Update From Ecuador . . .

Hola! I know it´s been ages since I´ve written. No, I have not fallen off the edge of the world. I´m still in Ecuador. I know my entries have been terribly infrequent since I got off the boat, but something about being on the ocean with no technology was heavenly, and my desire to run to the first internet cafe in town rather than sit on the beach has completely vanished. In fact, I have to drag myself here.

Well, what have I been up to . . . I spent about 4 days on Santa Cruz, where I did quite alot of hiking to see more animals and beaches. I saw giant tortoises, lots of large iguanas, and lots of different birds. One day, I took a walk to a canyon with water where you could jump off the rocks and swim. The water was cold, but it was neat and I saw some very large, colorful rainbow fish that I thought were very special. The town itself was quite nice. The food was very good and I definitely gained back the weight I lost on the ship catching up for lost time.

On Wednesday, I flew to Guayaquil on the mainland. I decided not to stay there but take the bus directly to a notorious beach town at the last minute (bought the bus ticket 5 minutes before the bus left). I didn´t know what to expect, but it was a great little resort town with great food, drinks, rustic but cute hotels, lots of hammocks, great beach parties and clubbing, and the best surf in Ecuador. I stayed for 2 nights and two days and enjoyed just enjoying myself.

Then Friday, I popped on a bus and came to Puerto Lopez an hour and a half away. It is still on the beach, but more of a city than the beach resort. It´s just on the edge of the premire national park in Ecuador. I took a fantastic whale watching-island visiting tour yesterday. It´s just the end of the season for whale watching. But, I saw tons of whales, jumping and playing. A couple got very very close to the boat (nearly touching) and two swam right under. It was amazing. The roundtrip boat ride took about 3 hours. The rest of the day was spent on an island that´s part of the national park. I took a 3 hour hike and saw loads of blue footed boobies and albatrases up close along with beautiful views. After the hike, the boat took us for swimming and snorkeling. I didn´t go in the water (as it was getting chilly), but I could see the big, brightly colored fish from the side of the boat. It was really an amazing day.

Today has been kind of a relaxing Sunday sleeping in and enjoying the town. Tomorrow, I´m going to spend the day at the national park and then I´m taking an overnight bus to Quito. My trip is coming to an end. I´m not sure exactly what day it will end yet. But, it will be very soon. As I was sitting on the beach the other night drinking a $1 Capirina, I thought - one month from now, I´ll be working, back to real life, and to think of this moment (every moment of the last year) it will seem unbelieveable that I was really ever here living this amazing life. I´m really looking forward to going home, and yet there´s so much yet to see of this country, this continent, this world . . .