Bebos and beach trip! (part 1)

Hola amigos!

Sorry it's taken me so long to write another post! Last week was spent on vacation at the Montero beach house in Casa Blanca,  which unfortunately doesn't have any wi-fi, and the week before that Chino had a cold, so we spent most of the week hanging out at home (ugh!). Chino's been such a good sport for letting me complain about his cold... I was so bummed we had to cancel our trip to the thermal pools at Papallacta!  I thought for sure he'd be better by the end of the week so we could go after all, but it just didn't work out.  Next time, though, no excuses! (I think the healing waters would have done him some good!)  After another long day of traveling, though, I am finally home.  Here's what I've been up to for the past two weeks! (I might need to break this up into a few posts!)

The week before the beach wasn't a complete waste because I got to go to the Mercado Artesanal (Artisan market) in Quito with Vale! It's not nearly as big as the market in Otavalo, but it still takes up nearly an entire block and has most of the same things, just more compact.  I'm pretty sure nearly all of the items actually come from Otavalo, so the prices in Quito might be slightly higher than they would be there (but still VERY cheap).  I got a few more gifts, and we both got new earrings for our tragus piercings on our ears.  Right next door was a cool mall that spiraled up (aptly called the Espiral, I think) which had a great little place to buy cheap movies.  I can't quite remember how much we paid but I think it was something like 4 for $5! 

The best part, though, was after the market Vale brought me to meet her niece and nephew, Antonela and Nicolas (I hope I spelled those correctly)! They are the cutest twins ever, and if I'm correct, they're almost 10 months old now.  They are such chunkers, especially Nicolas, and are absolutely precious! They have such great temperaments and I had so much fun playing around with them.  Vale says Nicolas is the sweet one and Antonela is going to be a tomboy- her favorite toy is her plush soccer ball! Here's a pic of these two cuties:

Isn't this too sweet?! Photos courtesy of Vale.

 I could just eat them up! Unfortunately, the bebos' (as Vale calls them) parents weren't home for me to meet them, but I got to meet Vale's parents, and they are just so nice! I loved spending time with all of them.

The next morning, we packed up Chino's dad's tank of a car (he has a Toyota FJ Cruiser like this), and embarked on our 6 hour journey to the beach.  You wouldn't believe how horrible the drive is! Through the mountains we are constantly turning around sharp corners- literally every 5 seconds we're swerving one way or the other! To make it worse, everyone drives so fast! It's quite dizzying and it was SO HOT! The AC wasn't making it to the backseat, and since they would get cold up front they would just turn the AC off! I nearly died. 

Luckily, we stopped about half way for lunch at an amazing parrillada (grilling) place for steaks, yuca, and salads.  What a gem of a restaurant, in the middle of nowhere! Chino's family makes a point of stopping there every time they head to the beach, as well as on the way back.  It's definitely the best steak I've had in Ecuador.

We finally made it to the beach house after dark (you have to remember it gets dark at 6:30 every day of the year in Ecuador!), quickly unloaded the car, and crashed early for the night.  Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what the place looks like:

Chino lounging by the pool

The living room/dining area. You can see the kitchen to the right, and the pool to the left!

The pool! It's too small to really swim in, but it's great for a quick dip.

This is where we eat all our lunches.  Look at that view!

This gives you an idea of the bedroom...it has two twin beds and its own bathroom.  (This is an old pic, when my hair was short!)

 Unfortunately, the weather was grey nearly all week! There was only one really sunny day, and we definitely took advantage of it! Here are some pics of the beach:

As you can see, all the buildings are white! Hence why it's called Casa Blanca (White house).

Such a beautiful beach! It's so clean.

Beautiful ocean...

I had to include a sunset picture! So gorgeous.

We all had such a relaxing time! My favorite part, though, as you can probably guess, was the food! Chino's family hires a local woman, named Marisa, to cook and clean while they're on the beach, and she is an EXCELLENT cook! And so young! She's around 25, I think. Every dish was to die for.  Chino's mom would buy fresh seafood each morning for her to prepare, and since seafood is my all-time favorite, I just couldn't get enough! We had fried shrimp, lots of fish, LOBSTER, clams, ceviche... you name it.  Unbelievable.  And I can't forget- patacones! To my Puerto Rican family- these are called Tostones.  They're fried slices of plantains, and we ate them with every meal! So so so good.

While we were on the coast, Chino's parents decided to take us on a little excursion to a nearby town called Muisne, where we took a boat trip to an uninhabited island called Isla Bonita.  The river we took on the way there is completely lined with a type of tree called Manglares, which have roots which shrimp, clams, and crabs love to live in.  I'll have to tell you all about it in my next post! It was my favorite part of the entire week, and I have lots of pictures of this beautiful area and the amazing island to share with you!

Literally 2 hours after arriving back to Cumbaya from the beach we headed out to our friend Santiago's wedding! It was absolutely beautiful... And two days after that I was on my way home!

Lots more to come!

Hasta luego,
xoxo