It`s been raining for a week. And I`m not talking about just a little rain. I`m talking rivers flooding, mudslides over highways, eternally wet clothing rain. The kind where sometimes you have to put your hand over your mouth so you can take a breath. The kind that after the first five minutes, the water on the street is coming up over your shoes. My one pair of jeans are so constantly wet, they`ve started to mold. I`ve started wearing flip flops because all of my shoes are squelchy and my socks are soaked within seconds of putting on shoes. The wooden front door has sopped up so much water, it has swollen shut, and I have a minor panic attack/spaz everytime I try to get in or out (can anyone say "fire hazard"?). And I`m oh so tired of it!!
The thing about living on the equator is that sometimes the rainy season comes multiple times in a year (I think global warming also has a hand in it as well...). So, even though I arrived in Cuenca in September to rain everyday for a month, that wasn`t enough for Ecuador. The torrential downpours apparently will continue on for the next few weeks.
Can`t wait.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
A vacation from a vacation
This past weekend was Carnival in Ecuador, which, as previously mentioned, is a country-wide water fight. Desperate to avoid it, some friends and I decided to get out of the country entirely, and try our hand at Peru. We climbed on a bus on Friday morning, and made our way to the border town, Huaquillas, 5 hours south. Climbing off the bus was like entering a different world. We were instantly hot and sticky, and in what I could only imagine was a market in China. And although the people looked and spoke Spanish, I was convinced that it was China, none-the-less. There were fruits and vegetables everywhere, people pushing ox-carts piled high with fish and oranges and clothing, and men riding bikes with carts attached. Taxis and tuk-tuks were everywhere, and the rules of the road were apparently non-existent. It was chaos.
We were under strict instructions not to talk to ANYBODY, because EVERYBODY would try to rob us, yet on all sides, we were mobbed by men trying to get us into their taxis. It was all very overwhelming, since we didn´t even know what direction to walk to get to the border. Finally, we ended up in front of a police station, and decided that perhaps we could trust them, and we ended up getting into two tuk-tuks the policeman recommended. The guy seemed trustworthy enough, and took us to the Peruvian border, 4 kms away. We all piled out, and immediately piled back in, after we were told we had to go to the Ecuadorian border to get our exit stamps. So, back through the market, back through a parade of water balloons and shaving cream, back to where we started, into another cab, to the Ecuadorian border, 10 km away. This border was just a shack on the side of the road. I wonder how we could´ve missed it?? Anyhow, armed with our exit stamps, we made our way BACK to the border of Peru, through all the muss and mess of Huaquillas, and were FINALLY allowed into Peru, after an hour and a half of mass confusion.
We arrived in Mancora, a beach town in the north of Peru, at around 8pm, 11 hours after we started our journey (we were told it would take us 7-9 hours...). We found a hostel, found some much needed food, and I went to bed while the others went to find the nightlife in Mancora. The next day, we got up, and spent the day on the beach. And the next day. And the next day. It was amazing. The water was warm, the sun was hot, and vendors would walk along the beach, calling out their wares, so you didn´t even have to get up to get water or food. In the evenings, we would walk along the market stalls, admiring the jewelery, sarongs, books, and clothing, before we ate dinner and went out dancing. The best part was, I didn´t get involuntarily wet the whole weekend!! I love Peru! Ooh, and the other best part was the four gorgeous women I was with, they made the trip so much fun, we all got along splendidly, and had some amazing and at times vulgar conversations. Good times.
The ride home was a lot more productive, since we knew what we were doing, although we did end up in a deserted parking lot with three sketchy men (they wanted money to sneak us across the border...don´t ask!). However, not two minutes after getting my passport stamped in Ecuador, I got hit by a water balloon!! Stupid Carnival....
We were under strict instructions not to talk to ANYBODY, because EVERYBODY would try to rob us, yet on all sides, we were mobbed by men trying to get us into their taxis. It was all very overwhelming, since we didn´t even know what direction to walk to get to the border. Finally, we ended up in front of a police station, and decided that perhaps we could trust them, and we ended up getting into two tuk-tuks the policeman recommended. The guy seemed trustworthy enough, and took us to the Peruvian border, 4 kms away. We all piled out, and immediately piled back in, after we were told we had to go to the Ecuadorian border to get our exit stamps. So, back through the market, back through a parade of water balloons and shaving cream, back to where we started, into another cab, to the Ecuadorian border, 10 km away. This border was just a shack on the side of the road. I wonder how we could´ve missed it?? Anyhow, armed with our exit stamps, we made our way BACK to the border of Peru, through all the muss and mess of Huaquillas, and were FINALLY allowed into Peru, after an hour and a half of mass confusion.
We arrived in Mancora, a beach town in the north of Peru, at around 8pm, 11 hours after we started our journey (we were told it would take us 7-9 hours...). We found a hostel, found some much needed food, and I went to bed while the others went to find the nightlife in Mancora. The next day, we got up, and spent the day on the beach. And the next day. And the next day. It was amazing. The water was warm, the sun was hot, and vendors would walk along the beach, calling out their wares, so you didn´t even have to get up to get water or food. In the evenings, we would walk along the market stalls, admiring the jewelery, sarongs, books, and clothing, before we ate dinner and went out dancing. The best part was, I didn´t get involuntarily wet the whole weekend!! I love Peru! Ooh, and the other best part was the four gorgeous women I was with, they made the trip so much fun, we all got along splendidly, and had some amazing and at times vulgar conversations. Good times.
The ride home was a lot more productive, since we knew what we were doing, although we did end up in a deserted parking lot with three sketchy men (they wanted money to sneak us across the border...don´t ask!). However, not two minutes after getting my passport stamped in Ecuador, I got hit by a water balloon!! Stupid Carnival....
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