Esmereldas

Just to fill in the gaps .. between the past two posts we did visit the coast. Went to a town called Atacames, which is set up for tourism - and thrives on it. Apparently many foreign tourists use to visit this pueblo, but in recent years, it gets busy only with locals and Columbians on vacation. Which is exactly what was going on while we spent our three days there. There weren't many parents to be found, but loads of teenagers on school holidays. And although it rained for almost the entire time we were there, everyone was out and about at the beach or on the streets showing off the best of the seasons swimwear in flourecent colours and mesh fabrics.

We arrived from the night bus at about 6am and got a tri-cycle driver to take us into town while it was bucketing down. We had intended to just wait out the morning on the beach with our bags, but with the weather as it was we needed to get some shelter, so our driver slash rider *my keyboard is all confused and I can't find the slash key, or the brackets* took us to a few hostels that he recommended, but most were full so we settled on a place that was across the road from the beach and had a lot of character with curvy wooden features around the stairway and the balcony. As the rain continued, we realised that other characteristics included live wires sticking out of the wall and a leaking roof over the bed. We hadn't noticed the leaks at first, because they had cleaverly sticky-taped the holes, but things soon got pretty damp in there.

I'd picked up a cough in Cotopaxi and the damp room wasn't helping so we moved the next night to a much nicer place around the corner. They did exist, just not at 6.30 in the morning.

So we spent the first morning watching movies and sleeping in the wet room, until the sun finally showed itself after lunchtime. We got into our bathers and head over to the grey sandy beach to get some sunshine. I think we've been very spoilt so far with our beaches, so unfortunately I don't have a lot to rave about here. It was fine, though and the water was warm, so we were happy taking turns swimming while the other watched our things, even the next afternoon and following morning while it was raining again.

Food is great there. Being the coast there is plenty of fresh seafood, with ceviche a specialty everywhere. The best food we had was at a food market, where we had a fish soup, ceviche with popcorn and deep fried camerones *prawns*. Fresh, flavorsome and delicious! One of the best meals so far! My mouth is actually watering while writing this.

Nightlife was thumping all along the main beachfront. Totally fulled by reggaeton dance music, it was so entertaining to watch guys of all shapes and ages being egged on by the dj, as they competed for who-knows-what, by dancing on the bar. Some of the choreographed dance had them peddling like on a bicycle and scratching their bum cheeks as they got 'locotae' or something - *loco slash crazy*.

We walked on from this and found other bars, that all looked the same, but played different music - salsa, samba, reggae - where we would stop for a tropical drink, and finally had our nightcap listening to a complete Best of Barbra Streisand. *Hi Ash!* Was a great way to cap off a night that had started with us singing every English song in the karaoke song-book *and a couple in espanol* with a few beers and overlooking the beach.

Ecuador in June

We spent yesterday at Banos - a gorgeous little town at the base of an active volcano. We went there to soak in the natural hot springs - there are several different spots for this, but they were all closed for cleaning or maintenance, so we went to a spa that has a swimming pool *freezing*, hot tub *boiling* and sauna and herbal steam room *perfect*! We spent a good few hours there with Hank's uncle and cousins and returned to Quito in the night. Was lovely and relaxing.

Also spent a day recently up near the Columbian border. Didn't cross over because of troubles with guerillas over there, but spent a nice afternoon with another uncle at the cemetery of Tulcan - not morbid, because we went to see the beautifully crafted topary gardens there. Also went to the markets at Otivalo, which is famed for it's many stalls, etc. I think we saw enough, but could have spent much longer looking if it weren't for the rain that sent us back to the car, and back to Quito via a little cafeteria that sold great cheese and biscuits. Felt cozy enjoying those over a cup of coffee while it poured down outside.

Have extended our time in Ecuador until the 18th June, which gives us another 10 days to explore, get dental work done, and prepare for getting work in London. We'll then spend about 4 days in Madrid getting our Europe legs, before hiting London on the 22nd. Getting pretty revved up to get back into work and earning some money again, and catching up with friends who are already over there. Another new set of experiences ahead of us!