Busses in Ecuador

I wrote a while ago and when I was almost finished the owners daughter pulled the plug on my machine. I was so upset It has taken me till now to try again. Sooooo... here´s the classic skinny on the buses. As per most of the buses in the world they are....interesting. We decided to go to the coast, to get away from the altitude and the sickness. So from Quito, through some muddy water we were finally helped,and we went with the company Rincon del Camino. What happens is this you hop on and there is this fellah,(we think is actually sponsered by the bus company for soccer training) His job is to solicit more passengers whether they want to go there or not. They have this chant, only the last syllable of the destination, in our case the first time we went by bus, it was valo, valo,valo.(for Otavalo city for example) So you have to be on your toes as to where you are going. Thank god we were listening. To be honest, god and I did have alot of informal chats, I had an open line with him on this journey. Now what happens after you get on the bus is... the bus is semi-loaded and you are jet propelled down the street, slowing slightly only to accost unsuspecting individuals to go to destinations unknown. This soccer pro jumps off the bus to get into their faces and then runs as fast as his little legs can take him and leaps back onto the still moving vehicle. They do this throughout the journey until the bus is full, anywhere there are people on the side of the road.
Now for our driver. As for most of the drivers of the world, they are usually trained in indi racing and drastic feats of daring from Anthony Robbins, walking on hot coals and such, thereby increasing self confidence and all that stuff. Our driver also went to monster car rallies, and bumper cars. He negoticates these roads like a Canadian lawyer in court. He also had a symptom or two of manic behavior as he had illusions of granduer, where by he felt as he was the largest vehicle on the road that every vehicle, person or being was potentially road kill.
Travelling from Quito, one of the highest cities in the world to sea level is...... exciting and some would say rather frightful but I found it a very good time to have personal chats with god, how ever I found another patron saint that I also found time for. She and I were introduced when I took a courageous but much needed trip to the loo. There in all her life sized glory is Santa Fatima´ picture, I have yet to look up her patronage. As I found her in the loo, on a bus journey,,,,, it could be many different things. I felt I couldn´t go wrong and just struck up a relationship not really concerning myself with her purpose, but trying to increase my odds.
The view of the majestic mountains, their waterfalls and jungle is truely awesome however if the roads were perhaps a bit straighter or maybe negociated at a slower speed, say 70 miles per hour, I might have enjoyed it more. I thought some of the roadways in BC were steep, well it just doesn´t compare to here. The only way I have come down faster from such altitudes before was by plane...making a forced approach. I actually felt car sick for the first time since I was a child and had to get to a window seat to ensure the contents of my sickly stomach stayed put. I do say though that we made it through some rather sketchy roads to Manta finally.
The farther away from Quito you get the nastier the roads and also the more slummy the homes and towns. We have finally found the 3rd world and it is here on the coast. We are in a place called Puerto Lopez. It is a has been compared to the sitcom Samson and son. From days long since past, it was supposed to be a junk yard. But even though it is very rough, the people here are wonderful, in fact fantastic. Our host at our hostel. Spondylus. is wonderful, he is very helpful and wants to fulfill our every desire. But then again everyone here has, without exception. It is unpolluted but tourists, although they are still catering to the tourists for business. They have whales here in the summer as well as turtles. I think when we come back to Ecuador in September, we will rent a house here. The beaches are white and the water is warm.
We went kayaking for Rob´s Birthday and the boat is a rather sketchy thing not like the west coast kayak. Bring your own if you want to come. The kids and I took surfing lessons too. That was awesome, our host found us an instuctor. His name is Roberto and he has been great too.
Everyone is soo helpful with the language and my spanish is improving daily.
However, here is the downside. We went and saw the Doctor again, organized by our host thank god. He practices homeopathy and traditional medicine too and gave us a home visit. We all have had to see the doctor and I feel like I am carrying around a pharmacy. We are hardening up, now that we found out where the bugs in our food are from. They are from the juice venders, we are told. Another helpful chap told us and also what to look for. So now we are armed with knowledge and have had a few knocks. Also on the kayaking day, we got sun burned, Of course, I got the worst and have blisters on my back. Dane has realy bad ones on his face. But I noticed with Dane that he really loves the sea and can´t get away from it. He would stay in it all day if his skin held up.
We will be here for a couple more days , and then sadly we will go to Cuenca, and the Imburra Train, The one where you can ride on the top of it, through the andes.
I have to say that I really love it here. And will feel like I am coming back home in September. Talk to you all soon, loving it here is rustic and warm Ecuador.