Winding down

Our time in Canoa, Ecuador, and South America is winding down fast. Tomorrow we take the bus to Guayaquil so that we can take the bus to Lima so that we can take the plane to Amsterdam so that we can take the plane to Scotland. It is crazy to think we are leaving and yet I am also very excited to move on.

We have spent the last week at a hostel about 15 minutes walk down the beach from Canoa. Carnival was, as promised, mayhem but we were relatively unaffected by it due to our little cloister. The hostel is being managed by a couple who own the surf shak restaurant on Canoa's main strip. They live here along with other local gringo's, travellers who have been intending to leave Canoa for the past two to six months but haven't been able to, and short term gringo's like us. It has made for wonderful mix of people and the hostel is used for a gathering point for all. The most wonderful thing is how welcoming the people are here. Whether you've stayed here for a week or months everyone is welcomed into the group. We feel like we have friends here just from our short stay.

Our days have mostly consisted of surfing and eating. We found a five dollar all you can eat buffet in town with a French lady doing the cooking. She makes crepes with chocolate sauce and the buffet consists of fruit, granola, yogurt, bread and jam, cheese and meat, juice, coffee, and eggs. I can say that I feel that I've been eating more than five dollars worth of food every day. The breakfast usually carries us over until dinner leaving the rest of the day for surfing.

Surfing consists of being in the water for an hour or so and then running for the shade once I'm out. There it is warm enough but the sun cannot scorch my skin. I swing in a hammock and read or play the guitar that is at the hostel. I also had the chance to volunteer at the Surf Shak during Carnival as a server. The system was very simple and I picked it up quickly. It was fun to be productive and to meet and chat with many different people. I even got some free meals out of it for working and a discount off the food whenever we eat there.

We have spent most of the week with our friends from Ireland who continue to be so sweet. We meet them in the morning for breakfast and plan the day from there. They have enjoyed our hostel as theirs is in the heart of downtown where the mayhem is. We have enjoyed their company whether it is surf chat or just quietly reading books together we are so thankful that they are here.