hey!
So I got across the border just fine. I actually really didn't like Mancora, I found it really didn't have any good vibes at all, maybe it was the wrong time of year to go there. First there were no waves so I couldn't go surfing and secondly in the 24 hours I was there three people got mugged at gun point right outside my hostel which didn't really endear the place to me. My hostel was in kind of a bad location I guess. It was set back off the main street by this deserted stretch of road. And it was in this no-mans land in which all of the muggings took place. I hate being places where I don't feel safe going out alone at night. Anyway so I decided to leave town and head up to a beach town in Ecuador named Montanita which I heard rocked. So I woke up early and paid for my hostel and then had to cross the no-mans land alone in the wee hours of the morning, not an exciting prospect I will tell you. So being the coward that I am I took of at a lopping gait and reached the other side save and sound and in record time. I wandered into town and found myself a collectivo (a collective bus) to Tumbus the last semi big town before the border town Aguas Verdes. In Tumbus I found a bus that would take me all the way to Guayaquil, the biggest town in Ecuador where I could catch another bus to Montanita. It worked out perfectly the direct bus left 45mins after I got into town giving me time to change my money (they use the us dollar in Ecuador). And then on the bus and across the border no problem. I didn't find it sketchy at all yet we stopped in Aguas Verdes and a British guy got on the bus and he had just been totally fleeced crossing part of the border. He had ended up in this cab with a bunch of locals who demanded money and threatened violence and he had to give the border guards money too, pretty shitty and he was pretty shaken up. After that the bus ride was really nice, we drove past more banana trees than I thought existed and lots of mountains and villages, I saw a bunch of cock fighting pits, it is a big sport here, but no actual fights. We finally arrived in Guayaquil after about 6 hours on the bus. Guayaquil has the most modern bus terminal I have seen in South America so far. It was crazy almost like being in some western shopping mall/bus terminal. From there I caught the nicest bus I have been on since Argentina to Montanita. It was full of gringos since Montanita is a real hippy surf town. It was nice though I met a bunch of people who I hung out with for the next couple of days, especially this couple form California, Laura and Ramie, who ended up traveling to Quito with. Anyway back to the story at hand. We rolled in to Montanita at about 9pm (it was a long day). Montanita is a really funny place. It is such a little gringo mecca. There is one main strip that is about three blocks long, chock a block with restaurants and bars that offer 24 hr a day happy hour, two for one deals. So I proceeded to get my room, shower and then go for a drink! It was a great way to end the day, we even went dancing. The next day I woke up late, wandered around, got breakfast and ran into Laura who invited me to go paragliding with her and Ramie so I said ¨fuck ya¨ and half an hour later we were off and heading down the beach to a cliff. It was an awesome experience. It was tandem paragliding so really you are just attached to the guy who is actually flying the thing, but it was so much fun, we soared up above the cliff and the beach spread out below us, a long golden strip that slipped into the beautiful blue ocean. He also did all of these really sharp turns which kinda throw up to one side or another. I just loved it. I was amazing just to be hanging there up in the sky, no engine noise, just gliding on the breeze. After that we headed back to down got some lunch and a couple of drinks (damn they were cheap and tasty) then really just hung out on the beach the rest of the day and went out again at night, it is kinda the only thing to do there. Although the next morning I groggily awoke from my drunken slumber at 5:30am to the sound of a complete marching band parading up and down the main strip, I still have no idea what they were celebrating, maybe they were just fucking with all the gringos. If there is something I have learned about south america by now is that they love their parades, I mean love them! They have parades for just about any occasion you can think of, and on top of that they love to have parades at very inappropriate hours. I have seen them early in the morning and late at night and have often woken to the noise of a parade but this was by far the earliest parade yet!
The next day I switched hostels to Laura and Ramie´s and then proceeded to do nothing all day. I read, I swam, the ocean here is warm, not hot so perfect for swimming in and I drank. It was great. The next day I finally got out on a surf board. It was alot of fun to be doing something active and I even got up which for me is all I can ask for. Although I ended up surfing down one end of the beach so I wouldn't get to in the way of people who can really surf but at one point I started thinking about sharks and being all on my own. I hate thoughts like that when your feet are hang down in to the dark waters below. But luckily I surfed for a couple of hours with no shark bites or even nibbles. Then it was back to my old routine of sleeping, reading and drinking. The next day Laura, Ramie and I rolled out of town early on our way to Quito. It took from about 9am to 12am to make it there and by the time we arrived I was dead beat and ready for sleep. I am not a huge fan of Quito as far as cities I have been in it doesn't rank high in excitement or beauty and about a person a night, sometimes more, from my hostel is mugged on their way back to the hostel. Which makes a place slightly less appealing. I haven't really been up to much since I have been here. Mostly just hanging out with people at the hostel (a really nice group) and I went up a cable car to the top of a near by mountain. You can see down on to all of Quito and it looks pretty huge and spectacular from up there. I also went to the equator today which was interesting. It is funny though they have two monuments. One was put up by the French I think and is wrong, not actually on the equator, but it is the bigger of the two and the more visited. Then there is a little museum on the real equator that was cute and kitchy. They do all sorts of little experiments, one where they drain a sink of water on the northern hemisphere and it drains counter clockwise and on the southern hemisphere it drains clockwise and on the equator it drains straight down. Lonely planet says it is all a lie that you cant see the difference so close the equator but to me you could really see it so I choose to believe my eyes! I also balanced an egg on a nail right on the equator and got a certificate for doing it. One of my highest achievements to date! Anyway I am off for Columbia tomorrow and another slightly dubious border crossing but I have so many under my belt now I am sure I will be fine. I am excited about Columbia I have been looking forward to this for so long.
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