Characters of Ecuador: Michael
Waiting in the Quito airport for the flight to Manta I sat opposite a tall gringo with naturally curly, graying for the last couple years or so, hair that was up in a pony on the back/top part of his head. Tan, 63, with a soul patch and two silver hooped earrings in his left ear, he mostly paced back and forth in sort of a nervous-tired-of-sitting-and -waiting way. Dressed in Levis and along sleeved shirt worn over a t-shirt I guessed he was an American about my age. I approached him, asking if he was going to Manta on the 12:45 PM flight. He was and then to the north to spend time on the beach learning to surf. Im heading south, both of us taking buses once we reach Manta.
Michael is originally from Milwaukee, lived in California, and has been in Peru for the last three years where he owned a bar/restaurant. Hes recently sold that business and traveling for six months looking for a new business opportunity. I asked if I could travel with him from airport to bus station and he agreed. He talked about his travels, suggested places to go and to check out Travelocity South America for cheaper flights (I paid $20 more than he did for the flight to Manta). When he wasnt talking, he filled the short silence with a little la-la-la-la of a song until his next thought came along.
When I asked him if he spoke Spanish he said a little, which turned out to not be the case. He did a fine job navigating our procurement of a taxi from airport to bus terminal and helping me find the right window to purchase my bus ticket to Puerto Lopez. We had almost an hour wait before our respective busses departed which gave us time to gab and to observe the somewhat controlled chaos of the Manta bus station. During our conversation I asked him if he was running from something. He said “No! I’m running towards something!” An interesting answer (and question). Food for thought, perhaps, for why we do what we do/why we go where we go.
Before we said our goodbyes he dug in his bag and gave me a bracelet made of horse hairs he picked up on his travel. It was a nice gesture and I was grateful for it as well as his kindness, helpfulness, and free and easy spirit.