back on board

so.

so, i was just beginning this blog on another computer here at The Snootiest and Most Expensive Internet Cafe in south america, when the computer went completely insane and the curser disappeared and the little search box thing filled with "hhhhhhhhhhhh" and then began searching for "hhhhhhhhhh" and a million and seven different boxes popped up on my screen and the keyboard and mouse were rendered entirely helpless and a few of my personal emails and IM conversations popped up on the screen and i couldnt close them or sign out of anything, and now my whole life is up there, on monitor #13 (coincidence?) for the entire world, or entire backpacking gringo population of quito, to see. is this an omen? probably. should i be blogging? probably not. at this point, after the many trials and tribulations encountered as i have attempted to compose my last 3 blogs, i realize that someone, somewhere is trying to stop me. i dont know why - maybe because i speak The Truth About Ecuador. whatever reason, i. get. it. but still, i will continue to attempt a new blog entry because i am a stubborn taurus and also because holly and joe insinuated that i was a punk for not keeping up with the blogs.

this blog is, therefore, for holly and joe. i am not a punk!

ok, so part of the reason that i havent been blogging is because i have fallen into Life in cuenca. meaning: i have an apartment, a coffee maker, and a job that i go to sometimes. i no longer live on a bus. i also have 2 cats now (yes, they are mine. mine.) all of these things are positive developments. i am very happy - i work very little and read a lot and sometimes even sit in the sun in the middle of the day. i know, i hate me for it too sometimes. as nice as this life is, it probably isnt very interesting for you, my adorable readers, to read about. so i havent been writing about it. however, the past 2 weekends are somewhat blogworthy, since i packed a backpack and ejected myself from my comfy apartment and life in cuenca to get Back on Board. that is, back on the ol ecuadorian night bus.

last weekend we went to montañitas, a grey beach town 417 hours away from cuenca. at the last minute, 2 of our roomates decided to join us. the bus trip started off being a little fun. we went for drinks and dinner directly beforehand, thinking that we could get on a 12 am bus drunkenly, which everybody knows is the only way to survive the night bus (unless, that is, you have sleeping pills, which are gorgeous, but in which case you should not drink. just a word from our sponsers. knowing is half the battle.) however as it turned out, there was no midnight bus so we had to wait around for the 130 am bus. no matter - we are wise and have foresight and thought to buy a small bottle of rum, which we swigged from as we waited and played cards on a table with 3 drunken men sleeping sweetly underneath. eventually, it was time to get on the bus and sit there from 9 hours as the driver and his assistant made preparations to leave (which included and always include, sitting and looking out of the windshield, fiddling with the radio station, looking some more, getting out of the bus to look through the windshield the other way, getting back on, getting off again for no reason, trying to find a good reggaeton station, attempting to back out of the prking spot and failing, attempting to back out and suceeding but then stopping in the middle of the road again for a Very Important Reason that remains undisclosed to passengers). anyway we bought some potato chips to bring along for the ride, and i was happy and drunk and i put on my fake ipod and listened, strangely, to van morrison and closed my eyes and snuggled back in the chair and though "here i am. back again." see, the potato chips here are REALLY good. like, amazing. and sometimes they affect the mind, in that they are so good that one becaomes senselessly, deliriously happy and is prone to making sweeping positive generalizations like "oh, the bus isnt so bad. its kind of sweet. like a truly unique ecuadorian experience" and other such bullshit. so when we finally took off, at 9 in the morning (ok fine 137. patience is not one of my stronger traits), and the cool fresh air was flowing into the bus, and we were enjoying it until the man across the way threw his garbage out of it, hawked a loogie out of it, and then promptly shut it and farted, i thought, adoringly, "oh, ecuador." and settled back to sleep.

10 minutes later i woke up hot and sweaty, with a pounding headache from the children screaming (yes, it was 2 am and no, they werent sleeping, and yes, their parents bought them a 3 liter bottle of coca cola to ensure that they would be boisterous and lively throughout the entire trip), and the blasting reggaeton, and the utter lack of air. i tried to move to change to a more comfortable position and realized that i couldnt because my knees were up my nose. i tried to put my hair up to cool down my neck a bit and found that it was wet and sticky with somebodys drool, hopefully mine. i gave up and gazed straight ahead at the seat back 2 centimeters away from my face and counted the skittering roaches. i looked down and noticed that a few were on me. stupid potato chips.

i was back on board all right. and by this point, the honeymoon was over. but, no matter, i only had 9 more hours and three more busses to go.....

the beach was grey, rainy, and uncomfortable. yet strangely fun, relaxing, and hilarious.

ecuador.