminds me of late fall in Canada after all the vegetation dies and the leaves fall off the trees and everything looks dead.  I'm finding that kind of depressing.

On the other hand ...

There are also many positives about Ecuador.  It's easy to get around as taxis are plentiful and cheap.  A cab ride to the mall - about the distance between our home in London and the airport (which would cost around $30) - is $2 here.  The grocery store, beach and most restaurants, if not within walking distance, are a $1 cab ride.  To catch a cab you just walk out your door and raise a hand - there are lots of them.

Food is cheap.  The Almuerzo (lunch) which consists of soup, a main course, freshly squeezed or blended juice, and some sort of sweet or dessert is $2.50 - 4.00.  Dinner at an upscale restaurant is around $7-8, at a regular restaurant $5-6.  Restaurants are everywhere  - at least 20 within walking distance of our apartment - and the food is good.

There is a very socially active "ex-pat" group here.  We went to the weekly ex-pat dinner last night and met around 40 people.  There is a lunch tomorrow and a breakfast on Sunday, so I imagine we'll meet a few more.  I don't think it will be hard to make some friends during our stay.  The ex-pats tend to be very passionate about this country, so their enthusiasm may be catchy.  The Ecuadorians, while not quite as accommodating as the Ticos, are appreciative when we try to speak their language and they do try to help.  There is not a lot of English spoken here, so Ken sees it as an opportunity to try to improve our Spanish.

There be whales here!  When we sit out on the balcony and watch the fishing boats, we often see whales jumping and splashing out on the horizon.  Wish we had our binoculars and that our camera with the zoom lens hadn't died.

An last - but certainly not least - on the negative side (and this is really a negative for me) - you can't drink the water here.  I have to keep reminding myself to fill a glass with bottled water before brushing my teeth.  But on the positive side (and this is really a positive for me) - no bugs.  We have our balcony doors wide open all the time and other than one pesky little fly, we haven't seen one insect all week. 

 

Next Stop - Ecuador - The Trip from Hell!

We finally arrived in Ecuador after a 2 day trip from hell, going from San Jose, Costa Rica to Fort Lauderdale to Miami to Quito, Ecuador and finally to Manta.  I know it's a strange route but we had originally planned to go back to Canada in September.  Because each airline charges for an itinerary change we decided to make the minimum amount of changes to our trip - in hindsight, perhaps not the wisest decision.

First we got lost in one of the less savory parts of San Jose for hours while trying to find our B&B the night before flying back to Florida.  After that we decided to rent a GPS in Miami, however, Ken forgot to write down the name of the hotel he booked so we drove around, lost again, while trying to find an internet connection to look it up.  Then we missed our flight the next morning due to arriving all of five minutes late for the 2 hour book-in lead time, so we stood around for an hour and a half while they tried to reschedule us while not screwing up our return tickets.  We then sat in the Miami airport from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. waiting for the next flight.  This meant we lost the last connection out of Quito to Manta, so we sat around that airport from 8:30 p.m. waiting for a 6:00 a.m. flight.  As the Quito airport is about an hour out of town, we didn't want to leave and take a chance on missing our flight to Manta, however, around 4:00 a.m., they announced that the flight had been delayed and we would be leaving at 10:00 a.m.  Did I mention that Quito is bloody cold and that the airport has steel seating with unmovable arms and that all the food and beverage stations close up at 8:00 for the night.  Oh yeah, and that you can't drink the water.

Anyway, after 2 days of travel and 26 hours of sitting in airports we got here, our luggage arrived safely, the realtor picked us up and took us to buy a few groceries, and we settled in to our condo for a shower and a nap. 

Welcome to Ecuador!