Saturday morning I headed off to the beach with an American medical student who is here on a rotation and a Ecuadorian medical resident. We went to Atacames, which is just south of Esmeraldes, a larger town on the coast. The bus ride was only about four hours, and we were fortunate enough to have seats the entire way there, on the three different buses we had to take. The total bus fare was $3.50, I think. Unfortunately, I had set my cell phone in my lap and when we arrived in Esmeraldes, I couldn't find my phone. We tried calling it, but didn't hear anything. I concluded that it must have fallen, been found, and not returned. (Read: it was stolen, but at least not in a violent way). Bummer, I was angry at myself for leaving it in my lap and not putting it in my purse. But...I was not going to let that ruin my weekend at the beach! Seriously, no cell phone = more relaxing, right?!
We got to Atacames and found a hostel, only $8/person, not bad. It was raining cats and dogs so we took a long lunch then explored the many knick-knack/souvenir/craft tables targeted at tourists. I wish I would have taken a picture of all the tables, covered with colorful jewelry and nestled close together under the palm-leaves-thatched roof...but I don't carry my camera around to prevent it from being stolen. The beach is lined with bars, discotecas by night, but still blaring music during the day. We chose one that had swings for bar stools and drank caipirinha, a drink made from sugar cane liquor (or rum), sugar, and fresh-squeeze lime juice, then relaxed on the bar's hammocks enjoying the music and beach view until the rain let up.
It did stop raining, finally, although it was still cloudy. I was so excited to be in my swim suit in mid-February, I didn't need sun to enjoy the beach! It was probably better for my pasty skin anyways... We played in the warm waves and watched others catch the swells on surf or body board. After a nice long stroll down the beach ad back to the discoteca-lined area, we stopped to watch some 10-15-year-old kids dance cumbia on a stage (I think it was a dance class). They were so talented! I love watching people move their bodies with such rhythm and energy and athleticism, especially when the music is so fun, too!
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| View from the main street of PVM |
A night of our own dancing in the many discotecas and then Sunday was bright and shiny! We played in the waves and sun-bathed before checking out of the hostel and enjoying a lunch of ceviche, which is seafood (we had only shrimp) marinated in lime juice. It's not necessarily cooked (I think these shrimp were), but the acid in the lime juice denatures the protein...fun food science fact! They served it with a side of popcorn, fried corn (kind of like "Corn-nuts"), and plantain chips. So tasty! Strawberry ice cream to top it off, then back to the bus station. Once back in Pedro, the weather was the most pleasant it had been since I've lived here. We walked around and enjoyed the fresh, finally-not-so-humid air and took pictures of the town.
We first went to the Mariposario, or butterfly house, per se. There were so many butterflies!!!!
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| Cocoons from different types of butterflies! |
We then continued to get lost in search of the zip-line...we started walking in the wrong direction and just kept going, thinking we'd reach the far-off destination. We ended up walking the long, muddy driveway to someone's house. The scenery was beautiful! But after all that walking and a much-needed lunch of vegetarian burgers, the zip-line was closing soon for the day, so we didn't make it to that attraction. (Note: vegetarian burgers cause food poisoning. Stick to vaca, beef.)
So, to enjoy a bit more time in lindo Mindo, we grabbed a beer a played a hand of cards. It was a nice, relaxing day. :)
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