As I type this I’ve already had a legit super strong Piña Colada and confess it might be a disjointed log on the ol’ blog. Yesterday we checked out of our awesome $35/night hotel in Guayaquil circa 10:30 am and went on the hunt for some breakfast. The part of town we were staying in did not seem to have many options… in fact, I sent Alvi out for a coffee run while the kids were still sleeping and he came back with a plastic drink cup full of instant coffee and a gallon of sugar. I began to hallucinate about Tim’s coffee and found myself wondering why it seemed difficult in a country like this to get a really good cup of coffee. Shameful confession: we wound up at a Dunkin’ Donuts — not even kidding you. Gah!!! Sacrilegious!! The truth is, however, we have a seriously fussy eater in the bunch and Joaquin was trying to keep us away from anything that looked like it might be sketchy and have the potential after effects of you-know-what. (One nasty bout of that gastro stuff could ruin a trip altogether!). So, seeing as we had been walking around for a bit and were anxious to get on the road, we made a beeline for Dunkin’ and guzzled some of their famous coffee. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Dunkin’. Too funny that it’s in Ecuador of all places I wind up experiencing it.
While we were waiting for our egg mcsandwiches or whatever they are called, an impromptu Gay Pride parade erupted in the street! It was so awesome. These were taken with my phone which was all that was available at the time. (Did I mention that we’ve concluded we brought WAY TOO MUCH STUFF?)
Pretty nifty!
Love this!
Not sure what’s happening here!
Eventually, we loaded up all our crap and began a 3-hour drive that hugged the coast of Ecuador. And I mean literally… ocean // road. It was incredible! The vegetation began to change dramatically and what once was lush looked like an arid desert with ocean on the other side. Such a crazy dichotomy. We stopped in Salinas for lunch and had our first view of the ocean! Salinas is located on this very prominent TIP (for some reason Piper cannot stop saying TIP, EAT, ZIPPYY!!!!…. I thought I was going to snap every single time someone said tip she went into this Tourette’s Syndrome-like trance and started uttering TIP, EAT, ZIPPY!!!!!). I need to mention how hot it is here. Like face-meltingly hot. Like, please plaster yourself with 100+ SPF and then good luck to ya, lol.
Yes, that is a cluster of cacti by the beach. Wtf.
Still recovering from all the walking. Curled up in the back seat.
Gorgeous stretch of beach in Salinas, Ecuador.
Alvi will shoot me for using this over-exposed shot. She was loving all the shells!
Water was super warm.
Piper’s haul of shells.
I was lecturing Piper on the importance of sunscreen.
Piper not too pleased following my lecture.
We continued on our way stopping every once in awhile for Alvi to capture random but lovely moments with his camera. Including some killer sunset shots.
Piper writing in her journal.
A random capture. Like why all the shoes up there?
Stopped on the side of the road just after entering the national park (where Puerto Lopez, our final destination, is located).
Truly a magnificent country.
The sleepy little fishing village of Puerto Lopez.
Had to have one last jaunt in the water before finding a place to stay.
Throughout the past 4 days I’ve said over and over how thankful I am to have had the sense to hire Joaquin, especially for the beginning of this trip. We are moving at a pace that all of us are comfortable with and he’s been doing an exceptional job, especially with the kids. Let’s just say there is a fair bit of bickering lol. I have had a few moments of panic as I look at ALL THE BLOODY STUFF we have brought and wonder what will happen once we are completely on our own; how we will manage, etc. That will TRULY be the gongiest of shows if ever there was one.
