Ok, I wasn´t goint to post anything today as I have chatted your ears off, but just had to have you share in my new discovery. Hello Gringo Landia! If I am ever homesick, just come to the cross streets of Jose Calama and Juan Leon Mera and you will find Papaya Net, an internet cafe and bar. In a way, I feel like I am in Vegas with all the bright lights, but also maybe a bit of NY with the all the fun bars, then there are all the Europeans who make you feel like you are back in Western Europe. Regardless, I have a large Pilsener beer (the Ecuadorian favorite) to my left and I am contently waiting for my friends (who I still need to introduce to you) to arrive for a Friday dinner and night out in the new town - Mariscal Sucre. In front of me, out the window, is a place called ¨Tomato¨, serving every kind of pizza and calzone you can imagine with a Nutella crepe for dessert. It is an entire block of restaurants, bars, and clubs full of students, travelers, and the savy locals. To add to the visual, Flo Rida´s ¨Low¨ is playing loudly through the speakers. ¨Boots with the fur....¨. Did someone tell them I was coming?
This weekend is Carnival in South America. I would imagine it will be quite the scene as people get both Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate the Holiday. I have read Carnival comes from the Italian word ¨carn-aval¨ which means the absence of meat, preceding the period of lent. I have also read, in Ecuador, the Huarangas Indians used to celebrate the second moon of the year. Regardless, the celebration starts today and runs through Tuesday. That is some celebration! Please enjoy the video below. It isn´t half as good as it was in person as I don´t think you can see him all that well, but had to share. This is an example of a local gettin´down at one of the clubs we went to the other night. The bar played both American and Salsa music, which was awesome to see to Latin American rhythm. I must preface, after this video was taken, this man began doing really inappropriate gestures and dance moves with his pelvic region. Sorry if I am offending anyone with that detail, it was just too much and when I say too much, I mean our facial expressions told this man to back up off and take his ¨region¨ some place else. Don´t worry, the girls and myself are all safe. We travel with as many guys as we do girls, all of whom speak Spanish fairly well. I am sure there will be a repeat offender tonight. They are harmless, I just don´t think they have ¨personal bubbles¨ here in Ecuador...at least on the dance floor.
Although fun, Gringo Landia is no America and I am still missing and thinking of you all. Xoxo. 
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