So up until August Ecuador has been for me, a smelly, hot, unlucky place. I won’t even mention the border market I shop in because I think that border is two things: 1. Hell itself and 2. A large drug-trafficking route. Thus, I was fairly unenthusiastic when Annie, Barbara and Katie all decided we should travel there for our last “Peace Corps vacation.” (Side note, since Sept. 1st I am no longer allowed to travel until I end my Peace Corps service in late November).
However, I had a few vacation days to kill and well, Annie made the place that we would go to sound kind of cool. I understood that it was going to be 8 hours north of my site on the coast so it would be approx. 7 hours south of the Equator. I also understood we were going to a fun, up-and-coming beach town where I would go whale-watching, hiking, snorkeling, swimming and lounge by the beach. She also told me we would be staying up on top of a mountain in a cute lodge owned by a German couple. This actually sounded pretty enticing so I hopped on board.
The first order of business was getting to Ecuador. I decided to try a new bus line because the one I was used to always arrived four hours late to pick us up. We left on a Thursday or Friday (I don’t remember) and planned to arrive in Guayaquil by 11:00pm. There ended up being six of us- Annie, Barbara, Katie, Jess, Megan and myself (all fellow Peru 14ers). We hopped on and prepared to sleep until we got there (except for the five stops at immigration, customs, etc.)
Two hours into our ride we pulled into Machala. A tall, lanky, 20-something hopped on the bus wearing a bulletproof vest. Hmmm. I wondered what was up with that until I realized he was our bus’ security system. Around the time I realized that he was our bus’ security guy and would be patting down every new passenger hopping on board, a HORRIFYING movie titled “The Tournament” turned on and I realized I would not be sleeping until I was in a bed in Guayaquil.
However, we finally arrived sound and safely into Guayaquil and made it to our hostel. The next morning we got up early and bought tickets for a 6- hour ride to a coastal town called Puerto Lopez. While our bus was slightly sketchy looking, every mile it seemed a new vendor hopped on to sell us something. There was fried fish, pan de yema, coconut juice, chicken, ceviche, bras and underwear (I think between all of us we bought everything except the latter two).
After six hours, we arrive on the coastline and are horrified to find that it’s raining and cold. While seven hours due south I had been broiling in the sun and heat (in my site), Ecuador’s coastline was in its “winter phase.” There was NO sunshine and all of the shorts and dresses I packed would serve little to combat the wind and cold. Woof. Things were looking down.
However I will give credit where credit is due and Annie has made reservations for us at a cool German-owned lodge on the top of a hill, complete with cabins and great views of the fishing town. The lodge itself was very well done and it seemed like we were in our own tropical paradise. The only downside was that the pool was cold and the owners were a kind of creepy German couple.
Our lodge:
While on our trip we ate great food and I bought the best grilled chicken for a dollar (Ecuador uses the American dollar). The next day we embarked on a tour of “La Isla de la Plata”, an island 25 miles of the coast of Ecuador which is part of Ecuador’s National Park, Machalilla. We had to take a boat out there which made for an interesting trip as it was very windy and the ocean was very rough. 50% of our group of twelve got seasick but it was worth it as we came across humpback whales. Apparently during this time of year, humpback whales from Antartica migrate north to the warmer waters of Ecuador and Colombia to mate and raise their young. It is the largest migration of humpback whales in the world and we got to be part of it! It was incredible. While I didn’t see any Free Willy-styled jumps out of the water, I definitely saw some huge tales, backs, water spouts and packs swimming along.
Upon arriving at the island we went on a two hour hike to see blue-footed boobies and other native birds. The blue-footed boobies I was told exist only in the Galapagos and the island we went to (hence the nickname for the island, The Poor Man’s Galapagos). They were EVERYWHERE and we were able to get so close to them. Their blue feet were adorable along with their human-like eyes and it made me want to wrap one up in my jacket and bring it home. The scenery of the island reminded me of my site (dry, desserty and with lots of scraggly trees) but a lot cooler.
After touring the island we hopped back on our boat and went on snorkeling on the large coral reef that lies around the island. Last time I went snorkeling I was sixteen in Hawaii and while this water was A LOT colder, the fish were very similar. It.was.incredible. We explored the reef and the schools of clown fish and swam with angel fish and pufferfish (I think that’s their name). There were pirana-like fish with large teeth that I avoided but also eels, fish with iridescent colors, tube fish with long snouts, and so many others that I wish I knew the names of so you all could look them up on the internet and see how beautiful they are. Two giant sea turtles swam by and I was less than two feet away from one. They moved so slowly and seemed weren’t bothered by the three humans hanging out close by.
By five thirty we arrived back in port, tired, wet, and hungry. The rest of the trip was basically one other day which was well spent (which I would rather not get into now as this blog is already very long) and soon enough we were all headed down south again. We had our COS (Close of Service) conference in Lima to get to within the next 48 hours so I found myself on a bus for a very long time between those two days. 34 hours exactly. But it was worth it. We all made it to Lima, got our awards and pins and I am officially leaving site in a few weeks. However, if someone were to ask me what has been my best day spent in these last two-plus years, I think that day in Puerto Lopez would win the gold.
Color-coordinated fishing boats
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