Ecuador

11-15 Nov – And still here. Have a credit card, so can leave. But haven’t yet. Hopefully will on Monday or Tuesday. But have figured out I will probably return anyway – as flights from here are about a third of those from Bogota.

Pete, a ginga englishman left recently. He’d been here longer than me. And the pub threw a party for him – decorations everywhere. Model of him on the ceiling. Etcetera.

Had my first night behind a bar, serving people other than myself. Discovered something more I’m not good at. But think I improved hugely over the night. And people walking in, seeing me on the wrong side of the bar, were usually left in stitches, once they realised I wasn’t just stealing booze for myself. And it was good fun. Harder work than I expected – but still fun. And hardly any time to actually drink anything myself – which can only be a good thing.

Also – my website seems to have disk space stolen from it. So I can’t empty my inbox, or receive emails, or update photos, or anything. Except this – hopefully – as the space should already exist, inside a database. Hopefully. So – please send emails to my hotmail account, or my gmail account. Gmail account starts with krusekruse.

01 Nov-10 Nov – Waiting in Quito for my credit card.  Am about to spend my last cash tonight for my bartab.  Have possibly gone over my balance already – but lovely Ursula has offered to lend me cash until the card arrives.  Hopefully she wasn’t drunk at the time, and still remembers.

In other news, I got a phone call from the National Bank.  Turns out somebody has spent just over $2,300 New Zealand dollars on my card.  And the nice lady from the fraud department suggested that the manner of my losing my card was my own fault, and therefore I’m going to be liable for the money spent.  Wrote an email to them last night while rather intoxicated, but wisely waited until tonight so I could check what I’d written.  Wasn’t too bad when I did check it.  Had to describe the exact circumstances through which I lost my card.  I don’t think it’s going to go down too well.  And using the free internet at Finn McCools to write important emails to my bank which will decide whether or not I lose over 2 grand is possibly not a good idea.

Anyway, other events have been… guy turning up at hostel at 4am, in tears.  I stay up all night talking to him, and consoling him.  Girlfriend had beaten him up.  Nice.  Two nights later, acting as a bouncer here at Finns, stopping the ex-military Rick from killing a very drunk Arsetralian who’d just grabbed a glass off somebody and then deliberately dropping it on the ground.  Rick is like me in that he feels that this pub is his house, and the people here his family.  I had to use that in order to stop him from going nuts.  “This is my house too – and you’re not going to do anything in my house… your house.”

As well as being bouncer, counsellor, and all round good guy – have done a couple stints of relationship counselling, and a little bit of security escort for people between the bar and the hostel.  There’s been a few dodgy incidents in the street immediately outside my hostel over the last week. Have stopped carrying my passport with me – and hoping that if the police talk to me, they’ll accept the option of coming to the hostel to inspect my identification.  I believe that the law states they must – but the law here is rather, ummm, fluid.

Anyway, must go.  Necessito tengo una juego de pool, e mas cerveza.  Mas cerveza qual no tengo deniro para.  Caio.

01-04 Nov – Same old.  Except rather more sedate.  Not much point in doing daily updates – as each day has consisted of sleeping in as much as possible, eating, and then going to good old Finn McCools for some pool and chatting with people.  Only breaks in the routine have been:

– my credit card is gone.  Which means I’m stuck here until a replacement arrives.  Not too upset about that really – as I was finding it difficult to find motivation to leave.  Now I have an excuse to stay without feeling guilty.  And when I do get a replacement – it will definitely be time to move on.  But – how my credit card is gone.  I used it as a bond while I borrowed two wine glasses from a nearby cafe/bar.  When I returned the glasses, they told me the card was gone.  Have cancelled it of course – and it doesn’t look like anybody managed to do anything dodgy with it.

– the other extraordinary happening, Finn’s was closed last night!  It really was a devastating thing.  I couldn’t believe it.  Apparently there were people wandering listlessly all over the nearby streets – asking each other if they knew what was going on.  Not sure if it’s a bad reflection on ourselves – or a good reflection on how much of a homely place the pub has become.  And it was supposed to be the day when I’d have a go at working behind the bar.  Ursula wants me to work behind the bar.  Lee wants to hire me as a bouncer.  Or wants me to get by until my credit card arrives by hustling pool.  Me – I’m trying to eat as much as possible at the hostel so that the cost goes on my account.  And have moved into a private room, seeing as I’m here for a while longer.

Pen – don’t worry, I’m not going to settle down here and become a fulltime barman in Ecuador.  Will really get moving as soon as possible.

21 Oct-31 Oct – Yeah, I know it’s been a long time.  Sorry.  And about having to write it all in one update.  Problem is – I haven’t actually achieved anything other than drinking lots, sleeping little, and eating little.  Spent one night after pub closing with the owners.  And then the husband/boyfriend left.  So just me and Ursula.  Chatting away – and when we first realised what the time was, it was 2pm the next day.  Lee (manfriend) not particularly happy.  Have also spent a couple of other nights awake all night chatting to people.  Two of these times happened consecutively – so I decided to test the theory I’d heard a long long time ago – that after 72 hours without sleep, one starts to hallucinate.  Turns out it’s true.  Cool little hallucinations.  One other guy did the experiment with me.  I took him to bed as an unintelligable animal.  Checked on him later, and he was whimpering in his sleep.  Poor chap – broke him.

Have been referred to by lots of people as the King Of The Hostel.  But hoping to leave very soon.  Have spent yesterday and today catching up on sleep.  Next day or two will be spent building up the health more.  And then I can leave.  And that’s about all that’s happened over the last ten days.  I think.

17 Oct – arrived in Lago Agrio in the morning, and we’re met by some chap who reckons he’s the company we’ve booked the trip with. He take us to a cafe, orders us breakfast, takes our money, and disappears. A couple of hours later he returns. Eventually we head off. Three or so hours later, we arrive at the entrance to the Cuyabeno National Park. Then, a boat down the river. Ben & I are wearing our suits. And it rains. Rains a lot. Then, our chap pulls out a bottle of ron. Drinking ron in torrential rain while wearing suits – it was a little bit surreal.
Two hours of boat ride, and then we arrived at our jungle lodge. And the motor boat leaves. Only method of transport now is a canoe we have to paddle ourselves. In the afternoon, we just paddled out, and had a bit of a swim. Something touched me while swimming. Twice. Have decided to assume it was a river dolphin.

Then – night time. Meet the french couple who’d arrived the previous day – and their guide. Who will be our guide also, starting tomorrow. Our chap is actually the owner – and will leave tomorrow. We drink whisky. And ron. Go to bed – and find the largest cockroach in the world.

18 Oct – we’re supposed to get up early for a bit of a canoe trip – looking at birds and dolphins or something. Ben & I sleep in – and the guide is actually unable to wake us. When we do wake up, it is decided to apply some fake tan. Ben & I have had a bottle each of fake tan since La Paz. Both of us had independently decided that it would be necessary in the jungle – and had therefore packed it. We used one entire bottle in one application. French couple don’t really seem to know what to think. Breakfast time, and then we go for a walk in the jungle. Tarantulas, mini frogs, and stuff. Then, lots of rain. Lots and lots of rain. Then, waiting for the guide’s son (the cook) to pick us up in the canoe. One or two hours go by. The guide grabs a plank of wood, wades into the river, then uses it as a flutterboard. While wearing gumboots. Another hour while he gets to the lodge, and returns. Lunch – then I have a nap. Still very very tired. Piranha fishing. The guide catches a couple, and the french guy one. I choose not to. Return to lodge, then dinner time. Piranhas. Yum. Then – walked through jungle after dark. More creepy crawly things.

19 Oct – we’re all supposed to get up early again. But – it doesn’t happen. The french leave, and then Ben, Scottish Emily, and myself go looking for anacondas. Spend quite some time – then find one. Good spotting by Kruse. An anaconda is big. And cool. Then, piranha fishing. This time I catch a couple – but they’re red piranhas. Smaller – and not good for eating. Ben even catches one. One of mine came off the hook itself inside the boat – causing Ben to shriek like a girl. Lunch. Some swimming. Dinner. Whisky.

20 Oct – our last breakfast – then the motorboat arrives. We get in, and head off. Much rain again. Pick up some people from another lodge – then two more hours of sitting in a boat, in torrential rain. Back to the park entrance – then onto a bus to Lago Agrio. Then, to a restaurant for lunch. Capybara, boa constrictor, and turtle. Turtle is very yum. Then, we catch a bus back to Quito. Back to our hostel.
So – that was the jungle trip. And then the whole Quito nonsense started all over again. A hostel with three free Rum&Coke nights a week is not good. Not good.

Sorry for the belated update – but three days of nonsense in Quito, followed by a hurried departure for the Amazon jungle made it more difficult than it should have been. But here goes:

14 Oct – turned out pretty much how I expected. But this time, wearing suits. Which, of course, made us instant legends. Much drinking, much chatting to fellow travellers, much making of friends/fans. There are many many amusing anecdotes, but I’m not sure of which day most of them belong to, or whether or not they are appropriate for public consumption. I’m pretty sure it was the night of the 14th though that we went to a karaoke bar after our new local closed. Decent crowd of us. Including a very attractive Estonian girl who seemed to think that Kruse was very attractive also. I spent the first hour or so in the back of the pub chatting with the owner. Then, when forced outside – I discovered that a young english boy with us had turned 19 as of midnight. I explained this to the barman, and between us we came up with an appropriate drink. He didn’t make it past two sips. Poor boy. Then, when I got drunk and tired and frightened enough – I introduced the young boy to the Estonian girl, sneaked down the stairs – and caught a taxi home. Slept in Ben’s bed again. Top bunk just isn’t an option in Quito.

15 Oct – we tried to avoid the trap. But it is free rum & coke night at the hostel. And I believe there is a law here about passing on free alcohol. (Although, now that I think on it, I have broken that law several times recently) Anyway – as per yesterday – many amusing events. Not sure which is which. Karaoke bar was closed tonight, however, so we returned to the hostel…

16 Oct – …maybe 5am or so? And got out one of my bottles of whiskey. And a guitar. And a good old sing-a-long. Hostel sells food and drink 24 hours also. Alas, we’d forgotten the rule about drinking “outside” alcohol only in your room. We were in the lounge. Halfway through the bottle, it was confiscated. And fair enough – to be frank. I’d tried to keep the singing to a decent volume – but drunk Ben, and very drunk Irish Russ, and drunk Kruse… well sometimes they forget common sense when somebody starts playing a particularly good song. Then, Russ tried to stand up to talk to some chaps having breakfast. (Yes – it was that time by now) Russ wasn’t particularly good at standing up – and fell over the bar-type arrangement, and sent every single piece of furniture in the other room flying. Every single one. Very lucky that nothing was broken – but that was the final straw with the hostel staff. And again – fair enough. They stopped selling us beer. Even me – who’d tried to fix everything, and clean the mess, and sit Russ down. Even ME! So, we sat around, and managed to get other people to bring us beers. And as more people came to join us, things became more sedate. And Russ went to bed. So things quietened down, and the staff gradually became warmer towards us again. Even sold me a beer in the late afternoon. And helped us organise a trip to the jungle. Probably grinning the entire time – as it would include us leaving that night. Eventually, got one sorted – but the bus left at 11:30 pm. So, the only sensible option was to go to the pub for a pub quiz until that time. More drinking. Everybody very happy to see us – and insisting that we’ll be back after the trip. And, on time, Benjamin, myself, and a scottish girl got on a bus to Lago Agrio.

Was going to include the Amazon trip on this update, but it’s time to go to the bar. Again. But – only a little bit. And the plan is to escape tomorrow. At long last. There will be tears this afternoon in the bar.