A summary of today's events: Yonseili, Vincent, Lauren (from England) and I went to Otavalo and Cotacachi and had a good time. We got back home safe and sound.
Too bad it didn't go that smooth. All morning, until 10 am, we tried to get a hold of Brian because he wasn't showing up to school. We waited long enough and just left without him and his friend. Turns out he had text me but I never got his texts. Not the first time it happens. Anyway, we boarded the bus and left at about 10:30 from the terminal Carcelen.
This bus drive was absolutely horrible, even for $2.50! The driver was the worst bus driver I've ever had. There was too much swerving, going too fast on curves and too much freakin' beeping! It was driving me crazy. I must say, however, that the seats were very comfortable.
I slept most of the drive. We decided we were going to Cotacachi first and then Otavalo... but we actually went past Cotacachi accidentally. Neither 4 of us heard the guy call out the bus stop. As a matter of fact other people also missed their stop for another place, Atuntaqui. We got off the bus, crossed the street and waited for another bus. We waited about 5 minutes until we saw one. We got there and we walked up and down the 'main' street where all the leather "almacenes" are. I saw a lot of nice things, but I wasn't really willing to pay the price. There was a little market at a plaza and so I bought a few things there, and then later an ice cream. I don't think I was in a shopping mood.
We then got on a bus to Otavalo which is about a 1/2 hour drive. On the bus I sat next to a young guy whois in high school, Richard, and he was pretty cool to talk to. Anywho, we were dropped off at the bus terminal so we had to walk a few blocks to get to the market we had been to before. A lot of the stands were down, but there were more than enough up and running for us to shop. Here Yonseili and I went crazy. It was unbelievable to see some of them, men and women, pack up their stuff into a huge bulk and carry that weight on their back to their carts or vehicles, or whatever they had. We didn't bump into little Eddika, the girl who sold us the pants for a high price, but we did bump into Marlene (Mar-le-ne). Marlene is the lady who said, "Check it out no problem." Today as she showed us a nice and big and colorful blanket she added that it was "geometric." I loved every second of it. And we bought a blanket from her. Afterward we stopped at a little coffee shop I guess, and we chilled there for a while before we headed back. Yonseili treated us so THANK YOU YONSEILI. Very nice. Everything about the ride back was good except for the little kid who kept staring at Yonseili and me. He was looking at us as if he really, really disliked us. It creeped me out so much I just looked out the window... but then I saw his reflection on the window because it was dark by then. All I wanted was for him to look away. Yonseili wanted us to stick out our tongue at him but I was scared at what he would do. No thank you. The bus was playing Little Man in Spanish and it was funny until the disc started skipping.
---
When we got a taxi to take us home, he explained to us how the Friday before he was robbed. The three males asked him to drive them a long way and they ended up at a place where he couldn't easily leave. As two were leaving the cab, the one behind him put a knife on his right side and another on his neck. Another guy had a revolver. They told him, "Esto es un asalto" and ordered him to stay still. He thought he was going to die. They took away his jacket ("chompa"), his cell phone, his shoes, and everything else in the car that had some value. Although we need to be careful with what taxi cabs we get into, taxi drivers also need to be careful with who they bring into the car. I can't imagine going through something like that.
Highlight of the day: The taxi driver story. Although I enjoyed my day, his story was insane. It is very disappointing and frustrating. Why do people make it a "job" to take away from what other people have actually earned. Anyway, before I start rambling, he was treated to a hamburger at Tropiburger.
No comments:
Post a Comment