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Published: October 3rd 2007
An indiginous woman in Atacames
Almost everything in Atacames lays between the ocean and the river, but to get over the river to the rest of town you have to cross this footbridge.Hello Everybody!
Chris and I are safely back from Atacames, and we returned to Quito over the weekend, and now we are moved into Cuenca! Atacames was amazing! We really had quite the adventure. After being on the bus for 6 hours, trusty blue broke down and we were stuck in the middle of Esmeraldas, without a map and being the only English speakers around. Luckily, with broken Spanish we found another girl on the bus also going to Atacames, so she shared her taxi with us. So then, there we were in the middle of Atacames at 5am, without a map, without a hotel and being the only English speakers around. Luckily the little tourist town spotted the gringos and every hotel owner came out to beckon us into their hotel. Needless to say, we quickly found one.
Atacames is primarily set between beach and river. This little strip is set for tourists (foreign and Ecuadorian) there are restaurants, hotels, and the beach. The beach is lined with little "grass shack" type bars and lots of live music. Coincidently Chris and I were there the weekend of elections, and in Ecuador no buying, selling, or consuming alcohol with
72 hours of voting. So, the town was pretty dead, but still quite a site. The outskirts of Atacames was exactly how I pictured Ecuador to look like. Very rural and a lot of poverty. Everyone is out on the streets, eating, joking or selling something. The kids playing with a random toy, or street trash, the adults sitting by a stand, or tending their little tienda. Clothes were hanging from lines outside of small mud-patched houses, all dirt roads, and a lot of wide-eyed stares.
One day, while walking through town, camera in tow, a man--barefoot with a fisherman´s hat-- came up to us with a flyer "ballenas! ballenas!" he said, prodding the flyer. The lamenanted sheet showed commercial shots of humpback whales in bright blue waters. We did our best to talk to the guy to find out more about the "ballenas-watching" (according to Lonely Planet whale season was about over). We agreed with the bare-foot stranger that tomorrow morning we would think about going on the tour. "Okay, follow me," he said. Chris and I followed assuming he would take us to a tour office so we could get more info....
15 minutes later we were
on the beach, in the water, heading toward a shanty yellow boat. He threw the life vests in our arms and motioned for us to "hop on". Chris and I exchanged glances. We decided just to go for it, after negotiating a great price. This was the ride of our lives!
We went all around a little island as the guide pointed out all the exotic birds, pelicans, fishing boats and caves. Then he took us to the whales. Five minutes after crashing over waves (chris and I praying the boat wouldn´t bottom out) The guide shouts "Alla! Alla!" he´s pointing out to the distance where Chris and I see a big splash. He turns the boat and heads straight for it. Next thing we know HUGE humpback whales are emerging from the water right next to us! We half expected the whales to come up right underneath our little yellow boat! And so went the next 40 minutes. The guide pointing, then speeding toward the whales, Chris and I: mouths gaping.
We came out of the boat experience alive and with some great pictures, and left Atacames with hopes to go back soon. Our bus ride home
Humpack, straight ahead!
Every whale we saw the guide would shout excitedly, "Alla, alla!" and then turn the boat to exactly where we saw the whale. Chris and I honestly thought one would come up right below the boat. We followed this pod of whales around for about an hour. It felt like we were right there swimming with them! went a bit more smoothly and two days later we left for Cuenca. Another, survival of the ten hour bus ride, and our family here welcomed us back with open arms.
Chris and I met the director of our department again today and had an amazing meeting. Everyone we meet seemed genuinely happy to have us there and our collegues could not be more friendly. Classes start on Monday. Lesson planning starts today 😊
Thank you all for keeping in touch! Your prayers, emails, and encouragement our the highlights of our day!
We love you!
Karina & Chris
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