Business and Pleasure in Loja

Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017--Loja

After a late breakfast at the hotel, I went to the bus station to buy my ticket for tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the schedules had changed. The first departure was still at 7:45, but I would have to miss my breakfast and to leave for the station too early for that one.  The second one at 8:55 would have been at the best time, but it had been changed to 10:45.  After checking with both companies that cover the route, I chose the one at 10:45, because there was no other bus between it and the one that was too early.  It means, however, that I probably won't arrive in Machala until sometime between 16:15 and 17:00. 

From there I took a local bus across town to the National University campus.  I wandered through the campus looking at buildings and the murals on them.  Then I hiked down the highway to the Botanical Gardens which the university maintains behind the campus.  Unfortunately, the hours have changed, and they now close for 3 hours starting at noon.  It was too close to noon for me to want to pay and also too close for me to go far into the back area of the gardens and return without worrying about getting locked inside.

I returned to town and headed for the main plaza where I planned to visit a museum.  But I found a sign there stating that the museum is closed to protect the items from the dust caused by the rebuilding of the pipes, streets and sidewalks!

I decided just to eat lunch and return to the hotel.  In the hotel, I communicated with the owner of the apartment in Guayaquil and set a time for checking in there on Saturday.  Then I researched bus schedules for my next stop and communicated with the owner about scheduling my arrival and check-in there.  It isn't easy to plan these things when bus schedules aren't precise and when I have a locked phone that won't let me make local calls in another country.

Tonight I went to the free Thursday Cultural program the city sponsors every week.  A military band played some songs.  Then an American group of students performed a contemporary dance piece.  There was more scheduled, but it was cold with a strong breeze.  I left after about an hour to return to the hotel.