Whales!!

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Thursday morning came and I said my goodbyes and caught a bus to Baños for a nice lunch, then headed to Quito where I had about an hour to eat before getting on my overnight bus to Puerto Lopez on the coast. I was a little worried about taking the night bus solo but all was fine, aside from the driver stopping every hour to break. I didn´t get much sleep. We got in 2 hr earlier than planned, which meant a 5 am arrivial to a foreign place. Thankfully I had a hostel in mind that was only a few blocks away. I met a couple of Austrian girls who were on my bus and heading to the same place. Thanfully they answered the door for us and let us leave our bags inside and use the common area to rest until our rooms were available.

I still couldn´t sleep so I went down to the beach around 6:30 to see the fishermen bring in their catch. It was interesting and distubing all at once. There were tons of fish, sharks, rays and squid all over the beach and people buying and selling like crazy. I stumbled upon the Austrians and had a bite to eat with them when a whale tour salesman came by and agreed to let me tour for $15. Well worth it! I saw about 15+ humpback whales in 3 groups and the last group was jumping out of the water constantly! It was absolutely amazing! I got a lot of good photos and will post them eventually. Unfortunately, computer connections here are not great for image uploads so it might be when I get to WI. I met a really nice couple from Poland who were traveling on the bill of Accu-chek, a diabetes testing supply company. The woman is diabetic and is sponsored to travel to amazing places and do things like mountain climbs to show how diabetes doesn´t have to stop you from living your life. Very interesting people!

Saturday morning a bunch of the other Arutam volunteers arrived at the hostel and Adam and I went diving off Isla Salango and the coast of P.L. The visibility was pretty bad and the thermocline temp difference was very dramatic, but we saw a HUGE flounder, triggerfish, pan rays, and lots of other fish. The second dive had worse vis. and for some reason our divemaster insisted on swimming full force which was exhausting and didn´t let us enjoy it as much as I hoped. Still, better than no diving at all! On ¨Sunday the group went on another whale tour and toured Isla de la Plata which is considered the Poor Mans Galapagos. We saw the Blue Footed Boobies (so cool!), friggatbirds, an albatross, rays, turtles, and other birds. It was really nice. We then got to snorkel for a little bit where I saw another white eyed moray eel and loads of fish. On the way back we whale watched and saw a group of 3 who breeched a couple times and did a lot of fin slaps. Not as good as my first day but still amazing! Then on the ride back to the mainland, we came across a huge pod of 100+ spotted and bottlenosed dolphins feeding on shirimp bycatch. They were jumping like crazy and swimming all around our boat. Unfortunately my camera died soon after we spotted them so I didn´t get many photos. All in all it was a fantastic trip!

I went surfing on Monday but the waves were very choppy and poor and the weather was rainy and miserable, so I wound up leaving after 2 hours. I had planned to surf today as well, but after that day decided to catch the night bus with 3 of the other volunteers to Quito and head to Otavalo today. We got in 4 hours early (3 am) this time and I somehow managed to find a bus to Ot. leaving at 4, so I jumped on. I arrived here at 7, before anything was open and wandered until I found an internet cafe. The hostels outside of town I inquired about hadnt answered my emails, so I figured they were booked and found a cheap place in town. Not the nicest by any means, but it has a kitchen for me to make a delicious fresh dinner and it´s only $4 a night. Since I got no sleep on the bus again last night, I am about done for an heading back soon to make my food and pass out! Since I did all my market shopping this afternoon, I am heading out first thing in the morning to one of the hostels in the mountains to hike, explore, and relax for a change. Can´t wait!

I don´t know when I´ll have internet access again, so you´ll probably be hearing from me in Colombia again. I am so sad that I´m almost done with my trip! Definitely planning an indefinite one after grad school! Hope all is well!

Mucho amor y abrazos!

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