Well, this morning, I got up off my ass, and left the room at 2pm. Why? I had plans to find a lawyer that would help me get my motorcycle out of the Police Parking Lot.

Well when I was first in the police station 18 days ago, a nice lawyer man gave me his card. I graciously accepted it, and put it in my wallet for safe keeping. Later, I ended up with a public defender named Andrea, who though probably doing her job otherwise, hasn’t been of much help to me getting my bike out of the Police Parking Lot.

So, I took it into my own hands, whipped out the card, read the address on the front and walked down street four blocks and arrived. I walked in, stated my case, and told the man behind the counter that I wanted to get my bike out of the parking lot.

“Ok, let me call the lawyer,” said his assistant. So he called the Lawyer, and when the Lawyer answered, handed the phone over to me. I said the same thing I said before, and was told that I needed to have the title of my motorcycle translated into Spanish. Ok. Thank you… Hmm… Where can I do that?

Well, I asked the assistant where I could have the title translated, and he didn’t know, so he called the lawyer again, who told him to meet him at the other office. Ok. “Let’s go,” said the assistant, to which I responded, “Of course.”

So we left the office, locked it up, got in the car of the assistant, and took off to meet the Lawyer at his other office. Well, it would seem that everything is working out thus far! And so it continued in this manner when we arrived at the other office. I piled out of the car and took my place outside the office of the lawyer, who wasn’t present. Well, I’ll wait, I’m accustomed to that.

Well, one thing about being a “Gringo” in this town is that the Lawyers want to help you, or more accurately, they want your business, and that means others can wait. And so, though I was the last person to arrive/wait in line, I was the first to be served. I’ll take what I can get.

The lawyer asked me of my case. What is the status of the case of your traffic accident? I told him that I had NO IDEA. No one calls me, no one tells me anything. Ok. Let me call the Prosecutor, what is your name? So I told him my name, and I referred to myself as the Tall White Gringo that arrived 2.5 weeks ago. That did the trick and the Prosecutor, who is apparently the friend of this lawyer, gave the lawyer permission to help me get my motorcycle out of the lot. Well, this is working nicely!

From the Lawyer, I also learned that my earlier knowledge concerning the maximum time allowed to complete my case is not 30 days as I had first learned, but rather 45 days. Hmmm. That would keep me here inside Ecuador for 4 more weeks at maximum… Hmmm. This bike could be A LOT more important soon.

And so the Lawyer told me that the translated form and the papers necessary to remove my motorcycle would cost $20. I accepted gladly. I handed over my title and passport and license for copying purposes and went with another assistant to have them copied. I got my passport back, but they held onto the title and license. I have another license, but NOT another Title, however I wasn’t worried about it. I didn’t have to stop them from stapling everything together though. (COME ON GUYS! Who STAPLES a TITLE and PLASTIC License… Jeeze.)

And then, I was told to come back in the morning at 10am, and I would be able to collect all the papers necessary to retrieve my motorcycle. Eeeeexcelent.

From there, it was a short walk down the hill back to my Hotel, and on the way, I snagged this picture. It was a nice sunny day, so I can’t blame the guy.



Then, it was back in the hotel, after stopping for my chicken meal, Gatorade, and chips. Yum.

Well, remember that I told you I met some FOREIGN WHITE PEOPLE? I kindly instructed them that I would gladly leave my hotel room for a more interesting night should only they be so kind to ask. Around 7:30, I was beckoned for a , and so it was that I left my room again that day, an uncommon occurrence for me here in Azogues.

I met the girls in the reception area, dropped off my keys, and off we went. They were hungry, so I agreed to get some food with them, as I can always eat more. Lison, the Frenchy, is vegetarian, as we soon found ourselves at a Vegetarian Restaurant eating veggie soup, and a plate of rice/veggies/tofu. Alas, they don’t sell there.

Charlotte from Switzerland is on the left. Lison (Lee-zon) from France is on the right.



After dinner, we went to one of my favorite restaurants, and asked if they had . They had two… We bought them, sat down, and poured the s into glasses.

On a side note, the television shows here, and the movies that play on the T.V. are your standard rated R movies from America. Ergo, Tits and Ass are a common site on T.V., and will even be shown in common family restaurant. As an American, bred and raised as I am, this is not something that is normal per say. For the Europeans, it is exactly that, normal. And so it came to be that I sat drinking with two European girls, watching the sex scene of some poorly dubbed film.



After that, as we had drank the only two s that they restaurant had, we went in search of more. With little effort we found some canned , but the restaurant was closing in 15 minutes. Well, it was agreed that we would take what we can get! Charlotte on the left, Lison on the right.



And that was basically the end of the night, as the shops were all closed, and the bars had long since shut. Plans have been made to meet again tomorrow, as all three of us are our only friends, and it would seem that we all enjoy talking, and having a good time.

I’d also note, that we generally converse in Spanish, as Lison speaks much better Spanish than she does English, and while Charlotte speaks better English than her Spanish, we all just communicate as best we can. And when the two girls feel like clarifying a confused moment, they converse in their native language of French. Charlotte lives in the South East part of Switzerland where French is her first language. So between French, Spanish, and English, we’ve got these bases covered!


Alright! Hey Dad! Yea you! Padre! You know that Big Church up on the Hill that you keep telling me I should go visit? Well, I always told you I knew where it was, but I never really looked into it in all reality. So I didn’t know how far away it was from where I am staying, or what it looked like, or anything of the sort. However, tonight, as I was walking into my hotel, while saying goodbye to my new friends, I saw THIS, up on the hill side. How I ever missed it any of the other times I have returned to the hotel after dark, I’ll never know. But there you have it; a picture of the Big Church up on the Hill. Love ya Padre!



Time to hit the sack now, as it’s 2:40am, and I have to be at the Lawyers at 10am to get my paperwork and hopefully retrieve my motorcycle! Then it’s on to repairing the beautiful son-of-a-bitch!

Onward!

--Alex

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NJ, NR, NBTTN