Miss You

I missed the sunset by ten minutes tonight. I miss getting hot water in my morning shower. And I’ll miss this place when I leave it, in spite of the mosquito bites on the bottom of my feet and the dogs that break into my cabana early in the morning. I’ll miss the people, the experience, and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.

I’ve been hearing everyone’s post-CELTA plans…going to the highlands to write, going back to Colombia to get a job, heading to Argentina to look for work, getting an apartment in Quito, starting work in Taiwan, hostal hopping for a while, going anywhere to get away from these f***ing mosquitoes, man…and I wonder when my story will sound like that (well maybe not that last one.) From recent conversations, Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia are on my list.

A naked Ecuadorian man approached me on the beach today to chat. I shook my finger “no” and held up my hand to indicate, “No naked man chats, please.” He respectfully walked away and continued playing in the waves.

I love meeting (clothed) people when I travel: new buddies, chance meetings, or random situations. Jeff and I were waiting for a taxi Saturday night, and we met a French couple going our direction. A couple of chics tried to steal our taxi, but I out power-walked them. Jeff and the French couple were really impressed with my power-walking skills, and we had a fun ride home together.

One of our English students, Colo, has adopted us and decided to feed us beer. Wherever I go with Colo, she always has a cold communal beer to pass to me: at the club in Montanita Friday night and at the Miss Manglaralto beauty pageant Saturday night.

Because Kamala is a bit isolated, we tend to do a lot of trekking. Ten minutes to Manglaralto to do laundry or go to the “store,” and fifteen minutes to Montanita to party all night. At high tide, the trek includes climbing over the ruins of a disintegrated building that drops off into the sea.

My first official trek was a hike to the waterfalls and natural pools yesterday. We swam in a cave and ate fruit from the trees along the way. It was a lovely excursion, and you can check out my video of the hike, as well as my video of the festival in Montanita and the Miss Manglaralto beauty pageant.

I dare say that I am the most advanced salsa dancer in the area. I haven’t met anyone who dances L.A. or New York style or who can challenge me as a dancer. I’m going to Quito next weekend in search of the salseros. Keep your fingers crossed.

Miss you,
Rebecca