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Hi!!!! Sorry we haven't update you for what seems like ages!!!
We've spent the last 2 weeks in Mancora, doing not a lot! We have relaxed, drank vodka and cocktails and beer, played some volleyball, swam in the sea and met some great people!
Unfortuantely last week, whilst swimming in the sea, Steve lost his wedding ring :( We don't hold much hope of it being washed up on the beach, but just in case we have left our contact details with the hostel. The day after it was lost, we went to the market to get another one. Just a cheap one, as Steve had got used to the feeling of a ring on his finger. On returning to the hostel, Steve wanted to try one last time to see if he could find the ring, so he went snorkelling. He returned 20 minutes later, the sea having ripped the second ring off his finger! So we have decided to look for another ring on our travels, see if anything takes our fancy, and if not, we hope Alex can get it replaced for us!
We stayed longer than originally planned at The Point Hostel in Manocra, just because we were so relaxed, and the friends we met there made us not want to leave, but we couldn't stay there forever!!!
We decided to leave with Frank (our crazy Polish friend) on Wednesday night to get to Ecuador. We booked our tickets, and left for our 9pm bus. When the bus arrived, there seemed to be a bit of confusion, and we discovered there were 5 people waiting to get on the bus, but only 3 seats left. After much debating and phone calls, the 3 of us were left behind! Frank then spent the next 90 minutes arguing with the bus company (he speaks Spanish) until they agreed to pay for our accomodation for the evening. They tried to say that we could stay in one of their appartments that had a double bed...but finally got back to The Point 2 and a half hours after we first left.
So, Thursday we went again to the bus at 9pm, and this time had no problem getting on the bus. Thank god! But, we expected to sleep as this was a night bus, but this was not the case! We had 2 stops, between midnight and around 1am forthe boarder crossing into Ecuador. Then, at 4am, we were off loaded again by armed guards. They had "anti-narcotics" written on the back of their vest! We were all checked, patted down, and the sniffer dogs let loose before we were allowed back on the bus again! Steve got a good frisking being a 'gringo'!
We arrived in Guayaquil at around 0600, and the bus company we needed didn't open until 9! So we watched 8 mile on Franks laptop and had a Maccy D's for breakdast, then caught the 0930 bus to Puerto Lopez! It was 5 hours, on a local bus, which was hot, and full!
But we arrived here in one piece! We have booked onto a tour tomorrow that should show us some of the local wildlife (mainly birds) and then take us out into the ocean where we can see the hump back whale. They stop in Puerto Lopez for their mating season, so we are super excited about this :)
Tonight, we have sat in hammocks on the beach, across from our hostel, watching the sun set! Perfect after a long night/day of travelling.
We only have a few weeks left in South America...so little time for all the things we want to do!! We will update as opften as possible, but we do not always have internet access, and we should be very busy over the next few weeks.
Missing everyone back home! Keep the messages and emails coming, it helps to keep us from getting too homesick!
All our love
Steve & Sam xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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