I absolutely LOVE Portugal! There is SO much to see and do. Although we made the most of our transit day, by crossing the border into Portugal at 10:15 Spain time, 9:15 Portugal time, it still feels like five days in this fabulous country is not nearly enough.
We started our transit day by walking the Portuguese El Camino, alongside the river leading into the town of Ponte de Lima.
I’m so happy the weatherman was wrong about the 100% probability of rain. Might it have been smarter for him to hedge his bets a teeny bit with a 90% probability?
The cloud cover made photos more interesting and more importantly, made our walk very pleasant.
This river’s legend dates back to Roman times.
Roman soldiers on a campaign to conquer the world mistook the Lima River for the River Lethe, the mythological River of forgetfulness. Because there was no bridge, they had to enter the river to get across. Believing that doing so would erase all their memories, they refused. I can’t blame them. Who wants what is known today as a “senior moment” ( except it would be more like a senior decade)?
The general (that’s him on the horse by the river bank) crossed first, then commanded each of his soldiers, by name, to come across, thereby shattering the “memory loss” legend.
After we crossed the bridge, we easily located where we could add stamps to our Pilgrim Passport.
Yes, we have become obsessed with collecting stamps wherever we stop. I’ll talk about that in a future post. But right now it’s time to share photos of Guimarães, a beautiful village that has some historical significance —but what that significance is currently escapes me. Hey, I have the perfect excuse. I crossed over the River of Forgetfulness.
We finished our transit day by walking down the 608 steps (that was MY count; Wikipedia claims there are 686 steps) to dinner at a restaurant in Lamego. And what a beautiful walk it was!
Our starting point Beautiful wall tiles decorated every landingThe fountains were also spectacular Look at this incredible view!
Okay, there are many, many more photos from this fantastic walk, but I will end with the view from the bottom, because we still have some fantastic sights from our Douro River cruise.
WOW!
We had the boat all to ourselves,
Photo by Shahin, our guide
and there weren’t many other vessels on the river. We only saw one river cruise ship.
Just when you thought the day couldn’t possibly get any better, it did.
The Quinta da Portela de Baixo is not just a museum; it is also a vineyard carved into the side of a hill overlooking the Douro River,
where we had lunch and sampled port wine. I had no idea that so many different kinds of port existed! Did you?
Our final stop will be Porto, which Mike and I visited in September of 2003. I wonder if women will still be carrying live chickens on their heads, the way they did back then?
I didn’t know until I got there that Galicia normally gets an abundance of rain, which is why it is such a lush, green region. I THOUGHT I was adequately prepared for wet weather, because I had packed two hooded jackets, fleece lined pants and silk long underwear, but I forgot the most important item: zapatos impermeables (waterproof shoes). Luckily, our hotel was across from a sports store that carried waterproof sketchers in my size. Prior to that purchase, however, (as I mentioned in an earlier post), we walked the last five kilometers of the Camino in a downpour. Let me tell ya, medieval cobblestone streets retain lots of water between those rocks!
I bought the umbrella in Bilbao when my luggage was lost.
I had the full Pilgrim experience; I was soaked and completely miserable. It was definitely NOT one would consider a spiritual feeling. By the time we got to the hotel, my feet were so wet, I had to dry them with a towel. On a positive note—the hotel had a heated towel bar in the bathroom, but sadly it only functioned between 7 and 11 pm. Still, that was long enough to dry out my sodden socks, clothes and backpack.
If someone forced me (at gunpoint) to choose between walking El Camino or running with the bulls, that day I would have taken my chances with the bulls. (I would have carefully chosen a stretch that allowed for a speedy exit.) But, then again, if I had done so, I would not have earned the right to sport one of these lovely pilgrim tattoos.
It’s hard to get lost on El Camino because the scallop shells point the way. They are EVERYWHERE. This sign also marks distance from the start of the French Way —4,790 kilometers—of which we did about 32 KM, or less than 10%
Before this trip, I had thought that there was ONE El Camino. NOW I know there are several: The French, the Portuguese, — we walked segments of both—the Via de la Plata (silver way), the Camino del Norte, the Primitive Way, to name a few. Regardless of which Camino you select, the destination is the same, the Cathedral of Saint James (Santiago).
Beneath that yellow umbrella is our local guide, Marian, regaling us with the legend of St James. WE were a shivering mass, huddled together under a nearby portico.
The cathedral from a different vantage point, a public park. Photo taken in between showers.
With all the wind and rain, I couldn’t take notes, so I’m operating strictly on memory. Here’s the part of the legend that I recall: a peasant (fisherman? shepherd? Some random guy?) in the first century (around 820 AD) saw a light shining down from the heavens several nights in a row, in the exact same spot. He recognized it as a message from God instructing him to dig, and when he did, he discovered the bones of a skeleton who had been beheaded. The church leaders made a rather large leap of faith and deduced that since St James had been beheaded, the skeleton must be that apostle. Over the ensuing centuries a cathedral was built and over time, the city of Santiago de Compostela grew around the cathedral.
Back then, pilgrims made the journey for religious reasons, to get a plenary indulgence (skip purgatory) or to avoid jail time. Yes, you read that right. Marian explained that people who committed minor crimes back then were given a choice…walk several hundred miles or go to jail.
Fast forward a few centuries—today’s visitors can view this silver box that contains what the faithful believe is St James bones,
and can admire the cathedral’s beautiful interior.
My cell phone’s zoom isn’t very powerful, so I’ll describe the central image of the main altar. It’s St. James, riding a horse and brandishing a sword, which wasn’t exactly how the apostles were described in the Bible.
Santiago’s old town is a maze of narrow cobblestone streets, filled with restaurants, bars and souvenir shops, so after our first day in Santiago, I’d seen enough of the city. I welcomed the opportunity to spend the day in Pontevedra and Combarro on an optional trip OAT offered.
Pontevedra, founded by the Romans, gave us a break from the crowded streets of Santiago. It is also the site of an unusual church, with a floor shaped like a scallop shell. Or so I was told.
I’ll be honest. The church was clearly round, unlike any I’ve ever seen before. But I wasn’t able to pick up any resemblance to a scallop shell in the interior. Take a look. Maybe you’ll have better luck.
Despite the intermittent showers, it was a delightful day.
Combarro reminded me of Southeastern Massachusetts. I recall watching Sandy, my sister, digging up clams and quahogs with her toes in Mattapoisett bay.
Here in Combarro, it’s a highly regulated business, with strictly enforced limits on what can be harvested.
Our day ended with a pleasant surprise—a procession outside our hotel. I was already in my jammies, but when I heard the drums, I dashed onto my balcony to take this photo.
Fortunately, our trip leader was on the street and sent us a video.
Is it just me or does that statue of Jesus make it look like he needs a foundational garment?
When I booked this trip, I had no idea that I’d be in Spain for Semana Santa, or as we call it in the USA, Holy Week.
I will confess our group was more than a little surprised to see what looked like (to us) the Ku Klux Klan everywhere. But no, these are the different “brotherhoods” who hold processions every evening during Holy Week.
Their version of action figures were in shop windows.
Members of my family will not be shocked to learn that I accidentally stumbled into a church where one brotherhood was assembling. I had wanted to see the interior of the Church of San Isidoro after I learned this door was where you entered to get “indulgences”.
For those who didn’t spend your youth in Catholic school, I will explain. Indulgences are sorta like a “get out of jail free” card. You give the church a sum of money, and regardless of the sins you committed, indulgences get you on the escalator to heaven. Fortunately, the middle ages were chock full of sinners. How else do you think the church could afford all that art and gold stuff?
Can you imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find a PACKED church? EVERY bloody pew was filled with people wearing the same color coordinated outfit. My cream jacket stood out in a sea of purple, so when the door creaked open, and the assembled all turned to stare, it was easy to figure out who really didn’t belong.
I wasn’t gauche enough to take a photo then. I waited till they were all almost out the door. Hey, I wanted my friends back home to share in the experience. So here ya go.
Notice that THIS brotherhood allowed sisters to join in the fun, but instead of hoods, they wore a “thingie” to hold their mantillas high atop their heads. Also notice, they were at the very end of the procession.
As I exited the church, I spotted some people wearing uniforms, carrying instruments, so I followed them to their assembly point — a bar.
Doing so earned me a primo spot when they started to play. I haven’t quite mastered the ability to imbed a link, but if you click below you should get a feel for Holy Week in Leon.
Despite the mob scene, fellow traveler Camille managed to spot me in the crowd. Equally surprising, I heard her call my name.
Somehow, in spite of the madness, four of us managed to link up with Shahin, our trip leader, who took the photo of Loren, me, Sheldon and Camille atop this post.
Before we went bar hopping, we saw a man standing in front of a building, swinging around a silver incense container, so we HAD to go inside. Much to our surprise, we found these elaborate “floats” that the devout carry on their shoulders during processions.
This is only ONE of many floats stored in the building
Sorry, there are no photos of our bar hopping extravaganza. We were far too busy drinking “lemonada”— red wine, lemons, cinnamon and seltzer water— León’s official “Holy Week drink, to take pictures
Our second day in the area was spent outside of León in the little village of Morgovejo, for what OAT calls a “Day in the Life” , another unique feature of OAT travel. We spend time with local inhabitants, visiting them in their homes, sometimes participating in their daily activities.
Carmín teaching us how to make cheese
During our visit, Carmen showed us how she works with disabled children and adults, using a horse she rescued and trained. Her partner, Emelio demonstrated the various exercises that can be done by riding bareback .
Emilio demonstrating stretches.
The farm has horses, sheep, goats and dogs. Some of us were thrilled to be able to hold this baby lamb.
León was a fantastic stop, and it was over far too quickly. Next stop — Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of pilgrims on “The Way”.
One of the many reasons I absolutely love traveling with OAT is the company finds experiences I would never have discovered on my own.
For example, en route to León we made two delightful stops. The first was at an archaeological lab in Ubide, where Michaela, an Australian osteoarcheologist, fascinated us with stories about her dig at the Roncesvalles burial pit.
Can you figure out which one is Michaela? Hint: she doesn’t have gray hair. She’s in the back row, directly behind me.
It was truly amazing how much can be learned from bones. So far, they have dug down to the level of the Napoleonic wars, where they found an older soldier, whose jacket was used as a shroud. His jacket’s button is shown in the top right of the following photo. Can you see the Spanish word “Rey” (king)?
Because of his skeleton’s position in the pit, his age, his wound and the button, the archaeologists deduced the bones belonged to a high ranking member of the Spanish army who died fighting against Napoleon.
When the archaeologists reach the bottom of the pit, legend has it they will find a horse, a horn and the exploded head of Roland, a member of Charlemagne’s army, who was immortalized in the “Song of Roland”.
After he sacked Pamplona, Charlemagne headed back to France, using the route we followed through Roncesvalles (now part of El Camino). As you can see, the path through the forest is very narrow, so the soldiers had to travel single file, making them easy targets for the more than slightly annoyed Saracens.
For those of you who never read “The Song of Roland” and have no desire to ever do so, here’s the scoop. When Roland sounded the horn to warn Charlemagne of the attack, he blew so hard, the legend claims that he literally blew his brains out.
Our lunch was at a charming tavern along our route. This trip IS turning me into a “day drinker”, but it hasn’t come to THIS, at least not yet.
Shahin, demonstrating how to shoot red wine directly into your mouth
We were able to walk off some of our lunch’s calories when we reached the next stretch of our “El Camino” experience. This time, we walked through the medieval village of Castrojeriz, population about 100.
Had I been on my own, I would have walked right by this church and missed its amazing multimedia shows, including the story of creation, which was projected onto the ceiling.
If we were REAL pilgrims, walking El Camino, it would have taken us anywhere from three to about seven days to walk from León to Santiago. Instead, the 3.5 hour bus ride took us a day, because of our multiple stops.
The first stop was in Astorga, to view the castle and cathedral designed by Gaudi.
Unfortunately, the building didn’t open until 10, so we weren’t able to go inside, but don’t you agree that the outside was pretty spectacular?
The entrance to the palace is on this side. Can you believe the number of windows? On the left (barely visible) is the cathedral.
We weren’t able to linger because we didn’t want to be late for our visit to the beekeeper. To get to there, we strolled along the river for about a half a mile.
This very animated and entertaining young woman gave us the adult version of her presentation for school children.
The Queen beeThe drone
Did you know that you should never put honey in the microwave because it destroys the beneficial enzymes? Or that you should never use a metal spoon to remove honey from its container— only use wood? (sorry, I don’t remember the reason).
After all that learning, we were ready for lunch in the village.
This building dates back to the 1750’s; it was the home of a merchant who conducted trade between the coast and León.
We were very fortunate to have such great weather during this area’s rainy season.
But our luck was about to end. For the last stretch of El Camino, we had an “authentic” pilgrim experience. We walked to the cathedral in a downpour.
That smile on my face was VERY short lived. I neglected to pack waterproof shoes, so by the time we finished our 5 kilometer walk and got to our hotel my shoes, socks and all 10 toes were soaking, sopping wet. Good thing I know how to say “I want to buy waterproof shoes” in Spanish!
Looks like the weather goddess is sending more of the same for our time in Santiago and Portugal. But at least with my new 100% waterproof Sketchers, my feet will be dry!
After the day we had, we decided we all needed at least one glass of wine — perhaps more. How lucky am I to be with such a great group of people!
Briefly, the rain stopped, allowing Shahin to take this group photo.
If you think this post is covering a lot of ground, you’d be right. In just two days, we have visited three very different locations! The header of this post is a photo of the group as we started our walk on el Camino, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Before that…
En route to Pamplona, we stopped in the charming seaside town of San Sebastián.
Although the morning started out cloudy, before too long, the mists disappeared, just in time for us to thoroughly enjoy our walk along the beach.
The Miramar Palace, where former kings and queens spent their summers, overlooks this big, beautiful beach, and is now an events center for weddings and conferences.
We didn’t crash the wedding—just the photo shoot
I’ve seen elaborate sand sculptures, but this was the first time I saw sand “art” being created.
We had just enough time in San Sebastián for a delightful multi-course lunch at The Morgan Kompany, ( no, that’s not a typo, and yes, it is a restaurant). I barely had enough time to find a Christmas ornament for my sister. It’s one of my travel traditions— to find something Sue can hang on her tree from every country I visit.
We arrived in Pamplona late in the afternoon, checked in to the hotel, then walked through the nearby gardens. Notice how clean everything is?
Our stroll took us to the city wall, where we were able to enjoy this panoramic view.
Spaniards eat dinner around 9 or 10 PM, which according to my American digestive system is FAR too late.
We didn’t spend much time in Pamplona, because the next morning we traveled to Roncesvalles, where we started our El Camino experience. The mountains in the background of the header photo are the Pyrenees which form a natural border between France and Spain. In that photo, some of us are holding our El Camino passports aloft. We collected three stamps on this walk.
I didn’t have a walking pole, so I brought my umbrella, which helped me cross a muddy, slippery stream.
For our last afternoon in Pamplona, we met Gonzalo,
who has run with the bulls multiple times. He finally hung up his running shoes after his injuries resulted in a 10 day coma.
As we walked the half mile route from corral to bull ring, he filled us in on little known facts (at least to me) about the Festival of San Fermin. That’s the official name for the insane practice known as running with the bulls.
Six bulls per day do the run, accompanied by six steer ( castrated bulls)
The same six steer do the run for SEVEN consecutive days, but the six bulls change every day, because they get finished off when they reach the bull ring. This festival is the only time bull fights are held in Pamplona.
Before 7 AM, runners congregate in front of the statue of Saint Fermin (maybe he existed, maybe he didn’t) to sing a song three times at prescribed intervals before the bulls are released at 8 AM.
According to Gonzalo, runners need to arrive early to get a good spot for the run. If you are interested in viewing the madness, and hearing the song, here’s the link to the YouTube video. https://youtu.be/hDyQ0cUXk9g?si=rN20ZM45hAZ_CW_i
During the 7 day festival 42 bulls run. Each one costs between nine and fifteen THOUSAND Euros.
It takes the frightened bulls about two minutes to run the half mile route. No runner is fast enough to do the entire route, because once the bulls get in front of you, you’re done with the race.
If a runner gets gored or trampled all medical care is free. If you are NOT a runner and fall down because you’re drunk, you are responsible for the medical costs. And let me tell ya, there is a whole lot of drinking during those seven days!
This is as close as I will ever get to a bull run, because I KNOW what would happen!
Our last stop was at Hemingway’s favorite bar, where we enjoyed churros and chocolate.
When I told my friend (and of course by now, I’ve forgotten which one) that I was going to Bilbao, she said that she’d visited years ago and that it was “very industrial”. Indeed it was. Shipbuilding and mining produced so much pollution that, according to our trip leader, when his mother hung laundry out to dry, it would become gray tinged. But what a difference a couple of decades and a natural disaster can make.
In August of 1983, two weeks of torrential rainfall produced flooding that devastated the area. Fortunately, the city’s leaders were able to turn that disaster into an opportunity. They determined rebuilding would focus on what would benefit the entire community. They decided that emphasizing CULTURE and infrastructure would be the key to Bilbao’s future.
And what a magnificent city it is now! In addition to the wonderful green spaces and playgrounds mentioned in an earlier post, Bilbao also has a huge sports stadium, a concert hall, a metro, tram —and my personal favorite —an incredible building known affectionately as “the living room”.
The pavement leading to the entrance has been designed to look like a carpet. Notice the street lights resemble table lamps and the benches look like living room furniture.
Originally built in 1909, the building was abandoned in the 1970’s and was almost demolished. Instead, it now is a “culture and leisure center” housing a gym, with a pool,
That’s the ceiling. If you’re on the ground floor, you can look up and watch people swim!
a library, an auditorium, a restaurant, showrooms, shops and in the basement (which we didn’t visit) a multiplex cinema.
The ground floor was filled with art
Other notable Bilbao sights:
The Vizcaya Bridge was designed by one of Eiffel’s associates, Alberto Palacio
I was SO excited when our trip leader told us we’d be walking across this bridge. Elevators could take us to the top, so I was ready for the adventure. You can only imagine the depth of my disappointment when I realized he was just joking.
Instead we rode across on this “transporter. It dangled from wires attached to the structure that I thought we’d be strolling across. It skimmed just above the river. Later, we visited a cathedral atop a hill, from which we could view the mouth of the river, the Atlantic, and those cliffs.
This was not our only panoramic view. Later, we rode Bilbao’s funicular to a cafe where we enjoyed a glass of wine and this spectacular view.
The Guggenheim is to the left of the red bridge and in front of the skyscraper
I could have spent a whole lot more time in Bilbao, but the next morning, we walked through the city of Guernica, which was destroyed during World War II.
Our group in front of a replica of Picasso’s famous paintingThe latest recruit, ready to fight for democracy in her own country
Fortunately, we had “free time” in the afternoon, so most of us spent it inside the Guggenheim. The architecture is absolutely spectacular!
This in no way captures the grandeur of the space or my favorite piece, “Shuttlecock”
I also loved art made from “reclaimed” objects, like these pieces of cars,
and flattened bottle caps with wrappers from liquor bottles
Here are some “close ups” of the piece so you can see the intricacies. It’s a WOW.
That evening, we broke up into three groups of five for a “home hosted” dinner.
Blanca and David were absolutely delightful hosts, and the dinner was spectacular. Although their English was at the level of my Spanish, we were able to communicate. I think the wine and the chocolate liqueur might have helped.
Later, I learned that Shahin put me in this group because he overheard me speaking to a tattooed Spanish biker that we met when we stopped to admire the Bay of Biscay. He figured that ONE of us needed to know a little Spanish. And in MY case, it is DAMN little, but it was enough.
We are on the bus now heading to Pamplona, with a stop in San Sebastián. It looks like our run of perfect weather is about to end.
The photo above shows the itinerary for this trip. Ignore the boxes. I’m not doing a pre or post trip this time.
The name of my favorite tour company is Overseas ADVENTURE Travel, and so far, it’s living up to its name! The tour promises participants will have “learning and discovery” experiences and so far I’ve had both.
I now know how to shop for ropa interior (underwear), how to translate sizes (take your US size and add 32, so a size 8 becomes size 40). I learned to never EVER buy “Brazilian” underwear, how to pay for a bus ticket to the airport (credit card, paid ON the bus) how to get thru the “Do Not Enter” doors at Bilbao airport ( wait for someone to leave and dash thru).
I came to this knowledge when I arrived in Bilbao and my AirTag told me my luggage was still in Munich.
Why, oh why did I check luggage? Well…
In the past, connections in parts of Europe, especially Germany, have been a tad unpleasant. I hate it when my plane parks far from the terminal. I have to walk down the rollaway stairs, carrying luggage, then get stuffed into a bus, which drives for 5 to 10 minutes to get to the terminal. On past occasions, the escalators weren’t working, so I had to carry my bags up several flights of stairs.
As a bonus, if I checked a bag, I could bring enough clothes so I wouldn’t have to do laundry. I would also have room for a bathing suit so I could enjoy any hot tubs I encounter along the way. Checked bag it was. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to include my AirTag, just in case.
I’ll admit it. I was feeling a little smug while I was walking down 4 flights of stairs (with only a light backpack) to the crowded bus that would drive us to the plane that would take us to Bilbao. That feeling was QUITE short lived!
But at least I had the good sense to arrive a day before the tour started, because I spent HOURS of my first afternoon on the phone getting bounced between United ( Newark departure) and Lufthansa (Bilbao arrival). I’ll spare you the details, mainly because I don’t want to relive them, and also because they are bone crushingly boring.
But I WILL share this important tip: ALWAYS check your baggage receipt. Had I done so in Newark, I would have noticed that it said “Munich”, not Bilbao. So because I missed that important detail, it was determined that I was at fault and my bag would NOT be delivered to the hotel. Instead, I would have to go to the airport to fetch it.
And here’s another tip: ask to speak to a supervisor or manager as soon as you hear the same unhelpful info for the second time. I certainly wish I had.
Just about every situation has an upside, if you look hard enough. So I did. Here’s what I came up with: In addition to my various “learnings” described earlier, I might not otherwise have been out so early on a Sunday morning. I LOVED my early morning walk and I felt like such a big girl riding the bus all by myself.
Plus, I got to buy a Disney tee shirt that doubles as a nightgown. In case you don’t read backwards, that says “Ratatouille”. NO photos of Brazilian “ropa interior”. You’re welcome.
I was back early enough from my airport jaunt to join my new friends Pam, Barbara and Camille for a walk along the river.
Bilbao is a WONDERFUL city, with lots of green space, playgrounds, artworks and pedestrian walkways.
The playgrounds had unusual, imaginative structures The many bridges are all beautiful in different ways.
The other three ladies wanted to explore churches and cathedrals, but since I’ve already exceeded my lifetime quota for such structures, I ambled on down to the Guggenheim. I had just enough time before our afternoon boat ride to explore the exterior of this amazing building.
Yes, that puppy is made entirely of different flowersI took another photo of this sculpture from the boat. Which do you prefer?
I highly recommend the 1 hour boat ride for anyone who is interested in architecture. There is a QR code on the back of all seats on the boat. If you scan it with your phone, you have access to a narrative (in your chosen language), describing what you are viewing while you pass by on the boat ride.
The Guggenheim as seen from the boat, comingAnd goingI loved the tiger atop a building
There was a “girl from Ipanema” type of story about this crane. I THINK it went something like this: Everything would stop so that men could stare when a certain young girl came across the river 4x a day to operate the crane. They should have written a song…
There was a whole lot more to day 1, but I’ve done enough blogging for today.
On our last day in Cuenca, we were free to spend the morning exploring on our own. I walked to the Pumapungo Museum, which is about a mile from the hotel, along La Calle Larga. I was wishing my buddy Elsie had taken the post trip with me, because she would have enjoyed the street art as much as I did. So Elsie, this one’s for you. No narrative, just visuals.
They even paint the poles!
I’m not sure why this art was defaced with graffiti. I thought there were rules.
If you like history, nature, handicrafts, museums, architecture, great restaurants, quaint coffee shops and shopping all within walking distance — come to Cuenca, because it has it all! Initially, I thought I could do one post for our three days in Cuenca, but I have since realized that’s impossible. So here’s episode one.
As usual, OAT has us staying in a strategically located boutique hotel. Once a private home for a large family, all the rooms are clustered around a central courtyard, which is now the reception area and restaurant.
Because this area was declared a world heritage site in 1999, the buildings have all been preserved, but many have been converted into hotels, restaurants, and shops.
One woman decided to rent her home, complete with all its furnishings; it is now a restaurant.
Before dinner, Lorena took us on a quick tour. What made this especially interesting was knowing this was how the former owner lived! Take a look at the opulence of just two of her rooms.
On our first morning in Cuenca, we enjoyed a walking tour of the city. Of course, the cathedral occupies a prominent spot on the main square. As you have probably guessed, the header of this post is a photo I took of the cathedral at night from the Negroni Restaurant.
My friend Jeanne always lights a candle for her husband whenever she visits a church, so I decided to light one for both our husbands. See that bottom row? My $1 coin lit that ENTIRE row of electric candles—sufficient to cover ALL the loved ones we both recently lost!
And yes, you read that last line right. I deposited a $1 US COIN. No longer will you lie awake at night wondering “whatever happened to all those $1.00 coins the US minted years ago that Americans refused to use”? We exported them to Ecuador, and from the worn looks of them, they are widely used.
During our walking tour, Lorena pointed out the entrance to the cathedral tower, so naturally, during our free time, I spent the $1.50 admission fee and climbed to the top. You can get a decent view of the square from the first landing.
Take a look at the umbrellas atop the building in the next photo. That’s Negroni Restaurant—it has great food, but it’s a bit of a challenge to find. Eric, Gail and I had dinner there on our “free” night. It took us a while to figure out you had to enter a clothing store, walk to the revealing women’s tops section, which is where the elevator hides out, then ride to the top floor.
I climbed all 162 of the tower’s spiraled stairs. My reward? This panoramic view of the surrounding area.
I pretended I couldn’t understand Spanish, so I ignored the sign that said “for your safety, seniors keep off” and claimed right up those metal bleachers.
SOME people might have noticed those menacing storm clouds, but my family won’t be surprised to learn I wasn’t one of them. Did I seek shelter? Go back to the hotel to get my umbrella or raincoat? I think we all know the answer to that.
Instead, I decided to support the local economy by buying gifts for friends and family.
So far, we had been unbelievably lucky with the weather. Up until Cuenca, the two times the heavens opened, we had been on the bus, and by the time we arrived at our destination, the sun was shining brightly. Not this time. I got SOAKED!
Cuenca gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric power, so last year’s drought had a severe impact on the city. When it rains, people here rejoice. So, of course I rejoiced along with them.
We have a flight tonight, so the next episode of Cuenca will probably be written at the airport…
By the end of Day 2 of our Ecuador post trip, we had arrived at the Hacienda Abraspungo, the second of our one night stays—not to be confused with one night stands—which if that’s what you were expecting this post to be about, you’ll be very disappointed.
The restaurant at the hacienda
For the remainder of our week in Ecuador, we will be spending three nights in Cuenca, then flying back to Quito for our final two nights.
Getting from Cartagena to our hotel in Quito was a whole day slog, not made easier by our stop at Bogota airport, where clear signage in either language was sadly lacking.
At Bogota airport, I managed to get separated from my fellow travelers, however I know enough Spanish to say, “please, can you help me? Where is the gate for the flight to Quito”. The bad part was the people I asked thought I was fluent, so they launched into this rapid explanation, using BIG words. Fortunately, when I told them I only knew a few words and understood Spanish like a 3 year old child, they switched to body language, which I have completely mastered.
By the time we arrived at our Quito hotel, around 8 PM, we were all pretty tired, so barely had enough energy for dinner.
Although we had two more transit days, they have been in a very comfortable, small bus. We made multiple, interesting stops along the way, and the scenery has been spectacular.
We were incredibly lucky to be able to clearly see Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in Ecuador. Much like Mt Fuji (and me) it usually has its head in the clouds. Our excellent bus driver knew the exact spot for a great photo op and that’s what you’re looking at atop this post.
Our drive along the PanAmerican Highway was lovely. Did you know you can get from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego by driving its full 16,000 miles? We are only doing a short stretch, along the Avenue of the Volcanoes (there are about 250 volcanoes in Ecuador; fortunately most are inactive).
The countryside is beautiful, but I was unable to capture the grandeur of the mountains, volcanoes and rolling emerald colored hills from the bus. Too many reflections from the windows. Just imagine driving through the Rockies on a perfect spring day.
This photo was taken when we stopped to get a shot of Chimborazo, which rises 20,000 feet above sea level. I know, it looks a lot like Cotopaxi, but for us, it was a real thrill.
Chimborazo
Like the Road Scholar trip Mike and I took to Ecuador in 2012, OAT itineraries include a visit to a rose farm. With 12 hours of direct sunlight most days, Ecuador is able to produce a mind boggling variety of incredible, long stemmed roses.
Rose exportation provided (for the first time) employment to many Ecuadorian women. They are able to bring their children to the worksite, which provides daycare. They are paid the minimum wage, which is $470 per month. The US dollar is Ecuador’s currency, so no “exchange math” is required to figure out that’s not a whole lot of money.
The first rose variety I saw on our tour was named Sandy, so I immediately thought of the wonderful sister I had lost, and although it was a struggle, I managed to hold back the tears.
Sandy
If you’re having a special event and can’t find a hue that compliments your color scheme, no problem. The roses can be sprayed to your specifications. Think I’m kidding? Take a look.
We met indigenous people at our next stops. The first is an artist, who, like Grandma Moses, is self taught. We were all given the opportunity to paint on goatskin, and once again, I produced a masterpiece I think is worthy to hang on the wall in any second grade classroom.
Notice the two condors, representing the heavens, and the snake, representing the underworld. Where’s the representative of the earth—the puma—you ask? Well, sadly the puma didn’t move fast enough, so he’s buried under the lava flow.
Take another look at the photo of Chimborazo. That’s where this man and his donkey climb twice a week to carve huge blocks of ice, which they carry down the mountain and sell to businesses in nearby Riobamba. When we were there, the volcano was hidden by the clouds.
There is no such thing as too many donkey photos, is there? I should have done a video because he was braying loudly.
The Spaniards brought Catholicism to the areas they conquered, because that’s what Jesus told them to do in his sermon on the Mount. It went something like this:. “Blessed are they who steal the gold from the people they enslave, for they get to be heroes in their home land.”
Unfortunately, Jesus didn’t warn them about the Evangelicals from the US. The Evangelicals built schools and clinics; they translated the Bible into the native language. They also gave free radios to all indigenous, so they could easily preach and be heard by all. Most of the locals converted, which is probably why this church had to get creative when they found the collection plates contained more dust than dollars.
Built in 1534, it was the very first church the Spaniards built in Ecuador. Take a look inside.
Looks pretty standard, right? But wait. You haven’t seen the vestibule yet. This is the creative section.
Those of you with sharp eyes have probably noticed the coffee pot in the lower left hand corner. My lens wasn’t wide enough to capture the tables and chairs directly across.
But if you need more than coffee to get you through Mass, not to worry. There are OTHER beverages from which you can choose.
In addition to beer and wine, you can also buy “holy water” . You all know what bottled water without a label looks like, so I didn’t bother to include a photo.
Before the animal lovers get their shorts in a knot over this next photo, let me remind you, Costco uses a similar cooking method, they just rotate chickens instead of guinea pigs. And they remove the heads first.
This road side cuy producer sells about 40 cooked guinea pigs a day! Cuy is considered a delicacy here in Ecuador, and will set you back about $50 if you ordered it in a restaurant.
After Covid, Ecuador’s railroads went out of business, including the famous one that traveled up the devil’s nose.
We visited the now closed train station in Alausi, then proceeded up the mountain, into the clouds, for lunch with the indigenous people.
As we climbed higher and higher, the cloud cover was so complete, I was convinced we wouldn’t be able to see El nariz del Diablo (the devil’s nose), but we continued to have phenomenal luck. Not only did we see the Devil’s schnoz, ( it’s the mountain on the right)
we also saw the train tracks leading up to the zig zag route.
We have been rocking and rolling along mountain roads, so once again, I will push PUBLISH and hope for the best.
Destination NOW 