Los Suegros and the Beach of Bliss

Last Thursday, November 17th, Kane and I boarded yet another overnight bus to join his parents in the coastal beach town of atacames. The Russells' were only visiting us for 8 days but they managed to travel through at least 3 ecosystems as Ecuador has the most diverse geography of any country in the world. The geography, climate and cultures of the mainland are divided almost exactly into 3 long strips that run from north to south. On the west coastal side of the country you have La Costa region which is known for its sweltering climate, more open-minded people, a "let it all hang out" vibe (both physically with the fupas and figuratively with the mentality), and the biggest city and port in Ecuador- Guayaquil. The Sierra region,where I live and also home to Ecuador's capital Quito, is known for being more traditional, politically aware, polite, and sometimes a little bit boring (it's all relative, folks). The Sierra is home to the cities of Ibarra, Ambato, Riobamba and Cuenca all the way down to Loja on the panamerican highway. The 3rd region is the oriente or rainforest region that is still home to some autonomous indigenous tribes and a good chunk of the world's virgin rain forest. You can take a whitewater rafting expedition or hang out a jungle lodge for some serious culture shock and a few big cat sitings. The 4th region, about a hundred miles off the coast, is the Galapagos Islands whose reputation for unparalleled wildlife usually precedes it.

Anyway, we decided to take his parents to a beach town to see a different side of Ecuador from the food to the entire attitude on life. Atacames in the high season is roughly the ecua equivalent of Cancun, although considerable less commercialized and remarkably cheaper. I guess the main similarity is that you can't be shy and you can't have a bad time in either place. The beaches can be a bit dirty, but the ceviche and shrimp are unbeatable, as are the dance clubs and warm ocean waves. A nice hotel with hot water will run you between 10 and 15 dollars a night and the added bonus is that you can walk across the street to a tiki hut bar with swings as the stools and drink a potent rum concoction for $3. But by far the best part of Atacames is the going mode of transportation that is so very ecua-typical. In an effort to cut down on the horrible diesel fumes that the buses and taxes produce in the rest of the country, atacames resolved to use rickshaws as its preferred means of transportation. It is super fun to be on a straw covered bench at 10 miles an hour on a superhighway with the wind in your face and the humid air on your skin. In fact it is so fun that you can almost imagine that the rickshaw you are riding in is being pedaled by its driver instead of powered by a motorcycle that gives off even worse fumes that the average taxi. Ahhh, the delights of ecuador life.

When I got back to Ibarra, my family was wondering when they would get to meet my suegros. "Suegros?", I asked, quite confused. Suegros is a term that is supposed to translate to in-laws so I wasnt so sure it should mean Kane's parents but I knew they couldnt mean anyone else. My family seems to be jumping the gun a bit on that one just like every other ecuadorian person over 30. They didnt even say "future suegros". This was not the first of the "subtle" hints directed at finding out when i plan on getting married. The middle-aged people here seem to be on the same time schedule as Leonard in thinking that life ends at 40. Maybe he should move to Ecuador. Cam would never be able to hack the cold showers.

More to come on my new volunteer project Cristo de La Calle....