Cool, unlying life will rush in, as will little thieving Ecuadoran children

Life is ridiculous struggle for an extremely large part of the earth´s population. Not a struggle against boredom or to find one´s purpose, but to survive, put food on the table, keep their kids healthy since they can´t afford health care. I see it in Santa Marta of course but there´s something about seeing it elsewhere that really drives it home. Started the trip with a long day at the pool then a 18 hour bus ride to Bogota. Spent some time with Piero for his birthday, our friend Chris who moved there and Angie and Angelica two reformed costenas. We sat on a cold floor drinking wine, ate pizza hut (tasted like NFL Sundays), and both Adam and I nearly lost our wallets. If we make it through the whole trip without a catastrophe it´ll be a miracle. When then flew to Pasto, went a church that has no right being in southern Colombia (see photo) and took a bus to Quito. Upon arrival I did the first thing they tell you to do, eat sketchy shellfish. It turned out fine because I´m super human. We arrived late, ate chinese food, and went to sleep. We got up early, went to straddle the equator and hop back and forth between hemishperes like retards, and then went to pick up Scott. We became masters of the public transit system during this process. Scott arrived, we went to this crazy church and risked our lives climbing outside the towers to reach the top. I think if there is any moment in my life that I could go back to and do something different it would be to buy the express tickets for the gondola to the top of the volcano outside of Quito. Line took like 45 minutes. The views were awesome and we rode horses on the volcano. We came down and watched some soccer, the team from Quito is in the finals of the south america cup and we happened to be in town when they played here. I've determined I would rather miss some things/info than take a tour. We aren´t really roughing it, Scott and Meghan brought a cornucopia of electronic devices leading me to believe they are from the future. You can play the top 50 Nintendo (8 bit) games on Scott´s cell phone. Adam got the crap beat out of him by Bald Bull because he ALWAYS gets the crap beat out of him by Bald Bull. Not even the 2nd Bald Bull. Apparently I have forgotten the "Be Prepared" lessons of my boyscouting youth which was also the last time I had to wipe my bum with a sock. To give you an idea of how cheap things are in Ecuador you can take a single dollar out of the atms. And yes, Ecuador uses the american dollar. The coins are the same shape and metal but with Ecuadoran presidents. Sometimes when you think you are the master of the local bus system you miss your stop and the kicks you off because you´ve come to the end of the line. Other times you get off too early because Adam´s compass watch (nicknamed Steve) tells you the bus is going south when you need to be going north. "Who told you that? Was it Steve perchance?" Anyone who is worried I´m going to get kidnapped would be better served worrying that I´m going to rocket off some sketchy Andean roads falling to my untimely death. I think calling it the Pan-American highway is a bit of a misnomer. At times Pan-American dusty single lane path would be a bit more telling. We spent the night in some Ecuadoran border town to avoid a midnight cross at what the guide book called "the sketchiest border crossing in Latin America." Crossed in the morning without incident, spent the day in the Peruvian border/military town of Tumbes, got some cell phones and caught a night bus to Lima (18 hours). The travel log Inca Cola begins its description of Lima with "Lima is an atrocity." It doesn´t miss by much. It wasn´t terrible, the food is excellent although I haven´t eaten a guinea pig yet, and mostly just spent time with Adam´s friend from KU, Silvana. After two days we took a bus to Nasca, where I am currently. Tomorrow we´re going up in a plane to view the Nasca lines, check them out on wikiwiki and we have a night bus to Cusco and Machu Pichu.
feeling quite sleepy,
- Traveling T

Movie of the trip: Hulk was awesome but nothing can compare to the Fast and the Furious Trilogy marathon that we were treated to on one of the buses.

Music of the trip: The pan flutes of course, we´re in Peru, the land of the omnipresent pan flute.

Book of the trip: The travel guide book is about all we read, and we usually read it after we leave a place to see how we should have done stuff.

Hours on a bus thus far: 66



He didn´t have a mustache I thought I could trust him. -Adam about a taxi guy who screwed us in Bogota.

I really should have wiped my ass. - Adam

Remember that when you are abroad you represent all Americans - Scott´s dad Rod Elmore. Apparently all Americans are fat with enormous fucking heads.

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