Dave & Meredith’s Travel Blog

A lot of the trip in South America, we’ve been around English-speaking guides, but in Ecuador we’ve had some opportunities to use the Spanish we learned from reading the Lonely Planet Spanish Phrasebook we picked up at the airport on the way here (Dave took German in school, I took Latin, and I’ve had a little bit of Italian in the past, so we are serious gringos here).

Given the low standards set when buying a phrasebook right before arriving to Ecuador (we bought it after the Patagonia part of the trip), I have been feeling pretty accomplished with my use of Español. I am really comfortable ordering food and drinks, telling taxi drivers where to take us, and I was able to bargain at the market we went to on our own (though not as well as the Ecuadorians, obviously. Apparently, after soccer, bargaining is the national sport). Our Patagonian guide Irene would attest to the fact that this is incredible progress given my limitations in Patagonia, where I pretty much knew how to say “Gracias” and “Donde estan los banos?”

Unfortunately, I’ve had two blows to my Ego Español in Ecuador. The first was that it took about 20 minutes and an English-speaking manager to tell the hotel that one of my T-shirts was missing when the laundry came back (don’t worry, they found it the next day!). The second blow happened yesterday when we were picked up by a driver from our hotel in the highlands to return to our hotel in Quito. Our driver spoke no English. It’s an hour and a half drive. It was a pretty quiet drive. And we had a few misunderstandings along the way.

Guess I should stick to food and drinks if I want to keep believing that I’m pretty good at this Spanish thing.

- Meredith

I’m really glad we’ve spent some time in the highlands - we’re getting a good sense of the culture of the Ecuadorian people, the local history, and some beautiful scenery.

We’ve been to several markets and towns where local crafts are produced. I may have bought a few things. My favorite town was called Cotacachi, which is where all the leather goods are made. Historically, these leather goods may not have been of much interest to me (saddles, chaps, etc.). But Ecuador is an enterprising country, and the leather craftsman have significantly expanded their repertoire. We only had an hour in town on the day we came, so I had to focus, or else I wouldn’t have gotten anything accomplished. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to completely ignore shoes and boots. Now you know how hard that is for me!

Fortunately, I was rewarded for my focus and restraint by two leather jackets and three handbags. Oh my God, they are amazing - trendy with incredible quality, and at least 1/5 - 1/3 the price they would be at home. You really should come here.

- Meredith