Get me out of Ecuador!

Back in Loja. We decided to splurge for Hotel Acapulco with its private bathroom, free WIFI, hot and cold drinking water and onsite restaurant. It was pretty swank, but pricey. And the bathroom smelled strange.

We woke up on Sunday, September 21. Click click. Umm… the lights didn’t turn on. The reception said that it was our sector had a power outage. When pressed for a time frame, they said an hour or two. I went in search of a panadería. The woman overcharged me for the yummy bread. Next I looked for a lavandería. Found a few, but all-in-all Loja is pretty closed on Sunday.

The electricity wasn’t on by the time I got back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the day trying to stay busy outside of the hostel because our room was dark. We found a laundry place, but the owner wasn’t there. We left our bag of laundry with the woman who ran the cafeteria downstairs. Don’t worry, she said, when we asked the price per kilo.


We spent the day walking around and hanging out in a park. I bargained with the receptionist at the hotel saying that we never spend that much for hotels and that we can’t pay for the services we didn’t receive. We paid half price (plus internet priviledges when the electricity returned). Finally the electricity went on around 5pm. We moved next door to the reliable cheapie Hotel Londres.

At 7pm we left to pick up the laundry. It had been down and returned. $2? No. $12. Twelve dollars?! I argued, but it was too late. I left angry, but happy to have our clothes cleaned.

After an expensive meal at the only place open on Sunday night, we returned to the hotel. As we started packing, Nate noticed that one of his shirts was missing. He also held up a sock; it had been mangled! Thinking we had been robbed, we ran back to the laundry place. We confronted the cafeteria lady, who had overcharged us earlier. She refused to be able to call the Laundromat owner, but after I insisted, she dialed. Yes, the shirt was there at her house. Could she bring it tomorrow? NO! We’re leaving tomorrow. I insisted that she come into town that night to bring us the shirt. The cafeteria woman mumbled something mean over the phone and hung up.

We waited for the Laundromat woman. The cafeteria woman muttered something about this being our fault. I lost it. OUR fault? Was she crazy? There was no way that this way our fault! If anything, it was her fault, and if this all didn’t go well, I would hold her responsible.

Finally the laundry woman showed up with the shirt. I showed her the sock and she denied it saying that she washes everything by hand. I told that we were traveling and only had a few pairs of socks. All we wanted was to be reimbursed for the damages. She refused and scoffed when we told her how much the socks cost (it is a little extreme for Ecuadorian prices). Then she told me that maybe we shouldn’t come to her country at all. That’s when the mierda hit the fan.

Next came a screaming match between us. My Spanish is definitely not up to par with hers, but I think I held my own. She was rude and racist and unacceptable. She basically told us that we aren’t wanted in her country. Then she proceeded to deeply insult me and that’s when I had had enough. I told her that I’d call the police and stormed out of the complex. I was so mad that I was shaking and near tears. I wanted nothing more to do with her or Loja. I was done with Ecuador. Ready to move on. I had never been so upset and infuriated and insulted in my life. This is not what traveling is about.

Dear Ecuador,

On this trip we have been robbed, had our bag sliced into, been given chicken feet in our soup, had nasty looks casted our way, been attacked by ferocious dogs, been ripped off so many times, been stereotyped, been harassed, been insulted and been lied to. I have never, in my 22 years of traveling, ever had a more negative experience in any one country; I’ve never had anything thing even come close. I hope I never have to return.

Shape up,

Alisa

That night I’m so upset. I go over the shoulda-coulda-wouldas in my head. I should have said this or I would have shut her down if I had said this. We watch a little bit of WALL-E to make us feel better. It’s an early morning the next day.