Double Date and Dysentery

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After getting back from Guayaquil to see off Chris' parents, we had six days of nothing but us. We almost died of boredom.

Thankfully, on the following Saturday, a couple of our best friends, Matthew and Charn Tarver-Wahlquist (really. it's Charn Coonan, but that's too much work going forward), arrived to spend two weeks visiting us here in Ecuador.

After spending the first night in Quito getting used to the altitude, the TW's arrived on Sunday afternoon. Watching the 6'5"ish Matt disembark with the 5'ish Ecuadorians was quite the sight. We hadn't seen them in over a year, so after a good cry, we decided to let some beers replace the fluids.

As San Francisco gourmands, the first place we took them was the market, to dine on pig flesh and encebollados... although in the translation, Charn ended up with fried fish instead. Given that we like to torture gasping new arrivals, we next walked them on a winding tour of the old town area, pointing out the churches and squares that make Cuenca UNESCO-worthy.

Unfortunately, their visit coincided with the temporary closure of our favorite bar, the Inca Lounge. The proprietor Mike was taking a well-earned trip back the U.S. for a few weeks, the selfish bastard. Thankfully, he was willing to extend his final night a bit later, letting us, as well as our friend Dameon and a few others, watch the third Bulls/Heat game (although Justin soon wished he hadn't). We stumbled out that night grateful that the TW's had at least a bit of an Inca experience.

During that week, we had to work (although we're home by 1). So the TW's explored the town a bit on their own. Although we thought we'd mentioned it, on their first day they missed the memo about the almuerzo... the set $2ish lunch menu that each restaurant offers. But they seemed to enjoy their $15 meal regardless, as we're sure their server did. On Tuesday, we went with them to show them the ropes. Thankfully, they're fast learners.

All of us enjoy cooking, so our share of staying in while they were here... Matt made some great curry and tacos (on separate nights), neither of which we'd had in a while. And on the first Wednesday night, after they'd gone on a tour of Cajas (which we still haven't done for some unknown reason), we satiated Matt's raging need for cuy at Guahibamba . Although we all claimed to like it, nobody agitated for another helping for the rest of the trip.

Friday was a holiday for the Battle of Pichincha (basically an Independence Day-type remembrance). So we lit out Thursday afternoon post-work for the coast. We spent the first night in Guayaquil, staying at the Dreamkapture Hostel and going down the street for a feast of rivercrabs. Justin didn't want to waste our night on another lost cause game (TW and Justin had gone to watch Game Four on Tuesday), but was happy to get back to the hostel to find the Bulls up by 12 with only a few minutes to go. He wasn't so happy to see his sports luck holds in South America, as the Heat came back to win by three and take the series 4-1.

Heading out early the next day, we arrived mid-morning in Puerto Lopez, a sleepy fishing village about two hours north of Montanita, where we went on Easter. And when they say fishing village, they aren't kidding. Our first meal was at a table right on the beach, where fish was literally brought from the water to the pan. Needless to say, it was pretty good. Boats would pull up to the beach to load their piles of fish onto trucks, with swarms of seagulls circling and swooping. Afterwards, we stopped for a snack of fresh ceviche.

Exhausted, we went to take a nap that turned into extended sleep, missing the sunset. Little did we know it would be the last of the weekend. Being the rainy season, the rest of the weekend featured pleasant weather, but little to no sun. Thankfully, unlike the dangerous surf of Montanita, the water of Puerto Lopez was both calm and surprisingly warm. That night, we went out for some Ecuadorian BBQ and grabbed some drinks at one of the many seaside stalls.

On Saturday, we took a long walk, and headed to the beach cabana where we'd imbibed our pina coladas the previous night. They had a nice television, where we able to watch Man U and Barcelona in the Champions Cup, surrounded by fifty or so of our closest Ecuadorian friends (all of whom were rooting for Man U... guess they haven't quite forgiven the Spanish yet). Afterwards, we headed outside to watch a beach soccer tourney, before giving the TW's their first taste of Columbian food at Patacon Pisao (they loved it). The girls went to bed early, while Matt and Justin went out and watched a Peace Corps nerd frustratingly blow an easy layup to score .

About an hour off the coast of Puerto Lopez is the Isla de la Plata (Silver Island) , which is advertised as a sort-of poor man's Galapagos. We headed out on Sunday morning. Halfway through the beautiful boatride, the sun poked out, which presented a problem since none of us had bothered getting sunscreen. Landing on the island, we gathered with our group for an unexpected three-plus-hour hike, which Charn particularly appreciated. Home of the blue-footed boobies and the red-throated frigates, and absolutely nothing else, the island had interesting but limited terrain. After we had a bit of lunch on the boat, we went snorkeling off the island, thankful to get in the water to cool off.

Unfortunately, at this point Charn was in the grips of the grippe (Ecuadorian flu), so we had to postpone our departure and return to work another day. We ate that night at Casa Vecchia , a very solid Italian eatery, which was next to the Hosteria Itapoa , where each couple stayed in a comfortable cabana, complete with hammock.

The next day was spent making the long trek back to Cuenca by bus (four hours to Guayaquil, four hours to Cuenca). By Tuesday, Charn was in the full throes of the grippe, which meant she spent most of the day in bed (although Matt and she were able to get out for a brief Colombian dinner that night). We knew it was coming, so we laid low.

The next day was International Children's Day, which is a big deal here in Ecuador. All of the teachers at the school arrived in costume, Chris as Beauty and Justin as The Beast. Charn's illness kept her in bed (which broke her heart), but Matt accompanied us. Not much schoolwork was done that day... most of the day was spent playing, plus there was pizza and cotton candy.

That afternoon, Chris had a spanish lesson, so Justin took Matt and Charn for a walk down Remigio Crespo to Ferria Libre, the main market that has its big days on Wednesday and Sunday. We spent hours walking around, checking out the live and dead guinea pigs, food stalls, produce market... really it's a pretty amazing display.

By this time, Charn was recovered, but it was just starting for Chris and Justin. Chris missed work on Thursday with the grippe... Charn and Matt went out for yet more Columbian at Moliendo Cafe (also one of our faves). Afterwards, Justin and Matt tried to watch Game Three of the NBA Finals (sans Bulls, alas) on a difficult internet feed. On Friday, it was Justin's turn to stay at home with the grippe... that night, we grabbed from chicken from Pio Pio and hung out with some Pilsners, enjoying our last night together.

The next morning, Chris and Justin had to work the rare Saturday, missing a chance to see the TW's off (they spent another night in Quito, then an unplanned night in Costa Rica, on their way back home. Matt finally got the grippe during the trip, and just returned to work today). It was Parent's Day at the Asian-American School, which entailed a few musical performances by the kids and a delicious potluck by the parents.

While we were sorry to see them go, it was for the best that they didn't experience the horror that Chris had to. On Saturday night, Justin began feeling quite unwell. Let's just say that, for once, there was no problem with his liquidity. By Sunday evening, he was in a full-scale death match with dehydration, which continued for the next 48 hours. Thankfully, our boss Mary's cousin is a gastroenterologist, and was able to suggest some fluids and drugs that fended off hospitalization. By Wednesday, Justin was well enough to go visit him... essentially, he has some kind of midevil dysentery. Usually, this takes a week or two to present itself, so it could have come from one of our trips to Guayaquil, or Puerto Lopez, or something in Cuenca... there's no way to tell. Justin spent the better part of Sunday to Wednesday running to the bathroom, slipping in and out of sleep, and generally relying on/grossing out Chris. Today, he started antibiotics and is starting to get his footing. He may even return to work tomorrow. Which is a good thing, because during recess Chris heard a chant of "Queremos Tio Justin" coming from the trampoline, his future army growing restless in his absence.

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