July 4, 2004 - Went to Chugchilan today. Had to take a bus from Quito to Latacunga, then from Latacunga to Chugchilan. I had to wait a few hours in the Latacunga bus station, since the bus didn´t leave till 11:30am.

I met a guy in the bus station, who was telling me about a jewerly making area near Cuenca. Then, since I told him I was from the US, he starting talking politics in Spanish! At first, it was interesting, and good to practice, but then it got a bit overwhelming, and I had to tune some if it out. And the guy would not stop talking! Luckily, I had to board the bus at 10:30, so I could leave :P

I got on the bus, picked a seat. It´s a regular bus..but the legroom is very sparce. I felt claustrophobic, and I´m small!! An older lady (50-60?) sat next to me with her 5 year old son. The daly was in very traditional dress and hat. Her son was so cute -- sunkissed rosy red cheeks like those of people you can see in this region of the world.

We had to wait till 11:30 for the bus to leave, so we just sat there. There was a fist fight that broke out in front of our bus, it was 2 boys duking it out. There were crowds in front of the busses. That fight broke up. Then, a few minutes later, there was another fight - this time, 2 men - one in a white shirt, and another in a green plaid shirt. They were throwing crazy punches, both bleeding from the face! Then the guy in the green plaid shirt, blood oozing down both sides of his face, comes onto our bus...I´m like, crap, this crazy guy is on our bus?!?! Then he goes and sits in the drivers seat!! I´ve got a million things going on in my mind...4 hour drive, mad bus driver..down trecherous Andean roads...hmmm...well, I already paid, and my big pack was on the top of the bus, and nobody else left..so couldn´t do much but stay on.

Anyways, we found out that our bus driver got in a fist fight with another bus driver because ours was in the other bus´ spot. No need to throw punches, man! Anyways, it just made it more of an interesting day!!

The ride was fine, the bus driver didn´t drive too crazy. The little boy next to me was so happy. The seats were kind of small, so the son ended up sitting on both of our laps. Later, he fell asleep on us. It was really cute, and I didn´t really mind.

I spoke to the lady next to me for a bit. I told her it´s my first time in Ecuador. She is from Sigchos, a small traditional town nestled high atop the Andes. She had bought a bag of pan dulce from a vendor that came on the bus, and had given me half of a roll for me to try. I thought that was extremely nice of her.

The road to Chugchilan was very rocky and bumpy...real cobblestone roads, dirt roads winding up and around the mountains. The scenery was absolutely amazing. Green, lush mountains, cultivated mountain sides, deep valleys.