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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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I have been meaning to discuss the safety standards here in Ecuador and how they are so *vastly* different from those in the U.S. You'll see toddlers here riding on the backs of motorcycles or 20 kids riding standing up in the back of a truck, or the crazy buses that drive like diablos through the countryside, or any other number of things that I know mothers and fathers in the U.S. would completely cringe at. For a country of people without insurance of any kind, you'd think they might take more care about these things... but no. And last night was another example of this.
Last night was the first night of the Corpus Cristi festival, which lasts for a week. After having dinner with some friends at this AMAZING colombian restaurant, we went to check out the scene in the Parque Calderon (the main park). I knew there would be sweets, but didn't really understand how many - they sell thousands of cookies, candies, cakes, whatever and people just buy them on the street. I bought a coconut and chocolate cookie that was absolutely one of the most delicious things I have ever put into my mouth. They had fireworks going off every two minutes or so for about 3 hours. You have to watch out though, because the ash and propellers actually fall down from the sky and you can definitely get hit. They also launch little tiny hot air balloon - candle things so the whole sky is lit with what looks like incredibly large stars. Then, there are the crazy stationary firework displays... they basically stay in one place and it's a crazy display of fireworks, but since it's on the ground it's really dangerous for people watching. Everyone stands about 15 feet from the fireworks. But the fire and sparks fly probably 30 feet from there so you are standing in a constant shower of crazy sparks and other debris that fly off, catching fire to the trees and other paper around! It is insane... completely insane but amazing. We were talking a little bit about how this could never happen in the states. There would be far too many regulations. Are we too paranoid? Too anal? Or are we just... er, safe?
Anyway, it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen and they do the exact same thing every night for 7 days. Wow!
To quell some fears of friends and family, Xavier is not really a stalker! I was (mostly) joking. Nothing to worry about really! He's a really nice person... buena gente, as they say here. I went out to The Mesa again on Wednesay night for salsa dancing with my friends though and he was there (it's a small town!) and it was slightly weird but ok. I was leaving for another club when he was coming in, so not a big deal. After The Mesa, we went to a club called Loft which was really fun. I had a great time, but since I only had about 3.5 hours of sleep, I was definitely feeling bad yesterday morning. But valle la pena (worth the grief).
For any whiskey drinkers out there, I tried a new drink called a padrino, which is whiskey and amaretto. Sooooo yummy. I know obvs they have this in the states, but I had never thought to put two and two together. Delicious, try it!
More to come... and pics too. I am on a mission now to take photos of FOOD, requested by an independent fan of this blog who isn't family or friends. Andrew, thanks for reading!
previous travel blog entry
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