I Spoke Too Soon

Sure. After 8 months of travel a horrible day is bound to arise but must it be so bad. Today has been the first day that I have wished to be home. (Even that prospect is depressing since I don't actually have a home.)

Yesterday afternoon we excitedly arrived to Guaranda, happy to be off the beaten path. We checked into our hostel and quickly made it to the town's eccentric and artsy cafe where we enjoyed yummy hot chocolate and games. We returned to the hostel and warmed up while reading our books. A while later I went looking for our iPod to enjoy some tunes before sleep. Surprisingly the iPod was not in my pack. I thought I left it at our previous hostel and immediately called to inquire. I was told to call back in the morning when the regular staff was on duty. I tried to stay positive but could not manage to fall asleep. The iPod is expensive but more importantly it drowns out noise on buses and in hostel rooms. While at home an iPod is just another electronic device, here it greatly contributes to our mental well being.

I awoke early and phoned the previous hostel only to be informed that no iPod was found in our vacated room. We then thought that maybe the staff at our current hostel may have snatched it the previous afternoon while we were gone. When we checked in the owner did warn us that some foreigners just a few days earlier had made accusations of stolen shoes. So instead of leaving our big packs at the hostel and traveling with just a our small daypacks, we left Guaranda fully loaded and quite dejected as we headed to the even smaller village of Salinas. We hoped that the infamous cheese and chocolate of the village would cheer us up.

Salinas was very wet and very cold. Since we arrived the afternoon before May Day, most of the community co-ops on our tour of the town were closed. Instead we walked in the freezing rain looking in through windows as our guide propositioned us with unwelcome overtures. We arrived at noon, by 1:30pm our tour was over, and by 2pm we knew we would be on the 4pm bus back to Guaranda. No amount of chocolate or cheese could make Salinas appealing. The previous day they euthanized their stray dogs and had not collected the bodies off the streets. Around each corner lay dead dogs. For lunch we had unrecognizable meat that Catherine swore was dog meat. I had no proof to dispute her assertions.

As I was feeling sorry for myself trekking back to the bus stop with my heavy and wet pack, a truck sped by and dumped mud all over me. We barely caught the last bus out of town which also happened to be the super local bus. That means packed to capacity with loopy loops (folks chewing the coca leaves) and their countless rice sacks. Within 20 minutes my bladder felt close to explosion. 20 minutes later I maneuvered my way over people and sacks and told the driver I had to pee. Shortly after the bus stopped to get gear off the top and I ran to the side of the road, apologized to the driver for my indiscretion, and squatted for relief...which didn't actually come. Performance anxiety! I got on the bus and shortly after had to beg the driver again to stop and let me get off. Painful.

We made it back to Guaranda and immediately realized our Lonely Planet Ecuador was gone. Lost, forgotten, stolen. Who knows. It was the breaking point. Catherine hopped in a cab headed in one direction and I hopped in a different cab in another direction.

Tonight I sleep alone and with a fever. Yeah, I got sick today!