¡Por fin!

I flew back to Quito last Sunday with a growing sense of dread, knowing that what lay ahead of me was a week of writing, editing, and rewriting a 30-page paper on my experience in the Galapagos, as well as a 10-page Spanish version. It made it even harder to leave behind all my friends at Jatun Sacha knowing that all that awaited me was a cold, rainy city where I would be living in an Internet cafe for a week. I anticipated it being pretty miserable and while it was not quite as miserable as I imagined, it was pretty close.

However, FINALLY, I am done. I have spent every day this week writing and editing and rewriting and today, I went through, edited one more time, and then, for better or worse, decided to be done. So I took it to the printer, got my copies all made and bound, and then dropped it off to be graded. Thank God!

I will post some of what I wrote perhaps in the next few days. However, as of right now, I just wanted to comment on something that I had been thinking about since Galapagos and was reminded of while sitting in an Internet cafe the past three days in the Mariscal (aka. Gringoville): tourists.

I had a lengthy conversation about tourists with Fran, one of the Jatun Sacha volunteers, while we were sitting at a cafe in port on my last Friday in Galapagos and I was reminded of our conversation after being in the Mariscal and seeing countless tourists wandering around. I cannot remain silent any longer. I must speak. It is not for me that I do this, but for the benefit of others. Thus, what follows is a general list of guidelines that I hope all might consider before going abroad anywhere:

1) Fannypacks are a no-no. A BIG no-no. That is never attractive and, frankly, if you want to scream, "I am a tourist! Here, come take my money, all in this convenient, painfully-obviously pouch hanging most unattractively from my waist!" then go for it. Otherwise, just NO.

2) Floppy hats: NO. Granted, I know that being on the Equator indicates that the sun is very strong and that therefore some sort of protection for your face is a necessity. However, there is this wonderful invention called "sunscreen" which is far more subtle than an ugly, floppy hat. Additionally, while it might be acceptable to wear a wide-brimmed hat of some sort, I do not understand why tourists somehow always choose the ugliest ones possible. It IS possible to be sun-safe and attractive and NOT obviously foreign.

3) Clothing in general: Fran and I were marveling at this--it seems that there is an unspoken rule among most tourists that they must wear the most unattractive clothing possible while abroad. These are not things they would ever normally wear in their normal, everyday lives; it is as if, when it comes time to leave the country, they subconsciously think, "Oh, gotta pull out the ugly clothes now!" Why???

4) Outdoorsy shoes/hiking boots: I acknowledge that hiking boots are at times a necessity, as well as all manner of specially made sandals for outdoorsy activities which, while not usually very attractive, are very functional and useful. I´ll admit--I wore my hiking boots while hiking around the Sierra Negra and wore my Keans sandals in the lava tunnels. HOWEVER, there is really no need to wear such shoes when walking around the city streets of Quito or around the port on San Cristobal. I promise--you will not encounter mountain lions or rocky cliffs that you must scale or anything which necessitates wearing such shoes. And frankly, dressing like you are about to go on safari while walking around a beach town or a big city is kind of obnoxious and definitely makes you stand even more than you already do just being a gringo.

5) Artificial physical enhancements: I imagine this only applies to a few people, but Fran and I saw one particular American woman in port, walking around in a microscopic skirt and a string bikini top which was all the better to show off her incredible boob job. I guarantee you--if you want to draw attention to yourself, wearing your cleavage on your collarbones is the way to do it.

6) OKAY, THIS IS A BIG ONE: NEVER EVER wear t-shirts or other memorabilia that you have purchased as souvenirs somewhere until you have landed back on American soil. ONLY THEN is it acceptable and sometimes pretty cool, actually, to wear such things. However, when you walk around the streets of San Cristobal with a t-shirt and big, floppy hat emblazoned with "GALAPAGOS" on them, it is definitely cringe-worthy and a major tourist faux pas. I have purchased many an interesting t-shirt since being in Ecuador; HOWEVER, I will resist and not break them out until I am back on US soil. I would hope others might do the same.

There are other rules for tourists, certainly, which could be a good idea to follow while traveling abroad. However, if you generally follow the above rules and constantly repeat to yourself while abroad, "I will not be the negative stereotype of the rude, loud, obnoxious American. I will be polite and say please and thank you, as well as other common pleasantries" then you will be in good shape.

Happy travels! Until next time, ciao!

-Alex