July 1. Wednesday

Sitting at a window table at Cafe Austria.  European feel.  Just a block from my apartment.

Yesterday I negotiated my first solo taxi ride. Went to the Mall del Rio.  First time in ten days that I felt physically off.  Bought a ticket for the Spanish version of Jurraaic World. Still pretty good even without understanding diolog well.
Left before the movie was over due how poor I felt. Bought some Gatoraide and rested for a bit and actually got scared about how I would negotiate if I got feeling even worse.
But a key element of self reliance is being self reliant.
I was disoriented in this giant mall so I found one of the ubiquitous guards and asked where I could find a taxi.  He was so kind. Walked me all the way to the outside taxi stand and asked another guard to call a taxi.
In 20 minutes I was back in my apartment.  Drank some water and ate my last Cliff bar (yes I should have brought more).  Then laid down with a stomach ache. Took an Alkaselzer and fell asleep for a couple hours.
Got up about 7:30 and had some more water and felt better.  A knock on the door was from another Gringo who lived in the apartment Downstairs.  He asked if i had dinner yet and said no.  Let's go.
We went to an outside cafe and I had some dinner and wine.  Still not feeling 100% but doing much better.  A second glass of wine and Dave told me his life story.
He lived in Denver as an aerospace engineer specialized in weather satellites. He worked with and met Elon Musk to get his satellites in space.
He decided to come to Ecuador for a month to try and get a new perspective on life. He told me his wife last year began an affair with her boss. He moved into an apartment and wanted time away to reflect.
We walked back to our apartments in the warm late evening air.
I thanked him for knocking on my door and suggesting dinner.  I thanked him for the opportunity to share our stories.  We exchanged email addresses and suggested we keep in touch to see how our lives progressed from that shared meal together.