El Inca Residential

Wednesday 16th March 1988

We were up and out into a sunny morning at 09:00 hrs. We had breakfast in “Mi Pan” which was just down the road from the hotel. First, we went to the Tourist Office to find out where the Thursday market was situated.

Also, Jackie was interested in finding out about high altitude trout fishing in the area. Apparently, the lakes and streams in the Andes Mountains are full of Rainbow Trout. During heavy rains in the Andes the lakes and streams flood, sending tens of thousands of Rainbow Trout down into the rivers of Cuenca.

Next on the agenda was the Post Office where once again, we were compelled to look at the whole range of postcards on offer in the kiosks. At the Casa de Cambios we shopped around for the best exchange rate, which turned out to be 402 Sucres to the $1U.S. dollar. Throngs of Indians queued up with huge rolls of dollars and Sucres, obviously not as poverty-stricken as most of them appeared!

Jackie changed up a $50 U.S. dollar travellers cheque into Sucres and then changed $20 U.S. dollars back into cash with a local clutching a huge wadge of American greenbacks. We then scoured the town looking for bicycle shops, of which we found several, but none had the 27 x 1¼, 100 psi tyres which Jackie needed. Unrequited, he consoled himself with a new cycling cap.

In the bustling market the locals were stocking up on fruit and vegetables as well as live chicks and ducklings. Nasty looking hunks of meat, plastic wire and toiletries were also on sale. We then devoured a splendid Arroz con Pollo (rice with chicken) in a restaurant which became our local.

Yesterday we walked out without having anything because it was a couple of Sucres more expensive than other cafés, but today we discovered that it was worth it. We walked down to the River Tomebamba and Jackie sat on a rock and tried to meditate while I wrote an aerogramme home.

At 15:30 hrs. we left the riverbank and went in search of a bar for a cold beer. After a ridiculously long search we found a hot dog vendor with a fridge full of Pilsner. We sat in the small shop and with a clap of thunder the heavens opened.

We drank Pilsner and picked at a plate of chips while the rain hammered on the road and bounced back into the air in a fine mist. Flashes of lightening lit up the interior of the poky little shop.

Bang on schedule after two hours the rain stopped, and we went for a browse around the tourist craft and souvenir shops. Jackie always got a laugh when he entered a shop with his quizzical expression under his cycling cap and dressed in shorts and flip-flops.

We didn’t buy anything. A lot of what was on offer was junk and there were a lot of bizarre wood carvings such as a skeleton forcing his way between naked lovers or a carrion bird eating its way into the stomach of a man chained spread-eagle to a rock.

Our walk took us on to discover another bicycle tienda (shop). Here the owner had just what Jackie needed, and he knew it! He had bought a bicycle from a French cyclist and had dismantled it to sell it as parts and spares. He had two second-hand tyres and one new one with the specifications that Jackie was after.

The shopkeeper chortled with glee, knowing that he had Jackie over a barrel and wanted 5,000 Sucres for the three tyres. He wouldn’t sell them separately, at least not for a sensible price. After a think and a talk Jackie was forced to concede and pay for the three as a bundle. He would fit one on the bike and carry the two spare tyres. It was better than no tyres at all.

We walked back through the wet dark streets to the El Inca Residential at 19:00 hrs. A few more gringos were arriving in town for tomorrows not-to-be-missed Thursday market. I sat reading in my room for a while and then suddenly there was a loud explosion.

Half an hour later I discovered that Jackie had put the new tyre on his bike wheel and on pumping up the inner tube it had exploded, throwing the tyre off the wheel rim. Jackie was shocked and his ears were still ringing.

We went out to eat at 20:30 hrs. and met an English couple that I had seen in Baños. Rupert and his girlfriend joined us for beer while we ate, and Jackie kept us entertained with tales from his adventures.

We sat chatting and laughing until 23:00 hrs. and when we came to pay the bill, we had to wake the cashier, who was slumped over the counter, snoring gently.