Ready to go out in Guayaquil!
I spent my last weekend of my time here in Guayaquil near the coast with Luisfer and his family. Guayaquil is a big city and very very hot...similar to Mississippi in the Summer...so I was immediately reminded of what I will be returning to in just over 24 hours. And my body's reposnse? Complete and total shock and shutdown. After only a few hours wandering around the city center with Luisfer and his mom and eating some amazinginly delicious llapingachos (cheese filled potato dumplings) covered in peanut salse prepared by his grandmother, I proceeded to sleep nearly 4 hours...qué vaga soy! But refreshed and revived, we headed back out to the center to eat dinner, climb 450 stairs to the top of a hill overlooking the city and the rivers the snake through it, and then off to dance the night away in celebration of my final night out in Ecualandia (Luisfer's cousin lent me clothes so I had actual "going-out" attire!). Sunday, a cousin and her boyfriend joined the two of us on a bike ride before eating lunch, playing tennis, eating again - this time in the company of 12 family members - I love Latino family get-togethers! - and then boarding my final night bus to return to Quito.
Bike ride to the river in Guayaquil
Tomorrow will mark the end of 8 and a half months of my life as a mochilera traveling solo throughout South America. I have visited five countries (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador), visited countless cities - from capital cities with 12 million people to pueblitos with population of 200 and every size in between, met some of the most wonderful, hospitable and inspiring people, and had some of the most amazing experiences of my life on this adventure of mine. I have been challenged in ways I could not have imagined - physically and mentally - and, as I said from the beginning, tried my best to stay in the mindset of "Do that which you think you cannot do" when faced with such challenges.
But now the "real world" (I.e. one in which I must work to recuperate my savings) is calling me home. And I am not sure how I feel about returning home. It will certainly be good to see my family and return to North Carolina to work and play in las montañas, but I will miss Latin America - the ambience, the friendly people, traveling everywhere by bus, living a very materialistically minimal existence traveling with - I kid you not and please do not be disgusted - 3 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, two sweaters, and 2 pairs of shoes (and, yes, holes have peeked through a few of my clothes, but I HATE shopping even when things are cheap...), and - most delightfully - the ability to buy any and every kind of food imaginable by simply walking out your front door - no need to go to the supermarket here! I will not miss - being utterly confused about the how, why, when, and where of bus stations, bus schedules, bus routes; eating nothing but bread for days on end when other options included potato chips and soda; explaining to people that I only drink water (why would someone be so crazy to live like that?!), do not eat red meat, deep fried foods, and prefer to have veggies at least once a day; and I will defintely NOT miss bathrooms without toilet seats and toilet paper....although it may be awhile before I stop throwing the papel higenico en the trash can...8 month long habits die hard:)!
Tonight is celebration of my final evening here, the boys and I plan to eat ice cream (first!), pan de yuca, choclo, arroz con menestra, perhaps a llapingacho, and, if space allows it, an empanada de queso. And tomorrow, painfully bright and early, I will be off to my hometown where Susan will be awaiting my arrival with bells on! Hasta la proxima, America Latina! VIVA!
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