Carrying A Smile

“When a baby comes into the world, its hands are clenched. Why? Because a baby, not knowing any better, wants to grab everything, to say, ‘The whole world is mine.’  But when an old person dies, how does he do so? With his hands open. Why? Because he has learned the lesson. We can take nothing with us.”  -Albert Lewis

     Let’s see, where to begin?  If you stay anywhere too long, whether you think you like it or hate it, no matter if you meant to end up there or if you thought you were just passing through, that place begins to feel normal.  It begins to feel like home. You’re world has shape again.  I already have my favorite hangouts, eateries, beaches, and most importantly… I’ve met plenty of people around town.  It’s nice walking around town and receiving a friendly “buenos dias” from someone you met the previous day.
     Work at the hostel isn’t really work at all.  I keep the lobby tidy, show people to their rooms, but generally I hangout with tenants and talk about where we have been, where we want to go, and our lives back home.  Travelers share whatever helpful info they have about previous destinations and most people are generally on the edge of their seat when I explain what my month in the jungle was like as well as my Ayahuasca experience.
     The hostel is ran by an Australian woman named Susie.  She came out here 6 years ago after the passing of her husband and bought a large house to transform it into a hostel.  Very recently she built a house not far from town.  It sits on a cliff with the most amazing views of the ocean.  I can’t give you a square footage or anything but I will tell you that is a very nice house.  It cost a grand total of $25,000 to build and she has to pay a whopping $4 a year in taxes.
     I know I have mentioned how cheap everything is down here but I will give you a rundown of what I spend on what.  The other day I bought a liter of coca cola and a bottle of pretty decent rum.  My total was $8.48.  On the corner about 40 yards from the hostel they sell burgers.  Pretty decent burgers at that, not just for South American standards.  The price of one of these gems is $1.  For lunch there are a few places I go.  They have a set menu so you don’t exactly choose what you get but they tell you before hand.  Typically it is some sort of meat, a side salad, a banana, a huge scoop of rice, a delicious bowl of soup, and a cup of juice for $2.  A gallon of water is $1 and a 32 oz beer is $1.25.
     Life is simple here.  I have been living with 5 t-shirts for about 2 months.  Each day I see the line between ‘want’ and ‘need’ a little more clearly.  I see people here with barely anything except a smile on their face and I think back to all the people with cars, jobs, family, and more food than they need and those are the people who think happiness comes in a prescription pill.  I do think that every person needs something slightly different to find happiness but I also know that whatever it is that we need, its not much.  I get my fix each morning as I walk to the beach and pass a gymnasium where they are holding a PE class.  The sound of the basketball hitting the floor over and over is my theme song.  I walk down to the shore, wearing the same shirt I had on the day before, knowing that I have to return to the hostel in just one hour for work, and I smile.  No money in my pocket, no car to drive around in, nothing.  Yet each morning I find my tranquility in that 3 block stroll.


PS A very happy birthday to Katie Parucha!!!

No where to go and all day to get there

"Mind on a permanent vacation.  The ocean is my only medication.  Wishin' my condition aint never gonna go away." -Jimmy Buffet


     I’ve covered a lot of ground to get where I am now, which is the lazy beach town of Puerto Lopez.  The drive out here was about as diverse a scene as Ecuador can throw your way.  From Baños, I went across the Andes and down into the tropical plains (if there is such a thing) near Guayaquil.  Arriving in Guayaquil I saw my first highway since I left the states.  Guayaquil, from what I saw, most closely resembles Los Angeles.  Not the skyline but the areas surrounding downtown.  I changed buses there and kept heading west.  Another three hours and I had to change buses again.  This time in the dusty town of Santa Elena.  Who knew that Ecuador had a desert.  Wind blew tumbleweed across the road and cacti were the only other vegetation.  It definitely looked liked it belonged along the US’s famous Route 66.  Another hour and I was in what I had hoped would be my home for the next month, Montañita.
     Montañita is a tourist hotspot that is unlike any other town in Ecuador.  Located right on the beach, the town is filled with hotels, hostels, bars, surf shops, dreadlocks and 20-somethings.  Getting off the bus I was smacked right in the face by the most humid air I have ever experienced.  Reggae music blasts from every which way while the air is occupied with the scent of fruit from juice stands, sunscreen, and burning marijuana.  It is high season in Ecuador (meaning a lot of tourists, nothing related to the marijuana reference) so prices are a little higher than usual.  I had trouble finding a hostel and, after being shot down by about seven, I opted for a hotel.  I got a single room with a shower that did not work for $30.
     At night the streets are full of young adults of all nationalities.  So far on my travels I have encountered a lot of Australians.  Not in Montañita though.  It was like the Olympic games of tourism.  Every corner of the globe was represented.  I met people from all over Europe, North America, a few from Africa, but the vast majority were Argentinean.  A quick side note: Colombian women have officially been dethroned.  The girls of Argentina take the cake.
     I went around to various hostels to see if they took volunteers, which none did.  This left me very little choice but to hit the road and continue north, which may have been a blessing in disguise because I don’t think I could have handled staying in the craziness of Montañita for the long term.  A 1-2 hour bus ride and I arrived at Puerto Lopez.  I found a hostel/hotel that only had one room left. A single with a fully operational shower and a balcony with views of the ocean for only $8.  I will use this as my base camp for the next few days as I try and find a volunteer possibility that will help save money, but $8 a night isn’t a bad alternative.
     Puerto Lopez is located on the edge of Machalilla National Park, which I am hoping supplies me with a few nice excursions into the wilderness.  Each morning dozens of fisherman compete with a few pelicans for the catch of the day.  I will continue to look for a month long volunteer possibility... tomorrow.  For now I’m just gonna relax in a hammock, eat a mango, and watch the sun disappear into the ocean.