Se extrano

I'm a horrible blogger. I've been home for about 2 weeks now and it's been almost a month since my last post. The end of my trip was amazing. Chris and I traveled to the coast and stayed a night in Manta at an overpriced hostel, eating turkey-ham from the SuperMaxi for dinner, while Chris recovered from his attack of Altitude sickness. We then made it over to Puerto Lopez where we stayed in a nice hostel and drank fruit juice on the beach all night. It was a small town, no bigger than a few blocks, mostly filled with tourists. Boats lined the water's coast at night after a long day out fishing or touring the Island. There was quite a few good restaurants in the area because of the large amount of tourists. The first night we ate at the Whale Cafe- owned by a few older Americans, most likely in their retirement. After a night of

gross SuperMaxi lunch meat, the $6.00 plate of loaded stir fry was a delicacy! I even made Chris splurge for the brownie dessert:)

Our second day in P. Lopez we went on the day tour to Isla de la Plata. We saw an overwhelming amount of whales on our way out. Some were jumping right at the nose of our boat while others swam underneath and then surfaced so close we thought we might tip!! It was incredible- breathtaking really to be so close to such a rare and beautiful creature. We saw a ton of birds on our hike through the island- lots and lots of blue footed boobies ( Which really entertained me!). We snorkled on our way back and then ended the trip with a breathtaking, picturesque sunset.

Did I mention that I got interviewed by Univision, the spanish channel in the states, about my whale watching experience? Yeah, I did great- talked in spanish and everything!!! lol. Funniest thing ever!



We then spent a few days in Montanita- a small surfer town about an hour south on the Ruta Del Sol. The ATM being our main reason for travel, but probly one of my favorite parts of the trip. The town was like no other place I've ever been. The music didn't stop til 5 in the morning and the streets were lined with Gypsies and Hippies selling homemade jewelery and clothing. The restaurants again were some of the best. Empenadas and corn on the cob from the street venders were my favorite. The hostel was gorgeous- modern yet elegantly rustic- South American style! We went out dancing and spent very little time on the beach since it was quite overcast in the day.

We ended our trip with another stop in P. Lopez to revisit our favorite natural private beach- Los Frailles. Just beautiful. Very few people, clear water for what looked like eternity, and perfectly white sand. It was surprisingly sunny at this beach while it wasnt 15 min down the road in town.

After returning to Quito we took a day trip to Papallacta to swim in the Natural Hot Springs. Long bus ride- but worth it.

And then took the Maya family out to dinner at the Boca Del Lobo. A really modern restaurant in the Mariscal- the party district. It was an emotional goodbye- but refreshing to arrive home to family the next night and be back on American soil.

Today I had a moment while I was driving and listening to Mami Susy's Spn Christian CD where I just felt completely filled with Joy. I'm so blessed to be here with my family yet hold the memories of all my adventures in my heart. Just listening to those spn songs brought back so many memories of what Ecuador was to me. The Maya family and all the other students. The mountains, the ocean, the rain forest. It seems almost like a movie that I just woke up from. I think I've recovered from my culture shock back to America- and I realize just how much I really loved every painful, joyful, tough and confused moment that I had there. I am so blessed to carry that with me now and forever.