[Above: A macro shot of the flowers outside our Quito hostel, where Corndog McAuliffe took the whole post-Christmas day off to rest and watch some movies.]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

The pace of the road is tough. It’s hectic, nerve-wracking, and sometimes painful. Every once in a while I have to take what I call a “Colin-day”. Colin-days help me to recuperate and maintain my mental health. Colin-days are centered around me, Colin, doing whatever it is that makes me happy. On this day, the thing that makes me happy is to sit around and watch movies.

The streets of Ecuador are filled with bootleggers. These people take movies and burn them onto a CD and sell them on the street for the ridiculously low price of a dollar. These people have any movie you want, including those that are still in the theatre. Today, I watched six of these movies: The Last Samurai, Timecop, The Target, Matrix Revolutions, Scarface, and one that I can’t remember the name of that had James Spader in it. All day I sat around with my newly acquired English friend Jim and loafed. It was just what I needed to unwind, and also, for me at least, it’s kind of a post-Christmas tradition to do nothing for a few days.

Now the pace will pick up again. We head out to pick up our cars in a few days, and once we have them we will constantly be on the move again. I’m sure however that there will be a few more Colin-days to be had.

Colin
colin@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for December 26th, Day 56
Start: Quito, Ecuador
N: 00* 13.019'
W: 78* 30.004''
Finish: Quito, Ecuador
N: 00* 13.019'
W: 78* 30.004''
Mileage: 000
Notes: Day Eight without our vehicles. Today was a day for sleeping in and doing whatever floats each individual's boat. Justin visited the old part of the city of Quito to explore the old cathedrals and museums. Nancy slept most of the day. (N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.