Novel Journey

We’ve successfully arrived in Quito, Ecuador!! And we’ve already exhausted ourselves… at over 9300 ft above sea level, that’s not hard to do. Getting acclimated is always fun…

Anyway, this country is awesome! The people are friendly, the city is clean, there’s more to do around here than a small army could do in weeks, and the food ain’t half bad! I’m still crossing my fingers, though, that the food gods don’t punish me- but I won’t keep my hopes up. I’ve a bad track record with that so far.

The trip was also surprisingly pleasant. The immigration and customs check points were smooth, the cab ride was pleasant, the hostal was expecting us, the beds are comfortable, shower hot, and besides from the incessant street noise blasting through our second story window, quiet. We slept like logs.

Today was a rather auspicious day to arrive, too. Something that only happens every so often went down today: general elections. I’m not sure what or who they were voting for but I learned these tidbits from the cabby and a fellow traveler: they are voting to amend/change the constitution, all Ecuadoreños must vote or give up some of their rights, and there was a ban on the sale of alcohol this entire weekend. I suppose if they make their citizens vote, it makes sense to also make them do it sober. It’s easy to imagine swaths of drunk quiteños stumbling into the voting booths in the early morn…

As far as what we did today, I’ll give you a quick synopsis. We ate desayuno on the hostel roof, walked all over Old Town, checked out the Andy Warhol exhibit at the big art museum (he was awesomely wierd, by the way), ate, bought a cheap cell phone, napped, walked to the New Town and checked out some beautiful artwork in the Mariscal Sucre park, ate, and now we’re at an Internet café. I refused to wear sunsceen, so now my face is red, and Lada is still suffering periodically from a stomach ulcer. We’re treating her with Pepto Bismo before meals. My dumb ass will have to deal with the slight burn.

So we’re happy. All is well, we are living day to day, and so far we’ve been lucky. My spanish isn’t as rusty as I expected, as it has been rather easy to get what we need without those uncomforable moments of language misunderstandings. I even negotiated the cell phone purchase entirely in Spanish, and listened to the guide tell me all the strange things about Andy Warhol that I didn’t know while comprehending most of it. Lada thinks it’s hot. teehee.

That’s it for now. We took some photos, and we’ll upload them soon. I even plotted some spots with my gps, so you’ll be able to put the photos into geographical context on The Map page of this site! But I don’t think I’ll do that now.

Tonight we will be hanging out at the hostel (the only place that may sell us beer) and talk with one of the travelers who we met earlier. He’s also traveling for several months, and plans to go to Cuzco ( then Machu Pichu) and the Amazon. His name’s Ross and he’s been in Quito for a week now… so hopefully he can give us some tips.

Tomorrow I think we’ll head to the equator. La Mitad del Mundo!!!

So, the journey is two days away… time sure is creeping up on us. At this point I’m more ready to be done with all the bullshit preparation, and move on to the excitement of the journey. Alas, that won’t happen until we land in Quito, two backpackers in a foreign land… trying to figure out how to arrive at an accomodating hostel. Ohh… they days of nothing to worry about but where to sleep, eat, and have fun… It’s been a while! I welcome them back, now, with outstreched arms.

But don’t be too hasty Master Took- all in it’s due time. First we must finish what we started here, and do our damndest to do it right! Thursday it’s back to work, and Friday we move all the heavy and delicate stuff. And I’ve got to load up the GPS with some coordinates of cool places before we depart. Got to get my shit together, mayne!

Tada for now. Next correspondence, and we’ll probably be in Ecuador. Wish us luck!

We have purchased our tickets to South America!!  Finally, the commitment is made- the journey is now irreversibly underway.  It’s strange how those feelings of anxiety and fear seemed to somehow dissolve once we clicked the ‘Purchase Tickets’ button.  The Unknown is what restrained  my energy in a cage in the pit of my stomach.  The Committment allowed it to open.  Or switching from fearing change to accepting change.  Once you’ve accepted it and you begin taking the steps that lead you down that new path, you might find that walking the path was a whole lot less stressful than anticipating it.  Well, I hope, anyway…

But we shall find out.  And even if this journey become one of the most painful experiences of my life, it is necessary.  I’ve known this day was to come years ago, and I never doubted that I needed to do this.  The only question was when.  And now we know.

Now the journey can begin.

We went to Washington D.C. this past weekend. There’s something about our nation’s capital that makes me want to crap words. You know? Feeling dumb-struck with wonder, yet petrified by the feeling that our own government may somehow blink me out of existence, makes me want to say something. I mean, standing there amidst all that progress and death- the towering stone edifices and temples to long dead heroes- gives me the sense that something of tremendous power has built all of this… and neither my delegates nor I have a clue about its true nature.

And maybe that’s just me letting the fantasies about what we’ll never know affect me too much. I could give myself a premature heart attack stressing about all the secret evils past and present. Truth is, I don’t know squat. And maybe it’s better that way. If our government (or parts of it) really planned, executed, and covered up 9/11, and there wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it, would you really want to know? Screw that. I don’t want to watch some poor bastard getting his arm bitten off by an alligator for the very same reason.

And then there are the people who are fighting the evil- the saviours of our collective soul. That’s a hell of a job, that one. Why not just try and evaporate all human excrement with rose petals and nursery rhymes? You can do it. It isn’t going to get done if you don’t try. And don’t forget to flip-off all the lazy conformists who think their efforts are better spent elsewhere.

Does that sound bitter? Well, I’m sorry. I am glad there are people in the world who are standing up and saying things suck when they most certainly do. These people do make a difference. It’s just terribly disappointing when you meet someone who, from the anti-war and anti-torture signs they’re holding, seems like a genuine humanist and they tell you that you’re a worthless pile of shit for not protesting the eternal tragedy of our existence right along with them. Shouldn’t the humanist welcome your interest and rejoice in meeting one more soul that pains to see suffering? So I’m not going to stand in front of the White House all day with a sullen look on my face and a shocking Abu-Graib photo in my hand. Does that mean I’m contributing to human suffering? Does that mean I don’t care about our society’s willingness to ignore human rights? Maybe. Maybe it does. My mere existence makes me responsible for everything around me. Because I’m a lucky SOB, others are eating dirt, watching their loved ones thrive in misery, and strapping bombs to their chests. Everything I do or don’t do has infinite consequences- and only half of them are good.

Depressing, right? Our world is a depressing place. But it is only half-way so. Every moment of our lives we are creating something. We either create something wonderful or dreadful. And we may not know which is which. But each one of us has potential energy that comes from the stored momentum of millenniums prior. And each one of us has the joy or pain of experiencing the next kinetic release. It’s a beautiful thing, our existence- even if half of it seems to hurt so deeply. But here’s the important part: it’s beyond us. You and I cannot blame each other for our respective actions. What I have done, and will do, is beyond me. And what you have done is beyond you. So knowing that, can I choose to forgive you and me for all the terrible things we have done?

I’ve got the rose petals. Know any nursery rhymes?