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Date:
February 12, 2002
Hello !
I hope this email finds you well.
My second day in Quito I was walking down the street
with friends. Suddenly a water balloon struck me
squarely in the back of the neck. This was only hours
after I had been robbed. I was very angry and felt
very un welcomed in Ecuador. I felt as though I was
being harassed. I could not understand what the
fascination was with water balloons. Was this a new
form of technology just discovered in Ecuador ?
A few days later in Riobamba I awoke feeling ill. I
tried to convince myself that I was healthy enough to
ride. Gravity soon made the decision for me and I went
back to sleep. Later that morning noise entered my
room through my second floor hotel window that
overlooked the street. I peered out the window. High
School and Junior High students were returning home.
They were pelting each other with water balloons,
throwing flour, spraying slime from are-Sol cans and
smearing what looked like Vaseline in each others
hair.There were also marauding pickup truck filled
with kids throwing buckets of water on pedestrians.
The only rule that seemed to apply was that no one
over 40 or dressed for business could be attacked.
I saw my opportunity and filled one of my panniers
with water. For hours I dumped water on my
unsuspecting victims below. I also threw water on the
pickup trucks that passed. A direct hit would elicit a
cheer from the street below. Soon the boys would drag
their female victims directly under my window while I
emptied my pannier full of water on their heads. They
loved it. I loved it. I forgot that I was sick for a
few hours.
The following few days of riding between Riobamba and
Cuenca was filled with squirt guns and water balloons.
Buckets of water would soak me from behind roadside
stands and from rooftops. They would smile and wave. I
would return the gesture.
After arriving in Cuenca I was reunited with two
Canadian woman that I had meet at the bus stop. They
had been soaked by the locals and were looking for
revenge. They spent most of the afternoon filling
water balloons. That night there where 10 of us. Our
Gringo gang was comprised of Canadians, British,
Americans, Swiss and Dutch members. We strutted down
the street shoulder to shoulder bombarding anything
that did not have the intelligence to get off of the
street. The bombas de agua flew into taxi cabs and
second floor windows in per suit of fleeing victims.
The locals just laughed and waved. If I did anything
remotely similar to this in the States I would either
get beat up or put in jail.
The water games are Ecuador's way of celebrating
Canaval. Some of the larger cities have Mardigras
celebration similar to those in New Orleans. Most
communities seem to prefer the water sports. Sadly
today is the final day of Carnaval. Tomorrow we all
have to return to acting like adults.
What I learned was that a water balloon crashing into
the back of my neck can be a sign of affection. I
ponder this thought with two more pack of empty
balloons in my pocket.
More later form Peru. I miss you all !
Dennis
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