Blog
At home, but not bored
in Blog Posts
Galapagos naturalist, Richard Polatty, provides an account of life in Quito during the COVID-19 crisis.
My personal experience with what is going on outside my gates is limited as all trips out must be essential. Because of earthquakes and eruptions, my Quito pantry is stocked with 3 weeks of food at all times. I even found about a dozen N95 masks around my house and a couple of boxes of vinyl gloves so I was already set.
My two trips out to the supermarket in five weeks were quite interesting. It’s only a 5 minute drive to the Supermaxi, a local chain here in Ecuador. At 7:30am there was a line on the street outside of cars waiting to be allowed in to the parking lot. It took about 30 minutes. When I got out, there was a self-controlling line of people spaced 6 feet apart snaking around the building. All are wearing masks and gloves as they are required for entry in to the store. Actually everyone you see anywhere are all wearing masks without exception. The store only allows half its maximum capacity at a time. As it came closer to my turn to enter, they have people checking for masks and gloves. The next station has a worker mopping the floor with quaternary ammonium (Quat) after the customer walks by. The following station has 2 workers with backpacks of Quat and you must stand legs apart as they spray your entire body from both sides. The next station is a worker with a large dispenser of alcohol gel which you must spread on your gloves. The final entry station is a worker that sprays a cart down in front of you and then they step back and you take your cart.
The shelves are full including toilet paper! The stock boys are busily restocking continually but there are even big display stacks of alcohol, gel, chlorine bleach, etc. They make periodic announcements to make sure you distance, avoid handling products, shop quickly with a list, and do not buy more than you need. When you check out they make you wait 6 feet back and spray down the entire checkout area before you place your own items. The entire staff has protective gear of course. When it is time to pay you put your own card into the card reader (which is never the case in Ecuador normally). Once you are done they spray your hands again on the way out.
The latest update instituted today requires downloading the market’s smartphone app and reserving your visit in advance. You’re then given a notification 20 minutes in advance. Otherwise, wait times can take an hour and a half to get into the store.
Upon returning to my little neighborhood we must pass a guard and gate house and now the gate is always closed. No maids or workers are allowed now. The guard comes out with a back pack sprayer of Quat and sprays the wheels and cars and you get your feet sprayed.
Once I get back to my house I leave everything out in my garage/guesthouse and spray almost everything with 1% bleach solution and just leave it. Perishables I stick in a fridge out there and just leave it. If and when we get infected in my area at least - it won't be for lack of trying!
I have three people that work for me between here and Galapagos and they all must be paid by law. I would pay them anyway actually. My workers here are not even allowed on the property but they get full pay - social security - and health insurance that is paid directly from my bank account to Social Security. They have redefined the contract structure here so that this does not count as force major or even a plague (which they say means crops) so they cannot be fired anyway. I'm afraid there is no recourse for private contractors such as freelance guides. In some cases they must hope that they get paid someday for work already done even before the COVID crisis.
I will have to see how things evolve before I can return to Galapagos. As it stands now you must have a supervised 2 week quarantine and be tested. I have friends looking after my place there and my horse! She is the ideal pet. She is blissfully unaware of what's going on and feeds herself to her heart's content. She does miss company but I have a friend that stays at my place some days and she follows him (and anyone else) like a dog.
Personally I have had lots of projects to work on so not being busy is the least of my worries. If nothing else I have five old but functional computers in my office that I need to take photos, info, etc off and then wipe the hard drives before getting rid of them. It’s been a long trip down memory lane. I had forgotten about the days of fixing corrupted sectors on my hard drive. Luckily my workshop is pretty complete for hands on projects as hardware stores are closed.
I have also joined half the planet in trying new baking experiences. Last night I made a Quinoa banana bread with blueberries and strawberries. Delicious and gluten free (although I have no problem with gluten - just quinoa flour). Today's project is to complete the repair of a pendulum clock that I have been meaning to do for years. Its reassembled and I've got it working now and just regulating it. I love watching escapement mechanisms work. That's just a sampling of some projects that I am glad to do and I don't need to Q-tip my baseboards to keep busy!
Saludos from Tumbaco - at home, but not bored!