Bahia de Caraquez- "Una cuidad sin copia"

We´ve spent the last week here in Bahia, appreciating the beauty of this tiny peninsula as well as getting me familiar with the friends and familiy that Claire made during her 03/04´ exchange. It is an extraordinarily clean and well kept city, given our exposure to other Ecuadorian coastal towns, and was declared an "Eco-cuidad" in 99´ because of its recycling and sustainability efforts. The people who live here refer to it as "una cuidad sin copia" (a city without a copy) not only because it is unique in the sense that the peninsula has a large river on one side which collides with an ocean bay on the other, but also because of its crippling water management troubles. Claire was truly fortunate to have had her exchange take place here; the family she lived with has invited her back to stay in her same dormitorio (bedroom), and they are the perfect warm and welcoming family to spend the holidays with.

I woke up in my hostel this morning to roosters crowing, diesel engines and shotty exhaust pipes blaring, shouting down streets, the shutting of metal storefront doors, the occassional classic South American love song, the slamming of heavy materials being used in work, reggae-tone blasts from passing coches, the rumbling of motos and four-wheelers jetting by, birds chirping, honking, the harrassments of old men being sent across the street at other old men sitting at panderias (small bread shops), laughing, whistling, etc. These are the sorts of sounds that enter my mind and infultrate my dreams through my window perched above one of the busier streets in the downtown area. It was a Sunday morning, so things were actually more mellow than usual. But these sounds help to illuminate the average going-ons in Bahia.

People are hard at work at all hours of the day: selling pan (bread), moving furniture, carrying live chickens around by their talons, hustling, bustling, calling out the name of the local paper... "El Diario!!!" It´s a comforting collage, or sometimes barrage, of noise which I enjoy waking up to on a daily basis. Thankfully, my room in this hostel has the first well-sealed window that we´ve had on our adventures thus far, which helps to block out the 6 AM rustles and the 2 AM discoteques, as well as the mosquitoes of course! I love staying on a main street. It gives me a good opportunity to take photos and capture video of unassuming passers-by.

I´m really enjoying our many days in this cozy town of Bahia. This tidy little city has really begun to become familiar to me. The faces, the shops, the angry dogs sin amor, the enormous cruz atop the hill overlooking the thoroughly catholic city. I like my cramped little hostel cuarto with its toilet that forces your knees into the opposing wall and the shower that´s always cold. Hey, at least it always has water in the pipes. Claire´s family doesn´t even have that luxury. I REALLY enjoy the fan buzzing on low all night, as it perfectly cools and ripples the one bedsheet needed to sleep in such a hot climate. I love the almost daily occurence of "se fue la luz" (when the lights go away) as everyone´s forced to slow down, look over the dimly moon-lit bay and light a candle for a few hours until the electricity gets restored. I actually don´t like the fact that the locking mechanism of the door knob in my hundred year-old hostel door fell out when I removed the key the other night, but it adds to the charm and forces me to test my faith in the two teenage local boys who look over the hostel day and night. Nor do I enjoy the slight, but constant, stomachaches from the $1.50 almuerzos (lunches) when we are not eating with the family. I love the fresh ocean breeze that whisps away the mid-day heat, which makes the sunburn on my nose and the equatorial sun a bit more tolerable on this tiny peninsula. I love eating ceviche (cold fish/shrimp soup with lime and veggies) in the morning on a restaurant platform perched over the incoming waves.

These are some of the more tangible aspects of coastal Ecuadorian society which I felt would paint a more objective picture. Claire often laughed at my daily observations because they reminded her of her first few weeks in the city she now calls home. Hope they were helpful. We both wish you all very Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year! Much love.

For pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/clapoma/BahiaDeCaraquezPuertoLopez

The Never-Ending Cabana

Hola from Ecuador! We´re finally here. After two sleepless nights in aeropuertos, we´ve been recouping in lazy beach towns and preparing for a reunion with the Ecuadorian ¨fam¨ in Bahia de Caraquez this Friday. I (Claire) exchanged for a year in Bahia from 2003-04, and now call it a second home after the warm community hosted me. We decided to ease into the cultura ecuatoriana with a stop in Montañita, Eugene´s Ecuadorian counterpart (+ a beach). An international crowd of surfers, artists, musicians and travellers mingles on sandy streets while competing reggae music blares from speakers. All-night fiestas nearby make sleeping difficult, but the sun is hot and the surf, fantistico. We found a hostel run by a young Argentine and energetic Cubano where we set up for five nights and awoke every morning to sunshine pouring through the thousands of cracks in our entirely bamboo-composed walls.

The laidback lifestyle makes meeting people easy; the friendly locals and smiling travellers are eager to share stories over dinner or around bonfires on the beach. Some people even know of Oregon (or if we´re really lucky Eugene), and also Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, Jack Jonhson and, of course, Mr. Marley. Guess that music follows the surfer scene anywhere. Along those lines we have somehow managed to jam every night so far... always with a few gringo´s, but mostly Spanish-speaking people. We formed a loosely comprised band called ¨Gringo-grass¨ which includes an Alaskan girl; Miriah, who plays a mad violin and a Canadian guy, Neil, who rips at the banjo, as well as a talented local who loves learning this new style of music, Carlos. The beach jam we had last night on the beach attracted some real attention, bringing an Argentine, Brazilian and French Canadian, Helene, to the fireside (and makes home seem not too far away after all). Not to mention, it has been nice to have the guitar to use as a form of expression during Ryan´s time of need of such things.Although we are in a very gringo town (there are way more English speakers here than anywhere else we will likely find), I (Ryan) am finding it to be a wonderful transition period before heading up norte to Bahia where Claire´s other familia lives. It´s incredible to have Claire´s beyond perfect Spanish, as well as Ecuadorian accent, constantly working in our favor within our many interactions with the locals and other Ecuatoriano´s. We instantly get their respect when Claire opens her mouth and that allows me to feel comfortable and think clearly about what I´m saying. I can understand most of the Spanish conversations to some degree and am really surprised how confident I can feel in a matter of days.

We feast on fruit and fresh seafood daily: perfect fuel for the 5-hour-long trek through the humid forest (actually a jungle more than ¨forest¨, complete with snakes, loud insects, and plenty of mosquitoes and stinging plants). The ascent ended under thick tree cover, and led to a series of fresh water pools and cascading waterfalls, which offered a much-needed refresher. The crew consisted of three Ecuadorians (Alex and Carlos are locals our age who also love to jam, and Vicente was our humble guide from the tiny pueblo of Dos Mangas where the hike began – none of whom speak more than a few words of English), the French Canadian, and the two non-proficient Spanish speakers, Ryan and Neil, plus Claire. This combo resulted in side aches, more from laughing at feeble attempts to communicate, rather than from the steep hill we trudged up.

We´ve moved on from Montañita and are passing the hours on yet another beach tranquilo up north: Puerto Lopez. Next stop, Bahia, where family and amigos wait to celebrate the holidays with us.

Much love!! Wishing you were all here with us!!! View photos at link on left (under photo albums).