Don´t Leave Home Without It

September 2, 2011

A new friend met on Expat Exchange recently asked how quiet is Olon?  Well, that depends on your definition. Compared to nearby Montanita, we are tame (unless you count the roosters crowing at 3:30 AM, the constant din of buses chugging by on the Ruta during daylight, the horn noises, or the dogs barking at any hour)….but yes, it is a relatively quiet town.

That is until there is a local fiesta dedicated to some saint or town anniversary, or a wedding or some similar type of celebration, that can get very loud (mega-watt booming speakers) blaring until 4 to 6 on some nights/mornings.  In which case you can either beat it or join it.

These “seemingly” naïve, passive and “shy” people can party hearty, and they do. Generally most parties don’t start until 9-10 PM and they dance all night long (which is a whole lot of fun -no party here is complete without it).  Last Saturday night there was a huge and loud quinceañera that went on until almost 6AM in the morning…. We did our best to sleep, but – instead - after a mostly restless night listening to salsa music and a very vocal D.J., we finally gave up, laughed, and got up around 4AM to watch movies and read instead. I’m a night owl, and yet I still honestly do not know how these folks do it, since many are back working the next morning.

BRING A SENSE OF HUMOR and TOLERANCE (and earplugs, if you really need them).

BRING PATIENCE and FLEXIBILTY.

Nothing starts on time and NO ONE (whether for a social or a professional occasion) arrives punctually, which doesn’t bother me as much as Todd. I was born tardy and rather appreciate the Ecuadorians’ sense of time (or should I say “lack” of it?).

For example, the local Beauty Pageant that generally kicks off the December to April party season (starting around mid-December) was scheduled to start around 8PM. The chairs and stage didn’t get set up until 10PM, the pageant actually started around 11:00, and the coronation didn’t happen until after 2AM.

A few days ago, Todd and I had to go to Manta (around 2 hours north, and a beautiful drive through the Machalilla Jungle Preserve – unfortunately I didn’t have my camera along for this trip) for a 10:00 AM appointment with a lawyer. We were accompanied by our friend and driver, Guillermo, and Carlos, another Ecuadorian friend and neighbor. We were acting as liaisons between Carlos and some gringo friends in an amicable legal matter.

Taken 4 years ago on same drive
through the Machalilla Preserve

We scheduled a 7:00 AM pick-up, and left promptly at 7:30, when Guillermo showed up. We arrived at the designated Manta rendezvous location (the beautiful – if pricey – Hotel Oro Verde) shortly before 10:00, got a round of coffees and waited…and waited. For over an hour. The lawyer we were meeting is a good one, but a busy guy too, and he was delayed. Fortunately, Todd and I are wise to this one now, and had brought a couple of paperbacks to pass the time.

By the time we got to the judge’s office (the first stop), the judge requested we return back after 2:00PM, so we retreated to the lawyer’s office to have some last minute paperwork typed up (this was probably around 12:30).  Carlos, Todd and I sat in the waiting room for at least another half hour before we realized everyone had ditched us for lunch – and sure enough around 1:15 the one gal left in the office noticed us, and popped her head out the door and suggested we do the same.

If there is one thing that can be counted to start on the dot in Ecuador, it’s the 1-2 PM lunch hour.

Lunch hour in Montanita

Eventually, Carlos and the lawyer’s assistant headed back to the judge’s chambers around 2:30 (for what was presumably only a quick notarization process) while Todd and I met with the lawyer to discuss a couple of other legal matters. He had to excuse himself at 4:00, and then Todd and I waited until 5:30 for Carlos and the legal assistant to return. I’m still not sure what caused that delay, but by then, Guillermo, Carlos, Todd and I were all more than ready to head back to Olon.

On the way back, we detoured off the highway near the town of Montecristi to visit Guillermo’s very kind parents, who live in a small village of rustic homes (many built on stilts) in a jungle environment, so that Guillermo could drop off some food and money for them. It was shortly before dusk, and the neighbors were sitting out on their front stoops or leaning out high-story windows. We chatted with all these folks for awhile. BRING APPRECIATION for the friendly and warm people of Ecuador.

Lastly (and ladies especially, hear me on this) – BRING TOILET PAPER in your purse always. It is not always available in public restrooms. On our morning journey up to Manta, we stopped to gas up and use the bathrooms. In particular, my tummy was dangerously rumbling from the early morning coffee gulped down.  I KNOW to keep some tissue with me, but had forgotten. Fortunately, I checked the facilities first to confirm the “no paper” situation, and then with some panicked urgency was able to scrounge up a discarded newspaper nearby. While it wasn’t exactly in the trash pile, it also was not neatly folded on a clean table either….Hey, it was either that, or sacrifice the paper copies of our passports that I had on me.

Ruth, the Birthday Girl
is in the pink dress

PS - On a more lady-like note, Todd and I discovered several pictures of us were published sometime last week on the society page of one of the Cuenca newspapers. Our dear friend, Ruth, is from Cuenca and also owns a home in nearby Curia. She had a fun Hawaiian themed birthday party several weeks ago that we attended. We met many interesting people, mostly Cuencanos (including a talented wood-carver named Tonu and his son Koa – world citizens – who are preparing for an exhibit in Cuenca soon).  Ruth stopped by a few days ago to proudly show us the paper. Unfortunately, it was her only copy, and I don’t remember either the date or the name of the paper.  Below are some of the pictures we took at the party.

Locally based Ecuadorian artist Quimbita
is pictured at right

 Tonu with one of his wood carvings.
The disk face partially shown on the right
is also one of his creations

Tonu and his son Koa travel the world not only displaying their artwork, but also are dedicated to teaching the local indigenous populations their skills, using reclaimed wood (such as driftwood).

Another Tonu creation