Ecuador is…

polite hellos

and warm goodbyes

mountain peaks

clouds damp upon my cheek.

It’s turning single lanes to four

your heart high up in your mouth

the skills of your driver evident

riding the clutch

amongst a billion beeps.

 

Ecuador is…

deep green folds in our mother earth

Pacha Mamma – pristine; clean.

It invites you inside

to wander all her fields

grants the sleep

much needed

finally blessed in peace.

 

Ecuador is…

that queasy sense of altitude

pressing tightly on your tummy

and loosely in your head.

It’s coca tea you take

to sooth your ills;

the toast, the bread,

and

soon enough

the pills.

 

Ecuador is…

small villages set amongst the hills

grey-haired men in bowler hats

braided women tending the palest of corn.

They walk out in front

of large fast trucks

‘caus this land is theirs

you see

 

Ecuador is…

newly paved roads

car loans and second homes;

it’s people climbing out of poverty

straight on into debt.

An economist president

bulging theories from U.S.

Ecuador is craving to be bigger

but be careful

there be no safety net.

 

Ecuador is…

half built homes

bessa block jigsaws

forgotten

when the dollar ran out

people waiting: waiting:

how many cokes sold on buses

will it take?

 

Ecuador is beauty

and contradiction by its crime

it’s turning your head

expecting a gun

but instead

more often than not

finding bliss

 

Ecuador is…

sea lion pups as your new best mates

who twist and play every day

it’s looking around

before you walk:

iguana hazards galore

 

It’s allowing the Shaman

to rinse you of your witches

traversing long Amazonian rivers

It’s deep jungle sounds

in the pitch black of night

heard from false safety

of your mosquito net.

 

Ecuador is…

hammocks to relax

and retreat

If you find a few seconds

between the full action approach

then you can unwind the city

straight out of your bones

 

Ecuador is…

feeling lucky to have survived it:

seas lion bites and

disastrous kayak rides

upturned with

sharks underneath

abduction fears and

chaos all about.

 

Ecuador, you make a me sweat:

you have pulled me

this way

and

then that

I’ll take all my memories

with me

honestly

unlikely

to be back.

 

You’re a wild and exotic space

Ecuador

so wild I need a rest now

your beauty so

powerful

I must

stop

to take

a breath now