Montañita, Day 7

Well I`ve finally packed my bags and will be taking a bus up the coast to Manta and then catching another bus to Santo Domingo de los Colorados en la sierra (mountains). I`ve had a wild time in Montañita and just couldn`t leave earlier.

After my first couple days here I`d been spending so much time at the house that my artesania friends rent that I actually moved my stuff there, seeing that it was pointless to pay for a hostel I was never at.

What a life these people lead! It`s free, full of people coming and going, but always with a sense of community and brotherhood. When one person in the family has money, everyone has money; when one person has food, everyone eats. I became part of the ¨family¨ one of my first nights partying there and have a whole collection of crazy photos to commemorate the initiation. I`ve learned a few things about the different kinds of art they sell, how to make devil sticks, I learned some tricks with batons that you light on fire, and, of course, I have partied hard and slept little. I like that even without knowing Spanish well I can hang out and make good friends with people who don`t know a word of English.

Anyway, I`ll take it easy and catch up on sleep after today. I hear Santo Domingo is beautiful and I look forward to moving on now that I`ve made that decision to leave the crazy Argentinians.