I have been putting off this post for a while now. I have started it time and again, but I seem to be pushing it aside so I don’t have to deal with the fact that my trip is indeed over for now. Sad, right?
But before I left South America I took a quick trip down the coast from Canoa with two of my closest travel buddies. My Santa Cruz yoga teaching friend decided to join me on two side trips to make the day a little more exciting than simple bus transfers would offer. So instead we bused to San Vicente and took a stop to enjoy the Santa Rosa Catholic church with an immense view over the Pacific. Rare, right? Catholic church with a view of something other than a bloody Jesus suffering horrifically on the cross? We thought so too. Although they of course had one as well, simply tucked around the corner so that he could enjoy the view as well (or at least so I imagine).
This church just also happens to be known for some interesting stained glass work along the sides of the church, made by Peli.
Interesting change from the stations of the cross, no?
Abstract and I’m sure deeply meaningful, but an overly enthusiastic local appeared just after I had snapped those two photos, basically obstructing my views of the ocean and chatting at us for a bit. So we moved along and elected to take a boat taxi across the Bahia de Caraquez rather than the next bus over the new bridge. As my wise friend implied, it was awesome to do something a little ridiculous not because we had to but because we wanted to for once.
We took a pedal-bike taxi ride around the peninsula of the town of Bahia, and watched the incredibly sweet locals quietly go about their day. The town was mostly empty, eerily clean, and every person we talked to was super nice. So we jumped on a bus towards Puerto Lopez via Jipijapa (which as far as I could tell from passing through quickly was a city not surprisingly empty Panama hats, palm trees, and happy hippies), where we were to meet up with our Canadian friend on the beach.
Puerto Lopez was very rainy, and therefore very, very muddy. Being at the beach with paved roads I am unsure as to how it could possibly be that muddy, but it was. It is also a jumping off point for excursions into the Parque Nacional Machalilla to watch humpback whales and explore the Isla de la Plata.
We took time to visit the town, walk its beaches, and visit nearby Agua Blanca which had a hot room temperature spring fed pool that smelled wonderfully of sulfur. There was mud for smearing onto your body, but I am unsure if this is a part of the $5 entry fee or something one of the other visitors had provided. The area was a semi-arid forest type foliage, and we imagined that if the sun had come out it would have been quite impressive. Tree tunnels and all!
The best thing about the area is it was absolutely full of baby animals! There were kids and piglets and calves and colts running around all over the place (honestly, I couldn’t help myself from trying to cuddle the baby pigs…).
H came and joined us from Quito (where she was applying for an extension of her visa) on our last day. We visited Los Frailes beach in the national park, and it was a very pleasant light-grey sand beach with calm waves and tide pools to explore. The four of us spent the afternoon together before we had to abandon our Canadian friend and head back to Quito to catch flights or get a visa.
The three of us left spent the day together in Quito, chasing the idea of bagels, shopping for gifts and sparkly belts, and drinking wine in the park, and enjoying pan-Asian food over martinis (they are 2 for 1 nice tasting little devils at Uncle Ho’s) before I had to catch my plane back to take me back up north.
Saying goodbye was tough, but we all managed pretty darn well. And it wasn’t until I was using the bathroom in the fancy new Quito airport that I realized just how much things were going to change up north.
For the first time I saw a sign in Spanish asking me to flush my toilet paper rather than throw it in the bin. After over a year’s worth of travel I am really having a hard time with this!
So my dears, I am now in my own country. I am overwhelmed by the super happy customer service and all the choices demanding my attention at every turn. And I am sad and lonely to be without my H. I already miss my life on the road, and will definitely return at least for a little while in October, so until then safe travels!
R-alison
P.S. I have decided to continue blogging (infrequently) through my personal spot, if you’re interested. It is unlikely to be travel-related, but I have decided to include my thoughts, plans, and some recipes as I perfect them.
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Rule #2: Don't Die. 