Firstly I know it may be a little bit sad to be writing this whilst I´m on holiday in Cuenca, but there is an internet shop opposite Casa Naranja (where I´m staying). Also I´m afraid I´ll forget stuff if I leave it till Sun/Mon!
So this is the beginning...
I spent most of yesterday feeling very excited about my impending adventure. I got in a taxi as soon as possible and made my way to Quito airport. My taxi driver had a small quantity of English and I have my small quantity of Spanish, so we got along brilliantly, laughing at each others attempts to speak English/Spanish. As we got closer to the airport I admitted to being ´un poco nerviosa!`
At the airport some guards pointed me in the right direction to the automatic check-in and then I made my way through security. I was starting to feel a bit more confident as I sat down in the departures lounge. After a while I started to get twitchy again, wondering which gate I would be leaving from. So I asked and found out that my flight was delayed - this was very confusing as the electronic board did not give this information. Meanwhile I had changed where I was sitting. As time passed and the board still said ´abordando`, I decided to see if the nice, friendly looking girl near me spoke English - she did! Her brother had also been wondering and had just gone to find out what was happening - we were still delayed. So I chatted with both of them - Phillipe and Michelle. We discussed Ecuador, why I was here and other small talk kinda stuff. Their father came over too and asked if I´d like to go to Parque Cajas with them the next day (today). I thought...well yes and thanked them. I sat there thinking, this is wonderful I´m so glad I decided to do this, already I´m meeting Ecuadorian people and having an adventure. I wasn´t bothered about the delayed flight - I felt it was meant to be so that I could meet this lovely family.
Eventually we boarded - I think it was at about 6.30pm. Hurray we all thought, we´re on our way! Marcelo (Michelle and Phillipe´s father) kindly swapped seats with me so that I could continue talking to Michelle. I watched excitedly out of the window as Quito disappeared from view and then started to drift off. Suddenly I became aware that we were over the lights of a city...that wasn´t very long thought I, but maybe I´ve slept for longer than I think. However I was right the first time, Michelle informed me that there was a problem with the plane and we were about to land back in Quito. We later found out that the plane did not have enough oxygen because there was a problem with the system.
We made our way back to the departure lounge and got some food. It wasn´t long before we boarded another plane...where we sat, and sat, and sat. We then discovered that Cuenca airport shut at 8.00pm, so we were waiting to see if we could get permission to land there (it was now 8.20pm). The crew decided to bring us some ´bebididas`.
Eventually we set off, accompanied by a loud cheer and round of applause from some of my fellow travellers. We arrived in Cuenca at 10.00pm (three and a half hours after we should have landed!). I bid my companions farewell, after arranging that Michelle would call me in the morning.
I had a speedy (and slightly scary) taxi ride to Casa Naranja. By this point I was shattered and slightly concerned by the very locked looking door. I rang the bell and hoped that there would be someone there to let me in. A shout from above indicated that someone had heard and was coming down! I entered a courtyard, that slightly had the feel of a building in progress and filled in the relevant form, then was shown to my room, having struggled with the Spanish because I was so tired.
Looking around I felt slightly disheartened, my room was very basic - although I had secured an en suite bathroom which I wasn´t expecting. I decided the best thing to do was to get into bed. Once there I had a bit of a chat with myself - what did I expect from a room that only cost $12 a night? I thought about all the delays in arrival, which could of got me down, but didn´t and decided this was not the time to let my positivity fail me. Also the bed was very comfortable and I soon drifted off to sleep!
After a good night´s sleep (by my standards) I got up and went off to discover breakfast. I made my way to Parque Calderon and found a suitable looking place. I enjoyed people watching as I ate - the family opposite (mother, father and adult son), mother crossed herself before tucking into her huge plate of scrambled egg! The woman downstairs who ate small pieces of bread with a spoon!?!
Upon finishing my delicious and incredibly cheap breakfast I began wandering, taking in the sites and sounds of Cuenca. The place has a delapidated air, but is also very beautiful.
Michelle called just after 10.00am and we arranged to meet.
Twenty minutes later I was being fondly greeted and we headed off to Cajas. En route I was fascinated by all that I saw - the woman washing her clothes by the side of the road; the whole pig that had been cooked; the coutryside; the people I was with.
Our first port of call in Cajas, was an area where there was a shrine to ´The Virgin`. (I have taken pics and will post some once I´m back at home). We walked, talked, admired the view and posed for photos (I soon discovered that Marcelo loves to pose in photos!). Next we ventured further in our taxi (booked for the day) to the proper entrance to the park. This area of Ecuador has been sculpted by glaciers and the moutains and lakes were incredibly beautiful. We walked around one of the lakes and took lots more photos.
It was incredibly cold there, but then at an altitude of about 4000m, what else can one expect?
I had some quite intense moments of missing Pete, wishing that he was there with me to share in the experience.
At lunch Marcelo introduced me to a local drink made from incredibly strong alcohol, sugar and hot water. They all laughed whilst I grimaced! I wondered about offering to pay, but felt that Marcelo might be insulted by this.
On our way back to Cuenca we stopped to do some fishing!! We all caught something, apart from Marcelo. The best fisherperson, was Judy, Michelle´s 9 year old cousin!! I spent some time chatting with Marcelo, which was hilarious for the same reasons as the taxi driver. He made me promise that I would call them so that we could all meet up again in Quito. I was a little unsure if he meant just him or the whole family...I hope/think he meant the whole family as I am a little wary of men over a certain age.
After a considerable amount of time (in which I got very cold), we headed back to Cuenca.
I am going to make the effort to see these guys again, they were amazing in their kindness and generosity and they were really good fun. I´ve spent a lot of today laughing!
So there ya go, day one of my adventure. I wonder what this evening and tomorrow will bring?
No comments:
Post a Comment