Atacames

Fuimos a la playa! It was so much fun! Getting there was like participating in the Amazing Race! We left from school to meet Kindra and Marianna at the bus station that was at the end of the Ecovia line and then some. It took about an hour and wouldn't have been a problem, except that they kept moving the time for the bus to leave up. And of course we also were held up a bit by some protests going on, since Thursday was the Ecuadorian President's equivalent to the State of the Union speech. There's a lot of things I've learned about Ecuador's politics during my short stay so far, but that's another story. So we're running through the bus terminal/market place to catch our bus and it was pretty sketchy, the lights were turning on and off and we had no idea where to go. And then these super cool guys ran down from a stairwell and tried to scare us. I yelled at them, I was like wow, you're so cool and scary, you jackass! After some more wandering around for a bit we were about to find the bus and begin our 6 hour bus ride to Atacames.
 The bus had to stop at a few different places along the way and then once we reached Esmeraldas, the bus driver decided that they didn't want to take us to Atacames. So the 6 of us were protesting and were just chilling on the bus until we got it all figured out, which meant having the 6 of us crowd into the cabin of a truck with this guy, Mario who drove us to our hotel in Atacames. We're all sitting in the car, talking, and then the car starts veering towards the center barrier and Mario's eyes were closed! He was falling asleep at the wheel! After that we finally made it to the hotel.
 The next morning was great, even though it was raining for awhile. However, after breakfast the weather got really nice and we walked out of our hotel right onto the beach. It was amazing! There was so much going on, people walking around selling ceviches, ice cream, sunglasses and whatever else you might need at the beach. We wandered around the beach, which was lined with bars! Ceviche is a very common Ecuadorian dish, it can be of concha (clam), or camarones (shrimp), or mixed. It is prepared right in front of you, and they open the clam up right in front of you, pulling it right out of the shell. Then they add some tomatoes as well as some lime juice, which basically cooks it a little bit, but you are basically eating raw fish. It was an interesting experience, especially when you got a really big, chewy chunk to eat. Needless to say, ceviche is an interesting food, that's a bit salty and overall not really something for me.
 So as we wandered down the beach we found a pretty sweet hut/bar that had hammocks, so we ordered some drinks and just relaxed, and listened to the waves crash onto the beach. It was really nice and reminded me of being in Acapulco, just relaxing and drinking cervezas on the beach. It was awesome! On our way back, we got some coconuts to drink out of, which is always fun and looks cool, but I realized that I'm not much of a coconut fan. Haha and on the beach, everywhere you turn there is someone trying to sell you coconuts or coconut milk. We also ran into a stray soccer ball, which when I passed back to the owners they surprised because I was a girl and I knew how to properly kick a soccer ball! Later on they invited me to play with them! At first it was just a juggling circle, but then it turned into an all out game on the beach. It was sweet! I had so much fun running around and just playing soccer again! The sand was pretty compacted, so the ball moved really fast and there were a few holes and of course some shells to watch out for. We used some sticks and the orange things that lifeguards use to save you when you're drowning (A couple of lifeguards were playing with us. I think that'd be a sweet job, going to the beach to be a lifeguard but really just playing soccer and relaxing all day long.) Anyways, it was a lot of fun and a great way to exfoliate!
 After the game, during which they all called me Yanna (pronounced yawn-a, basically I've accepted the fact that people here aren't going to be able to pronounce my name. My family here asks me every other day; a person getting my name wrong is my biggest pet peeve, but now it's just become funny for me.) they invited us to play again on Saturday. Oh my gosh, I was so tired! We played for at least an hour and a half! The sand was so hard and feet were really sore and a little cup up from stepping on shells! But it was totally worth it!
 So once the night rolled around we went out! We hit up a few of the beach bars, did some dancing and had a great time! We went to this little Cuban restaurant for dinner and it was great, they had some really great fish, I loved it! Then later on at this one bar we watched this break dance crew perform. They were awesome, it made me want to learn how to break dance! We talked to them later on and apparently they are the Ecuadorian break dance champions and are going to compete at the world beak dance competition in Brazil.
 Anyways, so Saturday was just another day relaxing on the beach and of course, playing some soccer! Alex and I played with the same guys we played with on Friday. It was a lot of fun, but my feet hurt so bad! This game was a lot bigger too; it was just a mass of people! And then when I was going full sprint I hear this really loud cracking sound, I stepped directly on top of and crushed this huge seashell! Oh my gosh! Then I almost scored a goal! It was so much fun! And really great too, it's like soccer is a universal language, if you want to meet people and just have fun, even if you speak a different language you know exactly what people are trying to say, it's a great way to bring people together. I love it!
 After that game, I was so tired and my feet hurt so bad, I just did not want to move! (My feet still hurt!) So I just laid around on the beach for awhile and relaxed for like two hours, oh and we made a sandcastle too!
 Later on, we went out once again and it was so amazing! We went to a karaoke bar and sang a Beatles song, Gangster's Paradise and ended with this other very American song, which I can't remember, but afterwards we got a standing ovation. Haha, it was great and everyone there really enjoyed it. They were all singing these really off pitch ballads in Spanish that all lasted like 5 minutes, so our singing was a great way to liven things up for them! After that we had a few more drinks, and Alex, the only guy there with the 5 of us girls ordered a cucaracha, which was a flaming shot of tequila, literally, the shot was on fire and he had to drink it really fast with a straw. It didn't work out that well though, it was pretty ridiculous, it spilled all over and the table was on fire for a second. After that we wandered around for a bit longer and then called it a night.
 Sunday was by far the nicest day at the beach! We woke up and it was a beautiful, sunny day! We went for a walk and collected some seashells by the seashore. Then we went for a boat ride along the coast...and some some boobies! Blue footed boobies to be exact! They were chilling out on this rock just off the coast. The boat took us to the town over, which was like a mini- Gran Turini, all the building were white and there were a few yachts in the marina, it was really nice. Then all of the sudden the boat driver? Was like if you know how to swim then go for it, if not then don't, it was just funny the way he said it, so then the six of us jumped into the water, which was this really beautiful color and was pretty clear. We swam around for a bit as our boat driver took some pictures of us in the water and then of the town too with my camera, I thought it was pretty funny and was surprised to find that he didn't take a picture of himself. After our boat ride we ran back to the room and packed everything up to leave and catch the 1 o'clock bus back. Once again it was like the Amazing Race to catch the bus. None of us had eaten anything, so we were searching for something fast and of course we found some hotdogs! But they were taking forever and it was already 12:30PM, so we split up and took these ecotaxis to the bus terminal. The name makes you think they are more environmentally friendly but it's not like some pedaling a bicycle and taking you to where you want to go, these are motorcycles with benches in front for people to sit on, and if they hit the brakes too hard then you're going to go flying! Then right before the bus arrived, Alex and Kindra got to the terminal with a box full of hotdogs and a bottle of 7up. All the hotdogs are skinny and like a foot long here, and they put everything on it! There was mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, onions and potato chips, which for me was a lot different, but I was so hungry, it was delicious! Also, the 7Up and Sprite here taste a lot different, they are a lot more tangy I guess, they have more of a kick then they do back in the States.
 The bus ride back was great, there was lot of space and this bus company actually took us all the way back to Quito, like they were supposed to. It was also a great way to see parts of Ecuador, because we drove from the beach, through a mangrove forest, then a cloud forest and then through the mountains back into Quito, it was pretty cool. There were a few parts though that reminded me that I was in a 3rd world country, and there are lots of poor people here that live in little houses/huts. But I am bringing some tourism to the country, so at least I'm helping out a little I guess.