Hosteria Mandala

We wanted to take a break from our hectic life (LOL!) and go to the coast, we decided to return to the place in Puerto Lopez that we had gone to with my Mom. 

As usual, we couldn't sit together in the Van to Guayaquil, Michael and Oscar sat in the front with the driver, and I was stuck in the back row, next to two young Ecuadorian men.  We were up pretty early, so I was looking forward to sleeping during the three hour ride through the Andes.  Oh well, best laid plans.  The two guys next to me were like 13 year old girls, they didn't shut up for about an hour, they were very animated, eventually they ran out of things to say and their conversation ended.  I was so thankful; peace and quiet at last. 

I was drifting off and then I heard the sound of a helicopter. A helicopter???

   What the heck is a helicopter doing in the Caja's Mountains??? 

I opened my eyes to find that the van had a drop down screen to watch videos, my peaceful ride through the mountains was now accompanied with the movie "Black Hawk Down".  The soundtrack was blaring, it was dubbed in Spanish, but it had subtitles, ALSO in Spanish.  It was sorta surreal, beautiful mountain scenery with a movie about death and mayhem.

Anyway, we caught the nice bus to Olon, which also played a movie, "We Bought a Zoo" with Matt Damon.  It was also dubbed in Spanish, with Spanish subtitles.  Michael joked that there must be a ton of deaf Ecuadorians that take this type of transportation.

In Olon the Taxi that the Hotel arranged for us was waiting, we were quite comfortable during the 45 minute ride to Puerto Lopez.  We got to the hotel, checked in and strolled the beach in enough time to catch a great sunset.

The Hotel:

Our Room:

  Each room is named after a fish, or a bird, or a flower, and the room key is a HUGE piece of wood in the shape of the animal.  So, we had a key shaped like a Butterfly.

The room actually sleeps five, there is a single bed to left of this one, and a loft area with another double bed.  We had a refrigerator and a cooktop.  It was nice to be able to make our coffee in the morning and sit on our private balcony.  There is no A/C, but the room had several ceiling fans and a few floor fans.  We didn't really need them, this room is on the "second floor" and the breezes were amazing.  We left the French Doors open at night, we could hear the waves.

Our Balcony:

We had two entrances to the balcony, one off the French doors next to the bed, and one that wrapped around from the room entrance.

Through the trees we could watch the waves. There were two comfy chairs and two hammocks, they were not so comfy, wierd plastic things.

The bushes were like Bougainvillea gone wild; red, white, orange, pink, absolutely beautiful. There were tons of birds, some we had never seen before, and we were pleasantly surprised at the lack of bugs. 

 

 

Typical Puerto Lopez transporatation:

 We spent one day watching a guy with a motorcycle going up and down the beach all day transporting people.  At one point there were five people on one Motorcycle.

We made our coffee each morning, had breakfast in our room, and then we would claim two hammocks and go to the beach.  The hotel has a nice library, so we would pick a book, take towels and soda or water down to a little Cabana, and spend very relaxing days, literally hanging out.

Sunsets: 
Enough said.

Flowers on the grounds of the hotel: 

Their garden is specatular.



The Beach:

The beach is beautiful and quiet.  We would stroll and look for driftwood and green rocks.  The bag coming home was alot heavier than it was going,

The little blip in the surf is Oscar.

An afternoon in Puerto Lopez.

Oscar has been frightened of the water since the time he fell off one of the kayaks.  We would not go NEAR water.  For some reason, he took to the beach like crazy.  He went nuts playing in the surf and chasing crabs, I guess his Daschund breeding went into high gear, he kept digging in the sand trying to get a crab.  They always out smarted him.

Horses that showed up on the beach.

We watched these guys run back and forth from this little boat unloading fish. 

The owners of the hotel were on vacation themselves, so the duty of walking the five "Hotel" dogs was given to a hotel employee.  This day, guests had volunteered to take them for their 45 minute walk down the beach.

On our last evening we lost one of our cell phones. 

We had taken one of the funny little "Taxis" to a nice Italian restaurant we had gone to with a couple we had met at the Hosteria.  We strolled back to the hotel, and when we got to our room we realized we were missing a phone, so off down the dirt road we went with flashlights.  We walked all the way back to the restaurant, and then we called the missing cell phone.  A guy answered, we didn't speak Spanish, he didn't speak English, so the restaurant owner intervened for us.  The "guy" had found the phone in the taxi we had taken to the restaurant and was willing to bring it to our hotel in the morning, BUT, he wanted to know how much we were going to pay him to bring the phone to us. We didn't specify an amount, we just said we would pay.  About an hour later he called back and said he would bring the phone to the hotel that night. It cost us $10.00 to get our phone back.

The trip back from the coast was uneventful, there was another movie on the bus, which we slept through.  Michael, me and Oscar were out like lights.

  A bonus of our little excursion to the coast was meeting a really nice couple, originally from Southern California and now living in Panama.  They are here in Ecuador exploring around to see if they want to make the move.  After they left Puerto Lopez, they toured around the coast and then came to Cuenca.   We met them for lunch on Friday, and yesterday Linda and Stephen came to our house for lunch along with our friends Wally and Hazel.

It was a nice day.  Life in Ecuador.

My thought for today

                        Laugh, love, be kind, and give to others.  
                        My thought for today about my Uncle Ned.

Fishing and UFO's

Michael had been invited to go fishing with a neighbor a few times, and each time it was on very short notice, and we had something else planned for the day.  The other morning, at about 7:45 a.m. there was a banging at our front door, and there was our neighbor asking Michael to go fishing, we made some sandwiches, some Coca tea (for the elevation) and packed a few munchies for the trek.  They said they would be back around 5:00 and off they went.  The rest is Michael's.

We rode into the Caja's, after about 40 minutes we were high in the Andes, I saw several groups of pack horses scattered along the roadside.  I was told that these were animals belonging to families that live 2 -3 hrs back in the mountians with no roads.   Everything is carried in and out by horse, usually one person stays with the horses, while the families go into Cuenca to buy supplies.  Tough life of hard working people.

 When we got to our destination, or what I thought was our destination, we turned off the road for another 15 or 20 minute drive up the side of a mountian.  The road was really rough, the car kept bottoming out, Patricio (my neighbor) and I got out to guide his brother around the deep ruts, while holding bowling ball size rocks to put under the tires in the event that the car started to roll backwards, I was getting a real laugh out of this.

We finally got to where we would leave the car at rural farm house made of earthen stone (abode brick) and a straw roof, with chickens and ducks running around.  I looked back down over  the switch backs we had just driven up, the cars on the road below looked like matchbox toys!!! A check of my GPS showed we were just above 10,000 feet elevation. 

 Hiking in to  the Lakes

We started hiking into the mountains and it was ALL up hill.  I swore to myself I would keep up with these guys and was really happy that I did. Each time I felt I was ready for a break I just kept saying to myself "5 more minutes". After about 45 minutes, a lake was finally in site.  I was so relieved, but Patricio say "Oh no Mike this is lake #1 , small fish,  we are going to lake #5".  OH MY GOD I thought, but on we went.

Lake # 1



Lake #3


Lake #5

During the hike in I realized just what a outstanding place I was in, the beauty really moved me.  It was like nothing I had experienced before and really wished Anne was with me to see it.  We got to lake #5 an hour and a half later, total hike was about 2hrs and 20 minutes, we were at 13,400 feet elevation, no wonder I had such a hard time breathing.   The lake we came upon was big, calm and crystal clear. It started to lightly rain, but I didn't care, I was fishing.  I pulled out my  trusted Patagonia Rain jacket and thought this is a bit tight, then I realized it was Anne's not mine!!! Thank God I lost weight or the jacket would have never zipped, but it did and I was warm and toasty.

Beautiful Scenery

The fishing started, we met up with other relatives of Patricios, everyone spread out.  This lake is huge with rolling hills all around, I couldn't see where the others were,  we just communicated by whistling.  This is a lake where these guys usually catch large numbers of trout (rainbow/browns), but after 4 hrs I only had ONE. As we gatherded to leave I didn't feel bad, the other guys had also only caught one or two, I didn't care, it was a great day. The hike out wasn't bad, mostly down hill and with the sun going down behind the peaks everything had an orange glow, it was great.

Hiking back out of the Caja's

Back at the farm house we were invited in to have tea and warm up while we waited for everyone to return. It was getting dark and at that altitude the temp was dropping fast.  We sat around in an old kitchen, with an open fire in the corner and meat hanging from the ceiling smoking.  Our hosts were wonderful,  an older gentlemen and his wife.  She wore the traditional red wool skirt ,with thick wool shawls around her  shoulders, jogging pants and wellies, and a thick wool hat with a marijuana leaf on the front. 

Now remember, my Spanish is very limited so  I missed most of the tales being told, but Patricio did his best to translate for me.  There were two small children, maybe 4 and 5 years old and I gave them some hard candy and a pack of gum I had.  Their eyes grew and the biggest smiles I ever saw came across their faces. Grandma smiled also and came over and took me by the hand and led me over to the corner where the fire was.  She told the guy that was already sitting there to move, I was given his place.  I guess it was the warmest seat in the house, it was her way of saying thanks for treating her grandchildren to sweets.  A few hours went by of tea drinking and telling stories, I understood some but missed alot.  I listened to the farmer tell a tale about something, and all I understood was that 3 days ago something happened, but the rest I had no clue.  I guess the puzzled look on my face let them them know I didn't understand, so his wife starts waving a dish above her head and the farmer was swinging his arms around.  I had no idea what was going on!  Then my friend Patricio said "You know - ET, ET, how you say UFO?".  I came to learn that there are many sightings in that area, they all shook their heads in agreement and claimed to have seen UFO's at one time or another.  I didn't see any, if I ever do, I promise I will let you know.

I wish I had taken pictures of the house and family, but I didn't want to be rude.  Maybe next time.

So after a very enjoyable evening we packed up the cars to go into the freezing cold and pitch black night.  One car woudn't start so everyone was pushing, one pop of the clutch and it roared to life.  Down the the road and thru the Andes back to Cuenca.  What a great day.  My muscles were aching but my face had a giant smile. It was about 10pm by the time I made it to our front door, so much for being home by 5pm.  I was tired, hungry and my legs felt like rubberbands but I wouldn't have changed a thing.  It was a wonderful day and I feel privileged to have spent a day like that.   I can't wait to do it again.

A Day at the Races

We joined some friends for a day in the park.  We were looking forward to  Burrow Races, Go Cart races and a Soccer game,

"Clowns vs. Indigenous Women".

The Burrow races were scheduled to start at 10:30. 

Well, it is Ecuador, so at 11:00, when there wasn't a single Burrow in sight,  we strolled through the park.  It is the largest park in Cuenca, Parque El Paraiso. 

We pulled up a bench for a rest.

The flora is beautiful

This little girl adored Seamus and wanted to walk him, she kept telling him to "Caminar" (spanish for walk), and when he would stop to sniff or look around she would demand that he "Vamos".   Too funny.

At one point when everyone was watching the little girl in the white dress walking Seamus, her older sister, in the pink dress, wandered off.  The Mom was pretty panicked, our friend Wally and the Mom fanned out, they both noticed her at the same time.  She had gone off to go play on a slide. 

The Burrows finally showed up.

These guys were having fun taking turns getting on the burrows and having their pictures taken.  Smiles everywhere.

The Go-Cart race went off first.  One guy steered and one guy pushed.  The track is pretty big so about half way around when the guy pushing got tired, they swapped positions.

 This team didn't even have a steering wheel for their Cart. 

He just held on for dear life. 

These blow up toys are sold at every parade and event.

Vendors were selling balloons, munchies, and toys.

"AND THEY'RE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Burrow Races finally started at 12:30.  It was HYSTERICAL.  The burrows were definitely the ones in charge.  They were going every which way, if they didn't feel like going straight, they didn't!!! 

This burrow just slammed to a halt.  He wasn't going any further and

the poor rider was exhausted.  The race was several laps long!!

Notice the vendor guy, everyone was laughing like crazy, including the rider!!!

This guy gave up riding the beast, and just walked him.

El Diablo riding a burrow!!

As you can see from the pictures, the sky was really clouding up and we were in for a downpour, so we decided to head home.  We were bummed that we would miss the Clowns v. Indigenous Ladies.  Just as we got home, the skies opened up and it rained like crazy.  We are pretty sure the soccer game was canceled.  We keep looking through the paper hoping for a mention of the rescheduling of the match!!   So far, no luck.

Cuenca's version of the Kentucky Derby!!

Banos Hot Baths

There are two "towns" named Banos in Ecuador.  Both are known for their hot mineral baths, the smaller of the two towns is only 8 kilometers outside of Cuenca, so we planned a day trip with our friends.

We were able to get there on a local city bus, the cost for our transporation was 25 cents from the city center.  We walked down the dusty streets of Banos, made a left, and there was this beautiful oasis, Piedre de Agua Day Spa. It appears as though the place was carved out of the mountian, it is beautiful!! For an entrance fee of $10.00 we had access to three pools and the steam room.  The Spa provides lots of other services;  pools, mud baths, massages, those funny little boxes you sit in and only your head sticks out, subterranean baths, etc.,  but the price shot up to $30.00 per person, so we thought we would check out the basic package for our first visit.

                              

The enclosed dining area.

We arrived at 11:00 a.m. on a Thursday, and we basically had the place to ourselves.

The Mud Bath area

One of the assorted pools.

Next to the main hot pool is a smaller, warmer pool, next to that was one that was ICE cold.  None of us ventured into the cold one.  Behind the deck chairs there were two outdoor showers.  One guy must have gone in and out of the showers about ten times.  There were also private showers in the changing area.

The weather cooperated, we had sunshine.
 

After our lovely soak, we ate lunch in the tents rather than the enclosed area.  The meal was delicious, and the setting was spectacular.

Check out my pineapple juice, unbelievably refreshing.

Our view during lunch.

The surrounding gardens were beautiful.  I love these flowers, they grow wild everywhere here. 

There are walkng paths around the facility, and we noticed this hanging on a stone.

Area where the subterranean baths/ pools were located.

We spent an afternoon at Piedre De Agua, the pools were great and relaxing.  The food was fantastic, and the setting was unbelievable.

We will definitely spend many more afternoons there.

COMPLETELY UNRELATED:

It seems that hats are a huge part of the culture here.  A few weeks ago vendors set up stalls to sell items for the Foundation Day Celebration.  We came across these cool hats.