Major Fiesta in Montañita

Yes, it was definitely heard. Even a quarter mile away, across the road; if I got two hours sleep total that was a lot. I´ve never been to a Carnaval celebration anywhere but this has to be a reasonable facsimile. Dancing, drinking, maybe some food was consumed too, but it was all about dancing, drinking and dancing some more. The main venue was ¨Cocktail Alley¨ a stretch of sidewalk/street that leads from town to the beach. Probably thirty or so impromptu outdoor bar shacks were set up, some quite involved with custom bottle holders, etc. They all pretty much served the same cocktails, usually a menu of 25 or 35 concoctions, many rum and fruit based - not my usual fare but you gotta get with the program. Each bar shack had its own music blasting out of a boom box, various combinations of salsa, merengue, south american hip hop (much more appreciated by this critic than most of what I hear at home.) It should have been cacophony but somehow it all worked together. Each shack also had a series of 4 or 6 resin chairs set up in front of the structure for the comfort of the customer. But often, a group of 5 or 6 partiers would take up the space, order drinks and then just dance in place. It was loud, there was a very cool energy, the bartenders were vying mightily for clients and the average age of the celebrants was probably 25. Then there was Canadian Bob and me, two grayhairs just watching, sipping umbrella drinks and just drinking the whole scene in. We were so aberrant but nobody seemed to notice. Way too much fun was being had.

After Bill and I had our first drink at Cocktail Alley, our host bartender insisted we sit in his ¨lounge¨ - I think he was so thrilled that he had the old guys that he wanted to show us off. He came out from behind his open air bar, shook our hands, did a fist bump and laughed out loud. Post cocktail we wandered over to our former hotel to watch a few innings of the World Series game with Charro´s husband, a huge baseball fan from Cuba. Bill insisted on buying a round back at our haunt on Cocktail Alley since I had covered the first one and when our host barkeep saw us again he literally jumped out from behind the bar to welcome us back. The music had gotten louder, the dancing more sensual and rhythmic, and the place was hopping hot. Did I mention that it was raining the entire time?

Two young couples joined us in the ¨lounge¨ and ordered their drinks. They were all from Germany and though they were not traveling together this was the third time they had bumped into each other since beginning travel in Ecuador. I was struck by how interested they were in what we were doing there and how friendly and warm they seemed. When they heard Atlanta, I learned that one of the couples had gotten stranded for five nights at Hartsfield Jackson on the way down here because of a document problem. Five nights I said, where did you stay? In the airport they said, what a nice airport. Yeah, as a place to fly out of not to live in, I said. I gave them a card and said next time you´re stuck in Atlanta give me a call.

We finally called it a night and headed across the road to our rooms at the language school. Just when we retired, around 11 pm, the music suddenly got much louder and was being driven by this bass line that would pound out for 15 minutes or so with a melody forming around it and then transform to the next iteration. This DID NOT STOP until after 7 am this morning. At one point in the night, probably around 3 but I didn´t bother to look at my watch, the entire gathered party started singing a song around the pounding audio - whether it was a known tune or something that they made up as they went along, I can´t say, but I could only imagine what it looked like to be there at that point and how loud it was given what we were hearing a quarter mile away.

Not much sleep, but a fine, fine memory. This morning the town was littered with pàrty detrius and the occasional shirtless young man spread eagled across a car or on an outdoor restaurant table. And here´s the thing - last night was a celebration of All Saints´Eve, and by 10 am this morning, the partying had already started for tonight´s celebration of All Souls´Eve. They´re all back at it even as I write this from Quito! Youth...

At about 5 am this morning, it dawned on me that I have awakened before dawn on every single day of this trip. Long days but full ones, even when I didn´t do all that much. They can easily get filled up just from being away, a wonderful side effect of travel

So, back in Quito, at the airport, a final time, waiting for a redeye to Atlanta. I have never felt so confident in my willingness to throw myself into my pidgin Spanish than on this trip and I have never communicated so well (relatively speaking) just by trying and maintaining confidence that I CAN communicate if I put my mind to it. I leave South America with a hardened aspiration to get my arms around that skill and once and for all and actually speak Spanish. I don´t have any allusions around fluency, but I know if I make a plan (maybe a plan to do it intensively here!?!??), I can get much better than I am and this is the first time I´ve felt this real possibility.

A lot of people ask(ed) me why Ecuador, and one reason I´ve not really talked a lot about is the incredible geographic diversity here. You have the High Sierra, the Galapagos Islands, the Oriente (rain forest) and an incredible Pacific coastline all in a country the size of North Carolina. I haven´t seen it all on this trip, but it has whet my appetite for more.

More Ecuador? Of course, but it is fair at this point to pose the question if not completely answer it - have I gotten it out of my system or have I gotten Ecuador more into my system? While that needs more reflection, I know this - I am keenly interested in continuing my exploration of more of South America. It is a culture and a place it took me too long to discover and one that I don´t want to ignore in the future.

I´m guessing there´s one more post in me when I get back home and get some real rest, so look for a bit more soon. For now, however, my deep thanks to Sam, Emily and especially Ann for allowing me this incredible opportunity to try on a new set of clothes for 10 days or so - it has meant a lot to me.