Xmas in Canoa
Trip Start
Mar 31, 2006
1
29
37
Trip End
Mar 31, 2007
Canoa,
Ecuador
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
But first we had to get here and to Fin. And before we left Peru the "carreteras" (traffic police) finally did a number on us
Canoa beach on New Years day
. They have tried on four other occasions but every time we have waited them out and they finally waved us on. We were about five hours out of Lima when I heard the siren and saw the flashing lights; my heart sunk and woke Sheila from a deep sleep; this was the first problem as she was bleary and did not know what was happening. Anyway they aggressively pulled us over and sauntered across and asked if I spoke Spanish, now the circus started. I drive slower than almost everyone on the road and on the open road keep scrupulously to the speed limits which are often ludicrously slow; several cars had just whipped past me at super speed when they pulled me over. So sorry, they said, but it is the "system"; the system is triggered by a satellite that caught me speeding in an urban area; children are out from school; all very dangerous. Their hands are tied as once I am in the "system" they are duty bound to follow through. Pull the other one! Who ever heard of someone getting caught speeding by a satellite but when faced by aggressive policeman your brain freezes. Well we will have to go back to Lima which is where cases are dealt with and fines paid - another bit of nonsense but by this time he has my driving licence and has showed me a pocket full of confiscated licences. The pantomime continued with one policeman (I realised afterwards) phoning the other so his phone rings and he pretends he is talking to Lima about these speeding Canadians
Leaving Peru
. First I say to Sheila we will not pay then I lose my cool and say pay, pay; they have shown us the infraction and the number next to it is "340" (who knows whether this represents the size of the fine or the infringement number!) which is over $100 but losing my licence is worth much more. Sheila pulls out notes but can only make about 120. In the end they are satisfied with this, make me sign something and say next time my car will be confiscated! Not a bad wage for 20 minutes of work. I know the total is not a lot of money but being impotent in front of two crooked cops makes you feel really bad and really bad for the rest of the day - bastards. So for the next two and half days we drive as though there is something wrong with the car, we are going so slowly. We stopped in Santa (where we had stayed once before on the way down) and then finally in Mancara which is a very busy vacation/surf town and not very pleasant. Finally we made the border relieved that we had not had another run-in with the traffic police. And they are such an idle bunch they simply sit in their new Toyota Landcruisers mostly sleeping until, of course, they see something worth cheating.
The border between Peru and Ecuador was its usual scene of pandemonium but this time we were wiser and did not change money into counterfeit notes or park where it seems to cost extra; still have to pay the odd little man who "watches" but otherwise very smooth
Our campsite in Canoa
. Quite a relief to get into friendly little Ecuador; although there are plenty of stories here as well but we have not experienced anything bad. It is sad that both times we have left Peru it is with a bad taste in our mouths because it really is a most fascinating country with generally lovely people. Sheila now had the bit between her teeth and thought nothing of driving non-stop well into the night to get to her little Finian. But sensible me prevailed and we finally stopped in the grand old Paris Hotel on the main square in Portoviejo which is a commercial centre but absolutely dead at night and finding somewhere to eat was quite difficult....the local Chifa (Chinese!) was where we ended up. I am not sure how many years ago they actually cleaned the floors or windows of the hotel but it must have been very grand at some stage of its life.
Then off the next day only to be thwarted by a very long line-up at the ferry to cross the river at Bahia on the coast that lasted three hours but we finally found Fin at about 1.30pm sitting with friends and saw as well as a huge welcoming grin the slightly panicked expression on his face. The same one we saw when we met up with him in Australia last year: "Oh God my life is about to change; they are going to nag me about smoking; what am I going to do when this trip is over; and generally try to organise my life!" Poor kid, in fact we've only tried to have a couple of "serious" discussions and he always profits from our visits
The Pages on Xmas day
. I am sure he was the only young man on the coast who had a Xmas stocking from his Mother; most of it was stuff we wouldn't or couldn't wear but Fin is not fussy and is always short of clothes We generally meet sometime in the morning and then again for drinks and dinner in the evening before he hits the nightlife with his mates. During the day he surfs, sleeps, reads and generally mucks around with his mates. We have been in Canoa at the wonderful Hotel Bambu camping under thick trees (being poohed-on by the iguanas) for about two weeks and are moving on tomorrow after Sheila's final visit to the dentist. Yes, Sheila is having her regular medical emergency; which in itself makes a nice story. We found the recommended dentist a woman with what looked like reasonable premises but in a very rundown San Vicente across the river from Bahia. Evidently she put on her sterilised surgical gloves tried to start her drill then suddenly picked up a pair of pliers from a tool box and got down on her hands and knees on the floor to fix some pipes or something! The gloves stayed on; maybe they are to protect her from her clients? Anyway Sheila is quite pleased since the tooth had broken away and the filling has to be done in two stages but the whole thing with injections only costs $15; we could afford to come here and back for how much we could save with our dentist although I suspect this filling will only be temporary
Xmas for the kids at Canoa
. I have had my innocent little eyes opened in Canoa: there are scads of gigolos and they all seem very successful. What look like very nice European girls seem quite happy to buy them food and drink in exchange for favours; where are their brains?
As I said before Xmas and New Year were interesting in Canoa as it is normally such a sleepy little village but people seem to come in for the day from miles around. On New years day it was quite impossible to move both on the beach as well as on the roads in the village and we just stayed in the confines of the hotel. On New Years eve they have a great tradition of using half-sized paper mache figures in which they have stuffed all the regrettable things of the year (together with fireworks) and on the stroke of midnight they douse them with gasoline and set light; all over the village there were burning pyres, exploding. It leaves you clean for the coming year.
We're heading to another surf place up north tomorrow with Fin for a couple of days and then we high-tail it down to Manta on 10th to prepare for our car's voyage to Panama. If all goes well the vessel sails on the 12th and we fly from Guayaquil on the 13th.
Happy New Year to everyone!!!
