Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great birthday in Quito yesterday...better than I expected. I didn't have any plans really. I hadn't really met a lot of people at the hostel that I connected with or really enjoyed their company...except my two roommates which was very fortunate. My roommates were Ivan from Spain and Majken from Denmark. The three of us went to the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World or the equator) with them the day before.

As soon as I got up that morning, Ivan wished me happy birthday and gave me a hug. I was touched.

I slept in because I could, because I didn't have anywhere to be, no obligations, plans, etc...BUT I did get up just a few minutes before 10:00 a.m., before the free breakfast at the hostel was over! I ate breakfast, hung around the hostel on one of the terraces and soaked in some sunshine, took my time getting ready (like I always do!), and went to make some phone calls and do some emailing. I guess my only obligation was to call the two people who brought me into this world.

I felt more or less fine with not having any plans or doing anything special for my birthday, but after talking to my mom and my dad, I began to feel a little depressed when they asked what I was going to do to celebrate. But oh well, I felt fine and didn't want to let their questions influence my mood...but I did start to feel a little down.

I did some more emailing, and thought I would hit up a museum before it got too late...it was almost 3:30 already. Where does the time go? And the next thing I knew, there was Majken leaning into my view... ¨Happy Birthday!¨ And she had a big serving of chocolate cake for me! How did she know I was there at that internet cafe?! She told me she had asked around at the hostel and apparently someone had seen me at that internet cafe. So we headed off to the art museum together...

The museum was closed. Bummer. A $2 taxi ride for nothing. But we took the bus back to our neighborhood for $0.25. Neither of us had eaten, so we ended up at a Mediterranean restaurant watching the Ecuador vs Brazil soccer game, and I finally felt celebratory and had a beer...two big ones!

After the game was over, Majken said, ¨Hey, do you feel like just going back to the hostel and playing some pool?¨ Wow! Does this girl know how to make my day or what? Of course I feel like playing some pool! We got back to the hostel and she says, ¨Do you like wine?¨ I've been told I drink wine like water. We got a $4.50 box of wine, and the games began!

I played pretty well, made some nice bank shots, and after a while we were joined by two Israeli guys, a Colombian guy, two Argentinian guys, and an American guy who is studying at Naropa in Boulder. The Argentinians and Israelis wanted to play as well, so it was a fun night of pool with light-hearted disagreements on rules.

I popped back in my room at one point and discovered a new roommate. He told me someone had left me a piece of cake.
¨Yeah, thanks. She found me. It's my birthday.¨
¨Happy Birthday! How old are you?¨
"31."
His response: ¨Ouch!¨
Yeah, ¨ouch¨is right, especially when someone says ¨ouch!¨
But no biggie!

The night was great. Pool was fun. Majken and I drank a carton and a half of wine. I tried to stay up with her until 3:00 a.m. when she needed to leave for the airport, but I think I only made it to midnight or so. Majken really made my day...you never know how the day is going to go when you are traveling or who you are going to meet or where you are going to end up.

I'm in Latacunga now. It's just a little south of Ecuador. I'm happy to be out of Quito. I really didn't enjoy it. I'm not sure why...a mix of things I guess: the hostel, the neigborhood I was in, the daily stories of someone getting mugged right outside the hostel, and maybe I just wasn't feeling very touristy. Who knows?

I came to Latacunga today with Ivan. Tomorrow we are going to head to a village near Laguna Quilotoa, which is supposed to be beautiful. It's a crater lake. And I think day after tomorrow we will hike around the lake.

After that, I need to make my way out of Ecuador fairly quickly. I only have a month left in South America before flying to Australia.

So that's it for now!