Well, this is it, ladies and gents. The beginning of my first adventure as a solo international traveler. I´ve got my with my Kindle and travel guide in hand, some cash in my pocket, and little more than the clothes on my back, I am officially embarking on my several day quest for awesomeness.
So the plan was to kick off the day with some tubing down the river in Archidona, then head out in the afternoon. However, upon waking up to a rather fierce rainstorm -- probably the heaviest it has rained since I got here (it rains pretty frequently, but usually it´s light and brief) -- plans were changed. My up-until-now roommate and companion Danny took off for Quito, marking the end of his stint in Ecuadorian clinical medicine, whilst I myself headed off to Tena, where I currently sit, patiently awaiting the arrival of a bus, one which promises to take me to places so amazing I can hardly describe them. But what the heck -- let´s give it the old college try.
In just a few minutes, I´m going to set off to the first destination on my itinerary, a town called Riobamba. The bus ride should take about 5 hours. I´ll be staying there overnight, then making the rest of the long journey down to Cuenca the following afternoon. From what I hear, although the town of Riobamba itself isn´t particularly impressive, there are some spectacular landscapes, and there should be some fun stuff to do as well (more to come).
Just wanted to do a quick update. I´m going to head back to the bus station now to ensure that I don´t miss my ride. This is such an incredible feeling to be exploring a new place all on my own. I am super excited -- I have some pretty amazing things in store for the next few days. And now...I´m off!
exploring alone, abroad would be exciting, but scary. Not sure I could do it. "There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign." ~Robert Louis Stevenson
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