| Tad and I had been in Ecuador for two weeks when | | | | The details of the later hours of the morning are |
| he nearly died. We had planned our around the world | | | | sketchy, but the clear details remain that there was |
| trip together for as long as we could remember, and | | | | a fall from a decent height, three hours of concussed |
| it had very nearly ended with the thud of Tad's hide | | | | confusion and a bruised backside and shoulder that |
| onto the floor of a Quito courtyard, leaving a | | | | would remain problematic for months. |
| Tad-shaped hole in the roof several metres above | | | | After piecing together the little memory and |
| him. | | | | information we had the extended version is as |
| Hailing from Los Angeles California, Tad's been a close | | | | follows. The story finds our hero heading back from |
| mate since we met by chance on a family vacation | | | | the clubs around 3.00am. With myself fast asleep in |
| to Hawaii when we were both 16. We hit it off | | | | front of MTV on the hostel couch. Tad stumbled |
| quickly and found that we both wanted nothing more | | | | through the dorm out onto the balcony. It is worth |
| than get travelling as soon as we got the chance. | | | | noting that said balcony was three storeys above |
| Since meeting we have been back and forth | | | | the neighbours' place (which was bordered by a high |
| travelling through the States and Oz, all the while | | | | lock out fence and razor wire). Looking for away to |
| planning the big trip in question. | | | | either amuse or relieve himself (we will never know) |
| The trip started with a relatively uneventful 6 weeks | | | | Tad decided to balance on the edge of the balcony, |
| in New Zealand. Our second stop was Quito, Ecuador. | | | | at which point he toppled over and free fell two |
| With Tad's fluency in Spanish and our first few | | | | storeys through a garage roof and then another |
| weeks coinciding with Carnival (it's not just Brazil that | | | | storey into a very luckily unoccupied residence next |
| goes nuts around mid February) we were both | | | | door. We only know this as our mate the DVD guy |
| enjoying the place and were pretty much into the | | | | had seen the whole thing go down. |
| travel groove by then. | | | | While the DVD guy did check on Tad's welfare, he |
| The one thing we both struggling with, along with | | | | told us that as Tad looked OK, he had decided to go |
| most travellers over there, was the bus rides. Taking | | | | back to sleep (A kind and caring man). |
| a trip through mountain passes with a suicidal maniac | | | | All Tad remembers was waking up not having a clue |
| behind the wheel of a bus riddled with bullet holes | | | | as to his whereabouts and realising that he was |
| from the previous week's hold up is enough to drive | | | | locked inside a strange courtyard. For three hours he |
| most to a drink. We did not resist this urge to | | | | searched for an exit (including through the house), |
| steady our nerves with a beverage after a | | | | only then to look up and see the hostel roof next |
| particularly harrowing overnight bus ride from the | | | | door. He then eventually yelled up at the hostel for |
| coast back to Quito. | | | | help and was rescued by our confused hotel owner. |
| Arriving back late afternoon we were offered a drink | | | | They say incidents involving drugs and alcohol are |
| by a kindly Columbian pirate DVD salesman staying at | | | | your biggest risks overseas. I guess 'they' are right. |
| our hostel (apparently not all Columbians find | | | | We always laugh about what would have happened if |
| themselves trading the one particular class A item). | | | | the neighbours had been home. A stray gringo |
| So it was that we had a few shots of a Columbian | | | | crashing through their roof would have been |
| liquor that could only be described as a drink seriously | | | | unwelcome to say the least, and I cringe to think |
| missing a warning label and or disclaimer against any | | | | that they would have probably been armed. |
| personal damage about to be inflicted. | | | | It was one of many times that either he or I would |
| With our Hostel sitting on the fringe of what was | | | | have close shaves on that trip, but the only one that |
| considered the 'safe zone' (or tourist ghetto) it | | | | could really be put down to sheer drunken stupidity. |
| wasn't far then to enough clubs and bars to keep us | | | | The bruises lasted months but the story seems to |
| occupied till the early hours. | | | | have legs of its own. |