Some non-linear ramblings

Canoa:

Many moons have past since I last wrote. At that time we were still searching for a lone telephone in the village Montanita, known for its nippley stray dogs and its loud reggae music, blaring out of speakers at roadside cafes. We've learned many lessons since those days. I, for one have been badly sunburned, briefly lost my passport, and did lose my cell phone. Ben has practiced yoga, lost his camera, and been surfing regularly. Now as I type this, we are in a rooftop apartment in a hostel in Canoa, known for its canoes, I suppose, if my Etymology is any good. Even as I write this, I am crushing tiny bugs into my laptop screen and picking them out from in between my keys. This apartment is something. A big living area, a little kitchen, a huge balcony overlooking la playa, and three beds. The 5 flights of stairs between us and the ground lead me to believe that with the right supplies, I could live the rest of my days out from here. No, I kid. Despite my horrible sunburns, I do enjoy a brief hackey sack session on the beach every once in a while. Speaking of hackey sack, our limbs have grown tired from twice or thrice daily sessions. I think we have stopped improving after making quick progress early. I can barely lift my right thigh any more, and have a tendency to break down in fits of wild laughter after half an hour of hacking. Ben is getting much better, and saves most of the passes I send over his head with a series of well-placed kicks and knees. Twice, in Montanita, a dog stole our hackey sack. The first time I quickly pounced on him and rubbed his head until he gave up the precious beanbag. The second time, we were not so lucky. It was a hit and run, the mutt took the bag and ran happily into the ocean, where he doubted we would follow. Little did he know that Ben was as determined as he was, and pursued him into the waves, where he did battle with the labrador and emerged victorious, with a footbag in hand and intact. I wanted to take a photo for my photo journal of the dogs of Ecuador, but our camera was in the hostel.