Travel-warp, I'm lost in South America, a few months of Europe and friends and family and a new continent beckons. Ecuador is a country of so much variety, from the Galapagos Islands, Coastal Lowlands, Andean Highlands and the densely jungled interior. It reminds me so much of Guatemala, a country I came to love four years ago, similar experiences; a month spent relearning pigeon Spanish, nights out in salsa-tecas, food of rice and chicken and eggs, guacamole and cheap cuba libres. The differences from Guatemala are subtle, Ecuador doesn't have the history of CIA interference and bloody conflict with guerilla groups, Ecuador has a history of political corruption and war with Peru, contracting borders and then the bonanza of discovered oil. Oil at a time of unprecedented demand and rising prices should have made Ecuador a
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