Ecuador Part 3

Ecuador, Part 3

On our last full day in Ecuador we decided to go to some of the market towns. There are three just outside Cuenca. Gualaceyo, Chordoleg, and Sigsig all have different markets and we thought it would be great to go see them.

It turns out that for about $40 you can hire a cab to take you to these places, wait for you, and then take you back. But if you do this, you miss the “fun” of the local buses.

Buses in Ecuador used to look like adult bookstores on wheels. Now they look like tired Greyhounds. Fifteen years ago there was a bus depot, but really it was more of a starting gate from which one rushed out to load the appropriate bus entering through the main door, the emergency exit or the windows as necessary. Today one buys a ticket and enters the bus only through the main door. We thought this was our fare, but it turns out that the 90¢ was only to get through the door. Once on board, we still had a fee to pay. But unlike 15 years ago, it was the same fee for all. While much has changed, much has stayed the same, as we will see.

Our first stop was the indigenous market of Gualaceyo. This was marvelous! The different fruits and vegetables, herbs and flowers, meats and fresh cheeses were phenomenal. We bought The Kid a ½ pound of mora which is a type of raspberry and which he proceeded to eat throughout the day. Kept him quite, to say the least.

From there we went to Chordoleg, which is the jewelry center for the Cañari. 15 years ago the Canãri were wearing lots of freshwater pearl jewelry. Today it’s all silver filigree and it’s lovely. We did some shopping, some looking and then decided to go out to Sigsig even though it was ½ hour away.

In Sigsig there is a women’s cooperative that makes Panama hats (all Panama hats are from Ecuador, btw, not Panama). Ricardo really wanted to get a hat while we were there (not like he doesn’t have one, but still). So even though we were pretty tired, we went ahead and went on out there. But of course, the cooperative was only open Monday through Friday. And this was a Sunday.

So we decided to just go ahead and take the bus back. And this was where the fun truly started.

We found the bus station without problems and purchased tickets to board the bus back to Cuenca. Our tickets inexplicably had seat numbers on them. What a change!! Seat numbers?

We should have known. Because when we boarded the bus, there were no numbers for any of the seats. So finding your seat became a true challenge. Eventually we were able to find the two seats that did have numbers and extrapolate from there. But the lack of numbers led to conflict because the slightest miscount meant someone was sure you were in their seat.

Eventually we began on our journey. The bus was supposed to be an “express” to Gualaceyo. But “express” is a malleable word in Ecuador. Slowly but surely the aisles filled with people. And what people! There were the teenaged boys who kept rubbing up on the seats. Then the complete drunkard who spent a lot of time patting my hair until I switched seats with The Kid. Shortly thereafter, Ricardo’s seatmate got up at his stop and the drunk took the empty seat next to him and promptly passed out.

Before leaving Sigsig, many of the people on the bus bought something called “salchipapas.” This is a bowl of French fries with pieces of sausage on it drizzled in mayonnaise and aji (hot sauce). They looked delicious because we were so hungry (we’d not eaten since breakfast). In order to eat salchipapas, one uses a small forked toothpick.

Across the aisle from us was a family of four. Shortly into the trip, upon completing their salchipapas, the children fell asleep. While the drunk was busily patting my hair, the father of this family began to spelunk in his nose. And I mean this was some excavation! He tried every finger. I was getting ready to suggest his salchipapas fork when the baby woke up. She was adorable! Maybe 18 months old and full of smiles. I smiled at her, she smiled back. I waved at her, she waved back. And I wondered why she was lying the way she was on her mom’s lap.

Until the smell hit me like a mack truck. Mom was changing her diaper. On the bus.

I looked over and saw Ricardo begin to gag. I thought I was going to be sick. The stench produced in the 18 month old intestines by the ingestion of salchipapas was not to be believed! Ricardo opened his window. I surreptitiously opened the window of the people in front of me. And at that moment the family opened their window as well. I was so happy to see that they were worried about our olfactory nerves! And then my expression turned to one of horror when I saw the mom take the pungent diaper and hurl it out the window. I pity the people who came across that particular “dung bomb.” And so, our son had his first taste of a true Ecuadorian bus!