The Good and The Bad

April 25, 2013 

It’s been an incredibly long time since I’ve written.
Since I last posted, we were in Cuenca for a week, and Semana Santa has come and gone (the week before Easter), which is a big and crowded holiday on the coast; there was a huge surf tournament in Montanita the following week; we’ve been meeting with architects regarding plans for the house we are getting ready to build on our lot, and my youngest daughter and family came for a visit (I’ll write about that in my next post).
I honestly don’t know where to jump back in, so let me start here:

 

The 2013 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship was held in Montanita from April 6-14.
Twenty national teams (from all over the world) were represented, with around 150 participating athletes.  See the International Surfing Association link here to see more details and the results.

The waves and weather were perfect for it, and turned out to be a lot of fun!  Todd and I had a great time going to the contest during the final two days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The throng that came was a wonderful, international crowd of all ages, and true surfers...dedicated to the gnarly break, and chilling out. 

For sure, it was a cool and mellow crowd of people who did come, and I hope Montanita hosts events like this again. 
My visiting son-in-law, Pedro (who is from Brazil) was thrilled to meet the Brazilian team one night while having dinner in Montanita, and had his picture taken with them.

 
 



My son-in-law, Pedro (in the red shirt) and Kacie with the Brazilian team.
Photo courtesy of my daughter Kacie's camera album.



 

 

 

 

Around 35,000 to 40,000 folks were expected to attend.   I don’t think the crowds were quite as big as expected.  They were here, but most of them must have stayed/partied on the point, at the hostels there (a cool barrio where the surfing contest took place, and around a 5 minute beach walk from the town of Montanita).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone notice or looking at
 the flag on this one?

 

 

 

Montanita proper was unusually tamer than normal, considering all the people that were here – but then again – there was a very visible security and police presence everywhere, including in Olón. 

The town pulled off the tournament pretty well, and did get most (I say this with some uncertainty) of the sewer lines installed/main roads cobbled back in place JUST before the surfers arrived, and only a few places in Montanita had that whiff of poop.  Crews worked night and day tearing up the town’s roads to upgrade the sewer system, although I admit we were a little concerned when the roads were still torn up the night before the opening event.  But they pulled it off. *

 

 

 

There was some overflow into Olón.

That being said, there was an incident about 10 days prior that marred the surfing event.

We were in Cuenca when we started getting frantic emails and phone calls from our coastal friends alerting us to the fact that “some people/entity” were picking up all the dogs running loose in Montanita and surrounding towns.
Yes, it is true that the stray dogs are occasionally “culled”/euthanized here, generally using poisoned meat. But there is also a generous amount of time given beforehand via signs and announcements, so that pet-owners can keep furry family inside.

In this case, many around here feel that not enough notice was given, and that it was heavy-handedly carried out. No one entity (i.e. the “communas” – coastal town city councils, for lack of better description) is claiming responsibility.  Lots of finger pointing, lots of different stories (though no one thinks the ISA event organizers condoned or knew of the action) but the fact is that several pet dogs, obviously well-fed and wearing-collar dogs were picked up as well.
The smaller dogs and puppies were found dumped into a dumpster in the town of Palmar (about 15-20 minutes south of Montanita).

 

 

The local volunteers for the PAE (Protección Animal Ecuador”) came and humanely euthanized the surviving little ones.
The larger family-owned pets (3-6 of them, depending on who you talk to about this) have never been found.  Major consensus is that they were dumped live into the sea.

We live in Olón. We adopted a 7-8 month old beach stray almost 3 years ago. Her name is Daisy. She is a very much loved member of our family, and a beloved mascot of our neighborhood. Many of you who have visited our area know her.

She runs free, as do most all the dogs in our area. About the only dogs on leashes in town are those brought here by the gringos….expat dogs, if you will.
Daisy wears a collar, and everyone in town knows she belongs to us. She is very independent; she knows how to take care of herself.  We have taught her to stay out of trash, not beg from tables, and she is not allowed inside (with a few exceptions, like firework nights, -which terrify her - and then, only inside our house or Doug and Pam’s place).
As a former stray, she could never be restrained to a leash, nor shut up in a yard. She would hate that, and she would not be the wonderful dog we all know and love if she was restricted in that way.

Courtesy of Karen Miller
October 2010
Olon, Ecuador

You can take the stray off the beach, but you can't take the stray out of the dog....That is just the way it is here.

But during this recent culling of town dogs, some collared, obviously well-fed, well taken care of pet dogs were picked up (including dogs in yards) and evidently destroyed.

It is beyond sad.

Daisy could have been one of them.  Since we were in Cuenca when this happened, we are very fortunate to have friends in Olón who were quick to find her, and put her in a safe place during our absence.

The irony of all this to me is that the day before we left for Cuenca (on a Wednesday afternoon, and the calls/emails about dogs being picked up started coming in on Friday), I discovered a flea infested, mortally ear-cancer ridden dog laying in the corner of our bedroom as I was packing. 

(Much to my surprise… You should have seen me jump back!)

At first, I actually did think he was dead, based on the flies and the vomit-inducing, putrid smell in the room.  I guess he quietly snuck in while I had our front door was open for a breeze.
Once I got over my alarm at finding him there, and determining that he was still (barely) alive, I literally stood there and scratched my head and chin trying to figure out this one.
What to do?  A truly WTF moment.
I mean, I didn’t want to hurt the obviously fatally ailing dog getting him out of my bedroom. 

I also did not want to get bit in the process.
As luck would have it, a couple of Ecuadorian girlfriends came by for a completely different reason about two minutes later.  I was still in shock, and waved them on into the bedroom.
Then we all stood there and WTF scratched our heads and chins.

I was like:
ME:  “What to do? Who do we call about this one?”
EC GIRLFRIENDS:  “Beats the hell out of us”.
ME:  “Yeah, but the police are nearby.  Can’t we go get them, and MAYBE ask them to remove it?

And if we can’t find the town vet, would the cops then mercifully shoot it?”

The EC GIRLFRIENDS apparently agreed with what I said about shooting the dog, but shrugged about the likelyhood of the local police agreeing to off the dog with a gun.

No one knew where the town vet might be found at the moment.
 

Eventually, one of these Ecuadorian girlfriends managed to gently “sweep” the dog out of the house with a broom.  He then staggered over to Daisy’s outside water and food bowls (dripping copious, vile brown cancerous ear liquid along the path to it, inside and out).
I chose first to bleach the ick from the house and dog bowls, since Daisy was with me (and Todd was in an out-of-cell-phone reach area), though I did try and call him first, leaving a message similar to “HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE” kind of voicemail.
I went to find that poor dog after dark with a flashlight (figuring he wasn’t able to make it far), but did not find him, and now can only hope he didn’t die buried alive in a dumpster or drowned.
It might be difficult for some reading this to reconcile “leaving out the poisoned meat” method of euthanizing sick and homeless animals as an acceptable way to eliminate them, but that is the way it sometimes works here in coastal Ecuador.

Fortunately, organizations like PAE are making a difference, and worth supporting.

I for one hope the people responsible for this particular dog round-up are held accountable....and thrown into dumpsters or out to sea to drown as they did to those dogs.
 

 

 

 

*   There is still much Montanita refuse-related problems to be addressed, and work has resumed on the sewers after the World Masters ended.
The Montanita dog round-up and the on-going Montanita sewer system flaws did recently spawn a number of Ecuadorian national newspapers articles about the issues.

Ja Ja Seesters

March 14, 2013

It has been a very busy few weeks, with lots of events going on, and with fun friends and interesting visitors passing through.
Carnavale has come and gone.  It was crazy here as usual, but I don’t think it was as crowded as last year.  My friend Davida Julian and her honey Tom came for a visit during that time.  Davida owns property in Montanita, currently lives in Pennsylvania, but looking forward to moving here permanently.  Davida and I first met a couple of years ago, we haven’t seen each after that, but have kept in close touch since then. It was fun to see them!

 

Carnavale crowds
Olon Beach

 

 

 

Tom and Davida
Photo Courtesy of Davida

 



One of the gringo nights at
Ojas in Olon

The expat community along our area of coastal Ecuador has grown considerably over the last couple of years.  There are regular gringo get-togethers now (usually on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons), thanks to the dedicated efforts and coordination of expats Heather Austring and Deb Anderson, in particular.
Solid friendships have been forged, helpful information has been exchanged, and we have a good time together.  Todd and I don’t make it to all of them, but always enjoy ourselves when we do go.
Last Saturday, a bunch of us went to Deb and Cy’s house (near Las Nunez/before La Entrada) for a “March Birthdays” potluck. The potlucks are always fun, with delish food.
 

Cy and Deb
Photo Courtesy of Deb


 
 

Wicked dice game happening
March Birthdays Pot Luck

 
 

Photo Courtesy of
Heather Austring

A couple of weeks ago, eleven of us local gringa friends rented a van to go to Libertad/Salinas for a girls’ day of shopping, gabbing, and eating.

We were each picked up at our homes by our driver, Miguel – a saint – and began our late morning arrival in Libertad at the Buen Aventura Mall Plaza and split off into small groups to explore the mall/area/maze of street tiendas for an hour or two.

 
 

A little breakfast nibble at Heather's
Ayangue home on our way there.

 
 

View of Ayangue Bay
from Heather's balcony

  

Shopping around the
Buen Aventura Mall area
Photo courtesy of Heather

 

After that, we headed to “Luv N Oven” on the Salina’s Malacon for lunch (most of us ordering the tender and tasty filet mignon and killer mashed potato meal).  By the time the waiter got to me, I was a little worried that he was going to say “sorry lady – the person before you just ordered the last steak”, but I would have ordered the plate anyway, for the mashed potatoes alone.
It was a fun and delicious and well-lubricated- lunch. Afterwards, several small groups wanted to break off to finish “city” errands, with a couple of gals holding down the fort at Luv N Oven as our final van-ride-home rendezvous point. Most of us made it back in plenty of time to enjoy late afternoon drinks with local Salina’s expats that just happened to show up there for an early dinner.

 

Bumping into the
Salinas expats

  

 

A great time was had by all, except for maybe our driver, Saint Miguel, who patiently stopped and waited for a bunch of happy-hour laughing women make a few pit stops on the drive home, and who kindly and gently rolled each one of us off the van into the waiting arms of impatient pets or husbands sometime after dark.

 

A week before that, friend Deb Anderson and I took a chicken bus expedition to same area. Todd and I don’t have a car and really don’t miss having one because most errands to Libertad/Salinas are easily “do-able” on the $1.50 coastal buses to Libertad/Salinas (plus taxi fares once there).  The chicken bus trips can sometimes be grueling by the end of the day, returning home, loaded down with purchased items. But it’s good to know the “How To” ropes on this one for some measure of independence without owning a vehicle in our area. 

 

Deb and I laughed our heads off silly that day – but that’s a whole ‘nother story…
Famished and thirsty after the chicken bus ride there, a brief troll through Buen Aventura area, and a quick stop into the black hole called HiperMart in El Paseo Mall, we were on a mission to find the good Mexican restaurant we had heard of in nearby Salinas. We caught a cab from the mall to get to Salinas to find restaurant (visions of tacos and margaritas dancing in our heads). We had the name of the restaurant, we knew sorta where it was at in Salinas, and our initial cab driver assured us he knew right where the restaurant was.

NOT EXACTLY…He searched fruitlessly, going around in circles until Deb and I decided it had to be “near here” and hopped out to find it on foot. Out of cultural politeness, Ecuadorians will never tell you they “don’t know”, with their best intentions meant to be helpful.
Two cab rides later (and an accumulated twelve blocks walking in between) to find said Mexican restaurant, we found it!
Closed.
Maybe not the best planning on our part, since it was the Tuesday after Carnavale, but most everything was closed. After we were melting into the sidewalks from the heat, crabby from hunger, a pint low on beer, and asking advice from the local crack-ho for “best place to eat around here?”  (ahem,  Deb… who deserves at least a little credit for asking la pregunta  en español), we were finally directed to Lov N Oven for a delightful afternoon before heading back home on the chicken bus. 

  

A few days after our girls’ shopping trip, the Salinas gals planned a trip to the San Vicente mud baths. A few of us gringas from here hired a driver and joined them. I think a good time was had by all.
This IS NOT a fancy place. A $2 entrance fee at the door gives all day access to the mud pit, swimming pools, and mineral spring (massages are extra – around $5 for either the mud or the aloe vera massage).
An all-day pass to the vapor room is $3 – get it.
I think it’s worth at least one visit to San Vicente Baños, if you have the time, and if you are not too squeamish.

 

Team Salinas

I only took a few pics that day – none of us look good covered in dried mud – with the exception of the statuesque Ukrainians (currently staying for a couple of weeks in Olón, as guests in Sarah’s house – our old one) who we happened to run into that day – and they were having a great time too.

 

The Ukrainians
Totally unfair to look
this good in mud.

 

*For more on the mud baths, see “A Load of Lodo”.

Bugs Me

February 7, 2013

(I wrote this a little over a week ago, and only now have a chance to post it).

As I write this, there is a grasshopper the size of a TV remote control (I KID YOU NOT) clinging to my living room curtain. I would take a picture of it, but right now Todd is out-of-house with our camera.   They’re pretty lethargic if not disturbed, so I’m pretty sure I can get a snapshot of it when he gets home.
The pic included here was one I took several years ago of same type of fella – but he was outside, and SMALLER.

The night rains we get this time of year also bring out the bugs.  I hate bugs, especially cockroaches. One of my bigger concerns when we decided to move to Ecuador was the possibility of frequent encounters with mutant sized insects and spiders, but – thankfully – that hasn’t been my experience.
I saw bigger cockroaches (flying palmettos) more often while living in Palm Springs than I have seen in Ecuador.

Still, it is the “buggy” season now. Friends of mine that live in Salinas (“hi!” to Joan Dale and Jean Bennett) battled mightily with their brooms against swarms of gnat-like creatures for a brief period several weeks ago, and there’s been a lot of chatter on the Facebook Ecuador expat pages recently about the creepy-crawly issue(s).

We have been inundated with crickets for the last month.

I don’t care for crickets much, but I can live with them.  I have no problem squashing the smithereens out of cockroaches, but I can’t kill crickets. I either sweep them out, or gingerly pick up and toss outside the ones I find.

But, I REALLY DON’T LIKE IT when they jump on me in bed in the middle of the night. Scares the bejeezuz out of me.

One of the funniest stories I’ve heard lately about bugs is one shared by a friend of mine – Scott Creasy, who lives about 40 minutes north of us in the Manabi province.

I’m going to share it in his own words:

“Since there has been a lot of talk about bugs... Here is a true story that happened this week.

On Monday, I heard a mouse in the closet. I tried to find it, but... After dark, I went to the kitchen and I saw the little mouse run behind the trash can. Thinking fast, I set 3 traps. In less than 15 minutes, I had caught the little mouse.
But, I did not take up the other 2 traps. One of which I had placed under a piece of furniture in my mother's room.
Last night, she wakes to the sound of the trap snapping. Then she hears the struggle begin for the remaining moments of life.

This morning... this is what I found:
 

Photo
Courtesy of Scott Creasy

Okay… in the time it’s taken me to write this, the grasshopper on the curtain has disappeared.  Somewhere in the house.

If that thing jumps on me in the middle of the night, they will hear me screaming in Des Moines.

Ride Well

January 31, 2013

It is hot, humid and muggy here now, at least from this desert rat’s perspective.
I’m a big sweat ball as soon as I get out of the shower (almost pointless to bother and take one, actually) and I’m wearing the skimpiest items in my wardrobe.  At my age, this really isn’t a pretty sight.
I don’t look good in halter and tank tops, since my kimono upper arms are essentially lethal weapons if I start swinging them around. This is the time of year when I sometimes think we should live in Cuenca so I can justify wearing long sleeves.

Maybe FLOTUS can pull off the sleeveless look, but not me.

 

It is the sunny season AND the rainy season along our area of the coast (“high” season).  This is a little hard to explain.
Keep in mind that Ecuador is a country with a multitude of micro-climates, and we live in a coastal pocket climate that’s different than the weather approximately 40 miles north or south of us.

Generally, from around mid-December to end of March it is hot and sunny during the day, with a nice breeze off the ocean if you’re close to it, or in the hills.  Towards sunset, the clouds gather over the hills just inland, and then – after dark – the sturdy, all night rains begin. Some years it rains more, but a couple of years ago, it was bone- dry here during “high season”.   This year, the rains are starting often in the late afternoons, and some locals I know are forecasting a mild El Niño.
I’ve given up trying to predict our weather from year to year, because I think it’s just plain weird everywhere on the planet now.

 

 

 

(I took these pictures of some neighbor kids about a week ago, while they were dancing in one of our recent late afternoon, refreshing downpours).

 

I just came back from a quick errand to our local tienda, where I saw the funniest thing.

I see a lot of Ecuadorians wearing tee-shirts emblazoned with English logos, and I ran into an elderly braless neighbor gal (I’m guessing she’s around 70-yrs).  She’s a tiny thing – she comes to about my shoulders, and I’m only 5’3”.

She had a shirt on that said “I See You’ve Met the Girls” written across her chest.  I had to laugh, and I asked her if she knew what it meant. She started laughing too, while pointing out the obvious – that her “girls” weren’t that big.  I love the people here!

I haven’t mentioned our dog Daisy in a while. She is still just the GREATEST dog in the world, and without a doubt, the best and most well-known ambassador for Jardines de Olón (our former neighborhood, and where we will be building this year on the lot we own next to the house we sold). Daisy still hangs out there most of the time when she’s not with us, but that’s okay. She was an independent 7-8 month old beach stray when we adopted her nearly 3 years ago, and she knows how to take care of herself.

Every visitor falls in love with her, and all our neighbors spoil her to pieces – she definitely doesn’t lack for attention. And she loves a party.  The other night, I cruised up to the new “Ojas” bar and restaurant near our park in Olón, which has become a popular hang-out since it opened.  An awesome  kick-ass-traveling-through rhythm and blues band was playing that I wanted to hear.

Who beat me there?  Yep…Daisy was already there hanging out and making friends at the bar.

Todd and I did get sad news a few days ago. We’ve been corresponding for some time with a super neat couple (Denny and Terri Waller of Kauai for the last 30 years), who were scheduled to arrive here later this month. Through those emails, we all developed a special, kindred-spirit bond with one another.
Denny was a Southern California surfing legend who was a gremmie in Newport Beach in the ‘50’s and who also surfed the original BIG WEDNESDAY at Killer Dana in the early ‘60’s, before the harbor was built.
They were coming here to explore the possibility of moving to Ecuador, to escape the now over-built commercialism of Kauai, and find a simpler lifestyle.  All of us were looking forward to their arrival – Denny in particular.  
Denny passed away earlier this week.  Todd and I are heartbroken and we can only imagine Terri’s pain.
Terri, we are with you in spirit.
And Denny….Ride Well, Friend.

We feel honored to have known you.

Aloha.

 

Terri and Denny Waller
Photo
Courtesy of Terri.

 

Olón...Otra Vez

January 11, 2013

I recently met a darling young expat from Colombia at Johanita’s in Olón, and we shared a beer together.  He is currently working at a Montanita restaurant and living in Olón.  Like us, he's happy to be in Ecuador and, in particular, our little town.
We shared our experiences of assimilating into Ecuadorian society.  It’s a tight-knit culture, and we may always be considered “outsiders” to a degree. But we also agreed that the Ecuadorian people are warm, kind, generous and gracious, which is certainly true here in Olón.  Regarding the Olón locals, my new friend made an interesting remark: “you can see the peace in their eyes”, and I can vouch for that.

Yesterday, I was passing by Leila’s new Herbal Life shop, and she waved me in. Leila is probably better known for her Olón evening restaurant adjacent to our park, but she also opened up a new shop around the corner from us to sell Herbal Life. Of course, no one around here is going to spend $70 for a full bottle of that, so she serves it by the glass. Think of it as Olón’s version of Starbucks, if you will.

I was preoccupied and in a hurry when I arrived, and was going to do the gringo thing of saying "hi", getting something para llevar, and splitting, but Leila lured me into taking a moment to pause… And into the most expensive treatment-item ($3) on the menu…a three drink/step thing of warm concoctions.

The clientele was an older woman taking care of her young grandsons – one on her lap, the other tight by her side (there are the cutest kids in Ecuador!). There was a guy in company uniform filling out paperwork between stops, and another guy sipping and working on his computer. All were Ecuadorian and all clearly regulars at Leila’s “day place”.
I’ve often exchanged pleasant buenas dias and smiles with these folks as we’ve passed on the street, so it was fun chatting and getting to know them better.

When Leila brought me the second drink, I thought it curious that she pointedly handed me an extra napkin, and the locals leaned in closer to me, staring intently while we were conversing.

I didn’t see it coming. The second drink makes you sweat. I mean SWEAT A LOT. At first I didn’t connect the waterworks with the drink (thinking that it’s pretty hot indoors now, or I was having a rather embarrassing, haven’t-had-one-of-those-in-a-long-time hot flash moments, after wringing out my extra napkin for the third time while we were all talking).

That was, until I realized my compadres couldn’t contain their smiles and giggles, kindly assuring me that THAT was the purpose of drink #2.   Ecuadorians love to laugh, and love a good practical joke -- not that this incident was meant to be one.
I made a mental note-to-self to stop by there more often this year (though I am not a big advocate of New Year’s resolutions) and to learn to live more in the moment as my Ecuadorian friends do.  **
 
I took a video awhile back that I thought really captured the spirit of Olón. It was taken at one of the many local parties here, and I love the catchy tune. 

For whatever technical reasons, I can’t embed videos to this blog now, so please CLICK ON THIS THIS LINK TO SEE IT:
 

VIDEO: OLON OTRA VEZ

 

A recent article came out calling "Latin Americans the Happiest on the Planet".  Seven of the top 10 countries are in South America (Ecuador is #7 on the list).
And it’s easy to see why.

They’re not slaves to their emails (guilty). They’re not farting around all day on Facebook (guilty). They don’t have their heads buried in a Kindle all day (guilty).

They spend time with each other; they hang out and laugh; they nurture one another in person.

No matter how long we live here, we probably will always be considered as “outsiders” by Ecuadorians. It is their country and their culture, and they are rightfully proud and generally protective of it.
Still, it’s wonderful to be accepted by them, and we always feel honored when an Ecuadorian calls us a friend.

Because they truly are, and they truly mean it.

Happy New Year to All.

 “Grow old along with me.

The best is yet to be.

The last of life, for which the first was made”

Robert Browning

 ** I think my español still sucks, but I get by. Some people tell me I speak “good” Spanish, but those are usually visiting gringos who don’t know the difference.