Lan Ecuador fares are down as low as $299 to December 12, 2011.

The Lan site says:

BIG DEAL OF THE YEAR!

Our BIG DEAL of the year is the biggest and best sale yet! So grab your seat before December 12, 2011 to travel between March 1 and June 30, 2012 to beautiful destinations including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.There is no better time to plan and book next year’s vacation with saving of up to 50%. Hurry, the BIG DEAL OF THE YEAR will only be around for 2 weeks!

See Lan Ecuador site

Getting to Cotacachi by any means other than on some road going vehicle is going to present something of a challenge.
However, having once been asked by a delegate on a property tour after she had seen a particularly enticing property close to Cotacachi; “If I buy this property, will I be able to land [...]

Getting through Quito airport to arrive in Cotacachi is a straight forward procedure partly because the airport is small and also because it has been extensively modernized in recent years.  It is well organized and you’ll find it easy to enjoy the process here.  There are hundreds of roses in huge vases waiting for your [...]

Scenery can be just plain spectacular creating an Ecuador driving risk.. I’ve passed along the route from Quito to Cotacachi maybe 150 times and just on this route I have never ceased to marvel at the grandeur of the scenery as we twice descend 3000 feet down rift valleys to cross a rushing river and then climb back to the moorlands.

Imagine trying to drive when views like this compete.

We twist our way through acacia scrub trees in one sector only to 5 minutes later be passing through avocado groves in Guayllabamba or 30 minutes later passing through a eucalyptus tree ‘tunnel’ as all around we see Friesian dairy herds munching on some of the lushest pasture lands Ive seen in my life (including English ones).

Even some of the roads (like this new man street in Cotacachi) are views that distract!

Now it may be that having such beautiful scenery around you all the time creates part of the challenge of driving on these roads. Id say that’s part of the problem. In general the main highways are in fantastic shape and would not disgrace if they would form part of the U.S state highway system.

The fact that an emerging country such as Ecuador with such a mountainous geography has created enormous challenges for the government as they go about trying to create, maintain and update the country’s infrastructure.

It’s to the credit of the Ecuadorian government therefore that over and over again I hear from visitors that Ecuador’s roads compare very favorably with those of Panama, Costa Rica or Nicaragua. In fact, I’m not sure if it’s a joke or not, but a recent arrival in Cotacachi had told me that Panamanians will often fill large car-swallowing pot-holes with a large boulder and put a flag on the boulder – this is less work than hauling out cars that fall into such pot holes.

But still, undoubtedly the twisty roads here in Ecuador’s mountain provinces increase the challenge of driving and also the number of accidents we experience here.

A third factor to consider when driving in Ecuador is who you are surrounded by; that’s to say the Ecuadorian drivers themselves. They are by and large very capable and law abiding. Stop lights actually serve to stop the traffic and double center lines are, for the most part, respected.

But understanding the idiosyncrasy of Ecuadorian drivers, the laws of the road as they exist and the enigma that is the interpretation of those laws by Ecuadorian drivers and the Ecuadorian police is something, I believe, best left to Ecuadorians. Unless you know the country after living here for years.

For that reason, as convenient as a car may be some of the time I still rely on taxi drivers and local transport, bus or plane to get around the country. Gary and Merri have been at this even longer than me and they too use taxis – Cheap! – to move around the country.

The other advantage is that if you are driving along twisty roads there is little margin for error and full concentration is required; meaning less and less time to enjoy the scenery. And it’s worth repeating I think …. I have travelled Quito to Cotacachi or the reverse journey at least 150 times and I still enjoy the spectacular scenery …. Every single time!

Of course Ecuadorian drivers come in all degrees of competence but many had got used to lax policing of road laws and those with some street savvy are not averse to bribing some of the corruptible highway patrol officers to get out of a sticky situation.

I was interested to see a new Transit Law was introduced earlier this month. Would this have the desired effect of coercing Ecuadorian drivers to be more law abiding?

First impressions were favorable. The overall number of recorded traffic infringements fell sharply throughout the country in the days following the introduction of the new law.

The idea with the new law is to hit drivers where it hurts – in their pocket. The old penalty system had $2 or $3 fines which may have meant something to an Ecuadorian when we were all using the old currency of sucres but had no deterrent effect whatsoever in modern times.

The new laws are much more stringent and it just remains to be seen whether they will be strictly enforced or police officers will still be susceptible to bribes. If nothing else, the bribes will have to be commensurately larger so drivers will still want to avoid confrontations with the law.

The new transit law for Ecuador roads is based on a points system. You start off with 30 points and differing infractions incur different loss of points and fines. The minimum fine is $10 and a loss of 1 and a half points for misdemeanors such as not maintaining a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front. This must be so open to interpretation that it is just asking for a mean spirited motorcycle cop to stop you and run the rule over your vehicle.

Lose 3 points and receive a $20 fine for blocking traffic when you run out of gas! Or how about 4 and a half points and $30 for not respecting the rights of cyclists.

Speeding? Then incur an automatic $60 fine and a loss of 6 points. Repeat offending leads to a doubling of the penalties!

Drivers of illegal taxis can expect a $100 fine and a loss of 9 points and the only lenient law, to my mind at least, is a 10 point penalty and $100 fine for drunk driving. On the other hand I’ve heard, but not read, that you also are detained in a dank, dark cell for 8 days too. That would certainly be enough time to sober up.

In Quito the first person to lose points from his license was a fireman wrongly driving a pickup truck along a mass transit trolley line – he blamed the 911 emergency call system as it wasn’t working and he needed to get somewhere quickly. The police were having none of it.

One hundred other tickets were issued in the first three hours but the police later announced that there was a quite significant drop in traffic infringements from the normal figure.

All of this gives the impression that Ecuador drivers are a muddled lot, haphazardly following the laws at a whim. But this is far from the truth as I recently discovered.

Ecuador customs place a high tax on used cars so most automobiles in Ecuador are new and shiny though this Alfa Romeo is still the only locally-owned sports car.

Even most of the trucks are new and well kept.

I was returning from Ibarra to Cotacachi at about 11 in the morning on a cloudless day. We were traveling southwards out of Ibarra along the busy Pan American highway. Suddenly the little hatchback car in front of us veered over to the center line and then back to the right hand edge of the road. I think the driver was trying to stay close to the curb and let others going quicker pass.

We slowly and gingerly overtook, giving him a wide berth. I looked out of my passenger window and the driver was so far gone he had a glazed look across about him and his lower lip was curled over the top of the steering wheel to boot.

Suddenly he overtook us at great speed and just tore along the other carriageway forcing some oncoming drivers to swerve out of his way. With that, my driver picked up his cell phone –which is now a $20 fine and 3 point deduction under the new laws! – and dialed 102 – the local police number. He reported the drunk driver and asked for a patrol rider to come out and investigate.

In all he called 3 times getting ever more frustrated with the police but finally we saw the patrolman gliding down the other carriageway looking for a car that fit our driver’s description of the offending car. But the cop just plain missed the offender who was by now a half mile ahead.

My taxi driver, not to be out-witted, again called the police and told them the drunken driver was still on the loose and asked that the police at the toll booth ahead look out for him. As we arrived at the toll booth we spotted the drunk driver in a line of cars waiting to pass. My admiration for my driver increased further when he stopped the taxi and was about to go and drag a policeman over to the offender.

Unfortunately for the drunk, he had stalled his car in the line and unable to start it again he inadvertently called attention to himself. Three policemen and one police woman dragged him and his equally inebriated passenger out of his car and he was arrested on the spot. This act of good citizenship greatly impressed me as it was done only out of concern for the safety of other drivers and pedestrians.

Ecuadorian drivers do know how to drive defensively and in general are excellent drivers so I really question the wisdom of renting a car unless you absolutely must. Here at El Meson we know several drivers who will drive you all over Ecuador for $70-80 per day plus their food and a cheap room in a hostel at maybe $10 a night.  (Usually fine hotels will put your driver up for free also.)

Ecuador’s taxis are inexpensive ad quite good.

Here is a Cotacachi Ecuador taxi.

When we send drivers down to meet guests arriving at the airport we send down trusted taxi drivers whom we’ve come to know very well. They have driven from Quito to Cotacachi dozens and dozens of times without incident and brought hundreds of guests just like you to Meson de Las Flores.

Jorge, Isak, Jorge and Julio are just a few of those we use. We often use Julio who speaks conversational English and has a light van when you arrive with more luggage or companions.

He charges the same as a taxi when he takes two people to Quito, that´s to say $45 to $55 depending on time of day and location in Quito and $70 when there are more people/lots of luggage or it is very late at night. Otherwise he charges $10 an hour to just do general touring in the Imbabura area. I can´t think of a more pleasant way to go to Quito and Julio and I often have long discussions on every subject under the sun as he drives and I rest on the way down to Quito.

Come tour Ecuador either before or after attending a course here at Cotacachi. We can put you in touch with drivers both here and in Quito who will journey with you all over Ecuador so that you can relax and enjoy the journey.

Return to the article on Green Investing & Ecuador cars here.

Join us here at our hotel Meson de las Flores.  Learn more turning risk into opportunity at our courses and tours.

June 12-14 Shamanic Mingo Tour

June 16-17 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

June 18-21 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

July 4-8  Ecuador Export Tour

July 8-9 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

July 10-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

July 24-26 IBEZ North Carolina

Sept. 17-21 Ecuador Spanish Course

Sept. 23-24 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Sept. 25-28 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Oct. 9-11 IBEZ North Carolina

Oct. 21-24 Ecuador Import Export Expedition

Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador

Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend any two Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$949 for one.  $1,349 for two.

Attend any three Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$1,199 for one.  $1,799 for two.

Ecuador internet services continue to develop a pace and one latest development is mobile internet in Ecuador.
The three cell phone operators are now all offering an internet connection via a usb connecting modem that receives a data signal using the same technology their cell phone networks use.
This little modem has one outstanding benefit in that [...]

As mountainous country as Ecuador is, with the Andes mountains being a gigantic ridge running the length of the country, there are not so many large lakes here, and even less at a lower altitude. Good Ecuador lake properties are few and far between and I’m 99% certain there is only one Ecuador Lakeside [...]

One great thing about Cotacachi is that “there’s something going on here all the time”, as Lee Carper a new expat resident said to me recently, and I added, “…if it’s not here it’s going on in nearby Otavalo. Or Ibarra. Or Atuntaqui.” Lee should know about the latest event – [...]

In the mid 1990s, Gary and I were exploring all through Ecuador with a group of friends. There were 12 of us, all enjoying the adventures and the surprises of Ecuador.

We had finished a delightful afternoon stop at what became one of our favorites (then just a small dairy with a serving room), La Vaca. Even writing about this now, my mouth waters at the thought of high mountain chill and a hot pot of the best hot chocolate in the world…milk made fresh from the restaurant’s own dairy and chocolate, the strong kind from not too far away Ambato.

But this hot chocolate was even more than that…all of us splurged and had the “supreme” which was fresh cheese stirred into that already unbelievable concoction!

It was delicious, strong and indeed supreme…but as are many things in Ecuador certainly not decadent or the least bit sinful!

While we were there all getting warmed up and marveling how we could walk right through the dairy with the afternoon milking of the spotless black and white cows and have our milk, chocolate in the midst of this.

“Quite unheard of cleanliness,” we all gasped.

But the thought arose, not really sure now where it started, from the owner of La Vaca or our old friend, the National Guide of Ecuador…how about a late afternoon meditation in a REAL Incan Chapel?

Here is the chapel.

“Of course” was the chorus! We jumped out passed back through the languor of those fat beautiful cows and started north on the Pan American Highway back toward Quito and Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in Ecuador and listed as one of the world’s highest active volcanoes at 19,347 feet.

At more or less Marker 77, we turned off the highway not far from Cotopaxi National Park. We wound around for a few miles not seeing much and then we were in for another hacienda surprise!

The beautiful, historic Hacienda San Agustin del Callo welcomed us not in the same way as nearby La Cieniega but in its own symmetrical charm of a colonial hacienda. Here we could see and experience its “unique architectural blend….Inca (Imperial style from the 15th century and Spanish Colonial from the 18th century and then Republican from the 19th century. San Agustin de Callo constitutes the only lived in museum of Inca Imperial and Spanish Colonial Style”.

Just as darkness set in, we were greeted by part of the family who were just visiting their ancestral home. (At that time, San Agustin was not a hosteria or open to the public.)

They opened the chapel and explained to us its Inca history as well as pointed out the original walls of the Inca palace, upon which San Agustin was built.

We asked if we would be welcome to meditate in the chapel…and the young man in charge said “Welcome and Yes”.

We sort of filed into the dark ancient chapel (nothing like any Spanish chapel I’ve ever seen since) and helpers appeared with candles. It was deep quiet there, deep and dark. We did a 20 minute meditation and some of us felt sadness and heaviness.

But then the door to the hacienda was opened and we entered the most upbeat, charming, bright and series of delightful room after rooms. The mixtures were astounding (later I recognized this as Ecuadorian style)…bathrooms with soft swirls of color and exquisite candelabras and bedrooms filled with wooden angels and unexpected delights! Roaring fireplaces in all rooms AND the bathrooms, golden washed walls and roses, roses, roses everywhere!

Here is a shot of one of their rooms.

Years later we returned and met the daughter who converted the hacienda into luxury suites. It is a beautiful venue welcoming guests and also weddings into this 17th century venue.

Then as now, it offers authentic delicious Andean cooking. And today guests can enjoy mountain biking, horseback rides with picnics as well as hiking and simply soaking up the exquisite Ecuadorian experience.

Little did we know that just driving around and exploring the Avenue of the Volcanoes that we’d be 15 years later writing about our experiences to all of you. Ecuador and its Haciendas are all about that…adventure, history, exploration, archeology and darn good food and fun!

San Agustin de Callo, a great truly historic place to overnight on your way to the Devil’s Nose Train Ride. 90 miles south of Quito on the Pan American Highway. : “In total San Agustin now has six suites of which four have adjoining drawing rooms, two suites with incorporated drawing rooms and five double rooms. Eleven rooms in all with capacity to room thirty four people full house. The two smallest rooms Montufar and Bonpland, are located in Callo Lodge. Nevertheless these are double rooms. All other rooms are spacious.”  See more on San Agustin de Callo

Or send email questions to info@incahacienda.com

Join us in Ecuador!

Sept 23-27 Ecuador Spanish Course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-spanish-course

September 17-20 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-coastal-real-estate-tour

Sept 28-29 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-real-estate

See discounts for attending more than one Sept. course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-tours-savings

Oct 14-18 Ecuador Import Export Course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-import-and-export-tour

Nov 7-9 International Investing and Business Made EZ Ecuador
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/international-business-made-ez-ecuador

Nov 10-11 Imbabura Real Estate tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-real-estate

November 12-15, 2008 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-coastal-real-estate-tour

Being in England for 4 weeks I’m aware that my Spanish has tailed off a little. If you don’t use it then you lose it as they say.

I knew this would happen before I came; it did last year too. But I have made a couple of phone calls in Spanish, swapped some emails in Spanish so that all helps.

Now that I am fluent in Spanish (which doesn’t mean perfect by the way) I intend to keep hold of this language for life. That shouldn’t be difficult as long as I live in Ecuador, which I intend to, and even if, at some point in the future, I move away from Ecuador I still think I have the techniques to stay on top of the language; the same techniques we now use to teach Spanish in our Ecuador Spanish course.

I remember wanting to speak a foreign language at a young age, perhaps after watching an early evening movie at the legs of my parents. I also remember lying in bed at night as I ‘practiced’ an imagined fluency in another tongue. As I lulled myself to sleep, a torrent of rhyming nonsensical words burbled softly (less anyone hear my silliness) and rapidly from my lips as I pretended I was speaking foreign languages in far-off lands.

And then I dreamt of nonsense in nonsense lands.

A portent of the future?

Yet this childhood desire to speak with the mysterious peoples of distant lands ran across two rather large stumbling blocks in my home land; the first was that it soon became clear that I had no natural ability at languages whatsoever and secondly this was compounded by the education techniques used in grammar schools in the seventies in England.

We now know that all education is more successful when students relax and have fun. I wish somebody would have told this to Ghenghis Khan (real name forgotten) our Latin master. He was a stickler for neat hand-writing, learning by rote, good time-keeping and neat appearance. I failed on the first two accounts and probably on the third and fourth many a time after rushing around the playground playing soccer until I was the last one left with the ball as my class-mates were already filing into class.

‘Ghenghis’ punished us by grabbing and pinching our ruddy cheeks and shaking his hand with the fold of cheek in it. That was for poor hand-writing. If we failed to comprehend his explanations of verb conjugations he went to slap one cheek and as we flinched he cunningly, and swiftly brought his other hand round to meet our other cheek which produced an audible slap (and reddening of said cheek) much to the amusement of the rest of the class.

Mick Lowe, our form teacher and Francophile French teacher who dressed like a Frenchman, took all his vacations in France and drove a sporty Renault 5, was perhaps not too surprisingly unforgiving of chattering and sniggering back-row pupils. Instead it was we, his students, who received a shocking surprise as projectiles, normally the chalk he had in his hand, fizzed through the air (he had a good throwing arm did Mr. Lowe) at great speed and smacked against the wall above our heads. Occasionally he ‘missed’ and accidentally hit a head.

Naturally I haven’t forgotten these first learning experiences and now look for fun ways to teach classes. It’s an on-going process but you can see how our Spanish Course delegates below have fun as they string out sentences after just 4 days in class. My role was to step back and let them enjoy the process as I take photos as my native-speaking assistants, Carmen and Julio, gently prompt from the sidelines.

Of course, back at school, my Latin and French marks suffered enormously. The French exam marks and end of term grades I received were dismal . From a possible ‘A’ to ‘E’ I miraculously, and constantly, conjured a ‘U’ which stood for ‘ungraded’.

I recount this to show you that even if you consider learning a language to be improbable or even impossible then I’m here as a kind of living metamorphosis from ‘dunce’ to ‘ace’ to prove that just isn’t so.

Spanish is probably one of the easiest or maybe even the easiest language to learn. I didn’t really appreciate this until I learned from Merri some of the techniques that she had unveiled as she learned Spanish many years ago in Mexico.

The fact is there are roughly 4,000 words which are very similar and some are exactly the same in English. Knowing this is an encouraging start. Knowing just 17 simple rules gives us these 4,000 words and allows us to add those rules to our ‘tool bag’. We learn how to learn the rules.

Of course we have to know how to pronounce the words but again Spanish is simplicity itself once you learn the rules of pronunciation. Spanish pronunciation is simple because there is a profound lack of exceptions to the rules. Every word is pronounced according to the rules and apart from the occasional strange place names there are no funny exceptions.

Consider the English words ‘rough’, ‘bough’, bought’, ‘through’ and ‘though’ – the ‘ough’ part is pronounced 5 different ways … pity the English language learner as they have to decide how to pronounce any new word they come across with ‘ough’ in it.

My aim when teaching Spanish, and even when speaking, is primarily communication. When I taught English for nearly 4 years in Quito, to students ranging from children to diplomats, the most common complaint was that though they could read and write the language they were to embarrassed or afraid to speak the language. I nearly always found this was because they were confused after having ‘swallowed’ too many grammar pills.

Granted, some grammar is necessary but I keep it to the absolute minimum. We do this by using about 15 starter phrases and learning how to say ‘I’ or ‘you’ in these phrases and then working with verbs in their base form such as ‘to eat’. We also learn ‘finishing phrases’ which are normally expressions of time and places. So we learn quickly how to say “I want to eat lunch now”, or “Do you want to visit the doctor later?”

This is communication at it’s most basic, but what I’ve found is that as in most endeavors in life, success breeds enthusiasm and confidence, which in turn breed more success. There’s nothing more dispiriting than not being even able to spit out a sentence after 2 or 3 months at an evening school apart from “My name is Steve”, “I live in Ecuador” and “I am ?? years old”.

On the other hand, we learn how to ask questions, express our desires, needs and preferences by the third day of a 5 day course.

Then of course, we have to remember what we learn. Advanced Learning techniques were first brought to the world’s attention by Lozanov, the Bulgarian master, who the SuperLearning books were famously written about.

As far as I’m aware we are the only people who offer a beginner’s course in a Spanish speaking country that incorporates Lozanov’s methodology to relax and aid speedy learning. We also emphasize getting out into the community to practicing what we learn AND incorporate a simplified content to get you communicating many times quicker than the normal.

I’ve taught all age groups from teenagers to eighty year olds. One of my aims is to build confidence and enthusiasm so that when you leave you are motivated to continue studying.

This is what S and K said after our course in June. They are a couple 78 and 64 years old and tour in Spain virtually every year but had always had difficulty mastering the language.

“We loved the property tours and found that the Spanish course was just right for us. Indeed, we have both been motivated to learn more. We have bought little mp3 players and we each have all 6 of your Super Thinking Spanish CDs already downloaded and in use …. I’m also going to get hold of a Michel Thomas course and put that on as well. So thanks again for providing such an inspirational starter course. (Of course, major thanks to Merri and Gary for having the knowledge to make it possible – but your delivery of it all was just right)”

Even as I contemplate the mystery of how I learned a language and then the even more amazing transformation (for me) to teaching a language, I just give thanks that through a series of synergies I’ve been able to find support, techniques and methods, not to forget a wonderful location in Cotacachi, where it’s all come together and I’m able to help others to communicate in Spanish.

It’s hardly work at all and it’s marvelous to know that I’m helping others in such a positive way with no recourse to flying chalk!

We have one more Spanish course this year next month in September but if numbers warrant we can put on private courses and in the not too distant future we’ll have a correspondence course which ties in with the courses here in Ecuador. If either would be of interest do write in to Gary at Gary@garyascott.com or Merri at Merriscott@live.com

Sept 23-27 Ecuador Spanish Course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-spanish-course

September 17-20 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-coastal-real-estate-tour

Sept 28-29 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-real-estate

See discounts for attending more than one Sept. course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-tours-savings

Oct 14-18 Ecuador Import Export Course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-import-and-export-tour

Nov 7-9 International Investing and Business Made EZ Ecuador
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/international-business-made-ez-ecuador

Nov 10-11 Imbabura Real Estate tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-real-estate

November 12-15, 2008 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-coastal-real-estate-tour

Here is an Ecuador travel warning sent to us by a couple who traveled to Ecuador on Copa, Panama’s airline.
Normally travel to and from Ecuador is smooth and easy.
Four airlines fly to Ecuador direct from the USA. Three are US airliners, America from New York and Miami, Delta from Atlanta and Continental from Houston. [...]