I mentioned in my first blog I would save the story of the drive to Casa WF from the Manta airport for later. I was actually still traumatized by the experience for a few days after arriving in San Jancito and needed time to process the ordeal.
First...... driving at night in third world country after a brutal fight itinery from 'Canada....WTF was I thinking. Marty's driving instuctions for the 'easy' 45 minute commute from the Manta airport was fucking useless against the lack of road signs and demonic Ecuadorian drivers. Honking horns and blinding high beams made it impossible to see and signs or landmarks on the road leaving the airport. Of course I made some wrong turns and got lost. 2 hours of driving back and forth looking for the right way had reduced me to a nervous wreck. I was waiting for the police to pull me over and put me out of my misery. As desperation set in I started flagging cabs and showed them my driving map prepared by Marty at Casa WF. No English down here is spoken and I started pulling over into gas stations and and nobody could figure out what I wanted or what I should do
Finally I stopped at a late night restaurant and a couple of locals who spoke a little broken English said they knew how to get me out of my predicament they would drive and I would follow. After a few drinks of course, The big dude wanted to ride in my car while the other guy drove. I had enough sense to steer him away from my car and told them I would follow them alone They started to go drive away and as I realized they were definitely going in the wrong direction I pulled a you turn and bolted hoping they wouldnt turn around to follow their prey. After a few miles with my pedal to the medal I thanked my guardian angel and started to consider my dwindling options. It was getting late and dark and stuff was shutting down. This was getting very nasty and I realized I was possibly in a very dangerous situation and should just grab a hotel and regroup the next way . I stopped along the road where several cabs were parked and asked if there were any hotels around. These guys had finished their shift and were drinking houch at a friends house. One of the drivers after looking at my route instruction in English said he knew exactly where Casa WF was and reluctantly agreed to lead me there . It was a long drive through some very back roads and I started to get paranoid about an ambush. I kept my eyes out for any other vehicles approaching. Finally after about an hour we arrived down a series of gravel roads to my destination. I thanked my guardian angel again and awarded my savior taxi driver with a $ 10 tip which he could not believe I was giving him. Muchos gracias mi amiago.
This fucking nightmare should never have happened . The owners of Casa WF knew my itinery and should have strongly recommended or insisted I be picked up at the airport and rented my car the next day. They made it seem like it was an easy place to find( not ) and the driving instructions were not precise enough for someone who didnt know the area let alone for a gringo driving at night after a brutal flight itinery. I put this blot behind me for the rest of the trip And fucking Ecuadorian drivers suck as I was to be reminded throughout my trip
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