Thanksgiving in Ecuador

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I had never heard of Guayaquil before I planned my trip to Ecuador. Apparently, its the country's biggest city and known for nothing but poverty and violent crime. I thought I’d check it out.
First, I must thank my lovely hostess, Abby Ames, who allowed me to tag along with her for five days. Abby works at some school for the filthy rich in Guayaquil, and it just so happened that my arrival coincided with the school’s Thanksgiving Day feast. I put on my nicest/cleanest clothes (and no, I didn’t wear the shirt that says “I dropped my beer and I can’t pick it up”) and accompanied Abby to the party. I can’t say it was all that great; they ran out of food before I could get seconds. I think I even saw little kids crying of hunger. Whatever, it was free.
Guayaquil has tried to improve its image by renovating the Malecon, or waterfront, with new restuarants and parks. So while Abby was working (boooo!) the next day, I wandered around the pier and an old area called Las Peñas. I´m not sure what to say about Guayaquil. It looks alot like any other big ugly city. Check out my pics.
That night we caught a bus to Montanita, a small beach town popular with surfers. We met up with some of Abby’s friends and spent Thanksgiving at a beach house outside of town. I tried to surf but after getting routinely crushed by five footers I called it a day. At night we hung out with a motley group of expats (mostly returned Peace Corps Volunteers), all of whom had damaged livers. Abby was going from bar to bar requesting Daddy Yankee. You would never have guessed, but she loves Reggatone.
That concludes my travels in Ecuador. For the most part, my fellow travelers have been fun interesting people. There are, however, a few kinds of tourists that irritate me. I’ve listed them here from least to most annoying.
1. The Lonely Planetarian: these tourists see the world through the words of the Lonely Planet travel guide. They walk around town absorbed in their travel book and miss out on the real deal. On the whole, however, they are usually good-natured folk and I wish them the best.
2. The Penny Pincher: There is nothing wrong traveling cheap but these guys would rather take a three hour bus ride through hell than pay 50 cents more for a pleasant and comfortable 10 minute ride. Then they have the audacity to incessantly tell you how much more you paid. They also don’t tip guides and waiters, which I find unforgivable.
3. The “I’m not a Tourist” Tourist: these people are constantly saying they want to get off the gringo trail, but strangely, they never do. They claim they aren’t tourists and disparage anything remotely touristy. In their constant search for the elusive “authentic” culture, they fail to recongize their own identity: a tourist, of course.
4. The “Oh, you’re ONLY traveling for six months” Traveler: these bums measure the value of your character by the duration of your travels. By their estimation, my nine ½ week trip makes me a well-intentioned but ultimately worthless person.

Who's on the Gringo Trail? Here is my top ten list by nationality. Up to now, the tally is:
1. Australians 2. Dutch 3. Israelis 4. Canadians 5. USA 6. French 7. Swiss 8. British 9. Irish 10. Kiwis

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Photos

View from Beach House outside Montanita
Abby and I met up with some friends here for Thanksgiving. Those are the killer five footers.

Guayaquil at Its Finest
View from the Lighthouse in Las Peñas

Thanksgiving Feast
Our Thanksgiving feast: chips and salsa with piña coladas. Delicious.

My hostess Abby Ames
Abby is just getting up. Its 2pm.

Comments

[Johnny]

yeeehaw
what up Mike this is ol' Johnny Michalak. God bless the poor, for they will inherit the earth. I probably spleed some words Rong, but life is like that and time weights for no one. Things could be worse, you could be out of money in seattle while a homeless woman tries to get you to sleep with her. Wikky, whikky, a whikky wild, wild, west, jim west, desparato, rough rider, no, they don't want nada. Will smith ya'll. Home is just a feeling and love is just a word John

[Johnny]

whatever
nollie bigspin, you know the steez. I tried to write so much shit and I can never read it that now I've decided to write nothing and I hope you like it. Home is just a feeling and love is just a word

[johnny1]

whatever
this is insane, sounds a whole lot better than seattle hanging with kids that I know from round the corner. Heard that Corey might have a parasite. How awesome is that. Glad to hear that you are still alive. If this doesn't show up, then I give up. How about that for prose poetry.