18. Efficiency
Sometimes
It was the week before I returned to Portland for Kit’s celebration of life that Taj and I did an overnight in Papallacta, a close-in town with hot springs. Taj and I left straight from school, needing to get out of Quito before four--JP’s license ends in a “9” so no rush hour driving on Fridays. Our exit from Quito successful, we arrived in Papallacta, at over 12,000 elevation, a bit after five.
Both savioring a deal, we opted for the budget spa. The locals we met soaking that evening called it “half-star” lodgings. Indeed they were bare, with two bunks, a full-size bed, one table, and one chair. We had the room to ourselves and we augmented the table with a chair from the room across the hall to more easily play Cribbage.
Lounging in the hottest of the tubs--there were a total of four--we struggled though conversing with the locals, where we learned of the half-star rating. They also told us of Punta Coco in Cogimies, where we spent a long weekend at the beach. Having spent thirty on lodging Friday night, we decided to splurge and visit the fancy spa, Termas Papallacta, Saturday.
After the provided breakfast we snuck out to get to the fancy spa. Robes, thick towels provided, we changed and rinsed and began our full day of soaking, with a short break for lunch. Near the end of the soaking, shriveling up, we ran into Keith, a Coloradan working at another school in Quito.
Having completed nearly six hours of soaking, I waited for Taj in the lobby rehydrating with tea and water. We met Keith and his wife for dinner in the town of Papallacta, where he recommended more adventures from Quito, including a multi day hike from town to town that ended at the caldera of Quilotoa.
On my return to Quito, alone again--this was before Heather arrived--I realized I left my favorite trunks in the lobby. They were a birthday present, matching trunks and shirt, dark blue with a pattern of tiny white flowers.
Down to zero swim trunks, I bought a pair from the Columbia Outlet--a pair much inferior to the dark blue with a patter of tiny white flowers--later that week in Portland. And those were the trunks I took back to Papallacta five weeks after returning to Quito with Heather, sneaking out after school on a Monday, heading to the public springs, a third the price of the fancy spa and twice as much as the “half-star” spa.
Some things in Ecuador are highly efficient; others not so much.
Leaving the public spa that night I ran over to the fancy spa next door just to check. It seemed like they ran a pretty tight ship, so there was a chance my favorite trunks had been placed in the lost and found. It was late, and on a Monday, so it was empty save for the receptionist. I asked about the trunks, explaining I left them in the lobby five or six weeks ago and might they have them?
She needed to know what day I visited the spa, which increased my hopes of finding them. I told her it was September 13th, a Saturday, the week before Kit’s celebration of life. She pulled out a big book, flipping to the 13th. She asked about my trunks; I described them as best I could: dark with a white-flower pattern.
On the left column was the date; on the right column was a typed description of my swim trunks. She asked if they might be dark blue with a flower patter? Yes!
They were in a different office at the spa, which was closed for the day, but they would be able to send them to their Quito offices. So efficient! Someone would contact me when they arrived.
A week later I received three texts: one telling me that I could come pick the trunks up with the address, and two texts reminding me to have proper identification--passport in my case--to enter the building and also to pick up the trunks.
Every fourth day of school I have two off periods--preps in education language--in the morning, so I left early during my first prep period to fetch my trunks, only to be stopped at the security gate as they were unloading the preschoolers, and told to return in 45 minutes to leave. Already a bit nervous about leaving campus, descending to a suburb of Quito, Cumbaya, the delay put me on edge.
I returned to exit after some planning and grading. Over the ridge, descending into the valley, the uphill traffic--my return trip--was like 405 in LA, standing still, peaking my nerves about leaving campus in the middle of the day all over again.
The exit to the spa’s Quito office was right where the traffic slowed to near standstill for the return trip. I forced myself not to think of it, instead deciding the situation would be solved by the time I returned. I continued following Google Maps navigation with one wrong turn, forcing an awkward back-up, leaving some scratches on JP from the Yucca plant I didn’t see.
I found the building, parked, and found the entrance for the spa office. I presented my passport to enter the building. Up the elevator and to the office; the woman at the first of eight desks in the office made a copy of my passport, stapling it to a letter she had me sign, putting my passport number and cell number below my signature.
After filing the letter she returned with a plastic zip-lock bag with my favorite trunks--dark blue with a pattern of tiny white flowers!
I ran back to the car, stressing about the climb back up to Quito that looked more like a parking lot than a highway. I searched the school in Google Maps, hit “Start” and began driving.
It wasn’t long before I realized Maps was directing me away from the parking-lot highway. Going the back way, making s-turns climbing and descending, Maps showing three or four zig-zags on the little screen, I went through a little town that specialized in nurseries, arriving back at school in time for lunch.
Last weekend we went to Quilotoa and I brought my swim trunks for the sauna and spa.
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Three pics from our recent trip to Quilotoa
Very funny! Want a picture of swim trunks w little flowers on them.