Elusive Truth

Why hello there. It has been 82 days, since my last update, that is 2 months, 2 weeks and 6 days. Most of you surely know I’m not dead. Some of you may know I’m no longer in Ecuador. My excuse for not writing has been that since my camera was broken, I couldn’t possibly do any updates. After all, people come here for the pictures, not the words.

Yes, you, the reader, should blame the malevolent horse who cruelly stepped on my camera, breaking it, and depriving you of my witty ramblings. Don’t blame me, the lazy author who couldn’t bother jotting down a few sentences once every couple weeks.

This blog serves two purposes. One is to keep my family and friends updated with my travels, which I’ve never been quite comfortable with. That entire premise reeks of ostentatiousness. The second purpose, also an overtly self-centered goal, is to practice writing, something I don’t get to do as often as I would like since graduating.

I’ve failed on both points. I’ll try and bring you up-to-date here by giving a quick update of the last two months, and I promise to keep the embellishments to a minimum.

In July I moved into an apartment in Quito, visited the beach, climbed some volcanoes, went rappelling, rafting, and made some great friends. In August I worked. A lot. My new roommates considered me some sort of antisocial monster who was allergic to sunlight and fresh air. August also saw me sharing goodbyes with some expat friends. Goodbyes are never fun.

September consisted of more work, though I did break through the hermit spell, and began socializing again. I even managed to do some camping and attempted to climb another volcano. I say attempt, because we were foiled by some wily fog. Future tip: double check the trail you’re embarking on is the trail that leads to your destination.

In some sappy metaphorical way, that hike through the fog turned out to be the impetus for my leaving Quito. More precisely, it was the conversation with my hiking partner that changed my course, though it took several weeks of mental incubation before I fully understood.

I had become stagnant in Quito. Reflecting on my time there, I can’t say what quelled my wanderlust. Was it Quito or Ecuador itself, the people I was hanging out with, or a little of both? Regardless, I enjoyed my time there immensely. The people, landscape, and, most importantly, my friends were captivating.

Nonetheless, after that conversation the familiar itch returned. It was time to move again; however, this time the itch felt different. Jumping across a border into new scenery wasn’t sufficient to scratch the itch. This time the itch demanded “adventure,” something risky and different. I blame my hiking friend for infecting me with this silly notion. Although, in fairness to her, I have always had a latent desire for the unknown and unexpected. It saddens me to say this, because it is a character flaw, but anything less than uncomfortable, unknown, and ambiguous tends to bore me.

The decision to leave Quito came suddenly. It was Saturday when I booked a flight on Monday. More goodbyes were had. They still aren’t fun.

So, now I am back stateside preparing for my next trip. More on that shortly.