Ecuador (Week 17)

A peek into my current world: 

I’m sitting on the balcony of a small hotel on the Peruvian/Ecuadorian border. My view is of a busy city street, a pizzeria, and a tattoo parlor.

A local woman is standing in the middle of the road holding a rag as she tries to clean car windows when they stop. She’s timid though. A man was with her earlier. He had no qualms about walking up and starting the cleaning process before the drivers could say no. There were many people who told him in frustrated Spanish that they didn’t want that and wouldn’t pay him. One or both has been there all day. I’ve only seen one person pay.

Many people here have mentioned how hot Huaquillas, Ecuador is. Funny, because I’ve been marveling at the perfect temperature. Huaquillas is a far site cooler than Pucallpa. 

Huaquillas has mostly cars. It’s odd not to see many motocars all over. The streets are bigger, too, probably to accommodate the cars. Less buildings have orange brick and more have gray brick. Several are painted cement. 

Isaac, Chelsea, and I traveled 22 hours by bus from Lima to cross into Ecuador so that we could renew our visas. There was a delay at the border, but it was relatively seamless. 

I was nervous about the bus ride. I pictured it would be hot, stinky, and dirty. It’s risky to sleep on busses because luggage can be stolen. All the rumors declared that the bathrooms would be horrific. And, frankly 22 hours one way with a return trip a day later just sounded... rough.

I was pleasantly surprised though. The bus was comfortable, decently clean, relatively safe, and fairly fresh. Large windows opened to let in the chilly ocean air, and the bathrooms weren’t so bad.

Plus, with a view of the pacific and the dry mountains surrounding Lima the view was distinctive. Lima is the driest city in the world with exception to Cairo, Egypt. It’s mountains are tall and striking, but dry as a bone. They make the hills of Hotsprings, Montana look lush.

I pulled out my full copy of Lord of the Rings and read as I periodically watched the scenery pass. Truth be told, I’m gonna stick that in the list of my favorite traveling memories. After a while I switched LOTR out for my Peruvian travel guide and read about ancient Incan culture and the best restaurants to visit in Lima and Cusco. (I get to test that out for myself in about a week, so stay tuned. 😀) 

Ecuador uses the American dollar. That’s been a strange change, although I can’t really articulate why. They still use dollar coins though, so that automatically gives them some brownie points for being cool. 

Tonight we found a cute diner in a street corner. The gentleman sold burgers, french fries, milkshakes, and more. We talked to the man for a while. He was born here in Ecuador, but he’d spent some time living in London as well as Italy. His wife is from Spain. We watched a triathlon based in Malta with athletes from Canada, the US, and more. It was a full blend of cultures, and it was a joy to recognize that I live in an era when citizens from all over Earth can share their perspective on the world. 

What a life! 

Tomorrow we return to Lima, and a couple days later it’s on to Machu Picchu, The Rainbow Mountains, and the Sacred Valley if the Incas. 

Don’t mind me. I’m just stuffing my pockets with memories. 

~TBS~