"We´re actually having quite a good time..."

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"So why do you moan in all your blogs?" According to Nat I´m an incorrigible miserablist.

Several thousand years ago, some Mongolians decided to cross the Bering Straits and start a new life in the Americas. My own personal theory is that it was the early Mongols most upset with traffic regulations and speed limits that decided to make the epic journey, and start new lives as bus drivers.

Our trip from Mancora to Cuenca in Ecuador was the sketchiest yet, and certainly the first time when we´ve had local people screaming at the bus driver to slow down! However the worst horror story we´ve heard was from our bar tender the other night in Quito. He´d been on a nightbus through some windy mountain paths where the driver had stopped to pick up a six pack of beer, and proceded to knock them back as they raced past sheer drops!

Anyway, Cuenca turned out to be a nice Colonial town, with some great museums, beautiful buildings and lovely food. Unfortunately it was also stinking high again... Once more we experienced the joys of altitude. Perhaps the worst symptom of this are the insane semi waking dreams you get whilst drifting off, which make David Lynch films seem like Disney Animations. This left us a bit to weary to do anything energetic, so wandering about the town was about all we could manage. We did also find a bar where Nat got 4 rum drinks for $2.50 (Ladies night... or should that be Ladeez?), so maybe that contributed to our lethargy!

Altitude also appears to slow the cerebral workings of the brain box. I blame this for the fact I left the memory card of my camera in an Internet Cafe! For this reason, I´m afraid this is a photo free blog... at least until Natola can get her retro film developed and burnt to CD. Trying to find a replacement card for my camera nearly proved impossible. Your average Latin American shop is a triumph of random distribution of products over planning. They don´t tend to go in for grocery shops, electrical shops and so forth. Instead, in one outlet you´ll be able to buy:

* A superman doll
* A shotgun
* A washing machine
* A leather picnic set
* A plastic Jesus (now I know why they say he´s omnipresent... You can´t go two yards without seeing a plastic Jesus down here)
* A coat for a small dog.

For this reason shops are mostly scorned by locals. Instead, in Latin America things come to you. Witness a man selling bathroom shaving mirrors door to door at a traffic jam on a dual carriage way. This morning it was wooden spoons doing the round. I thought if I waited long enough a Compact Flash memory card would come my way, but like the monkeys with Shakespeare´s complete works, I just didn´t have enough time.

From Cuenca, it was up to Quito. We´re quite unashamedly rushing through Ecuador. We had heard from other travellers that it´s grotty and dangerous, and we should push on through. What we saw, however, we liked. For instance, having elected to fly from Cuenca to Quito (ridiculously cheap), we got to see perhaps the most beautiful volcano of all. Cotopaxi looks stunning, and is apparently quite climbable! We´re also missing out on the Galapagos islands, for reasons of impending destituteness... Ecuador seems worth a return trip.

We only spent one night in Quito, as we start Spanish in Cartagena on Monday, but for what it´s worth, Quito is quite beautiful in parts, and quite lively in other areas. There are loads of bars and restaurants in the new town area, and its stuffed with Gringo travellers (mostly of the English trust fund variety... my favourite) drinking cheap booze. However we did manage to go to a number of drinking holes without hearing a single Bob Marley, Chili Peppers or Jack Johnson song, which is also some kind of record. On that happy note, it was bye bye to Ecuador. Thankfully the helpful airport folk give you the opportunity to do your bit for the local economy, fleecing you rotten with airport taxes as you leave the country. $42 dollars each for the privilege of queuing relentlessly for 2 hours. Ooop, now I´m moaing again...

Adios!
Si xx

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Photos

Volcan Cotopaxi
Pic that shows the view of Volcan Cotopaxi from the air that we saw on the flight from Cuenca to Quito (free license from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cotopaxi_Illinizza.jpg