ya can't trust nobody

what day is it again?... better question, what month? I feel like im in a time warp...

we're back in quito and it is rainy again - us oregon girls may be too much of a force on the ecuadorian weather.

yesterday, our last day in baños, I didn't want to leave. lo and I woke up early and walked to a beautiful white-washed cemetery on the outskirts of town that we had seen from the mountain top the day before. the three things i love photographing the most are cemeteries, churches and graffiti - I got a lot of all 3 in baños...

our plan was to meet at this very portland-esque coffee shop near the church in the center of baños (apparently a very famous ecuadorian church). our group of 4 who were hoping to hike on this beautiful sunday morning decided to skip the coffee in order to get an earlier start. our stop on the way out of town was in front of the church, where, as planned, we patiently waited for one of our members (who will remain anonymous at her request) to sneak away from the service a few minutes early... shortly thereafter she emerged from the church looking what can best be described as disgruntled. one of our group commented on the unexpected expression on her face when we were anticipating a smile after the sunday morning service, and she calmly explained that during the offering of peace (when, as I understand it, you lean over and offer peace and all that is good to your neighboring church-goers), a man near her snatched her backpack (contents including: camera, phone, nalgene, sunscreen, mase, and some $$), and dashed off into the crowd before she could react.

now if stealing in church doesn't quadruple the bad karma accumulated by the act of stealing itself, then I dont know what does - it seems right up there with stealing candy from babies and/or robbing someone who is assisting a grandma nun up some stairs (don't say it would never happen)... and so we were all distraught and mildly infuriated if infuriation is something that can come in a mild form. we spent the next hour or so combing the church while trying not to disrupt the ongoing service too much. we got the police involved, who were very helpful and seemed genuinely upset that theft, even of a gringa, had occurred in their pride-and-joy place of holiness.

but before everyone gets all worked up I do want to be clear that this was an opportune situation for said thef. our group member admitted that she let her guard down in church, took off her backpack (which we are warned never to do for it is far too easy to snatch up, and even tied or clipped to the table a determined and experience bandit can swiftly cut, grab and run with your valuables), and left it sitting next to her on the bench - big. mistake. especially when your pale skin screams foreigner aka target. but even if she had hundred dollar bills hanging out her pockets, I'd like to think church is a place you shouldn't have to worry about someone stealing from you. clearly a dream world I wish to live in... 

 so post-thievery we were all feeling a little violated and less inclined to hike, so we wandered around town instead - photographing more graffiti, eating as many hand-pulled taffy samples as were offered to us along the street stands, and searching hopelessly for the orange backpack or remnants thereof. sadly no luck :(

and when noon thirty hit we headed defeated to the bus station to grab a few banana chocolate empanadas (I dont know about you, but pete and I agree, nothing cheers us up like fried dough), and hopped the 3+ hour bus ride back to quito. now if it were possible to tip these big buses we'd have been sideways in a ditch on the side of the road 10 minutes into the drive, but it must be impossible because try as our driver did, even when I was certain he had the bus on two wheels, we somehow stayed upright. I praised the straight road when it finally came and slept the rest of the ride snuggling my backpack (and under the watchful eye of anne, who was reading). from the bus station we somehow got ourselves onto the correct trolley and an hour-ish later had no choice but to get off (that stop where every other person on the bus gets off is usually our indication that we should follow and act like we know what is going on)... a 15 or so minute walk took us the rest of the way home, where dinner was waiting. how lucky are we?!

while unpacking I was introduced to the 6 year old grandson of gloria. he was playing outside my room and when I asked his name he said 'Anthony' and came sprinting to me and gave me a huge hug! and if that didn't steal my heart enough (sorry pete ;) ), I later sneezed and from the hall I hear an equally forceful and entirely reflexive "salud" from this little guy. and besides him being adorable it's fun to have a kiddo around who speaks spanish at a level closer to me :)