Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Wedding

So Brad was heading back to Montañita (beach town) for one last effort at spearfishing. Montañita is only about 2 hours from the airport I am using to get to Peru, so logistically it was better if I headed in that direction, too. Plus, there were rumors of a Full Moon party at the beach that weekend so I figured it would be a good time regardless.
I said goodbye to my family and friends in Baños....I am hoping to get back there for a few more weeks, but things seem to constantly change with me.
At the bus stop we met a strange character from England, named Adam. He was also on his way to Montañita. He was extremely obnoxious and all he talked about was his wild stories and whether or not he could score drugs in Montañita. Brad seemed really annoyed with him and muffled to me that we were not going to travel with him after the bus ride. I just thought the dude was crazy and was entertained by his lavish travel stories. Anyways, more on the weird English dude later.
We had another glorious 15 hour bus ride to the coast. UUUgggg I really do not like the bus rides and my stomach hurts just thinking about how many hours of bus travel I have ahead of me on my trip. I lost all my ipod music on some shitty computer, so I just sit there and stare out the window and try not to vomit from motion sickness. Ok...I´m done bitching....I just really don´t like the bus rides here.
Anyways, on the last bus ride heading into Montañita, I sat next to a charismatic local named Darwin. He spoke really slow and clear so I was able to practice my spanish with him. We were chatting it up and he told me how he loves to scuba dive and shoot fish with a spear. My eyes lit up as I told him that my travel buddy has been DYING to spearfish and needs some people to go with. I didn´t realize at this moment in time, that Darwin was a well-known local in Montañita. By meeting him..Brad and I were instantly friends with many of the locals.
Once the bus ride was over, I introduced him to Brad and they went off talking about Spearfishing. They arranged to meet the next day to go.
That night we met up with some friends that were in town that weekend....my friend Jim works at the language school there. They were having a BBQ with all of the students and he invited us. The BBQ was awesome...steak, chicken, fish...yummy! I met some really cool people from all over the world. We all went out that night and hit up the scene. People were buying drinks left and right. We went to this bar that had a band and I ran into the crazy English dude. He said he travels around Beat Boxing and was going to get on stage in a few minutes. I was like...oh lord...this guy IS CRAZY. Then all of a sudden the dude gets on stage and goes to town with Beat Boxin. Everyone in the bar is super impressed and jamming out to him. I must admit, he was pretty darn good and I was moving my body to it. It is just funny the type of people you run into while traveling. A day ago I thought he was some washed up druggy. Come to find out...he is a washed out druggy that is damn good at Beat Boxing!
Anyways....I must have had a lot to drink that night because the next day was AWFUL. I felt like dog poo...and swore I would never drink again. Of course, it had to be the most amazing beautiful sunny day of the week. So I dragged myself out of bed and layed on the beach awhile....I got kinda burned, but sweated out the hangover. Brad went fishing with his new friends and they caught a couple. One of the guys invited us over to his house to cook up the fish and hang out for a bit. It was a really neat experience to be invited into a strangers house that we just met and have him prepare us food. The guy spoke REALLY fast spanish so our communication was very basic. During dinner, he invited us to his cousin´s wedding that night. We were a little hesitant about going, but decided that it was a unique opportunity. Lenein, the guy, told us that we just needed to bring a gift for the bride and to meet at his house at 10pm. Oh yeah, the weddings start late....and go ALLLL night long.
We had no idea what to bring as a gift...so at the last minute we were running around the town trying to find something. I ended up just buying a nice bottle of wine bc that is totally normal in the USA. After I purchased it though, I asked the clerk if the wine would be appropriate for the wedding and he simply just said ...Not really. Hahaha oh well...we were late and I already bought it. So we met up with Lenein and he took us to the store to buy wrapping paper and then we headed off to the wedding. We walked to the wedding bc Lenein explained that the cab wouldl charge double since he was with Gringos....its better if we just walk.
So we got to the wedding and Brad is holding the bottle of wine THAT I BOUGHT (he hadñt paid me back yet at this time). The wedding is huge...and there are tons of people already sitting down. We all walked down the middle to greet the bride who is standing there accepting gifts. Brad walks up to her and hands her the wine and she graciously accepts it and gives him a party favor. She then looks at me...empty handed. I have no idea what to do so I just walk up to her and say ¨Congratulations¨real Texan like and give her a hug. She says thanks, but doesn´t hand me a party favor. HAHAH oh well... I jsut followed the others to a table and sat down.
As soon as we sat down, they put beer on our table and handed us a heaping plate of food. The music started blaring all around us. The vibe was amazing...and Lenein told the bartendar to make sure there was always beer and drinks on our table. Let the party begin!!! Darwin, from the bus, rushed over and asked me to dance. I was already reallly nervous about this because of my dancing experience on Halloween. I told him in broken spanish that I was really bad, but that didnt seem to bother him. He grabbed my arms and whisked me onto the EMPTY dance floor. Thankfully, he was a really good lead and twirled me around everywhere. I was able to loosen up and actually started enjoying myself dancing. For about the next 5 hours, Brad and I consumed beer and danced all over the place. Unlike the USA where I normally just sit in my chair at weddings, I had the guys lined up ready to ask me to dance. They dont care about anything...they just like to dance and have a good time. Oh, and the songs are like 20-30 minutes long. Right when I thought the song would be over, it would remix and another beat would start. I definitely had a good workout that night.
At about 3am we tried to leave the wedding to meet up with our friends at the Full Moon party. However, the locals were not having that idea. They grabbed our hands and brought us right back to our table and gave us fresh beers. They said the night was young...at 3AM!!!!!! We danced for a few more hours and got home close to 5am. The next day, we found out that the wedding didnt close down until almost 8am! Now thats the kinda wedding I want to have!
The night was amazing and definitely an experience for the books. It is crazy how we just met these people the day before and they already invited us into their home for dinner and took us to the biggest wedding in town. I was very greatful to them for doing that.
I will get some pics up in the next few days...my computer keeps screwing up. Oh, and there is a fabulous video of drunk Brad at the wedding. I am hoping to put it on YouTube. Try searching Brad Butler Ecuador Wedding in the next few weeks and hopefully it will pop up.
Well, I leave tomorrow to head to Peru. I have a 12 day adventure ahead of me but I am really excited for the challenge.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Andrea! It sure sounds like you are having the "time of your life!" It is so fun reading obout your travels/adventures. I have not had an opportunity read all of your entries - but I will! You are so like Grandma! Such an adventurous spirit you have - just like her...Your mom and I talk about what you are doing and we are so proud of you! There is NO WAY I would do what you are doing on my own. It is cool you have Brad along with you for some of your travels. I will look forward to more of your stories of your travels! Enjoy! Love you - Aunt Dianne

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