"Don Michael"

Chapter 2

The day finally came for the trip. Bob had gotten a passport, I had renewed mine. The plane tickets were $520.00 a piece and I was carrying $300.00 on me in cash. Those costs plus leaving plenty of groceries at home for the week I’d be gone, just about cleaned me out money wise. But I didn’t care, I was riding on a high like I’d rarely ever felt before. I was in the beginning stages of building an empire, and I believed that I couldn’t be stopped. Bob and I wore our dress suits, partly to cause good impressions, partly because we’d told Rubéns that we’d be wearing suits, white shirts, and red ties, so he could recognize us easily, and mostly because it made us feel more like international business men. On the plane the stewardesses handed around cards that had to be filled out for the purpose of going through Ecuadorian immigration. In the space after the question, “Occupation/Profession?” we wrote “Entrepreneur.” We were on the plane, we had purpose, we had a cause, no one we talked to on the trip was as daring as us. We were stretching out, beyond the normal, and it was exhilarating.

First we landed in Guayaquil, the biggest city in Ecuador. Situated near the coast, the weather was hot and dry. Everything was flat as far as we could see, every tree had been cut down for an equal distance. We weren’t allowed to get off the plane, so we stood at the top of the unloading stairs, and looked around; it was not pretty, but it was foreign, and that made it exciting. Next stop was Quito (please say that as Kee’toh, not Kwee’toh, you’ll be doing a favor to a man who’s heard it mispronounced too many times). It was dark by the time we got through immigration and customs, no real problems there. The money exchange office was still open so we changed our dollars before we walked out, then didn’t know where to put all the bills. The largest bill in the country at that time was 1,000 Sucres worth approximately $7.00 U.S. I exchanged five American bills for close to fifty Ecuadorian. Then, suit pockets bulging a bit we walked out the door and faced what must have been hundreds of people waiting behind a barrier to greet their friends and family. Both those leaving the airport and those waiting, searching with equal intent for faces they knew. Bob looked for a moment at the sea of faces then commented to me in a confidential manner, “I see a lot of faces just like Rubéns’.” I had to admit, they certainly had similarities. Just then two young men who looked nothing like Rubéns approached us and introduced themselves as Germán and Fernando, Rubéns brothers-in-law. They helped us get through the crowd, get a taxi, and even accompanied us to the hotel Rubéns had recommended, the Tambo Real, one of the nicest hotels in Quito. I’d been in a Hilton once in the States and this was a little nicer, cost us $14.00 each, and we couldn’t believe what a good deal it was. Germán and Fernando left us there, promising to return at 8:00 the next morning to help plan out our week, and if we wished, guide us around to the different parts of Quito and the jungle area called here the “Oriente” being situated on the eastern side of the Andes. I looked out the hotel window and it was as I remembered from the years before. The lights of the antennas at the top of Pichincha, the volcano right next to Quito, blended in with the stars on this cloudless night, only the occasional red blinking light gave an indication as to where the stars stopped and the mountain began.

The next morning we woke up to find two bottles of mineral water, and the morning paper set inside the door. It wasn’t much but I hadn’t exactly lived a pampered life up to that time and this was nice. Bob and I got out early to eat breakfast before our guides arrived but there wasn’t a restaurant open that early in the morning, at least in that section of town. Bob had a headache, I had woke up with one but it had gone away soon after I drank a bunch of Güitig, the local brand of mineral water. I think it was simply a slight case of altitude sickness. We had come from sea level to almost 10,000 feet. Bob tried the Güitig and said it was disgusting, I remembered I’d had a similar reaction the first time I took a drink, but had eventually gotten used to it and even learned to like it. I tried Perrier a couple of times, and Güitig is every bit as good.

Right about 8:00 Fernando and Germán showed up as promised. We described to them the things we wanted to know and they said we would find all that information in government buildings that were only a few blocks away from us, and only a few blocks apart, easily within walking distance. It turned out they were used to walking more than we were.