Backtrack: April 29 ❤ Parque Metropolitano and Vista Hermosa

We tried to start out as early as possible, trying to miss the impending rain.  We went to el Parque Metropolitano (the Metropolitan Park).  Leah and I went for a walk while Christina watched Lucas and Joshua.  There was a little play area with a miniature house that Joshua was fascinated with.  The walk was really beautiful with lots of trees and fresh air.  We got to a viewing area and I took a few pictures.  The sky was hazy, so we couldn't see to far out, but you can tell what a big city Quito is from there. 

The Vista Point at Parque Metropolitano.

We decided to turn back even though we hadn't been walking too long because it looked the rain was moving in.  We made it back and piled in the car to drive down to the area where they sell juices and ice cream.  We got jugo de mandarina, which is mandarin orange or tangerine juice.  It was really good.  I also got an ice cream bar and Joshua got a popsicle.  Leah was worried about owing the man a few more cents and had me run back to pay him from the change she keeps in the car.  When we got home, she looked at the change the man had given her and she realized he had shorted her ten dollars.  We didn't bother going back since we had reached the car just before the heavy rain started.  It had started hailing too just after we left the park.  Joshua calls hail "pelotitas," which means little balls, instead of the correct word in Spanish, "granizo."

Back in the house we ate lunch.  Every day we have fresh squeezed juice with our meal and today Leah told me that it was from a fruit called "tomato de arbol" or tree tomato.  It's sweeter than a tomato and I actually liked it.  I'm not such a big fan of tomato juice.

After lunch we relaxed until Leo came home.  We planned to pick up Matteo, Leah's stepson, from school and then head down to el centro historico (historic downtown) to eat dinner at the restaurant Vista Hermosa (Beautiful View), where Leah and Leo had gotten married.  Shannah told us that she was going to be bringing the kids in her program (US high school students spending time abroad) there that night.  It was their last night in Quito and the day after she would be accompanying them back to the US, where she was going to stay for a month, helping them reacclimate to life in the US.  Gina said she would join Shannah there also.  Before we went to the restaurant, we walked around the downtown area a bit and Leo told me some about the history of the buildings and statues.  Everything was damp from the afternoon rain and the air was clean like it is right after a rain.

When we got to the restaurant, we walked up the steps to look out at the view.  The area up on top of the restaurants isn't covered, so we decided to sit down below since it looked like it was going to rain again. We ate really well.  I had ribs that were really tasty.  There was so much food, I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish it all.  Leah and I also had canelazos, which are a typical Ecuadorian drink.  They are served hot and consist of a sugarcane liquor, brown, sugar, lemon juice, and lots of cinnamon.  It was really good.

When we were finished with dinner, we went back upstairs to say hi to Shannah, Gina, and the students in Shannah's program.  I took some pictures of the view.  You can see the angel on top of the hill in the distance amidst all the lights.

View from the Vista Hermosa restaurant.

After dinner, we piled back in the car and went home.  We needed to get some rest since we were going to do some bigger trips with the whole family for the weekend.

Backtrack: April 28 ❤ El Teleferico y El Parque (Cable Cars & the Park)

Today we tried to get out of the house early before it started to rain.  It hadn't started, but there were clouds that threatened rain.  It took awhile to get everyone dressed and ready to go, and by everyone, I mean Joshua.  :)  Leah, Christina, Joshua, Lucas and I piled into the car and drove to the teleferico (cable cars).  There was a little amusement park at the bottom of the mountain, below where the teleferico started.  Joshua wanted to go on the trains and Leah promised him he could after we went on the teleferico.  We walked up to the ticket counter and there were only a few people around.  Leah said it had been really popular when it first opened, but now there weren't many people coming through.  There were poles with nylon connectors between them like that have at the airport or the movie theater to control the people waiting in line, but all of them were pushed up against the side of the wall like they weren't expecting long lines again.  Christina stayed with Lucas at the bottom since he's too little to make the trip in the cable cars and Leah, Joshua, and I walked up to the place where you boarded the cable cars.  Along the way, it looked like a ghost town.  Leah said that when they were busy, there were cute little shops and restaurants along the way, but one by one they went out of business.  Leah was a little bit worried that Joshua would be scared to go in the cable car since Leo is afraid of heights, but he loved it.  He was waving and saying "Hola" to all the cable cars that were returning back to the starting point and pointing out the cows and waterfalls we saw along the way.  The view of Quito was amazing as we got higher and higher.

Joshua and Leah in the cable car.

Joshua and I in the cable car.

A waterfall we saw on the way to the top.

When we got to the top, we looked at the view.  There were clouds in the way and Leah told me that on a clear day you could see some of the volcanos in Quito's mountain range.  Joshua was pretending to look out of the binoculars they had there and was telling us to look through them too.  Kids have such vivid imaginations because without paying, all you see is blackness as you look into the binoculars.

Joshua and his binoculars.

Leah and I ate empanadas up at the top.  I had an chicken empanada and she had a cheese empanada.  They call the cheese empanadas, empanadas del viento (wind empanadas), because they are fried and end up really light, basically filled with air.  They sprinkle sugar on the top.  Joshua had a popsicle.

The view at the top.  The teleferico cables are to the right.

After we took the cable car back to the bottom, we went to buy tickets for the rides so that Joshua could go on the trains.  While we were waiting, Joshua started playing Hungry Hungry Hippo with some other little kids.  I think they actually called it Happy Hippo there.

Joshua playing Happy Hippo.

When we got to the trains, Joshua decided he didn't want to go on the trains.  Leah thought he might be afraid.  He had gone on this pirate boat ride before and gotten really scared.  Instead we took him over to the cars.  There weren't many kids on the rides, so Joshua got to pick which car he wanted to go in and had the ride all to himself.

Joshua in his red jeep.  :)

As we were walking back, Christina and I looked behind us and realized that Leah and Joshua weren't there.  We waited at the end of the walkway.  After some minutes it started to sprinkle.  We saw them coming toward us, so we started to head down to the car since the rain was starting to come down harder.  Leah told us that Joshua had to go to the bathroom and then was deciding whether he wanted to go on the trains or not.  He ended up not being able to since it was starting to rain.  We made it into the car just before the rains really started coming down.

Back in the house, we ate lunch and when the rains let up, we went to the park nearby again.  Leo came out with us to ride his bike on the trail near the park.  It was dry enough in some areas that we could actually walk comfortably around the slides and swings.  I decided to dust off my gymnastics skills and try to do some things on one of the metal bars there.  I did a pull over and successfully did a back hip circle, but after I dismounted, my wrist felt funny.  I laughed and told Leah that maybe I was too old to be trying to do those things still.  She said she was impressed nonetheless.  :)  When we got back to the house, she gave me an ice pack shaped like Elmo to put on my wrist.  After Joshua saw it, he wanted to have it.  Leah was telling him that I was really hurt and needed it.  He finally let me be and we watched Tangled.  It had started to rain on our way back and from the park and I missed when Leo returned, drenched from his bike ride in the rain.  He went directly to the shower.

It was a long day, so we just ate dinner, relaxed, and went to sleep.

Backtrack: April 27 ❤ My first full day in Quito

I was expecting it to be warm in Quito and that first day was pretty cold.  I had given most of my warmer clothes to Mabel and Pilar in Huancayo and also Josselyn and Estefania in Lima.  I still had a few long-sleeve jackets, so I put them to good use.  Leah and Leo had told me that it was hot in the mornings and rained in the evenings.  She said I probably thought they were liars since it rained the whole morning.  It was nice waking up to the sound of the rain on the roof though.

I helped Leah make pancakes for breakfast.  It was the first time I'd had pancakes in a long time and the second time Joshua had ever eaten them.  After that we watched Shrek 4: The Final Chapter with Joshua.  Leo came home from work in time for lunch.  He works at a country club as a trainer.

After lunch, we took advantage of the clear skies to take Joshua to the park for awhile.  We couldn't do very much on the grass since it was soaked from the morning rain.  The area around the slide looked like a miniature lake.  We went to a cement area to the side of the park and I kicked the soccer ball with Joshua, while Leah sat with Lucas.  We would kick the ball a couple times and then he would go get the water bottle from Leah, take a drink and then give it to me so I could take a sip.  After a bit he said his tummy didn't feel so great and Leah told him to stop drinking so much water.  :)  Of course he didn't listen.

We came back to the house and baked some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and artichoke dip to serve when Leo's friends came over.  Some of the people who he trains at the country club wanted to meet Lucas.  There were two women and two men who came over to see Lucas.  They were all in their early to mid-twenties, so younger than all of us.  I liked how one of the girls kept on calling everything "buenazo," the cookies, the artichoke dip, and things in stories they were telling.  In Ecuador it means really good, but upon looking it up on the internet I found it has different meanings elsewhere and can't be used in the context of a good artichoke dip.  :)  I love the differences in Spanish words between Peru, Ecuador, and Mexico, but it also can be very confusing for me and the people who I'm talking to!!!  For instance popcorn is canchitas in Peru, palomitas in Mexico, and canguil in Ecuador.  And for avocado you say aguacate in Mexico and Ecuador, but in Peru you say palta.  It's really cute when Joshua says avocado because he mixes the Spanish and English words together and says aguacado.  :)  I was enjoying the conversation up until the "buenazo" girl asked how old I was and if I was married.  When I said no, she said to me, "Oh, then you're never going to get married or have kids then.  I see."  After that, I didn't think she was so "buenazo."  Leah also commented later on how rude the girl had been, but seeing that she's only twenty-one, Leah and I must seem like we're old as dirt.  So I could only smile at the ignorance and naivete of her comment.  :)

Shortly after, Leah and I left the gathering to go eat dinner with her two American friends who also happen to be from California.  Leah asked me if there were mostly Jewish people in California because all the people she had met from Cali were Jewish.  That would be an interesting statistic to look into: Just exactly what percentage of Californian expatriots in Ecuador are Jewish???  :)  Her friends Gina and Shannah were so sweet and amidst their own gossip they asked questions about me and my travels.  Gina is petite and very girly with a mass of curly black hair.  Her personality reminded me of my friend Monica, full of energy and talking a million words a minute in both English and Spanish.  Shannah is taller and almost tomboyish, with a more laid-back personality.  We ate pizza and salad and never let the conversation go silent.  Shannah had brought her dog and they told her to be careful walking home.  They joked that it didn't matter if it was day or night, you could get robbed in Quito.  I guess Shannah has been robbed once for each of her ten years in Quito.  Leah told me that her boss at her first job in Quito started sending a car for her after she, hugely pregnant with Joshua, was robbed walking to work.  They talk about it so "matter-of-fact"ly, sort of like how minor fender benders there are normal and people make their own road rules.  We were driving along one day and Leah asked me if this guy with a small trailer attached to his car had hit her and I told her he had.  She said, "Oh, well, I don't want to deal with that right now," and kept driving.  When a man rear-ended us while Leo was driving, Leo got out to talk to the driver, but Leah said that he usually just got money from the people and left it at that.  Such a different attitude!!!  :)

By the time we got home, it was late and we were all tired, so went to sleep hoping for good weather in the morning...

Backtrack: April 26 ❤ Arriving in Quito

I was sad to leave Juan and Blenda's family in Lima, but I was anxious to see Leah, my childhood friend who I hadn't seen since I was in middle school.  Leah and I met each other when I was in kindergarten and she was in first grade.  We lived on the same street in Fairfax, Virginia and what my mom always tells me is that we fought continuously.  But even though we fought, we remained best friends and after I moved away from Virginia after just completing third grade, we kept in touch.  We would write to each other and when we were both in middle school, she made the trip out to see me in San Diego and I visited her back in Virginia.  We managed to stay in touch throughout the years, sporadic as it was, and now life brought us back together again.  Her work brought her to Ecuador, where she met her husband, Leo.  Their story is so beautiful, I hope she doesn't mind me telling it.  When her job sent her to the Dominican Rebublic for more than 6 months, she told Leo to come join her since her lodging and food was all paid for by her job.  He sold his car to buy a ticket to the Dominican and sacrificed months away from his son from his first marriage, Matteo, in order to see if they could make it work.  After his sacrifices, she had no problem sacrificing her life as it was to move to Ecuador.  She sold her apartment and her car and joined him in Ecuador, where they are now married with two beautiful sons of their own.  Baby Lucas was born just a month before I arrived!!!

Needless to say, I had a swirl of emotions run through me as I saw her waiting for me at the airport with Lucas in her arms.  She apologized and asked if she could finish nursing Lucas before we left the airport and so she asked me how my trip had been while we waited for Lucas to get his fill.  When we left the airport, there were puddles on the ground from the rain and the sky threatened more.  Leah told me that it was normally hot during the morning and then rained in the afternoon.  We put my bags into the trunk and then headed out to the grocery store.  She said she was so proud of herself because that was the first time she had driven to the airport without Leo.

The grocery store was huge.  They had big grocery stores in Peru, but this one seemed different, like there was more space between the aisles.  Leah threw this and that into the cart as she told me that Leo usually does the grocery shopping.

We went back to her apartment and were greeted by Joshua, Leah's two-year-old, and Christina, the nanny.  The apartment was beautiful, decorated tastefully by Leo.  It had a very modern feel to it.  Leah told me that she was so lucky to have Christina because Christina had lived with one of her children in Canada and spoke some English.  They are trying to get Joshua to speak more English.  Leah speaks to him in English, but he always responds in Spanish, except if he only knows the English word for something.

Since it was raining, we passed the evening at the house.  When Leo got home we ate fajitas for dinner.  They had set up an air mattress for me in Joshua's playroom.  I unpacked a bit and took a shower.  Maybe the shower shouldn't be worth mentioning, but their shower seriously looks like a rocketship.  I regret not taking a picture of it.  It's one that is situated in the corner like a quarter of a circle.  The doors slide open and you can turn on lights that illuminate the sides of the shower.  That's when I really felt like I was going to blast off into space.  :)  There was also a radio in there, so I would listen to Spanish radio while I dodged the toys Joshua uses during his bathtime.  Leah said the shower looks nice, but she could hardly move in there when she was really pregnant.  It was a bit cramped inside, but it sure did look awesome.  haha

I went to sleep with the sound of pattering rain on the transparent roof.  The roof over the playroom was different than the roof over the majority of the house, so it amplified the sound of the rain all the more.  I love the sound of rain...

Backtrack: April 21 - 26 ❤ Lima with Juan & Blenda's Family

Note: Juan and Blenda's family is large, so if I forget names, forget the correct relationship of the family member, or anything like that, I'm sorry!!!  I plead Small Family Syndrome!!!  I've never had to remember who's related to who and who's name is what and what their nicknames are, etc. etc... :)  

The day I got into Lima, I think all we did was eat and sleep.  Although if I remember correctly, I think we ate pollo a la brasa, which deserves a mention just because it's SO good!!!

My second day turned out to be Good Friday and Estefania (one of the Juan and Blenda's twin sisters) and Doris (Juan and Blenda's mamita) were in a play at their church, the Salvation Army.  Josselyn (the other twin), Raul (her fiance), and Micaela and I went with them to the church to be a good audience.  I ended up taping the performance up until my camera ran out of space.

Estefania and Micaela before the church play.

Josselyn and Micaela waiting for the play to start.

Estefania in the church performance.

Doris in the church performance.

After the performance, Josselyn, Raul and Micaela went home since Micaela was a bit sick, but I stayed with Doris and Estefania to eat lunch at the church.  They served fish, rice, salad and juice.  It was tasty, but not nearly as good as the food that Doris makes at her lunch stall or what Josselyn or Juan cooks.  I met Aunt Sonia and her two sons.  I only remember her son Luis' name because Estefania and I spent some time with him later in my stay.  I also met all of Estefania's church friends to whom she introduced me as either her sister-in-law or Juan's girlfriend.  :)  She's the cutest ever.

We left with some other people and since we were all thirsty and trying to break a large bill, we went to a store and bought 3 liters of Inka Cola and drank most of it between the lot of us.  With the broken bill, we paid for the tickets to get home...and two or three combis later, we made it there.  

On Saturday I spent the day with Estefania.  We went to eat lunch at Doris' lunch stall...I call it a stall just because it's a space in an open-air market with three tables set up on one side of the kitchen and stools set up at a counter at the other side.  After we ate, we went walking around the area a bit.  As we were walking along we heard a man say something like, "Look at those sisters," and Estefania grabbed my arm tighter and said, "We're sisters!!!"  Okay, I'll say it again...she's the cutest!!!  When we got home, we decided to watch a movie and eat ice cream.  I wasn't meaning to, but I fell asleep watching the movie.  We all ate dinner later and then I helped Estefania bring in clothes that had been drying on clotheslines on the roof.  

On Sunday, I didn't get up in time to go to church with everyone, but I wasn't alone.  Josselyn was there with Micaela.  We ate breakfast together and then I started to pack my suitcases.  I wanted to see what I could fit in my suitcase and what I needed to mail home.  After Doris and Estefania came home from church, we went over to their cousin's house to have lunch.  Almost everyone went to the store, except Estefania and I stayed at the house with her cousin's son.  He was adorable.  After we failed to find a movie all of us wanted to watch, he brought out some Play-Doh and told us to make a house.  After my house miserably failed, I decided to make a turtle.  He told us to make flowers next and I took a picture of him with his flower.  Estefania told me that he could draw really well, so he asked me what he should draw.  We told him to draw a helicopter, a car, and an elephant.  He did draw really well!!!

My Play-Doh turtle.  :)

Their cousin's son with his Play-Doh flower.  He's such a sweetheart!!!

After they came back from the store, a bunch more people showed up and I don't remember the bulk of who was who.  We had ceviche to start off with.  It was really good, but I have to say, the parts with the skin still on them, I wasn't sure what to do with.  They told me to eat them, but to me it wasn't as good as the other parts.  Other than that we had chicken, rice, and a spicy side dish.  It was so good.  Estefania asked me if I wanted to go with her to her church youth group and I said yes, so we left the get-together early.  We got on a bus and a woman got on telling a story about how she was down on her luck and needed surgery.  She came around asking for money and when Estefania gave her a few coins, she asked if we were sisters.  Estefania enthusiastically said, "Yes!!!"  She then told me that everyone thought we looked like sisters.  :)

Once we got to where her church group was held, Luis was the only one in the room.  He asked us if we wanted to go to a Christian concert where they were taping the group for a DVD.  He told us he had gone the night before and that it was a good show and really cheap.  Really cheap meant 3 soles to enter, which is about $1.  Crazy!!!  We had to take a few more buses and on one of the buses, Luis asked me what my favorite thing about Juan was.  I thought a second and told him that it was his generosity, not just to me but to everyone.  He looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Wow, I thought you were going to say his big arms or something like that.  Haha.  The concert was pretty entertaining and there were some really good singers.  Luis' girlfriend joined us a bit after the concert began.  We ended up leaving before the end of the concert because they started repeating songs they had sung earlier, most likely to take the best of the two for the DVD.  We took a taxi and when Luis and his girlfriend went inside the store at a gas station to break a large bill, Estefania told me that his girlfriend makes more money than he does and that she pays for a lot of things.  :)  When they both got back in, his girlfriend started asking me questions in English.  She said she wanted to practice her English.  We saw Doris and Papito Arturo (Blenda's father) walking toward us, so we waited for them.  Luis introduced his girlfriend to Doris and she asked him what happened to the other one.  Uh...awkward moment.  Haha.  We managed to pull out of that awkwardness and said goodbye to Luis and his girlfriend.

On Monday, my last full day in Lima, I went with Josselyn and Micaela to go eat at Doris' lunch stall.  I was pushing Micaela around in her stroller to keep her from fussing.  When Raul came to eat with his coworkers and Estefania came to eat after she finished school, I got some help with Micaela while Josselyn was helping Doris.  I was sad that it was the last lunch I would eat with them at Doris' kitchen...but just for that trip because surely I will be back!!!  After lunch I went with Josselyn and Estefania to the post office.  They helped me pack all my items into a box that the woman at the post office gave to me and it all just barely fit.  After mailing the package, we were all dying from laughter, sadly at the expense of Juan.  Josselyn said that Juan has a lot of eyebrows, so much so that he has a "cejote" or a unibrow.  She asked me what I thought of Juan's eyebrows and I started to say that he does have a lot of eyebrows.  They both busted up laughing and I couldn't help but join in.  She said amidst her laughter that she thought I would have disagreed and said he didn't have big eyebrows.  Pobre Juancito (Poor little Juan), but it was a nice moment that brought me closer to the twins before I had to leave.  I said goodbye to Estefania and Doris before they went to sleep because they were waking up early to go to school and to work.  Doris arranged for me to go with Juan's cousin to the airport in her taxi service since Daniel had gotten into a car accident with a combi.

In the morning, I woke up when Estefania and Doris were getting ready and gave them sleepy goodbye hugs and kisses.  Pretty soon it was time for me to get ready to go and Josselyn helped me take my things down to her cousin's van when she came for us.  I was a little bit nervous because I hadn't planned on losing time because of traffic.  The other times I had gone to the airport had been in the wee hours of the morning and there hadn't been any traffic.  I regretted not planning to leave earlier, but we got to the airport safely.  I said goodbye to Josselyn and Micaela and thanked their cousin for the ride.  I rushed to check in for my flight and only breathed a sigh of relief once I got to my gate with some minutes to spare.

Next stop: Quito, Ecuador...

Backtrack: April 15 - 21 ❤ Last days in Cancun and flight to Lima

Unfortunately Juan only had 5 days off, so the days before I left, I had to entertain myself again after he left for work.  We spent time together during the mornings before he left and sometimes did a few things at night when he got back, like walking to the nearby OXXO (like a 7-11) to get water or a snack.

The night before I left, we went out with Ana and Charly to try to find a place to go dancing.  We went to a place that Juan thought was playing salsa music, but they were playing 80's.  We stayed for a drink and I thought we would dance some, but instead we just sat, drank, and enjoyed the music.  They had a huge screen taking up most of one wall that showed the MTV videos of the song being played.  It was quite entertaining.  We left there in search of a dance club, but when the search turned up empty, Charly drove us back to Juan's apartment.

In the morning, Juan took me to Mercado 28 to find some dresses for Charlie, my niece.  We found some really cute ones.  Here are some pictures of Charlie in one of her dresses.

Charlie's new dress!!! 

Such a cutie!!!

We went to eat at a restaurant in the marketplace and then we had to head back to the apartment, so I could do my last bit of packing and we headed off to the airport in a taxi.  He waited with me while I got my boarding passes and then we had a tearful goodbye before I headed into the security checkpoint.

I had a layover in Panama, and this older Peruvian woman started talking to me.  She was asking me where I was coming from and said that she had just flown in from California after seeing her new granddaughter.  She said she was glad to be going back home.  I told her that I had just gone to see my boyfriend in Cancun, but that he was originally from Lima and I was on my way to stay with his family. She was so sweet and she told me that I spoke Spanish really well!!!  On the flight, I chatted with the woman sitting next to me for a short while.  She asked me what I was doing in Peru and I told her that I was visiting my boyfriend's family, but that I had also volunteered in Huancayo.  She told me she was from Huancayo originally.  It was fun talking to her about it.  She also told me that I spoke Spanish well!!!  Hooray!!!  Improvement!!!

Once I got into the airport, Doris and Daniel were waiting to take me back to the apartment.  :)  Back in Peru again!!!

Backtrack: April 13 - 14 ❤ Playa del Carmen

We got a bit of a late start and took a bus to Playa del Carmen.  They were showing a movie on the bus, but I think we slept through most of it.  When we got there, we walked down to the beach and ate at a nearby restaurant.  Turned out to be a bad idea because they rip you off at the restaurants by the beach.  Lesson learned!!!  We walked around the strip where they sell all kinds of souvenirs and have some nice clothing shops too.  I got a dress for dinner that night.  I was trying to decide between a couple dresses and some French girls who had been watching their friend try on clothes told me that I should get the blue one, so I did!!!  Juan also bought me an awesome pink, embroidered purse.  :)

We changed to go out for dinner and I put on my new dress.  The dinner we ate was a million times yummier and a zillion times classier than our lunch and was also cheaper!!!  Go figure.  :)

After our bellies were full, we walked along the strip again, although at night the scene had changed to people hopping bars, eating dinner, and enjoying music.  We stopped to take a picture at the street sign for Calle Corazon (Heart street) and then we sat to have a drink and listen to a reggae band.

The reggae band.

We went on our way after that and ended up sitting down by the beach listening to a salsa band at a nearby restaurant.  After we'd danced in the sand and relaxed to the sound of the music and rolling waves, we went back to our hotel for some much needed sleep.

Sitting on the beach...Playa del Carmen by night.

In the morning we put on our bathing suits, sat on the beach for a bit, and took a dip in the ocean.  We couldn't stay too long since we had to check out of our hotel, but it was just the right amount of time for my already sunburned skin.  ;)  After checking out of the hotel, we walked along the street some more and made a few more purchases.  We each ate an ice cream cone.  Mine was mostly running down my arm and instead of helping me out, Juan just started taking pictures of me and my ice cream mess.  Ugh!!!  And no, you do not get to see those pictures!!!  After I washed the ice cream off of me, we went back to the bus station to head on home.