The girl sleeping under me is from Darwin Australia and has been travleing South America for 4 months.Amelia ( her name) is super awesome and we decided to go to Otalvalo, the outdoor market together the next day. However I also met Laura and Emily from Wales, a super fun pack of Aussie volunteers (who inisit I come visit in Melbourne and Sydney..heck yes) and a lawyer , tony, from London who is travleing for 6 months. Everyone I have met are awesome people, there are always people seeing the sights or going out to the bars so it is never weird traveling alone. In fact, I couldn´t imagine sharing this experience with anyone else right now.
Americans are a rare breed traveling abroad for an extended period of time. After discussing this conundrum with fellow travlers, we decided that it is because of the following:
1. American college is so expensive, many students can´t afford it
2. Those who can afford it, don´t hav ethe time off from work, Aussies have 4 to 6 weeks PAID vacation and of course free healthcare
3. American´s also seem to just really like America, english and don´t really experience other culture all that often. I really have gelt this way and I´ve travled a ton. All the " unii" kids from Europe speak 3-4 languages fluently, and walking around lost in translation for the last 3 days - I am envious.I am also oneof the youngest travlered here, most are 22-24 and there are even awesome older couples. I am so fortunate for this parent subsized travel experience and will make the most of it, because this opportunity is rare and beautiful thing. I become more appreciative of it everyday.
Another culutral observation I would like to add that I found worth noting are: No toliet paper AT ALL in ecuadorian toliets, there is bin to trash it, but it´s kind of weird and definitely did not understand the sign for the first day or so because...I don´t speak spanish yet haha. Breast feeding on buses is no big dealio, and couple get it on, on the bus as well. No where is Ecuador is there a lack of public displaces of affection.
AnyHOO!!! I wanted to give you all a bried run down of Otalvo and Amelia´s HARROWING EXPERIENCE.. hooked yet, I hope so.
Otavalo is a 2 and half hour bus ride from Quito and is an indigenious market. There is jewerly, back, pants everything and all supe cheap. An alpaca is 6 bucks, silver rings 20 and very fun. However, I did not buy anything except for some earring for Mom because I need to send stuff home first to pack room. As soon as I got here, I wished I could go back and repack MY WHOLE bag. Although I packed fairly light, there are things and I don´t need and essentials I do.. but that will get resolved in Cuenca.
Amelia and presued Otavalo, got lunch for 1.75 and loved it. This brings me to my ¨Chicken or Beef¨" section of this blog. Vegetarianism is not easy, you can go to a VT resteraunt, but they are rare and most times things are still mae with meat broth. Though I eat to eat meat totally, I have eaten around it in about all my dishes, there is still meat. I don´t know how much longer I can subsist on rice and potato soup?? My host family and trek to Macchu are Vegetarian so yay!! Enough of first world problems.. next first world stupidity!
My combo lock is an $T"NSKNFG·)PI$ piece. But really, I couldn´t open forever, right combo not working. Well.. upon facetime with dad, I was doing it all wrong, did it right, openedit, then!!! couldn´t repeat the essential and easy task. Thus 6 dollars down and two lock and keys later, I have given up on combo locks.
FINALLY... the scary part. Amelia and I walked through Quito today to get her over night bus ticket. We were cautious, making sure no one was following us and made it to bus station. However after buying her ticket, Amerlia on my left, A man cam up to me. He was speaking rapid spanish, holding his phone asking me if he could take my photo. I was thinking umm ¨wait what?? what are you saying, this is weird, what is going on." the exact moment a man tapped amelia mumbling about the bus and BAM!! I hear her yell, "Ehh" and take off after another guy. This third man had snatched her back pack and she made enough noise everyone ran out and he dropped her pack. Nothing valuable was it, but still very scary. An ecuadorian mom who I had smiled at her baby minuted prior ran out, yelled at the men and then chekced to see if we were okay. theonly thing I could understnad was " photo, scandal" Amelia 3 months on the road by now knew what was up and took after the smaller guy. I was just dazed and confused, deer in the headlights, astronaught in space, so unaware of what was going on. Now I feel prepared for the worst. Most importnantly Amelia bashing the theif in the arm was super awesome.
Off to Cuenca tm, in the middle of booking my Inca trail and now want to get dive certified in the galapgos. A swedish couple and Amelia cannot stop talking about the epicness.
Words I now say thanks to Aussies ¨pardon, I reckon, full on¨and am in love with the music of Bernanrd Fanning.
GoodBye for now and I´ll leave you with some pics. My own to come, must get a USB card reader, the others fromthe hostel were taken on the I phone.
DISCLAIMER: Keyboards in Ecuador are quite different, I can´t work spell check and have been clicking buttons in vain, so please don´t judge the blaring bad grammar and typos.
Love from Quito.Mack.
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