Advertisement
Published: November 30th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Well, hopefully you weren't waiting breathlessly. Yes, we were able to get back to Ecuador (legally). No matter what anybody tells you, if you do it in a certain order, you can stay in Ecuador for a year on tourist visas (it's like pushing buttons in a certain order in a video game to unlock stuff).
We packed up our bags, and left the rest of our stuff in shippable boxes with our friend Jim. We hadn't yet experienced the great Deportivo Cuenca futbol team in person, so we went to see them beat F.C. Manta like a drum at noon on Sunday. Afterwards, we celebrated one potentially last afternoon of NFL Red Zone at the Inca. On Monday morning, we headed out, passing through Loja on our way to the crossing at Macara, finally ending up in Piura. Like most 14-hour bus trips, it had its moments. The scenery was beautiful, the border crossing was encouraging (the Ecuadorian guard indicated we should have no problem getting back, which eased our minds)... but, by the time we got off the bus, we were a bit shaky to say the least. Piura's reputation for crime didn't ease our nerves any, but
it worked out fine. After finding a hostel, we grabbed a burger and headed to bed.
The next day, we grabbed a morning bus to Mancora, the closest popular beach town to the border. After a night at Sol y Mar, we switched to
La Posada, which was a bit quieter and chiller. Known for the freshness and flavor of its ceviche, Mancora didn't disappoint. Thanks to some recommendations, we first tried
El Tuno, which had incredibly good tuna sashimi. Each morning, Chris had breakfast at Green Eggs N' Ham (sometimes accompanied by Justin), a friendly spot on a balcony overlooking the ocean. We took a trip up to Punta Sol, a less populated beach about twenty minutes north. Unfortunatley, that's where we had the inevitable ceviche that upset Justin's incredibly wimpy stomach, which put him down for a day or so. This kept us from making a trip to Cabo Blanco, about twenty minutes to the south, the fishing village where Hemingway supposedly got the inspiration for The Old Man And The Sea (but we think we got the idea). Like with most South American beach towns, the days were spent lounging with a drink, while the nights were spent
avoiding horrible dance music. Most importantly, we found
O'Pelli's Irish Pub, which had Delerium Tremens on tap, a bargain at 20 soles after all the bland Ecuadorian lager we've been stuck with.
After five nights on the beach, we held our breaths and headed back. We'd been warned that the southern crossing at Huaquillas was a haven for crime, which is why we initially went through the middle crossing. But, we were sold tickets on a direct bus to Cuenca, so we went for it. Chris was particularly unhappy when we soon found out we were switching buses before the border. Obviously, though, we made it in one piece, with new three-month stamps that allow us to spend the holidays in Ecuador. Chris only had to throw a slight fit to get the border guards to stamp her passport a second time since the first stamp appeared to be done in invisible ink. Justin's was of course stamped after they changed the ink cartridge.
The week after we returned were the Cuenca holidays, held every year in honor of the independence of the city from Spain. Every day brought another parade (we particularly liked the neighborhood one), concerts in the
park (including some great covers of Guns N' Roses), food stalls (and an international food fest where the food lasted about fifteen minutes), and plenty of drinking. For the first time since we've been here, there was a noticible police prescence cracking down on the revelry. We're not sure if it was because of a change in policy, or because of particular problems to Cuenca holidays... guess we'll find out at Christmas.
The next major holiday, at least for us, was Thanksgiving. Although to most Cuencanos it was just another Thursday, we were able to put together a fairly traditional feast. Our friends Ben, Jen, Donovan, Karen, Mike, Tristan, Charlie, Gabby and Pete joined us in our apartment for a pot-luck. We set up a screen and projector for the football games, thanks to Ben's Slingbox. Chris made turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, and there were pies and sides brought. And, most importantly, Tristan and Ben brought over a keg of killer hard cider, which went down very smoothly.
Cuenca's starting to prepare for Christmas, and so are we.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.113s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0596s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb