Okay - I know I thought I was done with it all and the next two days were going to be boring bus trips and reading books in air ports, BUT after I wrote that last entry we went for beers. It was good. Good Beer.

We walked down to the popular hostel in Cuenca, one we had initially avoided because of the noise and lack of Ecuadorian culture. Alas, we were essentially done with our trip so what the heck, we didn´t need any culture, rather we needed to start getting back into the American swing of things.

Looking at the menu, a half liter of beer cost $1.70 - the place was a little pricey, BUT what the hey, we´ll have just one and see who shows up.. perhaps someone we know.. Half way through our beer a friendly German fellow asked to join us, I presume to practice his English. He was nice enough and kept us busy chatting about anything and everything - as it turns out he too was a German Economist.. interesting. I became slowly depressed as a table of American girls had sat to dinner and were quite friendly in humoring my questions on recommendations. Unwilling to totally abandon our new acquaintance, we sat and talked, just us dudes. One beer soon became two and guacamole arrived at the table and still we talked with the German. Anticipating an uneventful night conversation dwindled and was about dead when Felix, our German friend had a visitor. A very friendly, very cute lady from Austria. Austrian.. I´ve never met an Austrian. She entered the conversation, with English, and my energy perked a bit. Then halfway through some sentence.. some unimportant excuse for attention of a sentence enter 3 more friends. Two Swiss sisters and their new Swiss friend. WOW. Eager to find enough chairs to accommodate and prevent attrition we were all back sitting within 2 min. of their arrival finished with greetings and kisses and the whole shabang.

Of course we all returned to the normal conversation - what are you doing, where you from.. yadda, yadda, yadda.. but there is a difference in talking to a glass of beer and talking to a very attractive smiling team of Swiss traveling sisters. - oh delight!

¨And by the way, those Swiss chicks were hot, like uncalled for hot.¨ - Jon