After smog-filled Quito, fresh air was a high priority - and the Quilotoa Circuit seemed just the place to get some. Located at the "beginning" of the circuit, Saquisili is famous for its bustling Thursday market. Having abstained from shopping for a while, it was a must for Silje and I before engaging in more healthy mountain activities far from civilization. On the bus to get there we had our first unpleasant encounter with a local, and it was not entirely his fault...

When traveling by bus in Ecuador (and in most other Latin countries for that matter) your trip is frequently, and usually pleasantly, interrupted by vendors (called ambulantes) peddling anything from snacks, drinks and meals to cell phone covers, DVDs, toothbrushes and their right arm. Usually this involves a quick walk through the bus shouting the price and product. But sometimes, just sometimes, the sales pitch involves a lengthy speech shouted at ones highest possible lung volume for anything from 5 minutes to over 1/2 hour. If you then are unlucky enough to sit next to the salesman, it can make for a long and excruciating journey...

It was early, early in the morning... Silje and I were well on our way to waking up when the first shouting salesman boarded the bus and set up shop about 30cm from my ear. Luckily, it only took him about 10 minutes to deliver his pitch and sell bucketloads of some miracle-causing herbal tea. Phew, we thought, that part of the journey is over and it wasn`t so bad. Now back to snoozing!

Or perhaps not...

Just moments later another shouter came onboard, settling in for the long haul next to guess who?

Nice...

For 30 minutes the guy screamed at a volume previously unmatched in the history of bus salesmen. Our ears started hurting after about 2 minutes, and after 5 we winced and feared long-term ear damage every time he hit a particularly high note. Not only did he "talk", but he illustrated his point with various very graphic visual aids of the human body. He wasn`t selling toothbrushes or soap... He was selling herbal tablets that would cure any disease from cancer and alcoholism to prostate problems, menstrual problems, intestinal parasites, projectile vomiting as well as a general feeling of not being 100% rested and energized every single day when waking up. As if this wasn`t enough to convince you to buy his magic potion, he (remotely) made the rounds of people on the bus, asking them intimate questions about their health and demanding an answer.

"Hey YOU, Sir, been having any prostate issues lately? Huh?? Huh??!! Answer me!! How is your bladder?? Talk to me, peasant!"

"Hey LADY! You over there in the green coat!! Hey, LOOK at me when I`m talking to you! You look like you`re going through menopause *evil laugh*. LOOK at me! See this poster of the female reproduction system? Well look and weep, lady, cause yours ain`t working anymore and you should be taking steps to deal with it!"

"Anyone have any family members who died of cancer? Yeah, I thought so... Well more are going to die if you don`t get these herbal tablets. Hey LADY, you with the rotten front teeth, do you want your husband to die??"

Suddenly he interrupted his sales pitch and turned to Silje, pointing at the luggage rack above us...

"Hey YOU, gringa! Is this your stuff? Don`t you know that buses are full of thieves and scoundrels? Huh? Huh?? Don`t you know that someone is going to rip you off and steal your backpack as soon as you turn away for a second? Are you STUPID, or what??"

(Nice way to isult all the passengers, by the way)

"Uhm, yes it is mine but it is fine where it is, thank you", Silje said trying her best not to encourage the guy.

On this cue he grabbed the bag and shoved it into her hands whereupon she threw it to the floor and with fume coming out of her ears said a few choice phrases to him in Norwegian. Spanish unneccessary - her face said it all...

It went something like: "Stop harrassing me you f&%$ing fraud!! Just shut up, will you!"

It is one of the few times I`ve ever seen her lose her temper. And I thought I was the one who is grumpy in the morning...

Obviously, this was Mr Aggravator`s cue to spend 10 minutes shouting about how stupid, ungrateful and rude gringoes are before casually returning to his previous topic. We were fuming. Although I was extremely embarrassed by the whole situation, I secretly hoped that Silje would have a further couple of comments. She didn`t.

A lot of people ended up buying his product - more than anything out of fear, I guess. The relief could be physically felt when he got off the bus...

Anyway... we made it off the bus without further incident, and into the back of a truck which took us the 20 last minutes into town. The other few passengers were local women heading to the market, decked out in their Thursday best with colorful, voluminous skirts and grandma-jackets and endless strands of gold colored mardi-gras beads strung tightly around their necks. They were chatting and laughing all the way (at a normal volume) and generally heightened our spirits.

Once at the market we headed straight for the food as usual... Our lunch was delicious - rice with various pickled vegetables, salad, fried potato mash, a fried egg and some meat served by a fat lady with a big smile. In fact, every foodstall was filled with smiling and laughing cooks. Good for them!

The market filled all of the town`s seven squares and spilled out into almost every street we came across. The biggest part was the vegetable market, with everything from well organized "booths" to little old ladies sitting with a huge pile of leeks for sale. So many leeks... I guess it was the season for leeks, and (if perhaps not on the bus) it also seemed like the season, or market, to be jolly :-)