Returning to my new home

Returning places is always filled with a sense of wonder.

Quito was a quick maze of government buildings as I sought to register my visa and go to el senso. Neither of these things was I aware of before arriving to Ecuador. En la frontera I was informed, and had to navigate my way through LatinoAmericano bureaucracy in order to take care of these things before arriving in Bahia. Fortunately my friend met me in Quito, knew the city, and helped me both with making my way through the city, and with understanding what people were trying to tell me. You have to be a bit pushy and pleady here in order to take care of things. At the senso, I was actually given an Ecuadorian ID! Cool!

We went to Guayaquil so he could vote, and apparently the elections were a big deal this year. President Correa posed 10 questions which would make amendments ranging from banning bullfighting and cockfighting to not allowing the media to have interests in non-media corporations, to restructuring the judicial system. All of the questions passed in the pre-count, though most of them narrowly and with a good bit of heated conversation. Hopefully things don't become agitated in this country while I'm here!

Guayaquil: caliente, caliente, caliente!
Stepping off the bus was stepping into a mass of muggy air. Each day leaving the hotel room (which was air-conditioned) I immediately wanted another shower. I was a bit worried that Bahia (also on the coast, and even closer to the equator) would have this terrible heat. Though the port city does not have the best reputation, and certainly does not have the colonial beauty like Quito, we had a nice walk on the boardwalk, played around on a sailboat that was open to tour, and climbed to a tower in the old part of the city. You'd see pics, but I forgot to put a fresh battery in the camera.

Bahia: cultura diferente...
Its hard in some ways to describe how things are different here, but they very much are. In Quito, and in Colombia in the cities where I was, things seemed to have less of a distinct difference, but I'm on the coast now, which means coastal time. Coastal time here is a bit like island time, like when I'd go to the San Juan Islands in Washington. There are chickens running all around, a donkey brays, kids are playing in the dirt roads. Motos are common forms of transportation. Everyone knows each other. You take a break in the middle of the day because it's hot. Everyone eats together, even if there is just barely enough. You eat most things with a spoon. Fish and rice are common. The buildings are made of bamboo and wood (and a bit of cement) and the structure is shoddy but everyone has a computer and there's a projector on the wall and 15-year-olds have Blackberries. All work is done manually instead of using machinery and people just seem to do it. People are mining sand form the beaches to use in construction and so the beach is left with less sand and the hills are eroding. The papaya tree is loaded with fruit.

I know my writing is a bit disorganized but I wanted to share a little bit and in many ways its quite overwhelming to be back in this place. Peace and happiness to all who may read this and I do miss friends and family much so let me know how you are doing!