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Coup? What Coup?
After flying into an Ecuador coup en route to a Galapagos cruise, the author experienced the political demonstrations first-hand in the capital of Quito.
(By Jorge Vinueza/bloomberg News)
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The area in front of Quito's presidential palace is cordoned off, but my driver gets me as close as he can. I try to blend in along the fringes of a fuming crowd. It's hard to say, but there must be a thousand people in the palace square, maybe more. "¡Fuera todos!" (Out with them all!) is the shout, since there are rumors that the president may still be in Ecuador. The people want him gone. But no one is sure. He may be somewhere in Quito, hiding; he may be in Brazil.
Vendors hawk peanuts and candy and cigarettes. It is like an angry party. I am pushed up near the front, and I can see up close the regiment of soldiers arrayed along the palace balcony. I see the glint of the guns, the riot shields reflecting the sun.
Someone begins the cheer. Stay calm, I think. Stay calm.
I feel a sound in my chest. I hear a rising note. "¡Fuera todos! ¡Fuera todos!"
It is the voice of hundreds. It is my voice.
Long live the coup.
Epilogue
The ouster of Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez on April 20 came after several days of sometimes violent street protests as Ecuadoreans, mostly those based in Quito, reacted to Gutierrez's "unconstitutional" tinkerings with the country's Supreme Court. On the same day, Vice President Alfredo Palacio was sworn in, and after some uncertainty, Gutierrez ended up getting asylum in Brazil. Daily life is back to normal in Quito.
And my adventure cruise to the Galapagos? I sailed as scheduled. Snorkeling with hammerhead sharks wasn't anywhere near as scary as I'd expected.
Peter Mandel, a frequent contributer to the Travel section, last wrote about New York's Chelsea neighborhood.
