Friday, November 10, 2006
Ambato Bound
Hello all,
I am frantically trying to burn a CD of all my photos, in case anything should happen to my camera. We are supposed to be leaving for Ambato soon, a six hour busride north, and things are not ready. I¨`m trying not to be annoyed. We had a lovely time in Cuenca, staying in this really old house converted into an inn in the center of town. It has a central plaza open to the sky, but they put plastic over it to divert the rain. Speaking of rain, Ecuador really needs rain (I know the feeling, having grown up in Colorado). The country gets most of its energy from hydroelectricity and the river here in Cuenca that feeds the dam is very low. In fact, in about two weeks the country will experience rolling blackouts and various cities will only have power at certain times to save energy. Crazy. It is kind of funny, given that Bolivia, Venezuela and even Ecuador have major oil and gas reserves, but trade between countries down here is anything but straightforward and prices of energy fluctuate a lot. For example, gas cost pennies in Bolivia, but is roughly the same as it is the US here in Ecuador. I hear in Colombia it is even worse. I guess I am glad I live in the US at times like these.
Another reason I am glad I live in the US is that our political structure is so much more stable and reliable (even when things aren´t going my way). Here they are about to have presidential elections, which is a rarity because usually they just have protests and overthrow the president. One night they had three different presidents ëlected¨before the crowds calmed down. And Ecuadorian presidents are notoriously corrupt. Edwin heard on the news that Ecuador is number one for corruption in South America, which is saying somethign. The lady that runs our inn was saying how she lost all her money when a president fled the country and took all the money out of the banks. I guess he is now a professor at Harvard?? Hard to believe, and maybe my translation wasn´t correct but I think that is what she said. She now hides all her money under a mattress (I don´t think it was mine!) As for the election, it is Noboa, a rich, fat old conservative against the muy guapo Chaves esque Correa. Despite the fact that I never see anyone with Noboa signs, Edwin is convinced he will win. The US should be happy that not another country down here is joining with Venezuela in hating the US. Really, though, I have encountered very little anti US sentiment. In fact, quite the opposite. They name so many things after the US, they use our money, watch our movies, and no one is really taking me to task on issues back home or really asking at all about my country (it was much different in Bolivia). Kind of a relief.
Well, much more later but I´ve got to figure this stupid CD burnign thing out and find the bus. Six hours is a long time to sit, but I¨ve done worse and thank God my iPod is charged. More later...
Love,
Rachelo
I am frantically trying to burn a CD of all my photos, in case anything should happen to my camera. We are supposed to be leaving for Ambato soon, a six hour busride north, and things are not ready. I¨`m trying not to be annoyed. We had a lovely time in Cuenca, staying in this really old house converted into an inn in the center of town. It has a central plaza open to the sky, but they put plastic over it to divert the rain. Speaking of rain, Ecuador really needs rain (I know the feeling, having grown up in Colorado). The country gets most of its energy from hydroelectricity and the river here in Cuenca that feeds the dam is very low. In fact, in about two weeks the country will experience rolling blackouts and various cities will only have power at certain times to save energy. Crazy. It is kind of funny, given that Bolivia, Venezuela and even Ecuador have major oil and gas reserves, but trade between countries down here is anything but straightforward and prices of energy fluctuate a lot. For example, gas cost pennies in Bolivia, but is roughly the same as it is the US here in Ecuador. I hear in Colombia it is even worse. I guess I am glad I live in the US at times like these.
Another reason I am glad I live in the US is that our political structure is so much more stable and reliable (even when things aren´t going my way). Here they are about to have presidential elections, which is a rarity because usually they just have protests and overthrow the president. One night they had three different presidents ëlected¨before the crowds calmed down. And Ecuadorian presidents are notoriously corrupt. Edwin heard on the news that Ecuador is number one for corruption in South America, which is saying somethign. The lady that runs our inn was saying how she lost all her money when a president fled the country and took all the money out of the banks. I guess he is now a professor at Harvard?? Hard to believe, and maybe my translation wasn´t correct but I think that is what she said. She now hides all her money under a mattress (I don´t think it was mine!) As for the election, it is Noboa, a rich, fat old conservative against the muy guapo Chaves esque Correa. Despite the fact that I never see anyone with Noboa signs, Edwin is convinced he will win. The US should be happy that not another country down here is joining with Venezuela in hating the US. Really, though, I have encountered very little anti US sentiment. In fact, quite the opposite. They name so many things after the US, they use our money, watch our movies, and no one is really taking me to task on issues back home or really asking at all about my country (it was much different in Bolivia). Kind of a relief.
Well, much more later but I´ve got to figure this stupid CD burnign thing out and find the bus. Six hours is a long time to sit, but I¨ve done worse and thank God my iPod is charged. More later...
Love,
Rachelo
# posted by Rachel Jabaily @ 2:36 PM 
