Punta Blanca and Isla de Plata

Sorry for not updating sooner. We've been without email access for the past week. We drove from Guayaquil to a costal town called Punta Blanca. It's a beachfront resort area, ecuadorian style. We spent the first day looking for a place to stay. This is off season in the beach front areas so most places were empty and we had the beach to ourselves. We ended finding a wonderful condo with all the conveniences of home except for a washer and dryer and it was only a block from the house that Maria's parents rented. On Friday we drove north to Porta Lopez and took a boat to Isla de Plata, a small island that Maria characterizes as the poor man's galapagos. On the way, we saw about 5 humpback whales, some from as close as about 30 feet. At one point, a whale changed direction and swam straight at our boat which he/she could easily have capsized. Fortunately it swam under us. It was quite a thrill.

The contrasts in Ecuador are striking. While I gather they have made great strides in the last 5 years, there is no doubt that you are firmly in the third world. This was especially evident in and around the costal areas where life outside our little walled paradise was especially gritty. We all are enjoying that contrast so far and look forward to authentic third world adventures every day. The rural roads are awful and driving is perhaps the greatest adventure. We've went to the open market several days to buy food. Fish, chickens, pork and beef, vegatables and an endless array of fruit we've never heard of before, all served up in several blocks of dilapidated shanties. No refrigeration in sight. Incredibly, we bought some of everthing except pork during the week and Maria's mother cooked it, we ate it, and no one got sick. We have been well fed, perhaps too well fed. Every meal includes rice and ahi, an ecuadorian salsa made with tree tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Jacob & I put ahi on everything because it's so good.

Anne Nelson has declared that this is her favorite place on earth and she could live here for the rest of her life. In spite of it's shortcomings, we have all enjoyed the country and the culture so far and Maria and her family have taken good care of us. We've certainly been able to experience ecuador in way that would never have been possible on our own. Yesterday we traveled from Punta Blanca over the Andes Mountains to Cuenca where we will spend the next week at Maria's house. More to follow.

Emotional goodbyes and a bathroom run I won't soon forget

We arrived safely in guayaquil last night, phsically and emotionally weary from a long day of traveling and painful goodbyes from family and close friends. And, of course, there was that moment in the waiting area of gate 27 when Anne Nelson realized that she didn't have her passport that had been hanging around her neck all morning. We frantically back tracked through security and then to a bathroom on the main concourse to discover that the cleaning lady had picked it up and was on her way out when Anne Nelson ran in.