calebbrown.id.au

I really should get a little faster on these updates, but with much to distract I don't think it will improve.

Anyhow, tomorrow (Tuesday here) will be my final day in Loja and my 2nd last full day in Ecuador. This time tomorrow I will be on a bus on a 13 hour drive back to Quito. On Thursday I will be in Peru, on Friday I will be in Cuzco and this time next week I will be walking the Inca Trail. It's hard to believe it's already been 4 weeks since I left Australia. Please pray for safety as I travel over the next couple of days.

I will miss Loja and Ecuador. I have really enjoyed my time here. Stopping in the one place for a few weeks with people I know and who live here has been the best way to see and experience the culture. I have been able to meet and get to know some locals and foreigners and spend time with them over the course of my stay here. I have been able to take part in various activities that no tour group would ever be able to organise. I have been able to eat many strange foods, including Guinea Pig (which tastes much better than the soup).

Being in the one place for a little while means that you have time to consider the differences between here and home and observe some interesting things about our world. So I'll try and list as many as I can think of...

Well it's been a little longer than I would have liked since my last post. We had some internet issues here, so we were without internet for a couple of days. But it's back up, and we're using the ISP's modem on the ISP's account - which makes it free. (For those who are interested the Internet in Loja is mostly over the mobile telephone network. EDGE and CDMA I think).

Much has happened in the the week and a half since I wrote last. I left Cuenca on a road similar to before, with a driver just as insane as the last. I arrived in Loja mid arvo and was picked up by the entire Bakon family (Colin, Jill and their sons Matthew and Nicholas) who had been at lunch nearby...

Well I'm a week down in Ecuador and what a week it has been! At present I'm sitting in a net café in Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca is considered one of Ecuador's most beautiful cities and I'm inclined to agree. So I'm a little disapointed I'm only staying tonight and leaving for Loja in the morning. If I was to return to Ecuador it would be on my list of things to explore (amongst other things).

The last time I wrote I believe it was before the 'Cry for Independence' celebrations...

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