expanding the running out of gas story

it´s been a hectic few days, what with heading to peru and all, so i´ll try to fill you in on what´s been going on.

first up, we were to have our meeting with james peters from rotary international on monday. we were to have the meeting but as things often end up, we were pushed back to tuesday. however, jane and i missed the phone call informing us of the delay because we were stranded on the interchange around the international airport. you see our scavenge of the office was in full swing monday, we had managed to extricate thirty years worth of legal files and family memorabilia (for those not in the know our office is the former law office of one of the ecoclub member´s father), and loaded them up in a flatbed truck. with said truck we headed across town to a dumpster smack dab in the middle of a bustling food market. we were a bonified success and as soon as we pulled up a number of people started pouring over our wares, scrambling into the back of the truck and pulling away broken fans, loose string, panelling and whatever suited their fancy. this started to disturb andy a bit who quickly returned to the truck and began to drive away - with people still inside. they decided that it wasn´t worth sorting through our junk to risk their lives and bailed. a few people were nicked by the truck as it left but i don´t think legal action will be taken.

leaving the dumpster we were heading along on of the main arteries around guayaquil when andy lost control of the wheel and brakes. the truck coasted to a stop, us flagging traffic to one side with frenetic waving of arms, near rocafuerte university. andy and friend (name escapes me) went off in search of petrol while aileen, jane and i sweated it out in the ecuadorian afternoon sun.

so... when they returned they had a one gallon jug in tow. a quick surgery on a half litre water bottle and we had a make-shift funnel to pour the stuff in. this done we took off, flying along the freeway and mocking the numerous gas stations we passed. until of course we ran out of gas again.

the second time was funnier because we couldn´t coast off the highway and just sort of pulled to one side, a full 100 yards or so from a gas station. again we went for gas and again we put a full gallon into the tank, and again we coasted by a number of gas stations. this time, however, we made it back to our home in kennedy.

it´s kinda anticlimactic now but we rushed and dressed and made it to james peters´hotel a full 40 minutes late. he came down and talked to us for a bit, apologized for cancelling and such. ok, so i just realized that i already wrote about the gas... hmmm... well i hope this time was more entertaining.

so peru. that was interesting. after realizing that we were leaving at 1 30 am and not pm i had andy pick me up and take me to his place to wait out the trip. the bus terminal is quite the place and after midnight it takes on an ethereal charm. not like the chaotic stretch of land that defined guatemalan transit, the terminal is a guide to organized travel.

terminal terrestre

here´s from my journal at the time...

it´s an immense building with different levels on which to catch your ride. we´re currently on the roof with a wonderful view of the city and entre ríos. it´s quiet here, the snack vendors are napping between customers and the few passengers are more interested in sharing a quiet moment looking out over the city. we´re inside the bus bickering about. all told there are about 12 of us - the ecoclub along with dale fundacion and a few straglers from estancilla and naranjal. it´s an amazing change from guatemala where chaos ruled and buses spewed forth from dusty waste heaps at the side of markets. here it´s order and bureaucracy. you walk through turnstiles with bilingual signs and pay 40 cents just to get in the parking lot (to prevent just anyone dropping by). and there are security guards too. and little stalls line the walls, each offering tickets to similar destinations every 5 to 50 minutes. this should be interesting.

we stopped off in a place along the way, met with the mayor and local ecoclub before hopping on another bus and hightailing it out of there. crossing the border was interesting, you walk through the busy market town of huaquillas with people yelling at you for transport, cross a small bridge with a huge welcome to peru banner strung across it and that´s about it. very little changes except the licence plates on the cars (a very uninspiring pe above black letters on white plates). a quick trip to the immigration office where a stamp is quickly added to my passport and we´re off again (this ain´t honduras, no fingerprinting this time!).

i´ll write more about tumbes, my wonderful living quarters and the rest of my weekend when i get the chance. now i gotta go and prepare my bush loses the election party. i hope i have enough party favours.