Montañita

This place just keeps getting better and better. Everything just seems to be falling into place here in Montañita. The random event when Andrea sat next to the fisherman started it all off. Yesterday I started looking for places to camp and or really cheap hostals. I came across this apartment that two girls were renting from Guayaquil. Since I have been planning on camping I need a place where I can clean fish and cook my meals...there is not much firewood around here. I was able to make a deal with the girls on using their kitchen, and they will teach me to cook Ecuadorian style. This is also a great deal because I will learn lots of spanish with them. Today I found a nice hostal that is going to let me pitch my tent on their roof, and it happens to be right next the kitchen I will be using. I will be paying $2 a night which is going to be great for my budget. Another ironic and crazy turn of events happened to me today. Since the day I arrived here my spearfishing buddies have been overly generous to me letting me use wetsuits, kitchen facilities, and other stuff. I had worked out a deal where I would pay one of the guys to use his extra wetsuit, but we had not gone over the details. I wanted to buy my own because I could tell he would rather me have my own, but they are $300 or more. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to do. This morning we were going fishing again, but for some reason or another I didn´t wake up. I am not sure why but I just sleep through. When I did get out of bed some of the other locals told me that Pedro (one of my fishing buddies) came looking for me because we were going to go up north to the really good fishing spot. We have been talking about this place for a week now and I really wanted to go. When he came to get me didn´t know that I had changed rooms, so he was not able to wake me up to go. When I found all this out I was so pissed at myself. I missed the first big trip!!! About an hour after finding all this had happened this morning I end up meeting an Australian guy who is headed home in a couple of days. He had been in Montañita surfing. I don´t even know how the subject came up but he was done with his wetsuit and gave it to me!!! I always say everything happens for a reason and it truly does.

I may have found my new home

So I am here in Montañita, Ecuador for the second time, and wow is it better this time around. Andrea and I were here 3 or 4 weeks ago checking out the spanish school, and I was trying to meet up with some local spearfisherman. We were only here for two days and it didn´t seem like it was the kind of place we would stay for too long. I was not able to meet up with the fisherman, and the school was a little pricy. At the time it just didn´t seem right for. After 2 weeks in Baños we decided to come visit a friend from Chicago who is working here in Montañita.

I have been carrying my speargun and equipment for a month or so now and it has been a bit of a pain in the butt. I had given up on meeting up with the spearfisherman here, and was ready to wait till Colombia. It is funny how things just always work out. On the bus to Montañita Andrea and I sat in different seats because the bus was pretty full. As fate would have it Andrea sat next to one of the local fisherman. She introduced us and he took me around to other friends of his who love spearfishing as much as I do. The next day we were in the water going para los pescados. Unfortunately the water was not so great we managed to get couple of fish. Afterwards Lenin took me to his house where we cleaned the fish and he cooked them up for Andrea and I. Through out the day I had met many of the locals. The town is very small and everybody knows everybody. After dinner Lenin invited Andrea and I to his cousins wedding. I continue to be amazed by the warm friendly people I have met on my journey. I had just met the guy 8 hours before and he had taken me fishing (let me borrow some equipment), brought us to his house and cooked a meal, and then invited us to the wedding. These are the reasons I took this trip. These are the experiences that will stay forever with me. At the wedding were were welcomed as if we were family. We spent the night dancing away and practicing our conversational skills with all the buen gente de Ecuador.

Halloween in Ecuador

Andrea and I had an amazing time in Guayaquil for Halloween. We met up with a few people I met a couple of weeks ago through couch surfing. It was a birthday/Halloween party. They took us to a crazy club with an open bar which you can imagine was muy divertido. It was great partying with all the local Ecuadorians. Besides Andrea, another American and fellow couch surfer Jim, and myself there were no other gringos. It was difficult trying to practice our spanish with the loud music and clouded mind, but we had fantastic time. I even did some salsa(tried at least) I definitely would not have been doing that without the liquid courage lol.

It was a last minute decision go to so Andrea and I had no costumes and no ideas. We had a 9 hour bus ride the day of the party. We ended up getting our Costumes in the bus station when we arrived in Guayaquil. I was a vaqero (cowboy) and Andrea was a masked lady...lol we didn't have much to work with as you can imagine. We were lucky to have our friends show us around and take us out to the nice places around. It ended up being the most fun I have had in a while. Definitely an amazing experience.