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Ok...so I'm a little delayed on all the blogs. To be honest its because it feels a little weird now writing on here, because I feel like this is now my home and its bizarre that I'm writing to tell people about it! But its a great incentive to keep a diary and track of whats going on and I love hearing your updates too:) Jill and Jim thank you for your email. Sounds like life is treating you very well at the moment. I often thinkn of you when I was in the Amazon especially...I had to get a 5oclock in the morning to go birdwatching...I deperately tried to remember the names of them in my half awakeness so I could tell you...but have failed to do so!! sorry!
Debbie, glad you had such a fantastic time in Barcelona....jealous that you went to the studio sounds brilliant!! I hope you didnt bring up the story of my drunken babble...:/ What were you doing up so early if Millie was till sleeping??! Or was se snoring in your bed yet again?! Miss and love you x
Mummy and Daddy, thank you so so much for the holiday!!!! EEEEP! I am so so excited about seeing you!! Love you so so much. Daddy dont work too hard!! Mum hope job is going well:) and also belated thank you for my birthday cards! I eventually receivedthem all scrumpled but meant the world and they are trying to stand on my desk!:)
Ok.....so on with the blog....
The weekend of the 18th we took a trip to Montanita for the surfing competition. Feys bestfriend owned a hostel there so his sister came and picked us up and took us 5 steps left of the bus stop to our hostel. It consisted of a concrete box with a metal roof and an ensuite!! But the door to the ensuite was a canvas and the '3 beds' were in fact a bunkbed and we were expected to sleep 2 on the bottom bunk...with only one pillow may I add. If you sat on the top bunk you could see right into the toilet as the painted canvas only covered a third of the doorway inbetween the bathroom and the bedroom. But after a 15hour and half bus journey we didnt care, we were just deperate to get down the beach! So we dumped our stuff, put our bikinis on creamed up and off we went. O my goodness it was tourist town!! I've never seen quite so many white people in Ecuador!
We bumped into Fey and his friend Hamilton (the guy who owns the hostel) on the way down as they were trekking back up to hamilton's house after an early morning surf. At first they were hard to recognise due to the white paste across their faces to protect them from the sun apparently, though it looked like some tribal thing.
We spent the day topping up the tans and chatting to a few Ecuadorians who Katey had met in Canoa a few weeks before. I met Carlos the longboarding champion, and katey dropped me in it saying that I longboarded...needless to say I didnt turn up to the surf at 4 that I was then invited to!!
Steffi and I decided to go to back to the hostel when the tide reached high and we'd had to scramble all our things together inorder to prevent them from getting wet. I suggested we left my bag with everything in with Katey, but stef insisted she wanted it so she carried it. As we came to the bit by the steps up off the beach we realised that the water had risen to the wall. There was a girl walking in front of us and she managed to get through it so I hurried on ahead to the steps. Suddenl behind me I heard a scream....I turned to see Steff underthe water trying desperately to hold our things up!! The wave had hit her from the right, she'd managed to keep her balance but hadnt anticipated the rebound from the the wall on her left anf had been bowled right over!! My phone and her camera were in the bag. Her camera seemed fine but my phone took a bit of TLC before it worked again...however it has lost its power ot vibrate.
That afternoon/evening we went back down to the beach and noticed a guy nxt to us and a couple and realised they were infact talking english. Chris came over and spoke to us and Stef and I ended up chatting to him into the evening. He was a guy fro north wales and is travelling on his own all over latin america. We invited him to come out to dinner that evening and had the double pleasure of meeting and Irish coupld he'd met here in Montanita who'd been on their honeymoon since 2006...they've actually seen the world!! SO JEALOUS! and are returning ot Ireland for the first time on the 29th. Scary stuff!!
We spent the night eating and drinking(2 cocktails for 3$!!!Thats 75p a cocktail!!), was really nice to have some british humour and sarcasm!! Miss that out here! Romano Stef's bofriend (!) came to Montanita to meet us. We attempted to go to a few 'clubs' but the music was shocking so we decided to venture down the beach instead. Susanne and Neil went back to their hostel in preparation for the full mooon party the next night. Stef came up with the idea of going skinny dipping...so in I went in but then she chickened out!
We went back to Chris' hostel to dry off and sat chatting outside in the hammock on the balcony!! (I kno how posh!!) Was really good evening (I dont know why I say evening by this point it was about 5am!)and its so warm on the coast tho hav to be careful of the mossies. Stef and I stayed at Chris' because his room was actually made for a three people!! and ours was a little out they way on the main road...whch can be dodgy 2 girls walking alone at night.He had a huge double bed on a kinda rook bit up the top (dont kno how to describe it...like you get in those nice barn houses...?) In the morning (after about 2 hours sleep)we had to sneak out past the cleaner lady and through the restaurant to avoid paying!! Was quite amusing!
We got back to our hostel, packed our htings and decided to treat ourselves to $8 a night in Chris' hostel. Chris moved into our hostel because our room was a 4 person room and they were trying to make us pay for the extra person and trying to kick him out of his room because he was person in a 3 person room.
Saturday, we chilled on the beach wacthing the surf competition. We didnt drink any alcohol and ate nothing because its far too hot. We ventured up to the batidos (milkshakes) stand, and got a big fresh fruit smoothie...yummy!! Mora y banano (raspberry and banana) is my favourite!!
That night was the full moon party!! We caught a bus to the next beach...which was full of english people!! I'd never met an english person in Ecuadorbefore (apart from work) and now I was surrounded by them!! We met an idiot from Lodon who kept telling us his name was Raj...R..A...J...Raj...not Rodge,....my names not Rodger...Raj. I didnt ever ask and I really dont care!!
Full moon party was excellnt....you walked on a little pathway of dim lighting on to the beach and then there was a bar in the middle selling caipirinas for $2 which were straight!! and o so strong!! (mum and dad reminded me of Portugal on that rainy day when we sat in the appartment of those people and you got extremely drunk on them midafternoon!!) We danced until 8.30 in the morning! Stef and Romano caught the bus back at about 6.30 (dont want to know) and Neil, Chris, Susanne and I walked back still drunk along the beach for 20minutes. I was falling asleep when walking.
That morning was a horrible one...we got up in time to pack our stuff and dumo it in Susanne and Neils room and to have our included breakfast but barely spoke because we were so hungover...Katey was really churpy and wanted us to go down to the beach to stalk surfers and take pictures...the very thought of goig and sitting on that beach in the pounding sun made my head throb even more. But I gave in and we went found a shadey spot up on one of the bars to sleep whilst Katey did her bit for the paparazzi. Susanne and Neil didnt venture out of their room allday.
We headed back to the hostel about4 to gather our things and go to the bus stop. Our cinnecting bus in Puerto Lopez was at 7.30 so we left ourselves plenty of time...the bus to Puerto Lopez took 1h and a hlf. By 6oclock...the bus stil hadnt come!! So the 4 of us (Chris came back o Quito with us to go on to Colombia) decided to clamber into the back of a truck with 3 other guys and pay the driver $3 each (the bus cost $2) to take us there.
We ended up in the back of this truck with a man who spoke very good english because he had travelled the world as a drugs conosseur (or however you spell it!!) When Chis mentioned he came from Wales his response was 'ooo welsh mushrooms!! They're the best have tried them?'...when Katey mentioned she was from Minnesota n the states he was like 'o thats the capital of blah blah blah' ( I cant remeber the name of the drug. Was a crazy experience.
We arived at the bus dead on 7.30..luck was on our side. We caught the overnight bus to Quito and arrived 6.30 the next morning. Ready and back out for work at 8 for our monday morning meeting!! Unfortunately it appears that the kids behind us stole both mine an dChris' cameras whilst we were sleeping. Gutted!! Was really upset bcause I lost some really good photos:( and a very expensive camera!
So that was my weekend in Montanita...I LOVE THE COAST!!
Love you all lots x x x
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