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Fri 30th Dec-Tues 3rd Jan
Mum arrived late on Thurs 29th, well, very early on the 30th! Obviously it was great to see her :-) We went to the hostel and managed about 3 and a half hours sleep before getting up for the 5am taxi back to the airport! We had decided to spend New Year on the coast and to save a long bus journey after the very long flight from England we flew from Quito to Manta. It was a very quick flight, about 40 minutes , if that. We went straight to the bus terminal and were lucky to be just in time for the 8am bus south to Puerto Lopez. It drove mostly along the coast so we had some nice views and we arrived just before 11 in Puerto Lopez. We stayed at the same place I had been at previously and they kindly gave us a room to shower in before our room was ready. We then went to the Colombian restaurant for lunch so Mum could try arepas. In the afternoon we just relaxed at the hostel. My Mum also gave me my Christmas present from my family, a Kindle :-) (thanks all) I had decided to buy one (to stop needing to lug around books as I read quickly I am always carrying a few just in case plus you don't always get much choice at book exchanges), and my family kindly said they would get it for me. She had got me some other presents too- I'm like a child at Christmas and birthdays, love having things to open! (thanks Mum!) The bits and pieces included various chocolate treats and some Chinese cooking sauces which I am looking forward to using! Also a mini hot water bottle as I have often been cold at night at the higher altitudes! She also brought me a cracker and a mince pie and a slice of Christmas cake that my niece and nephew made- delicious! In the evening we had fish at my favourite fish restaurant. Everyone welcomed me back - I had just spent nearly 2 weeks there and had become a regular at various places!
New Year's Eve day we went to the beach, to my favourite beach bar-café and spent the day catching up, reading and sunbathing. On New Year's Eve we weren't really sure what to do or what would be going on but I had been told there'd be fiestas happening. To be honest it was quieter than I expected but it was a really nice evening. Mum and I went to my favourite beach bar again and had some cocktails! Then went in search of dinner without much luck so got some food from a street seller and some doritos. Back for another cocktail and to sit on the beach, chatting, listening to the music and enjoying the evening. Just before midnight the lady who owns the café-bar brought dinner out to us, at no cost to us, which was completely unexpected and very kind of her as it meant we were being included in their New Year's eve meal because apart from us it was just the family eating it. At midnight there were fireworks in various spots along the beach and then the burning of the 'viejos' started, they are a bit like the guys we have at Guy Fawkes, either made from paper mache or paper mache heads with stuffed clothing. It is an Ecuadorian tradition, they represent the old year (like seeing it out and seeing in the new one)and we had seen them around the town during the day. There were lots of them but we got to see a pile of them being lit near the bar. They added alcohol to help the fire and later jumped over it, a little dangerous!
The weather generally wasn't as good as when I was here last time, not as sunny and there was rain every day, though mostly at night and/or early morning. It was still relaxing though and I think it was lovely for my Mum to be somewhere warm, having come from the British winter! I got my first stomach upset of the trip here though and ended up spending a day in bed. It meant we postponed our trip to the Machalilla National Park but had a good day there when we did go. I hadn't gone last time as I wanted to wait and do it when my Mum was here. We first went to the 'Los Frailes' beach, walked up to a lookout point then chilled on the beach (unfortunately weather was overcast) then afterwards went to visit the village of Agua Blanca, which is a small indigenous community within the park. We had an interesting tour of the area and also went to the sulphur pool where Mum went in for a dip. We didn't see the little pots of mud from the pool so took some away to use later- she used it for a face mask!
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