Last plane from Quito to Toronto

Over the last week of February and the first part of March, we became more and more concerned about the global reach of the coronavirus. On Wednesday, March 11th, we bussed into Bahia De Caraquez to shop for groceries. As we entered Mi Comiseriato, the grocery store, an employee used a spray sanitizer on the handle of our shopping cart and offered to spray our hands, which we accepted. That night, we saw on YouTube that the United States was closing its borders to European visitors. That got our attention.
The next morning, we decided to go home 3 weeks early. We went online to Air Canada and discovered, as expected, that changes to our flights could only be made by phone. We phoned Air Canada on Skype and an automated message told us that, due to the volume of calls, the airline would not even put us on hold from outside of Canada. We were told to make changes online. Catch-22.
We emailed our son Dylan back home in Canada with all of our reservation and flight information. He called Air Canada and, after 3 hours on hold, managed to change our reservations from Saturday, April 4th to Monday, March 16th.
Over the next few days, we packed and prepared for departure but also tried to enjoy the sunshine and beach of Canoa. Anita went to her last painting lesson at Moya's and brought home her paintings. We informed the owners of our condo that we were leaving early and, because of the uncertainty, would not leave a deposit to guarantee our rental next year. The owners were very understanding and emailed us that they would hold the condo for us anyway until we could all see what transpired with the pandemic. On the Friday, we walked into the village and ate a shrimp ceviche lunch at the Charly Bar followed by a homemade maracuya ice cream and waffle cone at Edgar and Rachel's shop.
The next day, we heard that the army had come in to the village that night and enforced a closure of all the bars and restaurants at 9 pm. That night, since we were registered with the Government of Canada travel registry, we were informed by email that Ecuador was closing its borders to incoming foreigners. The owners of our condo emailed us again to offer the condo to us for as long as we needed it if we could not get out of the country. Later we learned that Canoa was locked down. No-one was allowed to use any public spaces, including the beach, streets or sidewalks. Cars with odd numbered plates were allowed to travel for groceries or medicines one day and cars with even numbered plates were allowed on the road the next day. Buses were cancelled. Businesses were closed. Restaurants could only deliver take-out. A friend sent us a picture of the Main Street of Canoa a few days later.
Through our property manager, Samia, we had arranged for the same taxi driver, Wilmer from San Vicente, to pick us up on Sunday morning at 10 am. That morning we gave away the rest of our excess food to our neighbours. They waved and air hugged us goodbye and off we went on the 5 1/2 hour drive from the coast up the western slope of the Andes to Quito.
That night, we stayed in a small hotel near the airport. We had arranged to eat dinner there and did so with another couple from Calgary. They were 2 months into a year long trip around the world but had made reservations on the same plane as we would be on so they could get back to Canada safely.
We were apprehensive about possible chaos in the airport and didn't sleep well. At 3:30 am, we got up, showered, packed, ate some snacks and were ready for our shuttle to the airport leaving at 4:45 am. Along with the couple from Calgary, we got into the hotel owner's pickup truck and threw our packs into the back. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain so our packs got soaked but, at that point, that was a minor problem.
Check-in at the airport was surprisingly calm. After passing through customs and security, we went near our gate and got a coffee for Anita. For the next 2 hours we sat at a fast food restaurant table so we wouldn't be packed in to the seating near our gate with all the other Toronto bound passengers. Social distancing. About 1/5 of the travellers and some of the workers were wearing masks. Some were wearing disposable gloves. Most passengers were quiet and probably nervous like us. We passed the time by chatting with Dave and Debbie, a Canadian couple we knew from Canoa, who sat at the next table.
We had tracked the incoming Air Canada plane online so we knew it had arrived the previous day. We boarded the plane in time for the scheduled 7:30 am departure. There was no health screening at all.
There were some empty seats and we learned that there had been about 50 cancellations, probably from people who couldn't get to Quito on time. The captain informed us that, since this was the last plane leaving Quito for Toronto, Air Canada would do their best to get all the seats filled with standby passengers so as many people as possible could get out of Ecuador and back to Canada. He said that would take about an hour and it seemed like everyone accepted that. In the meantime, some passengers had switched seats to be near a friend or family member.
After an hour, only 4 more passengers got on the plane. Apparently, with so many changes, the computer system had crashed. Eventually, Air Canada check-in staff walked through the plane and counted the number and location of empty seats. It was confusing because some people were not in the correct seat. However, by 10 am all the seats were filled and we took off. As we did so, we could hear a woman a few rows behind us crying her eyes out because a family member on standby couldn't get on the plane and was left behind. It was very sad but we were relieved to be on our way to Canada.
The flight was uneventful except for having the worst food we've ever had on a plane. We watched movies on our iPhone and iPad to pass the time. At customs in Toronto, the customs officer asked us where we were coming from and if we felt sick. That was it for health screening.
Because of the delay in boarding standby passengers in Quito, we missed our connection to Ottawa. However, an Air Canada rep met us as we disembarked and gave us boarding passes for a later flight. Some people weren't so lucky and had to wait in Toronto until the next day to make their connections.
We texted Dylan, who was to pick us up at the Ottawa airport. Instead of getting us that night, he reserved an Ottawa airport area hotel room for us. Our flight left on time and was uneventful. When we arrived, we retrieved our luggage and called the Days Inn shuttle. We tried not to interact too much with the driver in case we had picked up the virus on the plane somehow.
At the hotel, we checked in and I walked across the parking lot to the Tim Hortons to get us a couple of wraps to eat. It was strange to see all the tables and chairs stacked up and be offered take-out only.  In the meantime, Anita opened her pack to discover that at some baggage inspection enroute, the inspector had opened her container of Metamucil powder but had not closed it tightly again. Because it was in a wet pack, it was like glue stuck to everything. Luckily we use big ziplock bags as compression packing sacks so most of her clothes were spared but it still took a long time to clean up.
That night we slept well. We were so glad to be safe in Canada.
The next morning we grabbed a light breakfast from the hotel breakfast buffet. Dylan picked us up in our car at 10:30 am. We sat in the back to stay as far from him as possible. On the way home, we used the bathroom in the Renfrew Walmart but we tried not to touch anything. We sanitized our hands both before and after we went in. Dylan got us take-out burgers at Wendy's and later got gas in Golden Lake. He passed the food back to us and paid for everything. We made sure that he never touched anything that we had touched first.
We arrived home in the late afternoon. Once again we had a great winter vacation in Canoa. From January 10th to March 17th, our whole trip cost about $8,300 Canadian. Money well spent.
Now we are self isolating for 14 days just to be sure that if we did pick up the virus, we won't give it to anyone else. We know now that there are thousands of Canadians in South America who can’t get back to Canada. We're thankful to be home and hoping for the best for everyone.

Sunset cruise

A couple of weeks ago we were waiting for the bus to take us to shop in Bahia, when Walter and Rosemary offered us a ride. They had a couple of stops along the way but we weren’t in a hurry.
In Briceno near here, we stopped at a shrimp farm to pick up bait for Walter and Rosemary’s charter fishing boat. In this case, shrimp farm meant a pond about the size of a typical public swimming pool situated next to the Briceno River and beside that was a very modest bamboo house. The owner threw a bedsheet size net in the pond and waited for a few minutes. When he pulled it up, there were several dozen large shrimp caught in it. The owner and his wife pulled the shrimp off by hand and threw them in a bucket with a lid so they couldn’t jump out. They’re livelier than we thought. They counted out about 40 shrimp and charged Walter $2. What they don’t use for bait when fishing they’ll cook and eat. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our phone so we couldn’t take pictures.
That Friday evening, about a dozen of us from here at Playa Azul condos hopped into Walter and Rosemary’s truck (3 in the front seat, 4 in the back seat and 5 of us in the box) and drove to the docks at Bahia de Caraquez, about 1/2 hour south of here where they dock their charter boat.
We were well stocked with drinks and snacks and soon set off up the Chone River and then back down past Bahia to the ocean where we watched the sun set. After a couple of hours, we got back to the dock just as it got dark.
We piled back into the truck and drove up past our condos to the Suki Bar in Canoa for dinner. There was a lively crowd there getting amped up for Carnaval. However, we didn’t stay late. After a homemade ice cream in Rachel and Edgar’s shop on the Main Street, 4 of us caught a cab back home. It was another great evening.
There has been a lot of rain the last couple of weeks. January, February and March is the rainy season here, averaging about 5 inches of rain per month. However, it’s still 28 to 30C every day. Most of the rain is at night or in the early morning. Since we arrived, we’ve had 3 days that rained or drizzled all day. That hasn’t stopped us from doing anything. We’ve been out for our hour plus walk on the beach every day. We’re still seeing a lot of sunshine, particularly in the afternoons. The pool here is very welcoming, especially after our walk.
All of the restaurants here are either just under a roof or have wide open windows so we have to be cautious at dusk to be wearing bug dope. It’s definitely bug season but nowhere near as bad as the bugs at home from mid May to mid July.
Carnaval was very busy in Canoa but here, 3 km south along the beach, it was still quiet. We walked into Canoa for lunch on both the Saturday and Sunday. We had never seen so many people there. The crowd is almost all Ecuadorian families at the beach for the holiday. On Tuesday at 5 pm when we took the bus in for happy hour at the Bambu and trivia night at the Surf Shack, there was still quite a crowd. By 9 pm, the streets were almost deserted. Ash Wednesday was coming and Carnaval was over for another year.

Birthday Girl and Valentine’s Dinner

On Wednesday evenings, there’s usually a bring your own food communal dinner down by the pool. Wednesday, February 5th, was the night before Anita’s birthday. Our friends Russell and Julie bought a birthday cake for Anita, which she shared with everyone after we all sang happy birthday to her. The next night we went to the Canoa Suites for her actual birthday dinner.

Russell and Julie were leaving for Crucita further down the coast on Monday so we had a farewell party for them by the pool on Saturday night. One of the ladies brought her electric piano down and played background music for happy hour. Then after dinner, Russell played some of his original songs. We were falling out of our chairs laughing. For some good entertainment, check out a few Russell Sawler YouTube videos from music festivals in Atlantic Canada. 

Anita B, the artist formerly known as Mrs. Boles, continues to go to Moya’s house in Briceno for the “sip and paint” lesson every Thursday afternoon. She prefers to be discreet with her wine by keeping her bottle in a paper bag. She finished her first water colour painting this week. 

Friday evening, we were waiting for the bus to go to the Canoa Oasis, a private home on the beach with 2 rental suites and a beautiful garden and pavilion, for the annual Valentine Dinner benefit for Los Algorrobos School. Our friend Walter drove up. There were already 5 people in the cab of his truck but he offered us a ride in the back so away we went. It wasn’t a limousine but we got there.

The party venue was very beautiful anyway but more so with all the Valentine’s decorations. There were about 60 people there for dinner. We enjoyed champagne and appetizers while we watched the sunset then had filet mignon prepared by “Chef Dan”, an American professional chef who has relocated to Canoa. Another of the local expats acted as a deejay and took all requests. After a dessert of pineapple upside down cake, we danced for a couple of hours. We had lots of fun and were still home before 10 pm. 

Next weekend will be Carnaval. We’ll shop on Tuesday or Wednesday before the store shelves get emptied and then most of the time after that we’ll be close to home. There will be lots of people and lots of partying in Canoa.

Back in Canoa, Ecuador

On Friday January 10th, our son Dylan, our daughter-in-law Kasumi and our grandson Kaito drove us to the Ottawa airport, with a couple of stops along the way. We arrived there with time to spare before our 8 pm flight to Toronto. We managed to get an earlier flight but in the end there were so many delays that we left only about 10 minutes before 8 pm anyway.
After a long walk through the Toronto airport, we found our gate and were soon on our flight to Quito Ecuador. Air Canada Rouge just started this direct route last December. Rouge planes aren’t the most modern but they work. Once everyone was boarded, it turned out there were some baggage issues and we sat on the runway for close to an hour. Eventually we took off. The flight to Quito was uneventful. We even managed to sleep for a couple of hours.
At the Quito airport, we passed through customs very easily. Both our checked bags arrived so it wasn’t long before we exited the airport. Our driver was waiting with a sign with our names. We had arranged the driver, Wilmer, through the property manager of our condo. He had driven from his home in San Vicente, near Canoa, the night before and stayed in Quito so he would be there for our arrival about 6:30 am. In the past, we have always travelled by bus in Ecuador but we thought we would be tired after an overnight flight. It’s a long way from the airport to the south bus station in Quito and then 7 or 8 hours or more on the bus from there to Bahia de Caraquez. Then it’s another bus to Canoa. For $180 US, we avoided all that. Wise move.
By 7:20 am, we were on the road. It took about an hour to get through the north end of Quito and out to the 2 lane highway that snakes down the west side of the Andes to Santo Domingo and eventually to the coast. For the next 2 or 3 hours, we descended through mountain passes. It’s very beautiful but a little terrifying. Ecuadorian taxi drivers don’t waste any time. I was okay but we had to stop at one of the few gas stations near the bottom of the mountains so Anita could throw up. Next time she’ll take a Gravol.
The rest of the trip was flatter with less tight curves so it went a little easier. We noticed our driver yawning a lot so we chatted with him in our limited Spanish, which was fun. Around 1 pm, we arrived at our condo. The property manager, Samia, was There. We paid the balance of our rent while Wilmer waited for us. The condo is costing us $250 US per week for 12 weeks.
For another $20 US, we had arranged for Wilmer to drive us to the supermarket in Bahia, wait for us, and then drive us back. We bought enough food and booze to keep us going for the first week. In the end we paid Wilmer $210 because he was good to us. Taxi drivers here don’t expect a tip but we like to recognize good service. We have seen some expats who are always afraid of being cheated or mugged. The vast majority of Ecuadorians are just as trustworthy as anyone else anywhere in the world. It’s easier to get along by adopting a positive attitude but also being smart about where you go and who you deal with, the same as you should do in Canada.
By 4 pm, we were relaxing on our balcony with a wine and a beer, enjoying the sunset over the Pacific. That night we slept for 10 hours straight.
For the last 3 weeks, we’ve been waking shortly after sunrise and enjoying a coffee in bed while we look out our bedroom glass doors over the ocean. Then we each take a turn at doing our Pilates exercises before breakfast. After breakfast we do any chores, get sunscreened and go for an hour and a quarter walk along the beach into Canoa and back. Then we usually swim in the pool before lunch. After lunch we have a siesta before often going back to the pool for a while.
On Tuesday evenings about 5 pm, we hop on the bus into Canoa for 25 cents each. It’s a short walk down the Main Street to the ocean. We usually have a couple of Mojitos at the Bambu bar during their happy hour (2 for $5) before wandering down the Malecón to the Suki Bar or the Surf Shack or somewhere for dinner. The Suki bar has great shrimp burgers for $4 each.
At 7:30 pm on Tuesdays, the weekly trivia contest starts at the Surf Shack. Since we’re staying at the Playa Azul complex of about 15 units, the other residents here have invited us to join their team. It’s always lots of fun. Most nights someone with a car will drive us home so we’re back in our condo by 9:15 pm.
On Wednesdays, there’s an informal BBQ by the pool here. Whoever is around brings all their own food and dishes down to the palapa by the pool and we each barbecue something on the charcoal grille. It’s a good social event with our neighbours. On the first Wednesday we were here, we all went out to the beach afterward and burned a big pile of driftwood. Although it’s the rainy season, it’s been fairly dry so far so the mosquitoes and sand flies aren’t too bad.
We often go out for dinner on Thursdays too. Last week we went for the Thursday special at Canoa Suites Hotel. Tonight, we’re going for Chinese food in Bahia.
Last Sunday was the annual Beach Bash fundraiser for Los Algorrobos school in Canoa. A lot of the local expats gathered at the Canoa Suites for a chili dinner and social event from 3 pm until 7 pm. We’re never out late.
Sometimes we walk into Canoa for lunch at one of the beach hut restaurants. Usually we’ll order something like one shrimp ceviche for $6 and a 600 ml beer for $1.75. That makes a good lunch for both of us.
The beach here in front of our condo is usually empty. A couple of days ago, a truck stopped and a small fishing boat (or panga) came from Canoa to meet it. The men loaded a lot of containers on the boat and it went straight out to sea. Someone must have suspected something nefarious going on and called the police. They arrived about a half hour later. It turned out that the boat was taking ice to a bigger boat fishing farther out and bringing back the fish. There are drug smugglers working along this coast but that wasn’t happening this time.
Anita is currently at her first art lesson at a local artist’s house in Briceno near here. The other ladies that go refer to it as the “sip and paint” afternoon. They all sip wine while Moya, the artist, who came here from Peterborough almost 40 years ago, helps them with their projects. We’ll see how this turns out.