On the Loose

A Nice Long Walk to Clear My Thoughts

tnashbu — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:53:00 GMT

A mi me encanta Ecuador. El pais, la gente, se amo todo. Pero, despues de estar aqui por casi seis semanas, soy muy agradecido por mi familia, mi casa, mis amigos.

Hoy pensaba mucho... de mi familia, relaciones, y la posibilidad que yo y Pancho podemos hacer eso amor funcionar. Y despues unas horas de este, tomé un caminata. El aire fresco me ayudaba mucho. Yo escribé muchas cartas a mis amigos en E.E.U.U. y recibí un mensaje hermoso de mi enamorado.

Falto a mi familia, mis amigos, mi vida en los estados. Pero, por ahora, estoy bien, soy feliz. Ojalá que lo dure.

I thought it would be fun to post in this language I am learning and loving... just for kicks I threw it into a translator and realized how faulty translators are. Good luck.

Cheers to Long Loading Times

tnashbu — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:49:00 GMT

Again it has been a long winter between posts, but this entry should be full of excitement and (GASP!) pictures.

After three weeks of having the runs I am quite contently constipated... but there has been a lot more going on than changes in bowel movements.

I hung out in Ibarra for a few more days past my last entry. I caught the fútbol game with Liga, the national team, that Thursday and partied in the streets with the whole city when they won the championship. You have never participated in a sporting event until you have been to a ¨soccer¨ game in South America I think. People were singing and dancing in the streets, spraying beer everywhere, and celebrating until well past three in the morning.... and this was in the smaller city. I heard Quito was insane.

From Ibarra I caught a bus to Latacunga, where I ate and slept. About two hours after I awoke the next morning I realized that there was no reason had to stay in this town, and so I left. I didn´t really like Latacunga. From there I caught a ride to Chuchilán, which is a small village of no more than a few hundred residents, mostly indigenous. There I saw more gringos than I had seen since Quito, thanks to the beautiful scenery and the three hostels that call Chuchilán home. Lots of talking in English... lots of people from all over the world.

I befriended a 42 year old Irish man named Dave (or Steve... or Patrick)... who was absolutely crazy. We rode horses through the valley to Lake Kilatowa a few miles away. The ride was about 5 or 6 hours. Dave doesn´t speak any Spanish and so the guide felt at liberty to spend the whole trip telling me that I could use a boyfriend for the nights I was in Chuchilán and that he was up for the job... I made sure not to see him again after we made it back to the hostel.

Views from horseback.

Lake Kilatowa

Crazy Dave.

My dog bite post horseride.

When the time came to leave Chuchilán I hopped on the back of a milktruck with some new friends and enjoyed the bumping, nail biting, beautiful six hour ride to Latacunga.

Se Amo Milktrucks. Did I mention it started raining?

Traffic!

We got to Latacunga and Dave decided to tag along with me for a while to utilize my Spanish skills... we were to take the first bus out of Latacunga (I told you I didn´t like the city) and thus we ended up heading to Ambato, where we ate the best banana bread I´ve had in my life on the bus, and caught another bus to Riobamba.

On the road to Riobamba I remembered that I had some offers from Couchsurfing for a place to crash, so we hit up an internet cafe and I got the numbers for two surfers in the city. I called Francisco and within ten minutes he met me to take me to his house and introduce his family during his work break, and thus I had a home in Riobamba. Because the family only had room for one we dropped Dave off at a hostel. At this point I lost Dave... I still haven´t seen him, a week later.

As fun as the milktruck ride was... during that time my camera also broke, thanks to the jostling. And so... the rest of the pictures were taken on the new camera that I bought for the equivalent of one week´s lodging, food, and entertainment. Gah!

Francisco´s family is simply amazing. When I arrived, unannounced, they greeted me warmly and were excited to have me. He lives with his parents (his father 82 years old!), two sisters, brother, and nephew.

That night we met Wladamir, another Couchsurfer in Riobamba, and watched Borat... a great cultural representation of the U.S. Also, Wlad invited me to go for a weekened beach trip with him and some other surfers.

Two days later Francisco and I went to Guano, a small town just outside of Riobamba. He took off work that day just for this... by that afternoon we were talking and he told me ¨This is really scaring me... I don´t know how you got into my heart so fast... but I think I love you.¨ And crazy as it is- the statement didn´t surprise me because I had felt the same connection, an immediate deep friendship... and thus, within three days of meeting, I had a boyfriend.

Enter- Francisco Javier... or, as I and his family call him, ¨Pancho´. I could go on for days about this one... but truly he is the type of guy that my family would wish for me, and I for myself. He loves his family, is super intelligent (speaks English), stops and plays with street children and buys them food, dreams of starting a foundation to help people in his country who cannot afford healthcare, has faith, tells me all of the time that he wishes for me the best of my dreams, and buys me white flowers because he says he is looking for something past passion, something that can endure. And he is not at all the typical Latin man... no expectaions of a housewife, no whistling at women in the streets- he might just be a keeper. And his family is enough reason to stick around in themselves.

The bandaids protect us from sad thoughts.

So with that... we are holding out to see what the future holds. I am currently in Cuenca, about six hours south of Riobamba by bus, but will return to Riobamba next week and we will travel together for a while into the jungle.

The day after I acquired my boyfriend I left him in Riobamba to go for a long weekend to the beach with the Couchsurfing crew. We left at midnight on Thursday and drove twelve hours to Puerto Lopez. From there we went to the most amazing beach I have ever seen, sort of secluded in between two cliffs. The next day we took a boat in the morning for Isla de la Plata, about an hour and a half off coast. On the way out we did some whale watching, but it was less than exciting.

At the island we did a four hour hike and saw a bunch of birds like the blue footed boobie and albatross. The hike was beautiful!

We headed back towards the mainland close to 5. The sun started setting, the sky was pinks and oranges, and we were in between the island and the mainland so that we couldn´t see land on any side... and the whales started jumping! It was one of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever seen. There was a family, mother, father, and child (which our guide said was about three days old), and our boat got so incredibly close. It was ideallic. (Unfortunately I didn´t catch any shots of the whales).

Beachfront fisherman in the morning.

Team Couchsurf! to the far right is Wlad... a walking encyclopedia on Ecuador, his country that he loves.

That night was a party and a fire on the beach. While I lay by the fire a dog came up and lay its head on my shoulder and I had a pet for a few hours. Oh yes... and I took my shoes off to dance in the sand, and they were stolen. :( I miss my Chaco´s!

Beautiful. Beautiful it was. We got back into Riobamba close to 11 on Sunday and I returned to Pancho´s house.

Monday night I took his family out for dinner and just enjoyed their company. Pancho is the only one in the family that speaks English, and so I have been practicing my Spanish hardcore in my relationship with them.

My mother knows me so well... when I called to tell her I had two pieces of news (Pancho being one) she completely knew the other...

I got another tattoo.

from sweetheart...

to hardcore... in .3 seconds.

Work in progress. I have been planning this one for a long while.

¨Time held me green and dying, though I sang in my chains like the sea.¨

It´s quite alright-- you are free to cringe. :) Love you family!

Also, I uploaded more fotos than are here. You can look at them under the Photo thing. One more month left!

Feet in a hammock, where they belong.

Gallery: ¡A Mi Me Encanta Ecuador!

tnashbu — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:37:00 GMT

My first few weeks in a country I´ve grown to adore.

DDD: Dormant Volcanoes, Dead Chickens, and Damn Dogs

tnashbu — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 03:40:00 GMT

I am currently in Ibarra, a city of about 140,000 in the northern part of Ecuador. The entrance to the city calls it ¨The City You´ll Always Want to Come Back To.¨ Today I am not so sure I´d agree. I´m a bit homesick and lonely.

Honestly it is really a great city. Bigger, but quiet (at times a bit boring). I am living in San Antonio, about 15 minutes by bus from the city with a family from Couchsurfing, the Estevezes. They are truly amazing hosts and I have genuinely enjoyed staying with them.

San Antonio is absolutely beautiful. The light in the mornings is unlike anything I have ever seen, breathtaking. Oh that you could see a San Antonio morning. The weather is on the cooler, sometimes cold side, but for a large part of the day it is perfect. Ibarra and the surrounding towns lie between two volcanoes and is surrounded by lakes and lagoons. San Antonio is known for its carpentry, and there are some amazing wooden sculptures and furniture up for sale in a ton of the little shops in the town.

The Estevez family consists of Mami and Papi, sons Eduardo and Danhyel (23 & 20) and daughter Fanny (19). They live in a house that was built by the father´s father, and have an amazing garden out back. The garden is huge, and mostly grows wild rather than in rows. There are a dozen or so fruit trees of different sorts, herbs that they pick everyday to make different sorts of teas, blackberry bushes, alvocado trees, exotic flowers... my first day Danheyl took me on a walk through the garden and picked a bit of this and that for me to try, including a few fruits I had never even heard of. The next day some men came in to buy some alvocados, they picked a good mountainful. I think they ended up buying a few thousand.

The family is great, very giving, and I immediately felt at home and at ease with all of them. And within that same time frame, I watched them chase down one of their chickens (they run free in the garden) and kill it. We had him for lunch the next day.

Danheyl and I went on a walk along an old abandoned trainrail and he picked and pointed out about 40 different flowers I had never seen or heard of.

Ecuador is really a world unlike any other. Approximately the size of Colorado, it has, within its tiny frame, rainforests, beaches, highlands, volcanoes, mountains, lagoons, lakes, islands, everything you can imagine. There are also all sorts of people here—a ton of different indigenous tribes still call Ecuador home. It also has one of the greatest levels of biodiversity in the world, something like fifteen percent of the world´s bird species can be found here, as well as over 18,000 plant species. There is much to see, more than I will be able to see in my two months plus here. Not to mention that the people here are incredibly friendly and just pleasant all around.

Despite being homesick as I am today, I am certain I made the right destination choice for my journey this time. I was thinking to myself yesterday that while I was not completely sure why I chose Ecuador at first, there really was no other choice. Like choosing which nostril to get pierced, the choice was just what felt right.

Other things about Ecuador that I love:

- There is very much an attitude here that life is life. I really appreciate it.

- The largest meal of the day is almuerzo, or lunch. This typically consists of a soup, rice, a meat, salad, and juice, and typically cost about $1.50. I have yet to be able to complete one of these meals.

- Juice is strangely huge here. There are vendors at many locations where they´ll take a fruit of your choice (odds are there are a few things you´ve never heard of), some water, maybe some sugar, and throw it in a blender. Fifty cents for a glass of fresh juice made in front of you.

- For the most part, nothing is ever offered for a taste only, but passed around so that everybody can have at it. Water, beers, sweets, etc. are passed around freely amongst friends, even new ones. The costs of cabs, buses, and meals are also shared— very often a friend will buy my meal, or pay for the transport without expecting repayment (or assuming that because I am a gringa I can afford it). Likewise, I often pay for bus fare or such for friends and they have no qualms about accepting it.

- A good portion of the people I know I have met on the street or in a restaurant. The people here are very welcoming and curious, and quick to befriend or help me out as I am walking around.

Back to what I´ve been up to.

While staying with Carlos I helped him with his English a bit for a series of job interviews he had in English, and right before I moved to the hostal he got the job! He´s in Baltimore this week with the company, and had a lay over in Houston (his first time there).

My last week in Quito I spent taking Spanish classes (which helped a bit) and walking around the intensely huge city that is Quito.

My stay in San Antonio has been very ¨tranquillo¨. There is a man named Cruz that lives near the Estevez home that I speak with just about every time I leave the house. He is 64 and has been living alone for the past 20 years. He is a bit senile (he told me himself), but is truly a sweetheart, and told me last night that I am the first person from the States he has ever met. A few mornings ago he showed me his house and told me about his children, his wife that left him, his faith. He showed me his Bible and said that he served the same God as Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama (I am definitely at home here in that very few people I have met like Bush). He gave me a wood carving he made to remember him by. I don´t really have room for it in my bag, but will have to make it. I just love this man. He is also very poor. He said there is a lot of poverty in the area around San Antonio because the majority of cash her flows in the big cities, and little makes its way to the people that live elsewhere. But, he told me, the new president has instituted some assistance for people like him, and at the beginning of the month he receives $30 in aid.

Yesterday I went for a walk, and walked for the majority of the day just in San Antonio, probably about 7 to 10 miles. The scenery is beautiful in San Antonio and the air is so clean and fresh, it is a great spot for a day of walking. I stopped and spoke with about a dozen people. At one point I met Carlos, 23, who works for the light company. His job is to walk around checking meters and handing out notices to those in default. I joined him for part of his route, because it allowed me to go down some streets (I use the world loosley) I would have felt uncomfortable exploring alone. He was also from San Antonio and took off for a bit with me and showed me an indigenous church that was not in my guidebook, but was absolutely beautiful. We then hiked to his favorite lake, which ended up being dried up, but the walk was beautiful and worth it. Afterwards he invited me to his house to ¨almorzar¨(to lunch) with his family. His mother made a killer ¨almuerzo¨ and was a gracious host and his little sisters were precious.

At the beginning of my walk, before meeting Carlos, I was bit by a dog on my right calf. It didn´t break the skin, but left a huge bruise. Dumb, pregnant dog.

Which leads to things I am not enjoying in Ecuador right now:

-the dog that bit me
-the speaking in a language I don´t fully understand for about 90% of the time (I actually love this, but today while I am being homesick it is not enjoyable).
-the fact that I always stick out, and (my father´s favorite) the men that tell me that they love me everytime I walk down the street (oh.. Latin culture).

That will have to wrap it up for now. I´m leaving Ibarra tomorrow I think, and will be staying in a hostel this time in hopes of meeting another traveler that may want to travel with me for a bit.

42 days left!

Besos from Ibarra.

Chao.

Living and Dying in Quito

tnashbu — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:37:00 GMT

Sorry for the long winter in my posts. Today marks the thirteenth day of my trip, and the fourth day that I have been sick since arriving in Quito. Yesterday I woke up with a killer sore throat and no voice. I thought it might be laryngitis, but I am feeling substantially better today, though still with a slight cough.

The past week has been eventful and hopefully I will get time soon to upload what photos I have and track down the photos of friends.

Monday I went to the Old City on the south side of Quito. The area is full of beautiful buildings from the 19th century. Before playing tourist I sat for a while in the plaza and read a newspaper and spoke with some old men who had come to feed the birds. There was a protest in front of the Presendent´s Palace, but I could not figure out over what. While in Old City I visited La Basilica and La Compañia. The Old City also had a great view of El Panecillo, which I did not go visit.

On my way to La Basilica I met a man in the street, Jose, who lived in Atlanta for seven years. He said that he crossed into the States illegally from Mexico into Brownsville, and that he walked for three days alone in the desert drinking his own urine to survive the heat, before meeting his contacts. Hardcore.

Monday night I got a phone call from my friend Eyal, who hosted me and two friends when I visited Philadelphia in January through Couchsurfing. He is in Ecuador for 11 weeks, working in Quito for six and traveling the rest of Ecuador for 5. We met up for dinner with a bunch of other couchsurfers and some of his coworkers. The group consisted of people from Finland, Germany, Ireland, France, Poland, etc.

Tuesday Eyal and I went to the futbol stadium at about 11 in the morning to buy tickets for the game against Columbia the next day. About 6:30 they ran out of tickets and we ended up having to buy them from scalpers.

Wednesday was the big game, which kicked off at 5:30. We arrived at the stadium at 2:30 and still had to stand for there was absolutely no seating in the stadium. Then, it started raining... hard, and continued for the next 6 hours on an off. I shared my small umbrella with three others, but we were all still pretty wet and freezing, but nobody left the game. To make things more interesting people were throwing confetti everywhere and when it hit the water the dye migrated to our skin. I was blue for a good two days. For half of the game I sat on a ledge with my feet on the shoulders of the guy in front of me. It was cold and miserable, and neither team scored a single goal, but it was a blast. I have some great pictures. Anticipate.

Friday I signed up for a Spanish class for next week and booked a room in a friend´s hostel. My room is, quite literally, larger than my old apartment. So I will be staying in Quito for one week more trying to improve my Spanish. Friday night I went to a party with the international group for a Polish girl´s birthday. Yesterday and today I and Magdelena, who lives in my hostel and is of Germany, went to a music festival.

All in all things are good here in Quito. Love you.

Taryn

Typical Ecuadorian Experiences

tnashbu — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:23:00 GMT

My host Carlos is fantastic, and fantastically funny. Saturday, my second day at his house, he, Luis, and I went out on the town for some typical Ecuadorian experiences. We first went to the mall and bought me a new phone. Carlos tried to talk Luis into buying a pingpong table, and we ate Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. They kept telling me, "This is a very Ecuadorian thing to do. You like Ecuador... or is it to American?"

Lunch was followed by another cultural experience- bowling. Where we learned that the secret to bowling well is dancing, preferably to the sickeningly American music that they play all over the mall.

Yesterday Carlos took me to the Teleferigo- which is a sort of ride to the top of one of the mountains on the outskirts of the city. At the top there are a few shops and trails. We hiked up one of the trails, to a point that was more than 4100 meters, over 13000 feet, high. We sat at this point for a long time talking about our families, our experiences, travels, etc. Still me in Spanish and him in English.

The great thing about Couchsurfing is that it really gets to be entering somebody's life and seeing how they live. I actually probably would not have gone to a KFC here if I had not been with Carlos. Also, there are such small things that you are exposed to that are different than they are at home. For example, before taking a shower you must turn on the waterheater and let it heat up for about half an hour before you will have hot water, and Carlos' monthly electricity bill is about $6.85- including utilities and taxes.

Last night I had a dream that I was talking to Mrs. Kreig, my high school English teacher, and responded to something she said with "Chevere", which means cool. Then, in my dream, I turned to her and said, "I am dreaming right now. I am not actually here, because I am in Ecuador. I will be here for another two months." Then she and I had a conversation about dreams in which you know you are dreaming and how that works.

Crazy.

Still in Quito

tnashbu — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:42:00 GMT

Travel is really, I think, mostly about good people. On that end, this trip has been excellent so far. I stayed at the hostal in Gringoland (the tourist district of Quito) for two nights. There I met people from Chile, Columbia, Holland, and different parts of Ecuador. Gerardo and I and some others that he knew in the area went to a club across the street from the hostal and played pool for much of my second night. I expect that me and Gerard will be traveling together in the near future before he travels to Columbia.

Yesterday I met up with a Couchsurfer named Pablo for a quick chat and he gave me some ideas on where to go during my trip and invited me to join him and a few of his friends in Otovalo next weekend for the summer solstice festival.

I then met my current host Carlos. How do I describe my experience with Carlos... he met me at the hostal with his friend Luis and we went straight to a mall for a wine tasting. I´m sure we looked like a silly bunch- the gringa with the backpack, Luis wearing a suit, and Carlos (the mono) mocking Luis much of the time. We then caught a bus to the end of the world to go to Luis´graduation (only in Couchsurfing). After trekking half the globe Carlos and I were not fancy enough to enter, and Luis nearly missed being called and was the only person in the ceremony not in a cap and gown.

We then went to Sangolqui, where Luis´ parents live and I met his father and spoke with him a bit in broken Spanish. At a small, open air place not far from his house we ate tripe and mote and had some beer for dinner. We had intended to go to a party when we arrived back in Quito, but everybody fell asleep within three minutes of getting to Carlos` house.

Luis and Carlos are great, and both are pretty fluent in English. But to allow all of us practice they speak in English and I in Spanish. We are a crazy bunch.

At some point yesterday I bought a phone for my trip... and at some point later in the day, I lost it. I imagine it fell out of my bag when we were jumping on a moving bus in the rain. At least that makes the best story. Pretty upsetting- but what can you do?

Later this evening I believe that we will head to a city outside of Quito, Ibarra, for a festival or party or something.

Pictures to come.

¡Estoy en Quito!

tnashbu — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:19:00 GMT

I arrived in Quito yesterday morning. Getting here involved three flights and a full 24 hours of travel. From Houston to Atlanta to Miami to Quito, with about 15 hours of layovers in between. When I stepped out of the airport I fully doubted my ability to be alone in this place for nine weeks, but I contribute that mostly to a lack of sleep.

The trip out was not all that bad. I met a guy from Brazil during my longest layover (almost 9 hours) in Miami. Twenty-one, an aspiring magician (with a degree in marketing), and moving back home after a year of living in New Orleans. He had a real love for Bob Dylan and the Beatles- go figure. We spoke in broken English-Spanish for a few hours before I passed out on the airport floor at 3A.M.

I had intended to couchsurf my first night here in Quito with a couple from London, but feeling as gross as I did when I arrived I decided a hostel would be better (and closer). After a few hours of sleep I felt much better about the city, the country, and my impulsive plane-ticket-buying habits.

I met a guy from Chile who has been traveling for six years by himself- I am not hardcore. We spoke for a few hours- if my Spanish is not much improved after this trip there is no hope for it. As many gringas and toursists as I see around the city I have yet to meet anybody that is not from South America, or that speaks English.

Gerard and I went to a bakery around the corner and to a "minimercado" to get stuff to make tuna sandwhiches. He told me many times how good these Altuns were... very South American. It tasted like the sandwhiches mom made us growing up. I am not so far from home. Orlando and Jose, who work in the hostel, joined us, and we stayed up for much of the night talking and joking. The people I have met so far have been amazing, and good people definitely take away the stings of homesickness.

Packing

tnashbu — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:39:00 GMT

So I am leaving to catch my flight in a few hours. The past few days I have been packing and checking my extensive packing list over and over again.

Because this is my first big trip and my family will be using this blog to keep tabs on me, and they may not be familiar with this sort of travel, I wanted to document the packing process.

I am taking an Osprey Port 46 backpack (a 46 liter pack) and a small messenger back. My goal is to not have to check anything at the airport.

My PAck:

Clothes:

Shown Here:
-camping towel and handtowel
-2 tshirts
-1 long sleeve shirt
-1 fleece
-2 skirts
-1 pair of pants
-1 raincoat
-2 undershirts
-1 pair of shorts
-1 bathing suit
-3 scarves
-1 pair of tights
-1 set underarmor (shirt and pants for cold)
-2 bras
-7 pair underwear
-1 pair shower shoes
-1 pair Chaco's walking sandals

Toiletries and Such:

Shown Here:

-laundry bag
-bike lock (to be used to secure bag on buses, to beds, etc)
-flashlight
-makeup
-hair ties and such
-toilet paper
-the Keeper
-bug spray
-sunscreen
-glasses
-water bottle
-baby wipes
-deoderant
-shampoo
-leave in conditioner
-hand sanitizer
-toothpaste, toothbrush, toothbrush case, floss
-razors
-tweezers
-nail clippers
-small packets of laundry detergent
-medical kit (bandaids, neosporin, anti-itch cream, allergy medicine, etc.)
-umbrella
-malaria pills
-plugs, adapaters, and USB cords for phone, camera and Ipod
-money pouch
-camera bag (camera not shown here for obvios reasons)
-bandana
-comb
-jewelry

Mental Materials:

-journal (personal)
-writing journal
-pictures of family
-reading materials (shown here: Pilgrim Souls, Making Room, 12th Street, Believe Magazine, and the New Yorker)
-notebook (for writing directions, contact info, etc.)
-travel books
-immunization booklet
-passport
-international student ID (ISIC)
-pens
-extra ziplock bags and zipties
-mesh bags
-phone

And that is it for the next two months. I feel like I may have overpacked some- but it all fit in the pack comfortably and I can always drop stuff along the way. The only items not pictured here are my Ipod, camera, my liscence and moneys.

Gallery: Trip Prep

tnashbu — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:04:00 GMT

Final Preperations

tnashbu — Sun, 1 Jun 2008 23:21:00 GMT

Journal Entry- January 9, 2008

"I bought a ticket to Quito today. Holy [explicit]! (sorry grandma)"

I've been semi-planning this trip since I bought my ticket that January day on which I was apparently filled with pensive reflection. Now I have just over a week before my long-awaited flight out and I realize I have actually planned very little, and that very poorly.

Still, I am anxious and excited about the journey. This will be my first trip of this sort, and 9 weeks of travel is probably just what I need right now. What was originally planned as a solo trip has become less so every week. Along the road I will be meeting up with Couchsurfers I've met in my travels and Lindsi (who runs in the same circle as I here in Houston). I am looking forward to seeing how that balance plays out- I am excited for those weeks where I am on my own, but happy to have the company of friendly faces popping in along the way. I am excited about the new faces and friendships the travels will bring, and less than excited about the boredom that usually comes with hours of being alone with myself and/or waiting on the next flight.

I've got a 46 litre pack, a limited understanding of Spanish, hope, a pretty pathetic bank account, and a general readiness for things new. Catch you in Quito.