Last night, while cutting a rug in Atacames, an Ecuadorian lady said, “¡Estas el bailador mejor de los gringos!” Translation: “Hot damn, Alan, you have some sweet dance moves.” Needless to say I was flattered. Not even dejected by the fact that she called me a gringo (not a bad thing in Ecuador) , I realized that, yes, in fact I am the best dancer out of all the gringos. Possibly the nicest thing anyone´s every said to me.

Anyways, tonight is the last night the group will have with the lovely Helena Poole. Unfortunatly she will be returning to England next week to enjoy the comforts of her lovely pet Casmire Lop, warm water, beds that are not made out of bamboo, and the lovely weather in London. I suspect that she is a little excited, but I have the feeling that she wants to stay a little more than she wants to go. Rosie will also be leaving our group tomorrow to travel in the Galapagos for a week. We´ll get a change to see her for a night out in Quito, so it´s not a permanent goodbye. With two thirds of Europe leaving our group no one knows how dynamics with change. North America definitely has the clear advantage with three US troops and one Canadian, while England is left with the lovely Jenny Payne.

Hanging out as a team...soon to be 5 : (

Hanging out as a team...soon to be 5 : (

As a farewell post to the two ladies I have decided to write a haiku for each:

Rosie Twogood:
Arm raised at the club
Rosie searches out a tan
Tracky-bums galore

Helena Poole:
Cheshire Cat calls out
Into the forest, “Alan”
I am scared but go

The rest of the group has four more work days in Caimito. Time is flying by. More posts to come when we are in Quito next Friday.

All my love,

The best dancer around