After a month long fiesta followed by a five day weekend in honor of those who have departed, Baños is now back to its normal tranquil lifestyle. We also had an election on October 17 for mayor and other national positions. That date was also the anniversary of the evacuation in 1999. One of the nine candidates for mayor, was the mayor who gave the order to evacuate. He was trying to become mayor once more, but the townspeople have a long memory. He lost by a landslide. (This is a long story which you will learn about at a later date.)
The plants got watered late last night and I was soaking in the mineral baths at dawn. As I relaxed there in the hot pea-soup-green waters. Although there are three pools, cold, warm and hot, I prefer the hot. As I let my mind wander, sometimes thinking profoundly or maybe not at all, I am always amazed when I watch fellow bathers go from the hot pool and duck under the ice-cold water that is diverted directly from the waterfall. Everyone tells me this is good for you, but I cannot force myself to do the same. It makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Watching the moon disappear into the brightening sky, I could not help but feel that I was lucky to be living in such a paradise. It is spring here, the days are warm, but the breeze in the afternoons is always cool, as it comes down from the mountains. Another interesting fact is that I have not received one mosquito bite since I have been here...I have seen a few but they are never a pest....maybe it is because of the amount of garlic that I take. Who knows.
After six months, I can speak with some degree of authority about the city. I have found that the business people here are less greedy then any place I have ever been. Most of the businesses are owned and operated by families who were born and raised in Baños. It makes for a healthy business climate even though the amount of money they take in each day small. The profits all stay in the community. The only noticeable exception is the Santa Maria Super Market. When it opened it took out more then a few small local merchants. Baños is a small town that survives on tourism but they do not try to hustle them. If you walk on the streets you will not be harassed by owners or employees to enter their shop. If you want to go in, that is up to you. You sometimes get the feeling that they don’t care if you do or not.
There are no Costco’s or Wal-Marts. No golf courses. No fancy restaurants. No high-rise resorts, nor will there likely be in the future. The closest thing to luxury is the Luna Runtun Spa up on the mountain. It has a beautiful view of Baños and a breathtaking view of the volcano, when the clouds permit. You don´t need a car...even if you need to go to the big city. People do not expect tips for doing their jobs.
I did find that a few of the hotels raised their rates during this past week because of the holidays. The place was full and it was their chance to make a few extra bucks. I learned that this is the normal practice. I have only had one experience where I was charged more because I was a gringo. I got a haircut a few days ago and the barber charged me double. He was a friendly guy and we talked a lot. I paid the fare, but what he doesn’t know is that I will not be back.
I have been accepted here by all of the people that I have gotten to know and so far have not made any enemies with those that I don’t. I do try to accept the little things that I would rather see changed but it will be many years before I would feel comfortable in trying to effect change. There is a small American community here that I learned recently, hang out at one restaurant. I had been to that restaurant once and now I know why I did not feel comfortable. In my opinion when we go to another country we need to become part of the community and be assimilated by it, not set up our own little colony.
I am in negotiation once more with the Ecuadorian owners of the property, that brought me here six months ago.
I have offered to lease the property with an option to buy in five years or less. I have the support of the those owners who live in Mexico and those in the United States, but it is hard to read those in Ambato and Quito. My latest idea is to turn the property into a cultural center. I have the support of a few locals, and have been posting some of my thoughts on some senior web sites, and have a host of potential volunteers to help get it started. The three bedroom house in the rear will be used for lodging the volunteers. I should have an answer in a week.
If this works, it just may be a place for some of you, to come and spend the winter. A little work, and a little play, makes for a long life.
Here in Baños the church is probably the biggest business. It draws hundreds every weekend form Ambato and Quito. Approximately three months ago a new prior arrived to replace the old. Remember the old saw...”A new broom sweeps clean”....well its true. The inside has been cleaned and painted and even the garden looks fresh. He even tried to get rid of the eight metal stands where venders sell religious trinkets as well as toys to the tourists. However this space belongs to the city and the metal cubicles have been there for 10 years or more, and as long as they pay their rent which is almost nothing they can stay. They really take away from the beauty of the Basilica and I can see why the church wants them to move. They are also competition to the store inside the church. The only way to move them, in my opinion, would be to buy them out. A friend of mine said they could not move them because they were poor. My comment was that I did not believe they were poor. The rent is low and it you watched their sales for a few hours you could deduce that they were probably doing pretty well.
Well that is my Baños up-date. I hope you find it of interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment