Quito, Carnival, and Bombas de Agua

Last week I ventured up north to start a trek back down to Cuenca. My reasons for this two week trip was to visit my favorite ladies in Quito, to help teach the new volunteers that had just arrived in Ecuador, and to experience the craziness/fun during the Carnival holiday. I arrived in Quito on Saturday and immediately headed to Tara, Tara, and Sarah’s new apartment based near the Mariscal.

This might be a good time to explain my female amigas for the first time.

Tara B: was my roommate in Quito. She is one I can complain to about anything and will take my side without judging me. She was one of my first great friends down here, is a caring person, I love her to death, and she throws up like a dragon.
Tara H: is a beautiful redhead who is scared of dancing with me due to the fact that the first time we danced together, I quite possibly gave her a mild concussion, bashing her head into a table while attempting a graceful dip. I think she hates me for it…that’s ok, I hate her too.
Sarah: She is the most wild of the three, but is very genuine and loveable. Get to know her and you’ll find an amazing person and someone that I feel has a lot of secret talents most people don’t know about. She is also an awesome cook.
They are all very beautiful and amazing girls. I’m also sucking up real bad so that they will finally read my blog…

I arrived in Quito to find all of my beautiful ladies looking more stunning than ever, still asleep and hung-over in their beds. I was very tempted to post that video of me waking them up, but determined that I was a good friend; I’ll use it as blackmail instead. Later that night we had a housewarming/birthday party (Tara B’s birthday) which started out very tiresome, but eventually picked up. Tara H and I danced, laughed, and annoyed other party members; at one point, a girl came up to introduced herself, did so, then turned around and awkwardly walked away (we thought it was hilarious). Eventually after the apartment became crowded, we all decided to go dancing. It was a late, yet exciting night, and I was happy to be with my ladies once again.

The rest of the week was pretty tranquil and I helped teach the new volunteers. I also volunteered and worked in a garden with Nicole (another amazing friend) one day, which was hard work, but fun. The following day Nicole and I visited Mitad del Mundo (the actual point of the equator) which had a boring tour, but is a something you have to do when visiting Ecuador.

Friday night came and we planned to take it easy due to the fact that we were leaving early for Banos the next day for Carnival; believe it or not, that did not happen. We went out dancing at the clubs and had a great night. The next day we woke up early and took the bus down to Banos. Two out of the three nights, we were up until 4am; I don’t need to tell you about how amazing the parties were. What I will tell you about is the Carnival experience. It basically consists of everyone in town armed with foam blasting guns, bombas de agua (water balloons), or any other thing that could destroy your clothing. Being females, and foreigners, the girls were heavily targeted. I distanced myself from the ladies, until they realized I was not being attacked; girls being girls, I was then covered in foam and water. Thanks. The best part about this was that not one person was truly upset at being covered in water or foam. All I saw were smiles on people’s faces, little kids chasing after gringos with joy, and laughter all around town. It made me think about how much people actually enjoy life down here. It was truly and amazing experience, especially with the company that I had. Wait; how long have you been reading this blog for?

The highlight/foam attack of the week came when Tara H and I were eating a nice peaceful lunch on the patio of a restaurant. I was facing the street and she was not. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little Ecuadorian swiftly prance up behind Tara, extend his arm and capped her right in the back of the head. If there was a Mafia movie involving foam attacks, this would have been in the Michael Corleone final plan. It was amazingly hilarious. Yes I saw it coming. Ben! Why didn’t you stop it? Easy: I didn’t want to get sprayed!

GRINGAS! GRINGAS AQUI!