My faithful travel companions, Jack and Pato (Patricio). They definitely kept me on my toes. I think just about every day of the trip there'd be a moment where I'd stop and ask myself, "How the hell did I end up here? And how did I meet these people?"
We made a nice little trio, the three of us. A scrawny Romanian, a rash Ecuadorian and a little gringuita. An unlikely yet entertaining combination.
Our first real adventure together was to the edge of the jungle. Jack wanted to test his new camera on spiders and other creepy crawly things that lurk in such places. Of course before any man starts out on an adventure, it is important that he is well fed. So we ended pulling over at the first place where we thought there might be food and Pato asked for a plate of whatever they had available for all us to share. I'm not so sure it was a restaurant as much as it was a confused local wondering why people were asking him for food. However, despite my doubts, he came through and we were graciously provided a large plate of yuca and fried armadillo.
Pato dived right in without even a moment's hesitation. Nevermind, the crispy foot clawing up at us. Jack was a little wary about it all, but eventually gave in and had a few bites. Pedro, our dainty chauffeur and a fellow aspiring young photographer, downright refused. I, like Jack, was a little reluctant but eventually succumbed to my curiosity and gave it a try. Afterall, it did smell pretty good and I didn't know the next opportunity I'd get to try armadillo.
