Quito
There were several police checks on the way to Quito, about every 50 miles or so. All the paper work had to be checked, but no one ever came in. It all was very efficient.
We climbed to about 10,000 feet again as we neared Quito.
We arrived in Quito Saturday around noon. It is a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes with snow on their peaks.
Our South American guide book was not as complete as the others we had used. This one listed no campgrounds (perhaps because there weren’t any.) So we were just kind of driving around. A policeman pulled up next to us as we were stopped for a traffic light. Bill leaned out and asked him if he knew where we could park for the night.
“Yes, follow me.” he said and led us through the beautiful city streets. He pulled into a police station and motioned for us to park at the curb. This station was in the middle of an upper class neighborhood. All around were beautiful colonial style homes. Most were white two-story with red tile roofs. Masses of red and orange bougainvilleas were hanging over the rock walls in front of the homes. The yards were filled with exotic bushes and flowers.
The other policemen came out to meet us and take a tour of the motorhome. Everyone was very nice. When they had all gone back about their business we settled in for a couple of days stay. Bill had to go to the customs and extend our paper work. We also needed to refill the propane tanks and get some groceries to replace what spoiled. And we wanted to go to the monument at the Equator. But for the rest of the day we were parked.
An hour or so later there was a tentative “Hello” and a knock on the door.
Bill went to answer it. Standing on the side walk was a very distinguished looking man. He wore a gray suit, blue shirt and dark blue tie. His brownish hair was short his mustache trim and he wore glasses.
“I am Sr. Jack Bermeo, I live in that house across the street,” he said in excellent English as he gestured to one of the big homes.
Oh, oh I thought, he’s going to want us out of here.
They shook hands and Bill invited him in and introduced him to everyone. Explaining that we were from California and were driving the Pan American Highway to Argentina and beyond.
After acknowledging us Sr. Bermeo said, “My family and I would be honored if you would come to tea with us this afternoon.”
Tea? Bill looked at me for his eyes asking yes or no. I nodded sure.
Sr. Bermeo then suggested that if we would like, before tea he could take us for a ride to visit the oldest part of the city. He said he had a big van that we would all fit in. He would go home and change into something more comfortable, let his wife know we would be coming for tea and then we would pick us up.
We were ready when Sr. Bermeo pulled up. As he drove around the city he told us some of the history of Quito. The Incas conquered Quito in 1487 and it became the second capital of the Inca Empire. In the middle 1500’s the Spanish moved in. They built it in the image of Spain with twisting, narrow cobblestone streets. The adobe buildings had balconies with grille work railings. They were built around patios with fountains. There are over 100 churches, chapels, monasteries and convents.
He took us to the main plaza, the Plaza de Independencia, in the middle of the city. It is surrounded by government buildings, shopping arcades and churches. He stopped so we could visit some of the churches.
As we approached one of the churches Paul and Gil both grabbed on to my shirt. The long flight of wide stone stairs leading to the massive front doors was populated with beggars. From tiny babies in their Mother’s arms to crippled old men and women who appeared to be over 100. The kids who had been raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles had never seen a beggar before this trip. They still were not used to seeing them and were kind of frightened by them. We walked up the stairs ignoring the outstretched hand and entered the church. We were stunned into silence. I have never seen anything so beautiful. The altar looked to be made of solid gold embedded with jewels of every color. The ceiling was inlaid with gold and colorful paintings. It was magnificent. More paintings and statues filled the walls. (Unfortunately the first though that went through my mind was what that wealth could do for the beggars outside.) We just stood and stared. Words can’t describe it.
We drove around the University and several more plazas and their churches. We saw the Banco Central del Ecuador where Sr. Bermeo was Director. Next he drove us uphill (to 15,000 feet) to Panecillo for a panoramic view of the city and the Andes. It was breath taking.
Then back to the house for tea. We met his family and spent a couple of hours talking about the country and both of our families. It was one of the best experiences of the whole trip.
We climbed to about 10,000 feet again as we neared Quito.
We arrived in Quito Saturday around noon. It is a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes with snow on their peaks.
Our South American guide book was not as complete as the others we had used. This one listed no campgrounds (perhaps because there weren’t any.) So we were just kind of driving around. A policeman pulled up next to us as we were stopped for a traffic light. Bill leaned out and asked him if he knew where we could park for the night.
“Yes, follow me.” he said and led us through the beautiful city streets. He pulled into a police station and motioned for us to park at the curb. This station was in the middle of an upper class neighborhood. All around were beautiful colonial style homes. Most were white two-story with red tile roofs. Masses of red and orange bougainvilleas were hanging over the rock walls in front of the homes. The yards were filled with exotic bushes and flowers.
The other policemen came out to meet us and take a tour of the motorhome. Everyone was very nice. When they had all gone back about their business we settled in for a couple of days stay. Bill had to go to the customs and extend our paper work. We also needed to refill the propane tanks and get some groceries to replace what spoiled. And we wanted to go to the monument at the Equator. But for the rest of the day we were parked.
An hour or so later there was a tentative “Hello” and a knock on the door.
Bill went to answer it. Standing on the side walk was a very distinguished looking man. He wore a gray suit, blue shirt and dark blue tie. His brownish hair was short his mustache trim and he wore glasses.
“I am Sr. Jack Bermeo, I live in that house across the street,” he said in excellent English as he gestured to one of the big homes.
Oh, oh I thought, he’s going to want us out of here.
They shook hands and Bill invited him in and introduced him to everyone. Explaining that we were from California and were driving the Pan American Highway to Argentina and beyond.
After acknowledging us Sr. Bermeo said, “My family and I would be honored if you would come to tea with us this afternoon.”
Tea? Bill looked at me for his eyes asking yes or no. I nodded sure.
Sr. Bermeo then suggested that if we would like, before tea he could take us for a ride to visit the oldest part of the city. He said he had a big van that we would all fit in. He would go home and change into something more comfortable, let his wife know we would be coming for tea and then we would pick us up.
We were ready when Sr. Bermeo pulled up. As he drove around the city he told us some of the history of Quito. The Incas conquered Quito in 1487 and it became the second capital of the Inca Empire. In the middle 1500’s the Spanish moved in. They built it in the image of Spain with twisting, narrow cobblestone streets. The adobe buildings had balconies with grille work railings. They were built around patios with fountains. There are over 100 churches, chapels, monasteries and convents.
He took us to the main plaza, the Plaza de Independencia, in the middle of the city. It is surrounded by government buildings, shopping arcades and churches. He stopped so we could visit some of the churches.
As we approached one of the churches Paul and Gil both grabbed on to my shirt. The long flight of wide stone stairs leading to the massive front doors was populated with beggars. From tiny babies in their Mother’s arms to crippled old men and women who appeared to be over 100. The kids who had been raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles had never seen a beggar before this trip. They still were not used to seeing them and were kind of frightened by them. We walked up the stairs ignoring the outstretched hand and entered the church. We were stunned into silence. I have never seen anything so beautiful. The altar looked to be made of solid gold embedded with jewels of every color. The ceiling was inlaid with gold and colorful paintings. It was magnificent. More paintings and statues filled the walls. (Unfortunately the first though that went through my mind was what that wealth could do for the beggars outside.) We just stood and stared. Words can’t describe it.
We drove around the University and several more plazas and their churches. We saw the Banco Central del Ecuador where Sr. Bermeo was Director. Next he drove us uphill (to 15,000 feet) to Panecillo for a panoramic view of the city and the Andes. It was breath taking.
Then back to the house for tea. We met his family and spent a couple of hours talking about the country and both of our families. It was one of the best experiences of the whole trip.
Later that afternoon we went to the Equatorial Monument. It’s about an hours drive from Quito. We didn’t want to take the motorhome so we took two taxies. Me, Bill and the two youngest kids in one, Randy, John and John Mc in the other. It was a real pretty ride, past several small villages with scattered around the pretty countryside. We were surprised at how cool it was there. We were thinking Equator = hot. Forgetting we were over 10,000 feet high. Very fun and interesting. Of course we had our pictures taken with one foot in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern. We got a “Diploma” stating that “The Sirimarcos had arrived at the Middle of Earth and placed our feet on the Equator at latitude zero of this planet Earth, and thus became Citizens of the Equator.” It was stamped and officially dated April 2, 1978.
The altitude was affecting all of us. We were walking slower and breathing harder. Randy was having a particularly hard time. He had always been bothered by altitude. When he was about five years old we went to Yosemite Park in California and he was ill with nausea and headaches the entire time we were there. As soon as we were below 1000 feet he was fine. And to make matters worse it was trying to rain and it was getting quite a bit cooler.
That evening we connected up with Maynard and Frenchie. It was decided that early the next morning, Monday, Maynard would pick Bill up and they would go to the Aduana to get all the papers extended. Sr. Bermeo had given Bill a letter of reference to help things along. Even with the letter it took five hours and a phone call to Sr. Bermeo to get everything taken care of. Our extensions were for ten days.
That night Klaus, Mark, Robert and Paul got into town, finally having cleared the border. They were only given 48 hours to clear the country, but decided to stretch it to 72 and hope.
The threat of rain had turned to a downpour by morning. Later in the day Robert and Mark who were staying with friends invited Randy and John Mc over for a while. We dropped them off and went to get the propane tanks filled. The guys would bring them back to the motorhome later. We were going to do some more sightseeing but both Gil and I were not feeling well, probably the altitude too. It only lasted the one day. We filled the tanks and stopped at a Laundromat and Bill did the laundry. When we finally got back to our parking place John and Randy were sitting on the sidewalk huddled in their ponchos in the rain waiting for us. Pitiful sight. It rained all night, a real deluge. At the first break in the rain in the morning we left Quito. We all said our Good Byes and God Speeds as we left Quito together. Soon everyone was ahead of us. About 50 miles from Quito we came to the first of many landslides and there they all were tied up in traffic. When traffic started moving we said Good Bye again.
The road from Quito to the border with Peru is very scenic. You drop 10,000 feet to St. Domingo and pass by water falls, tropical growth, 15 foot ferns and beautiful flowers. We went from the towering mountains with their many waterfalls to the desert. Through banana and cane plantations to the subtropical coastal zone. Because of the sporadic rain we saw some stunning rainbows.
Again everyone else pulled ahead of us, but at the next delay there they were. One such delay was in a little town where the road had partially washed out. Maynard managed to get his car through and off he went. But the soccer van stopped and Paul Perez got out to mail some cards. Just then the traffic started to move, the van had to go on to at least past the damaged area, which was about 5 miles ahead where they pulled over to wait for him. We picked him up and took him that far. Then we were ahead!
Coastal Ecuador is pretty lots of farm land and the houses are built up on stilts anywhere from six inches off the ground to six feet off. One whole city was on stilts and most of the houses were over water.
We reached the border town of Huaquillas around 7:30 and there were Maynard and Frenchie. For all their hard driving they still didn’t get there in time to cross before it closed. The soccer van and Klaus never did show up that night.
We spent the night along side the road with many others.
We were still in Ecuador waiting to get to the border to cross into Peru.
We woke up to find that somehow during the night one of the tires on the trailer had gone flat.
Bill got that fixed easily enough and then went to exchange money. Money changers with suitcases full of Peruvian “Soles” all over the place. You just had to look for the best deal. He finally exchanged at 130 Soles to $1.00 US.
The altitude was affecting all of us. We were walking slower and breathing harder. Randy was having a particularly hard time. He had always been bothered by altitude. When he was about five years old we went to Yosemite Park in California and he was ill with nausea and headaches the entire time we were there. As soon as we were below 1000 feet he was fine. And to make matters worse it was trying to rain and it was getting quite a bit cooler.
That evening we connected up with Maynard and Frenchie. It was decided that early the next morning, Monday, Maynard would pick Bill up and they would go to the Aduana to get all the papers extended. Sr. Bermeo had given Bill a letter of reference to help things along. Even with the letter it took five hours and a phone call to Sr. Bermeo to get everything taken care of. Our extensions were for ten days.
That night Klaus, Mark, Robert and Paul got into town, finally having cleared the border. They were only given 48 hours to clear the country, but decided to stretch it to 72 and hope.
The threat of rain had turned to a downpour by morning. Later in the day Robert and Mark who were staying with friends invited Randy and John Mc over for a while. We dropped them off and went to get the propane tanks filled. The guys would bring them back to the motorhome later. We were going to do some more sightseeing but both Gil and I were not feeling well, probably the altitude too. It only lasted the one day. We filled the tanks and stopped at a Laundromat and Bill did the laundry. When we finally got back to our parking place John and Randy were sitting on the sidewalk huddled in their ponchos in the rain waiting for us. Pitiful sight. It rained all night, a real deluge. At the first break in the rain in the morning we left Quito. We all said our Good Byes and God Speeds as we left Quito together. Soon everyone was ahead of us. About 50 miles from Quito we came to the first of many landslides and there they all were tied up in traffic. When traffic started moving we said Good Bye again.
The road from Quito to the border with Peru is very scenic. You drop 10,000 feet to St. Domingo and pass by water falls, tropical growth, 15 foot ferns and beautiful flowers. We went from the towering mountains with their many waterfalls to the desert. Through banana and cane plantations to the subtropical coastal zone. Because of the sporadic rain we saw some stunning rainbows.
Again everyone else pulled ahead of us, but at the next delay there they were. One such delay was in a little town where the road had partially washed out. Maynard managed to get his car through and off he went. But the soccer van stopped and Paul Perez got out to mail some cards. Just then the traffic started to move, the van had to go on to at least past the damaged area, which was about 5 miles ahead where they pulled over to wait for him. We picked him up and took him that far. Then we were ahead!
Coastal Ecuador is pretty lots of farm land and the houses are built up on stilts anywhere from six inches off the ground to six feet off. One whole city was on stilts and most of the houses were over water.
We reached the border town of Huaquillas around 7:30 and there were Maynard and Frenchie. For all their hard driving they still didn’t get there in time to cross before it closed. The soccer van and Klaus never did show up that night.
We spent the night along side the road with many others.
We were still in Ecuador waiting to get to the border to cross into Peru.
We woke up to find that somehow during the night one of the tires on the trailer had gone flat.
Bill got that fixed easily enough and then went to exchange money. Money changers with suitcases full of Peruvian “Soles” all over the place. You just had to look for the best deal. He finally exchanged at 130 Soles to $1.00 US.
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The next morning, Sunday, we unhooked the trailer and took the motorhome to the grocery story we had been told about. It was a big very modern and clean supermarket. We picked up bakery items, cereal - Sugar Pops and Sucrilhos (Frosted Flakes ), cold cuts, meat, produce and eggs. I only needed milk to finish my list. We went to the dairy cooler and found a big empty space where the milk should be. Bill found a clerk and asked about the milk. He told us it would be delivered in about 30 minutes if we wanted to wait. No problem, we paid for the rest of the stuff and went out to put it away. When we went back into the store we noticed a group of about 20 or 30 women standing near the milk case. It was still empty. The swinging double doors to the back opened and a man pushing a dolly loaded with milk cases came through. The women rushed him! It was like a sale day in Macy’s basement. We were standing there with our mouths open. Women were reaching into the cases pulling liters of milk out, the clerk just backed off and watched. The milk would not make it to the dairy case. There was no way I was going to push through that mob. So caring Mom that I am I sent Gil and Paul in to grab some milk. They could slide under the frenzied snatching arms and swinging purses and reach the milk with no problem. In and out they went bringing back liters of milk to their waiting Mommy who was hiding behind a display. It worked. We had eight liters enough for a couple of days.
While wandering around the store we saw a set of Corning Ware dishes, service for four costing US $100.00! The groceries were also very high priced.
While wandering around the store we saw a set of Corning Ware dishes, service for four costing US $100.00! The groceries were also very high priced.
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