At Sunset's Door - Olon, Ecuador

Before coming to Ecuador, I had researched the entire country for close to a year. Most people who had moved there before me talked about not having a personal vehicle. Buses and taxis handled the job of moving them around the country. 

I remember thinking how liberating that concept was to me, in both a personal comfort zone and in keeping with a "green" environment. The idea of riding the buses everywhere was a bit challenging at first, but after a few assisted trips I seemed to have mastered the art of travel here in my new home. 

Last week I went north to take care of some sightseeing and some personal business. It took me three different buses to travel the five-hour distance, but I actually did quite well maneuvering the big bus terminals. On the way home a few days later, the same trip was completed using four buses, but again I managed to get on the right bus each time, and safely made it back to Olon Thursday night.

So, yesterday morning I walked to the local bus station and boarded a bus to Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest and most populous city. I thought I was doing fine until I got to the bus station from hell in the city. The place is huge! A helpful soul assisted me in finding the taxi stand, where I needed to grab a cab downtown to get my official Ecuadorean Resident ID card. Getting a cab was perhaps the single toughest thing I've had to do since I got here two months ago.

I walked out to the taxi area, where I attempted to get into a line for the next incoming cab. I had no idea that  at least a hundred locals would jump in front of me, taking every available seat in every cab that pulled up. I knew I had to toughen up quickly, so I marched over to a woman directing the cabs, and basically whined in my best Spanish that I needed to get to the Civil Registry downtown. She smiled at me (probably thinking what a dumb Gringo I was), and put me into the next taxi that pulled up. Three more people piled into the little car, but at that point I didn't care if it was boarded by a troupe of clowns!

The driver took off for downtown, narrowly missing other cars and taxis by inches at least a dozen times. With my heart in my throat, I clung to the handle over the door and held on tight. But I made it, or I wouldn't be here to tell you this story, would I? 

After getting my business done a few hours later, I went outside and started waving down a cab. Two of the drivers actually refused to go to the bus terminal, and I instantly found myself respecting them for that decision! But I found a cab, and off we went. Within two minutes we had already had a couple of close encounters, but about five minutes later my driver played chicken with another car trying to get into the same space. I heard the slap of rear-view mirrors colliding, and thought that my trip was about to be delayed. Wrong! He just kept driving, not caring about what had just happened. It was actually pretty funny; I couldn't help but think that back in the States they would have both stopped, screamed at each other for a while, and then filed "whiplash" complaints, but here in Ecuador it was just business as usual!

But here's where the hell part started. My taxi dropped me off out in front of the building and I entered the terminal. The place is huge, as I said, and resembles a mall, with retail stores and restaurants everywhere. I went to where I saw ticket counters earlier, and began searching for the office of CLP, my bus ride home. I searched everywhere, or so I thought, to no avail. I asked a policeman where I could find the ticket window and he directed me to a completely different place I hadn't been to yet. I bought my ticket, after going to two wrong windows, and made my way back into the terminal to find Gate 74. 

I walked the entire terminal before I once again stopped to ask another policeman where the gate was. He said "Arriba" (upstairs) and pointed me to an escalator. Up I went, and began a search of this new level I had been unaware of earlier. With the same results (or no results, actually), I once again approached somebody to ask about my gate. I got another "Arriba, senor," and was pointed to another escalator. Three levels; hundreds of buses, and thousands of people. It was amazing that I ever got out of there, but I fell into my seat when my bus pulled in and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I had conquered the giant and lived to get away! I felt like I had just won the lottery or something!

It is cool that Ecuador has an incredible system of buses and cabs throughout the country. Mass transportation is simply a way of life here, and the locals take it for granted that they have this available to them. In Guayaquil alone, there are probably a thousand city buses that move their four million inhabitants around each day. It's what we've needed in the US for a long time, but it will probably never happen; we all value our mobility too much to give up our vehicles. But here in Ecuador, I'll be riding the buses and taking taxis. Did I mention that I love not having to deal with owning a car?   

Hasta luego! See you soon!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy your holidays!

 

Mark 

 

If you haven't read any of my books yet, let me offer you a free copy of my first one, Serpent's Curse. It's a fun, quick read, with a little bit of a dark twist. Here's a link for a PDF copy:

      http://www.cocoabeach.com/bradbury/Serpent%27s-Curse_Mark_T_Bradbury.pdf

Let me know if you like it! Thanks!