Killin' Time...

A little more bad news... I was anxiously awaiting the emergency replacement visa that was supposed to be sent to Miguel's apartment Friday (yesterday). Well, it came. I sat outside the building for 3 hours in the sweaty heat, conversing with the characters of the neighborhood- the police officer who guards the building but who also asked me to bring him back a photo of me on the beach so he could tell his friends that I'm his girlfriend, the nice jobless man who watches parked cars for tips, and the friendly neighborhood homeless drunk who wanted to share his wine with me. I finally received the package from DHL courier at 2pm and ran off to activate it and get a cash advance from Visa. I soon realized that the Visa was not set up for cash advances from the ATM, and therefore was virtually useless. It would have only served to make purchases in retail outlets that accept credit cards, which unfortunately does not include restaurants or bus terminals. Which would therefore leave me stranded in Guayaquil slowly starving to death of boredom, heat, and hunger.
Thankfully CIBC has assured me that they can send me another card which will enable me to take out money- they say it should arrive by Tuesday or Wednesday. I have my fingers crossed tightly. This is about the time that I expect my passport to be ready for pick-up if all goes smoothly. Here's hoping, because I sure would like to get on to Peru ASAP.
I have essentially been passing the time in Miguel's apartment alone all day on the computer- which has given me the opportunity to catch up on my facebook addiction. I also had a little retail therapy by buying a new bathing suit with the credit card (I left my other on hanging on line somewhere in Colombia). And I ate the most delicious Chilean empanada ever yesterday afternoon.
Speaking of food- here it is relatively similar to that in Colombia only cheaper. A typical plate might include a lot of bland rice, some beans, some patacones (double deep-fried and smashed plantains), and some sort of meat (always a paper thin cut, even when it's chicken breast!) Needless to say, you have to add a lot of salt and also hope they have a bottle of Aji somewhere (hot sauce, which can only be described as pathetically weak in comparison to Mexico). But really what can you expect for $1-2US a meal? They also serve batidos or fresh fruit juices like in Colombia, which is really good news. I have been cooking breakfast whenever I can- usually buying some fresh papaya, pineapple, and banana for a fruit salad, then whipping up some eggs and having it with a fresh roll from the bakery All this for around $1.00. In Quito I tried a local dish called Guatita which consists of trype (spelling?) in a sauce served with rice, avocado, etc. I could not bring myself to put a second forkful anywhere near my mouth- disgusting! Surprisingly there are also probably as many Chinese food restaurants (Chifas) here as local eateries, but I try to avoid them because I'm sure they are heavy on the MSG and they are a bit pricier.
I am heading to Montanitas today, which is supposed to be a small, super touristy, surfer town on the Pacific coast. I plan to work on my tan there and try to forget about my troubles for a bit...