So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits.
I hope you have found a friend.
Closing time. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.
(Part II)

Read the rest of the week, my last days in Galapagos.

• Wed – 2 Jul:
• Guayaquil: PAPA JOHN’S PIZZA WITH REAL PEPPERONI. And some travel plans were made. Retrieved my bag from NucaPacha and finally rid myself of the last old bra, useless (but FAVORITE) sweater, and my fique shoes. You’d think the bag would be lighter or easier to pack; you’d be wrong.

• Thu – 3 Jul:
• Guayaquil: Almost bought another shirt. Almost would have been a good investment (see Saturday). A four-hour bus brought me to …
• Cuenca: Like Boquete, Panama, USA retirees come here by the tens. But it also is a young city with good nightlife, good restaurants, and good hostels like Casa Cuencana.

• Fri – 4 Jul:
• Cuenca: I thought the 4th might be a bigger deal because of the immigrant population, but the World Cup ruled my day. And then Rachel and I discovered naranjillazo which led to bad karaoke (we didn’t participate) and dancing (we super participated). One of the men who stopped by the Mesa Gringa in Zumara – kudos to the employees who kept the creepers from settling in – later invited us to a wedding reception. If you know me, you know I cannot resist a wedding. You also know that getting into a car with a couple of stranger dudes is not my favorite pastime. Perplexing indeed.

• Sat – 5 Jul:
• Cuenca: I decided today that the wedding reception would be fun. Facebooked the dude, found some shoes (too small), watched some World Cup, put on some lipstick, and went to the street to wait. I waited and waited … and waited. At 11 p.m. some French ladies invited me out for drinks and dancing and I finished the night in front of Zumara drinking and joking.

• Sun – 6 Jul:
• Cuenca: A Facebook message in the wee hours of the ‘morn, when I returned from the bar, revealed my wedding reception escort had fallen asleep and not even attended. We had lunch and then karaoked to the Beatles in his house. We then went to his friend’s house where the great music reminiscence continued. And my eyes and feet were photographed. LOL