Back in Ecuador

Hola,

We are back in Ecuador.

At the airport in Guayaquil, they have the red light/ green light system similar to Mexico. Unfortunately we got the red light this time. While the fine print (4 pt font) on the back of the customs form they hand you on the airplane does not say anything explicitly about household items and the amount that will be charged, we were told we had to pay fees on some of our boat parts. The woman inspecting our luggage seemed very excited about some of the parts, like the cartridges for the watermaker, the engine water pump and starter motor. The parts of interest were separated and we were told to go to the customs office. We explained that we would only go if our parts went with us and that we would not let them out of our sight. This meant waiting until the last flight into Guayaquil had gone through customs.  Duty was charge based on some mysterious calculation based on weight and original cost. All totaled it was $200 USD which we paid at a bank conveniently located at the airport for just this service. One Ecuadorian woman was trying to go through with a crankshaft for a car. From the speed and volume of the Spanish between her and the customs agent, we assumed the conversation was heated. She smiled at us as we departed. Misery loves company.

We finally made it to Bahia de Caraquez and Windarra. It was a bit of a saga. We decided to hire someone to drive us instead of trying to negotiate dragging our luggage and trying to get a bus. It sounded like a good plan. The driver picked us up at 10:00 am. We stuffed the suitcases in and off we went. First stop was a gas station to fill the tank. The gas costs $1.48 a gallon! Did I mention that gas is heavily subsidized here in Ecuador? Soon we were on the road. Cristobal, our driver, is fluent in Spanish and we are not, so not much in the way of conversation which was okay until we started getting lost. We turned right and from Google Maps, this did not look like the right way to go. Cristobal was driving through this small town weaving through traffic of small motorized 3 wheeled jitneys. We passed a 30 foot tall statue of a parrot covered in mosaic tiles standing in the middle of the town square, very colorful.  Soon the road becomes narrower and then unpaved. Cristobal starts talking rapidly on his cell phone. Is he asking for directions? Suddenly it is time for a u-turn, and we retrace our path and we pass the parrot again. Okay except it is a 'una via', a one way street and we are going the wrong way! A quick right turn remedies that problem but the street is torn up at the end of the block and we can't get through. Another u turn, we pass the parrot again and a few more blocks and we make it back out of town and to the first wrong right turn. Sigh, okay we are back on the main road headed to Bahia de Caraquez. Cristobal has more conversation on his cell phone. We stop for a banos break. The car has a loud siren that goes off when Rich opens the door to get back inside. No one seems phased and Cristobal calmly turns off the alarm. We head back on the road again and then another turn off the main road. Soon we are heading south instead of north. Rich shows Google Maps to Cristobal. We can see the ocean and it is on our right side instead of our left side. Now there is more conversation on the cell phone. Cristobal stops asking other motorists, "Is this the way to Bahia?" We make two more u-turns and Cristobal has questioned 5 motorists but now we are finally heading north. The battery on my phone was quickly draining. There was one more critical turn on the highway to go to Bahia de Caraquez or to head to Quito, the capital of Ecuador, high in the Andes. As luck would have it we made the correct turn this time and headed into Bahia, past the bus station, the bridge across the river and finally to Puerto Amistad.

I am not sure who were more relieved, Cristobal, or us. The trip was a lot longer than the 5 hours we had expected but we did arrive. We hope that Cristobal returned safely as he does not share some of the sense of direction as his famous namesake.

Carlos and Luis greeted us and helped us ferry the suitcases back to Windarra. It had been a long day but we were back at the boat with its slightly musty smell. Rich checked the systems; I started cleaning off the mildew from the boat being closed up. We had a simple dinner of spaghetti and watched some episodes of Homeland.

I just wanted to let you know that we arrived safely even if it was a bit circuitous. The boat looks good but there is still plenty of pelican poop on the foredeck. I might need a chisel and a gas mask.