Another long day for which I don´t have that much to show. Still having problems figuring out how to get out & back from Ofelia to pick up transportation to Cayambe. I get to Cayambe, but Silvia doesn´t show up. So, I´ll have to try again some other day. So, I go on to Otavalo but IOA did not have some of the things I thought they had plus their archive was closed. So I went to the market and bought instead a new hat to replaces the ones that I lost & destroyed in the rain and a new pair of those house pants that cheryl loves so much. Then it started raining on my hat... But on the happy side, I finally picked up a juicer so now I can have freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning.

So, we´ll see what tomorrow brings...

Just returned from San Pedro AKA Inti Raymi in Cayambe, the traditional solstice celebration. I planned my trip to come in time for this festival in order to re-connect with some old friends. On that front, it was a successful trip.

I had problems getting out of town because they moved the Flor del Valle bus terminal from where the buses to Cayambe leave, and then on the return trip there was a 1.5 hr long line to get on buses to come back to Quito and then an accident at Guayabamba that slowed us down even more. And then I couldn´t figure out how to get back from the new bus terminal to my apt. But, now I´m back and exhausted.

And speaking of whining, yesterday I had another hard drive failure on my computer. I don´t know what´s up with this. In the last couple of years, I`ve lost 3 hard drives, 2 cameras, and 1 motherboard. I must be cursed.

So, not having a computer is going to slow down my life a bit. Otherwise, I would tell you about my trip to used book stores yesterday. If I had my computer, I could tell you whether I found anything special. But all I can say is that I picked up a couple more issues of Llacta & some old books that I may or may not have already.

Tomorrow I´m headed back to Cayambe to talk with Silvia about a book we´re trying to publish, and then maybe on to Otavalo to the IOA to look for some archival docs that they should have. Then on Tues I´m meeting w/ CONAIE to look at their webpage. Maybe after that I´ll start working on my own stuff.

So, 2 days and one hard drive shorter, but haven´t been robbed, shot, or run over by a bus yet. 26 days to go.

Arrived in Ecuador, and flying always makes me grumpy. The pressure changes always give me a headache, so I take excedrin & then I feel jumpy & have an upset stomach from the caffeine.

I get on the plane and there are several immigration officers standing in the jetway. I try to ignore them. And then by the door of the plane there is a guy in a flack jacket that says “ICE Police.” I wonder what that is about. As I walk to my seat, I notice that there are 2 men sitting way in the back of the plane. Oh, immigration is deporting people. I’m tempted to walk to the back of the plane to talk to them. I can get on a plane and freely fly to Ecuador without applying for a visa or anything, but they cannot do the same to come to the U.S. Such inequalities.

I arrive in Quito to discover that the TSA stole the TSA-approved lock off of my checked suitcase. Does not make me happy. At least they did not steal anything out of the suitcase as well.

I head to Supermaxi to buy some food for my apartment. Things have become really expensive here–seems as if the food is more expensive than in the States.

At least my apartment, which is right on busy Avenida Amazonas, faces backwards to the Pichincha volcano, so I have a nice view.

So, I’m back in Ecuador and not really sure why...