Lessons Learned

Well here we are in Guayaquil, Ec.  It didn't take long to start learning lessons.  Therefore I decided to do a post on lessons I (we) learn along the way.

Lesson #1 - Watch the sidewalks.  They are very bumpy and when getting out of a cab or crossing the street there is often a 8-12" drop off into a gutter.  I know...i found one the first time I got out of a cab.  It was night and down I went.  It looks as though over time they just keep adding pavement until it is that far above where the original curb and street.  Unusual.


Lesson #2 - If you want an alcoholic beverage on Sunday, you better get it on Saturday.  Can't buy it in the stores on Sunday and some restaurants will sell you one or two with your meal provided you do so before 16:00 (4 p.m.).  After that you're on the wagon.

Lesson #3 - Don't stand under a tree with iguanas in it.  They pee up a storm if you know what I mean.

Lesson #4 - If you order iced tea, don't expect plain tea.  We got Lipton limon sweetened tea from a bottle...yuk

Lesson #5 - Never assume your hotel has the comforts you might be used to in the US.  or expect from most any hotel.  Our first hotel (hosteria) didn't provide us with much of anything.  There are 3 beds ( a double and two singles) but no chairs, no table, no dresser, no coffee machine, no refrigerator, no microwave, no phone, no TV, no hair dryer, no shampoo, no lotion, not even a bar of bath soap or body wash, no ice.  Kind of feels like Gilligan's Island.  They did however, provide us with our own night time dancing partner, I call it Bathroom Dancing to La Cucaracha with Lulu the cockarocha.  So if it doesn't say what the amenities are...ask!

Lesson #6 - Just because it looks like a hamburger doesn't mean it tastes like one nor that is really is one.

I will keep posting here or add new ones so keep checking back.

Lesson #7 - They like to use tile here and it can be slippery...especially in the bathroom and shower.  They don't worry much about safety in the house here so if there is something in the slick tile shower that looks like a safety mat, be careful and don't trust it.  Trust me...I KNOW!

Lesson #8 - If you want to use a wash cloth to clean up, bring your own. Not one place has provided one.

Lesson # 9 - Just to be safe, carry some toilet paper with you and maybe a small bar of soap. You may be thoroughly happy if you do. You may regret if you don't. Trust me...WE KNOW!

Lesson #10 - You may have heard it before about having lots of one dollar bills. It is so true. Bring as many $1s as you dare and plenty of $5 bills too. It has been difficult to keep ourselves in one dollar bills (or in coin, Ecuador uses a $1 coin which is actually the gold US $1 coin that didn't go over in the States)

Lesson #11 - NEVER assume the hotels take credit cards unless they show the credit card emblems on THEIR Website.  They don't always say they DON'T take credit cards. So even if you book your reservation online with one, that doesn't mean they take them as payment. If their are any doubts at all, send them an email.  TRUST me! We found out the hard way.

Lesson #12 - If you like an ice cold beer, let me know if you find one in Ecuador. I haven't. It seems the concept of using ice escapes most Ecuadorians.  By the way, the iced tea mentioned in Lesson #4 had no ice. On national flights expect water, soda and juice at cabin temperature and NO ice. Of course warm coke is better than Montezuma's Revenge I guess.

Lesson #13 - Think twice about the mode of transportation you will use and when. We took one of those tourism 9 passenger vans from Cuenca to Guayaquil...never again. We prayed all the way...that's how bad it was. The Indianapolis 500 in a van. Passing on curves, passing with oncoming motorcycles, taking curves at VERY high speed. Geez!