The Ocean

So I know I’ve been bad at this blog thing recently like I knew I would inevitably do. I’m trying to redeem myself…

So this past weekend we went on a four day trip to the coast with my bio boys. (That’s what I call them now, although they don’t know it.) What I had imagined was sunny beaches, cocktails, mangrove forests, and new creatures. What I got were thick grey clouds, mud, fishermen, an island of birds, and some whales. It really was a nice trip but unexpected. It started and ended in the same fashion with a car ride of anywhere between 9-11 hours on some of the most terribly pot-hole covered roads I’ve ever seen in my life. Combine that with hairpin curves all the way out of the mountains and 85 degree heat and humidity once we hit relative sea level, and you can guess how much fun it really was. Our suburban has no air conditioning, no radio, not even a clock. Oh, and no decent shocks either. But once we got to see the ocean I was happy again. Our destination was the fishing port city of Puerto Lopez and we did get a hotel right across from the boardwalk. I also managed to get my own hotel room this time which was spectacular and allowed me some space away from the constant attack of testosterone. The boys were jealous. Hehe.

On the first day we took a tour out to the Isla de la Plata which is found about 70km off the coast and is part of the national park we were there to visit. While I had to endure a 2 hour bumpy boat ride (I get a little sea sick) it was totally worth it for the views and amazing wild life. I stood 3 feet from blue-footed boobies and their eggs!! If you don’t know what the boobies are, just Google them. They are some of the coolest sea birds that exist and are famous for being on the Galapagos but also on some other Pacific islands like the one we visited. They are not afraid of people and did nothing but squawk at us when we got too close to their nests. I also got to go snorkeling on a coral reef, jump off our tour boat into the water from about 15 feet in the air, fish for sea turtles with watermelon rind, and because of our awesome luck to watch 2 magnificent humpback whales playing in the ocean on the boat ride home. During the summer Puerto Lopez is famous for its whale watching, but it is quite rare to see them at this time of year. Top off that day with some really fresh sea food and it was a good day.

Day 2 we spent the morning on a beautiful beach that is part of the national park as well and would have perfect if it was only a little warmer and with some sunshine. I got to nap to the sound of the waves nonetheless and the boys played in the waves. After lunch we went to an area of the park that is ‘bosque seco’, dry forest, to take a guided archeological tour of the area and to check out the unique types of plants. There was also a sacred sulfur lagoon there that comes up out of the ground that we could have swam in and covered ourselves with mud, but we were all pretty cold and tired of the water, so we opted to just watch the other people frolic around.

On the last night we ran into another group of exchange students that we knew from USFQ who also happened to be on vacation in the same city for the weekend and went out for a night on the town. There was a search for a girly beach cocktail in a coconut but apparently this city was too fishy and not beachy enough to have coconuts as cups. We did get the drinks and the palm trees though, so it was a close second.

Other interesting facts of the trip:
-We got solicited by two different, but both very drunken, local men. The first was at 5:30am when we went to the beach to watch the fishermen. He invited us for a special boat ride and after a while of trying to be rid of him he then tried to sell us some pot. The second was late at night after our coconut search and this guy tried to rent us rooms in his special ‘hostal’ that was really his house for only a dollar. He also claimed to be Rafael Correa however, who is the current president of Ecuador.
- At the same small street festival where we found Correa we also ran into a dancing clown with a manikin attached to his chest and two Ecuadorian transvestites. I would not call this a country that’s really open to such things so it was quite an unusual sight.

That’s basically it for the past weekend, but just as a side note of my day today I took a Spanish exam in a bar. Our professor had promised us that some day we could do it so we simply walked to the nearest one directly across the street from the university, ordered some liters of Ecua beer and french fries and took the test. It was loads of fun but I wasn’t really able to pay much attention in my following class. I think my rainforest prof was curious as to why we kept laughing… ;)

Check out my two newest photo albums for shots from this trip and other random events:

"A little bit of everything Ecuadorian"
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015113&l=8e834&id=40901410

"Puerto Lopez and the Pacific Ocean"
http://kzoo.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015116&l=b3512&id=40901410