coast trip/ayampe

         Our next trip was during our week of vacation, during Carnaval, to a small beach town called Ayampe.  The beach town was so relaxed, and slow moving, and very different from everywhere else I have been in Ecuador.  It was like life was on a constant pause…with no worries.  For example, there was one store in the whole town, and everyday the same men were chilling outside the store with piles of beers and games from 9am-to bed, and children are running around them playing their own games.  The beach was magnificent.  The current was one of the strongest I have ever experienced, and there were a lot of talented surfers to watch.  We had to constantly be swimming as fast as we could in order to stay in one place…so much fun.  One wave smashed me so hard to the sand that it chopped some of my hair right off.  There were so many neat tidal pools full of little fish, many-pointed starfish, and funny sluggy snail things!  Apart from swimming, we basically laid in the sun, napped, read, and played lots games.  We watched the sunset every night.  I think it was the most any of us have relaxed in a long time.  I also read the first harry potter in Spanish ;) (maybe cheating because I pretty much have it memorized…)  Our hostel was pretty great too…equipped with hammocks everywhere, an outdoor kitchen and chill area, a group of dogs that joined us everywhere, peacocks chilling in the yard, iguanas chilling on the roof, and frogs and crabs everywhere.  The people at the hostel switched every night, and we met a lot of fun people, with interesting stories from all around the world.  We attempted to play some crazy, fun instruments, attempted to understand long complex jokes, and failed at both. Every night we went out for the cheapest and most delicious seafood I have had in my life…(this is coming from someone who has always hated seafood with a passion)…shrimp, fish, squid, octopus, ceviche...We also went to a market in a nearby town one day, bought fresh seafood, and had a magnificent seafood grill party at our hostel.  We had fires on the beach most nights, my favorite, and were joined by a number of coastal friends and dogs.

         We took a few awesome day trips…first to la playa de frailes…which is a white sand, white water, incredibly beautiful beach pretty close to Ayampe.  There we found an awesome cave, and a few of us got a little too excited about the incredible shells inside, and almost got trapped by the incoming tides.  The cave and rocks were covered with more crabs than I have ever seen in my life…such funny creatures to watch scuttle about, especially with the rough, crashing waves.  We took a boat ride to isla de plata, which is an island that hosts a few of the same creatures found in the Galapagos.  We saw blue-footed boobies, and a baby booby (which incidentally is bigger than the mama booby and covered in white fluffy feathers.  We also snorkled a bit, but it was too rough to see much.  However, our boat was circled by sea turtles and manarays at one point.