The Ecuadorian Robbery
And The Long Trip Home
DISCLAIMER: This story gets intense at times. Nothing too crazy, but want to give you a heads up just in case.

It's another beautiful day in Quito
The sun is shining
The weather is warm
And Mount Pichincha watches over the city
She smiles today
I've been in Ecuador for almost a month now
And while I came para aprender Español (to learn Spanish)
My time here has brought me many places
From the peaks of mountains
To the depths of jungles
And all the rain forests in between
I've seen the beauty this country has to offer
Plus I've made some good friends along the way
Still though
There's one type of landscape I haven't yet experienced in Ecuador
The beach
And considering tomorrow will be my last full day here
Now's the time to go
So I call up my friend Connie
And see if she wants to take a trip
She's down
We head into town
And talk to some locals about what we're trying to do
'Queremos ir a la playa. ¿Dónde debemos ir?'
'Hay Playa Atacames. Es un viaje seis horas en autobús'
They tell us our best bet is a beach called Playa Atacames
6 hours away
By bus
Not ideal
But hey
With my time here quickly coming to an end
What better way to spend my last full day in Ecuador
Than relaxing on the beach
I'm in
I turn to Connie
She gives me the nod
She's in
With thoughts of adventure in our minds
We head to the bus station
The walk isn't far
But it is pleasant
Shops and parks line the way
And we let them guide us to our destination
When we arrive
We walk up to the ticket counter
And ask when the next bus leaves for Atacames
'Hola, vamos a Atacames. ¿Cuándo pasa el próximo autobús?'
'El siguiente sale a las ocho y el siguiente sale a la medianoche.'
We hear that the next bus leaves at 8pm
And the one after that leaves at midnight
So Connie and I talk it over
We decide to take the midnight bus
Figuring it will be cool to get there as the sun is rising
'¿Cuanto?'
'Trece'
We hand over 13 dollars and buy the tickets
'Gracias
Por favor lleguen aquí a las once y media
Con sus pasaportes
No una copia de ellos'
We're told to arrive back here by 11:30pm
With our passports
Not a copy of them
Connie and I give a thumbs up to the person behind the counter
We agree to meet back at the bus station by 11:30pm
And then go our separate ways to pack some stuff
I head home to where I'm staying
Along with a bathing suit and towel
I grab my passport
I grab some cash
And I grab my phone
For pictures
I wonder why I can't bring a copy of my passport
But if that's what the person at the bus station said
Then it must be true
Because who would be naive enough
To not trust a person
They met at a bus station...
I kill some time until 11pm rolls around
And then start my walk back to meet Connie
We both get there right around the same time
And secure our spots in line
20 minutes after arriving
We're seated on the bus
And 10 minutes after that
The bus leaves the station
Right on time
The ride is typical for Ecuador
Lots of twists
Lots of turns
And LOTS of bumps
I sleep for most of the 6 hour trip
Wanting to be rested for a long day at the beach
When I wake up
I check my phone
It says 5:30am
We're almost there
I nudge Connie to let her know
She starts getting her stuff in order
A few minutes before 6am
We pull into the Atacames bus station
::pshhhhh::
And the old bus breathes a sigh of relief
A handful of drowsy travelers gather their belongings
The doors open
And the bus empties
Connie and I walk outside
It's still dark
We walk into town
We see shops
Restaurants
Internet cafes
But none of them are open
The small beach town is still asleep
We walk to the beach
To watch the sunrise
Just like we had planned
We take off our shoes
Find a spot that's just right
And plop down in the sand
Our backs to the tired town
We sit
And we talk
We talk about our time in Ecuador
The things we saw
The things we learned
The friends we made
The sun starts to rise
And the warmth of the nostalgic conversation
Can be felt
Both inside and out
So calm
So peaceful
So relahhh
I feel something around my neck
I see an arm
It's not Connie's
I feel a sharp pain
I look down
The arm has a broken glass bottle to my neck
My Spanish leaves me
'STOP!!'
'No digas nada'
The arm tells me not to say anything
The bottle presses harder
I look over
Connie has a bottle to her neck too
We see the panic in each other's eyes
We feel the pressure of the broken glass against our necks
And we watch as hands go through our bags
The hands take what they came for
The arms loosen around our necks
And the people they're connected to run off
Still in shock
I get up
And run after them
'STOP!!
YOU CAN HAVE THE MONEY
LEAVE THE PASSPORT
PLEASE
PLEASE!!'
I sprint through the sand
Full speed
With tears starting to roll down my cheeks
They could have killed me
But they didn't
And I'll make sure they regret that
Wishful thinking though
Life isn't a Hollywood movie
And I'm not a comic book hero
No matter how fast I run
I'm not gaining on them quick enough
They enter a wooded area
And I decide to stop the pursuit
Because who would be naive enough
To follow Ecuadorian robbers
Into a wooded area...
My phone
My wallet
My passport
All gone
I run back to Connie