Say Ouch

April 29, 2012

Todd and I have just returned from our second trip to Cuenca for our first round of fun dental procedures.  Our appointments were scheduled for last Tuesday, so we left on Monday, planned on staying through until at least Thursday morning, but ended up adding an extra day just because we were enjoying the city so much.  We got back to Olon on Friday afternoon.

I’ll talk more about that later, but first I want to answer a few questions and comments that my friend Tami Herrington made on my last post. Tami is a very soon-to-be expat who currently lives in Alabama and writes the blog “Tamster’s Travels”.  Tami and I became friends through the various expat forums and through Facebook, and have always hit it off great! …Tami and her husband Ken are coming back to Ecuador in a couple of weeks . Tami asked:

… “You have given me the balls to take the bus this time around, from GYE to Manta, to Bahia, and back down the coast. Got a question for ya that maybe your other readers would be interested in too (?). How easy is it to manage with luggage? I know the tip to sit over the luggage bin, but how does one do that - are tickets assigned seating or do we elbow our way to that side? Also, how is security handled? Thanks girl, looking forward to sharing a drink or three with you soon”.

Okay, Tami….I was just getting ready to “reply” to your questions, but  didn’t have time before we got on the “CLP”/”ejecutivo” bus  (in Olon to Guayaquil) last  Monday morning, and my response is going to be a little different than what I would have originally said.

A couple of caveats:

·         We are only familiar with the GYE “Terminal Terrestre”. We know nothing about Quito’s primary bus station. There are nearly 100 numbered windows to purchase tickets to the various provinces/locations in Ecuador. The current window number to purchase bus tickets to Montanita and Olon is Window #83 for $5.50 each, and departs 5 times a day (starting at 5AM; last bus leaves at 4:30PM), and goes directly to Montanita/Olon without any stops between, except an occasional drop-off in Ayangue or Manglaralto. It terminates in Olon.

·         The “executive” buses are several steps up from the local chicken buses, and I believe most of the inter-provincial buses are of this type. The “CLP” brand bus line is the one that runs our coastal route, and we’ve always been comfortable on them, and felt safe to store most of our luggage in the under-bus bins. We carry important papers, laptops, etc. on the bus with us and put them either in front of us, or in an overhead bin that we can keep an eye on. DO NOT PUT THEM UNDER YOUR SEAT – we’ve heard too many stories about luggage slashed and stuff stolen from behind.

Window #83 (s)

·         Yes, you will get an assigned seat number. While it’s nice to have seats over the beneath-bus carriage luggage bins to keep an eye from a window, we feel that the “CLP” bus guys keep a good watch on the luggage as it’s being loaded/unloaded, although we jump right out when we arrive in Guayaquil to keep an eye on our stuff as it’s being taken off.

The large food court at the
Guayaquil Bus Terminal

We have never been ripped off on the buses….until last Monday, when Todd’s brand-new laptop was stolen during the Montanita boarding stop (although we didn’t notice it until we arrived in GYE). There is generally some busy chaos during the Montanita embarkation; Todd’s computer was in the overhead bin right above us/zipper side facing in, the computer strapped firmly in its case. While passengers were boarding, we got distracted talking to a friend when a non-passenger jumped on board and snatched it. As we pieced it together later, he must have grabbed the bag, taken it to the back of the bus, removed the computer, and then returned the laptop case exactly as we had stored it (i.e, not slashed) before running off the bus with the computer. Several passengers did notice him run in and out of the bus, but no one saw what was taken. Todd and I weren’t concerned, because at no point did we see anyone near the overhead bin above our seats…I’m telling you these guys are FAST.  We’re sick about it, and feeling pretty sheepish, because WE KNOW BETTER. A hard lesson to learn, but a mistake we won’t make again. From now on, all carry-on luggage will be in front of us on the floor, especially during stops.

Anyway, from the Guayaquil bus station we caught one of the more or less hourly departures of the Operazuaytur vans to Cuenca. It was a pretty glum 3-hour drive (though through the breathtaking "Parque Nacional Cajas"), but we cheered up a little after we got checked into the Hotel Inca Real, got a bite to eat and had a couple of drinks.

Our dentists' appointments on Tuesday went well, and probably the worst of our scheduled procedures is over (we both had extractions done). We are using Dr. Juan Fernando Vega who came highly recommended by several people. We really like him, feel comfortable with his expertise and gentleness, and he speaks ingles.

To give you some idea of the costs:

·         Our initial consultations were $25 each.

·         Simple extractions cost $35 each.

·         All of our x-rays last week (and there were a lot) cost $80 between the two of us.

·         Crowns cost between $350 for metal or $480 for ceramic crowns.

We return in two weeks for more work, and couldn’t be more delighted with the results and the price (a third of what this would cost in the U.S.).

Because we expected to be pretty much flat on our backs on Wednesday, we had also reserved that night at the Hotel Inca Real to pamper ourselves. Surprisingly, we both felt restored and pain-free by noon that day, so we took the opportunity to explore Cuenca some more on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. We’re getting braver on our expeditions, and broadening our walks around town.

Cuenca is such a picturesque and charming city – we certainly have fallen under its spell – and can understand why so many expats choose to live there.

Todd had a chance to attend noon mass at the stunning Catedral Nueva, and I joined him after that. 
We explored a few more churches that were open, poked around the bazaars on General Torres, sat on the banks of the Rio Tomebamba to relax for a while and then just kind of stumbled onto the “CoffeeTree” outdoor café on Calle Larga (near Iglesia La Merced) for an afternoon beer.

The CoffeeTree

Vickie & Todd

As luck would have it, we bumped into Vickie Capers who I’ve been wanting to meet for a long time. Vickie writes the blog “SmilesAway”, and is another expat friend made through Facebook. Vickie recently moved from Vilcabamba to Paute, and was in Cuenca for the day running errands. We had just a great chat – so fun to bump into a friend like that, which seems to happen often in Ecuador…It is a small country, and most of us expats either know, or know of each other.

Iglesia La Merced

Also, as coincidence would have it, 
our friends and neighbors from Olon – Doug and Pam – arrived in Cuenca on Wednesday afternoon (staying in a hotel less than a block from ours – the lovely “San Juan”). We all had dinner at the popular Raymipampa" (next to the Catedral Nueva), that had an extensive menu at reasonable prices.

Doug and Pam recently bought a house in Cuenca, plan to remodel it, and are looking forward to spending time in both Olon and Cuenca.

"Akelarre"

Once again, we really enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Inca Real. The staff is friendly and accommodating, the food is stellar (the tapas are particularly scrumptious), and the ambient “Akelarre” adjoins the hotel. Inigo Sagarna is the “Gerente” of the bar and restaurant. Inigo is a charming and interesting man from Spain who we enjoyed getting to know over quiet nightcaps at the unique and comfortable bar.

We are completely seduced by Cuenca, and it wasn’t too hard to decide to tack on Thursday night too (especially since the hotel agreed to discount our room price considerably because of our extended stays and frequent future reservations).

We look forward to our next visit, and we'll be a hell of a lot more careful with our valuables on the bus….That was a big OUCH – worse than the tooth extractions – because computers (especially with English keyboards) are expensive and difficult to replace.

At any rate, I hope by sharing our “smack down” on this one, it might be a lesson for someone else.

PS ---- I know my pictures are small.....I've only recently discovered that you can click on any of these pictures to see them bigger.