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Published: July 20th 2009
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JULY 14. LATACUNGA. 2800m. RESIDENCIAL SANTIAGO RM 8. OVERLOOKING DOS DE MAYO. "All i ever wanted was a chance to catch my breath, see the world and lay my ghosts to rest" -DIRTY VEGAS Started the morning early and caught a ride back down the valley to the Panamericana highway. Waiting on the shoulder to flag down the first bus south, everything started to feel right. I was truly alone for the first time, had my pack on for the first time and was about to take my first bus trip since arriving a week ago. I only had to wait 10 minutes before i paid my $1, loaded my pack and jumped on. There were no seats available and i spent the hour standing shoulder to shoulder with the locals...everytime the bus stopped to let people on and off i watched nervously to see if my pack would dissapear with them. When I was last travelling in South East Asia I had all my finances lifted from me on a bus trip. I was young and stupid then and i was determined to keep my wits about me on this trip.
The bus ride itself was uneventful
and i arrived in Latacunga with everything i left with. Travelling as a backpacker in a foreign country you have to come to terms early on that, no matter how hard you try you will always look out of place. Embracing that fact i loaded myself up and went in search of lodgings for the night. The 10 hours of spanish lessons i took last week seem to be paying off as i found my way the Residencial Santiago with no problems and negotiated everything i wanted...room to myself, private bathroom and hot water, all for $8. SPLURGE.
The afternoon was spent wandering through the streets soaking in the atmosphere. Tuesdays are apparently a big day in Latacunga as the markets where full and chaotic. I really enjoyed watching everybody go about their daily lives...Latacunga, it turns out, is actually a pretty cool place to spend a day. The narrow cobble-stone streets lined with people skirting colonial buildings gave the impression of quite a hussling and bustling mountain town. I felt much safer here than I did in Quito and this encouraged me to venture even further.
Desperate to have my first authentic ecuadorian meal i ventured out
after dark to try the local speciality, Chugchacara. Sitting under flourescent lights a plate piled high with deep fried pork, deep fried pork skin, deep fried cheese empanadas, deep fried potatoes and corn was swiftly delivered to my plastic table. Hardly gourmet i know but it tasted delicious.
Back at the hotel with a couple of cervazas and my music playing, i sat myself on the window sill overlooking the street below and smiled. From waiting on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere to heart attack on a plate for dinner, eveything about this day has been fantastic. Its starting to feel like my story..
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