Short stories of a long journey

Tag: Ecuador

  • Arriving at Ibarra

    Arriving at Ibarra

     “Right now and at the moment, I have just arrived from the border,” he began to reply thoughtfully “Which I’m sure many people will truly believe to be quite far away, but still, on this occasion and in my own personal opinion, I have found it to be actually close by.”   (Excerpt from “The…

  • Miss Rosario’s chocolate

    Miss Rosario’s chocolate

    And why are the angels so sad, momma?  Because the good one die, and the bad ones keep on running around. Miss Rosario had a lifetime of serving as a teacher; she had performed at her position, as the Science Professor, for more than thirty of her seventy eight years that summed up her age. Sanctimonious,…

  • Can the bad ones become good ones, momma?

    Can the bad ones become good ones, momma?

    Can the bad ones become good ones, momma? Ay my darling, it’s easier to cook a sancocho without broth nor yuccas! The girl felt the tears overflow ‒sliding softly‒ as if caressing her hot, flushed face‒,     while in her mind a torrential cascade of images followed one after another, in a fluid and…

  • And why are they so sad, momma?

    And why are they so sad, momma?

    And why are they so sad, momma? Because the good ones die and the bad ones keep on running around.   Miss Rosario had a lifetime serving as a teacher; she had performed as the Social Science Professor, for more than thirty of the seventy-eight years of her long life. Pious (and maybe a bit sanctimonious) with a…

  • Engraved into our skin

    Shared moment            Ibarra, Imbabura, Ecuador   But, to some of us, it may come to pass that in our life, we run into an event, not even Time can erase. Sunset in the highland          Carretera a Potosí, Potosí, Bolivia   Almost like a tattoo, it’s so…

  • Back to Bolivia

    Back to Bolivia

    A few months later, due to various commitments involving the project, I left Bolivia, and I briefly went back to Bogotá. Though I tried as hard as possible; I never found a clue leading me back to Amelia. She had vanished without leaving any mark of her passage. I travelled overland, back to Bolivia. In…

  • The most priceless treasure

      You could say that I’m searching for the most valuable treasure that this whole wide world has to offer.   I have seen and admired so many marvelous things,   yet none of these have totally filled me.    The stories                In Spanish         …

  • The quest

      “I’ll tell you that it’s curious that you ask. It’s curious because I was precisely thinking about the subject just before coming in and beginning to chat with you.   The thing is… deep down inside, I believe that all these travels have been motivated by a quest.” Doña Eudalia had gotten up from…

  • Silence in the saloon

      The foreigner was momentarily thoughtful as he stood, gathering his thoughts, while slowly sipping his beer. More than half of the night’s gathering had stood from their tables, gathering in a half circle around the bar, also quiet and pensive, as they noiselessly observed the traveler.   The priest had already installed himself on…

  • Of the smiles and of the laughter

    Of the affairs of men I’ve seen more than my share:   I have seen them laugh with cinnamon faces or skins so fair that you can see through them     I have heard them shout and cry in unpronounceable languages, over such matters that I found even more difficult to understand    …