Failed night out

Last night, after over a week in Ecuador, Jeff and I ventured out at night for the first time. Destination: an Irish pub we had seen posters for, located in the hip neighborhood a few blocks from our homestay. This was exciting because:

-It was our first time out without sunscreen and hats. With not much air between you and outer space, sunburn is a big deal in the Andes.

-We don't usually live within walking distance of a hip neighborhood.

However, we forgot some key facts:

-Walking distance does not mean walkable: everyone we knew told us to take a cab if we didn't want to get robbed on the way there.

-Said Irish pub was actually a bar, complete with deafening music (and not of the variety played by old men in flat caps.)

- Jeff doesn't drink, and I only like drinking with people I trust. A bar full of strangers speaking a foreign language in a city where two people had already tried to rob us was pretty much the worst place for me to enjoy a beer.

- We're terrible at small talk and meeting people.

- We're cheapskates.

We ended up walking to the bar, pausing at every corner to debate which street was least likely to get us mugged. We spent about two minutes in the bar before agreeing to leave. We got hot chocolate instead at a shop where the waitress locked us out on the patio. Then we walked home, hearts pounding.

Maybe we just need to acknowledge we're not nocturnal creatures. At least not here.