Breakfast at the Beach

This weekend was a definite change of scenery and pace. Tom, Zoe, Katie (a new volunteer from Texas) and I all decided it would be a good time to head to one of Ecuador´s many beaches. Tom had been to several already, so the one he had left on his To Do List was Atacames. My guide book describes this beach as a little ¨dodgy¨, but the old lady of the group was quickly hushed and was told it would fine.

We flew into Esmeraldas, a short 45 minute plane ride, and took a 45 minute taxi to the actual beach. We arrived later in the evening on Friday and found a hotel with a vacancy just a few short steps from the beach. This hotel was still in the process of being built, so we got a steal of a deal on the rooms - $8 each. Most of the rooms were finished, but the pool, walkways, and some wings were dusty and under construction. Katie and I grabbed the room that didn´t smell like fish. Sorry Zoe and Tom, got to be quicker on your feet.

We went out that night for beers and ceviche. If you like seafood, this is the place to be. Every restaurant that lined the 3 blocks of beach front property, which is Atacames, sells ceviche, fresh fish, shrimp, and french fries. Random, I know, but I thought it was just in Quito. Apparently, we LOVE french fries here in Ecuador. One after another, little tiki hut type bars lined the street, each blaring their music of choice, competing with the bar next to them.

People are barefoot, sand is everwhere, and drinks are floating around with fresh pineapple and coconut pouring out the tops. After looking around for maybe 10 minutes or so, it didn´t take a genious to realize we were some of the only tourists. Hmm...maybe by ¨dodgy¨ they meant it was a local hangout, so tourists beware. I still felt safe, no funny business from any of the locals just yet, so we danced the night away with the rest of the Latin Americans and enjoyed their rhythm once again. Katie and I called it an earlier night than Tom, Zoe and the many kids who were still out with Mom and Dad.

I awoke at 5:00am to Zoe knocking on our door to let us know she and Tom had been jumped. They walked away fairly unscathed, other than a few bumps and bruises. Well, why were you even out at 5:00 in the morning is what I wanted to say. Instead, we made sure they were both alright and tried to get them to go to bed.

In the morning, Katie and I took a long walk on the beach, grabbed breakfast, and then parked it in one of the many chairs, resting under cabana tents, along the beach. I am coated in 70 sunscreen and ready to bronze my Seattle winter-white skin. Ok, I lasted 2 hours, one hour on each side, before calling it a day at the beach. Holy sunshine, it is intense! We were coated in sand from the million and one vendors that approached us with their jewelry, sunglasses, coconut juice, and offers to braid our hair. Think Monica from Friends in the episode where she goes to Florida. I was so tempted to have my hair braided just to send the picture. Lord knows the humidity wasn´t helping things - Mufassa the Lion King was out for the weekend. Rrraaarrr! We headed back to shower and shop around for the afternoon.

Meeting up with Tom and Zoe later that night for dinner and more entertainment, we parked it on the sand with a few cervezas. It wasn´t long until Tom and Zoe´s new local friends came and joined us. Huh, well, I am up for meeting new people, but other than one, I am pretty sure these other guys wouldn´t be legal to vote back in the States, let alone drink. The 15 year-old, Havier, sat down next to me asked me how old I was. I responded with a clear 29 in Spanish. His very next question was - do you have any kids? When I said ¨No¨, he acted like the age difference was no big deal once we got the baby question out on the table. Really?! I laughed, shook my head, and turned to talk to Katie, acting like I didn´t understand much Spanish for the rest of the night.

I realize I do live in a bit of a bubble back at home. I am a born, raised, and currently residing in, Seattle area girl. It is incredible to meet new people, especially people of different cultures. However, at times, I have definitely found myself reverting back into my safety bubble here, feeling a bit of anxiety over the unkown differences. Call me a skeptic and a pessimist, but I struggle to trust in certain situations. Luckily Katie also felt a bit uncomfortable out, again, as the only tourists, considering what happeded to Tom and Zoe the night before. We told them the grannies were going to bed and to be safe, we would see them in the morning. Katie and I grabbed a plethora of cookies before heading back to the hotel to watch Legally Blonde in Spanish.

The next morning, Katie and I began our morning routine - breakfast, then a walk, and finally lounge chairs on the beach. By the time I got to my chair, something just wasn´t right. Yup, I was definitely going to be sick. I excused myself and in the hotel room, next to the bathroom, is where I spent the next 24 hours. Well, they said it was bound to happen. I am impressed I made it 3 weeks. I didn´t need anymore sun anyway. I was scared to go back out there. I clearly missed a couple spots on my back and have never seen such a shade of red, or is it purple?!

Katie came back at 1pm, the time in which we were supposed to meet Tom and Zoe to possibly rent 4-wheelers to go explore. At 3:30pm, Zoe and Tom stumble in asking what time it is, as they no longer have a clock due to Zoe´s iPhone being stolen the night before. A man was seen jumping out their window, resembling their local friends from the beach. Are you kidding me?! Trying not to be Judy the Judger, I once again ask if everyone is ok and then sarcastically throw in a ¨you guys are kind of a mess, aren´t you?¨Sorry, I wasn´t feeling well.

This brings me to today, our flight landed this evening, and I was definitely ready to come home. Overall, it was great to get away to the beach, see another new part of Ecuador, and get to better know Katie, Zoe and Tom. It is probably safe to say I will not be traveling with the Zoe/Tom duo again in the future. Love them, but they seem to invite a bit of trouble their way and it was realized my carefree bone definitely stopped short of its full growth potential when traveling with a pair like that. On the upside, I am finally feeling better and able to keep some food down. This morning, Zoe pointed out I might have contracted a parasite...or...maybe it was an alien baby growing inside me.

Cheers Friends,