On Monday morning, we’ll hop on the Tosagua bus to San Vicente and then go into the Reina del Camino bus office to get tickets for Guayaquil. There are decent Reina buses leaving San Vicente at 8:45 am, 9:45 am and 10:45 am. Our goal is to at least make the 9:45 if not the 8:45 bus. We’ll stay at the DC Suites near the airport and bus station again. Our host will drive us to the airport at 3 am for an extra $5.
Our flight leaves Guayaquil at 6 am on Tuesday. We change planes in Panama City and again in Fort Lauderdale before arriving in Ottawa about 11 pm. That night we’ll stay at Zack and Annie’s before driving home the next morning. Because we used Aeroplan points to fly here, by the time we get home our whole 12 weeks will have cost about $6,200 Canadian.
It’s been a great winter. We’re not really tired of it here but, on the other hand, we’re ready for spring at home. Although we’ve been living in a bit of an expat bubble rather than in the local village, the benefits of living in a really nice condo on the beach outweigh the cultural experience of living among the local people. We’ve already reserved a condo at Playa Azul, about a 20 minute walk north of here on the beach, closer to Canoa, for 10 weeks next winter.
Over the last month, we haven’t done much out of the ordinary. We usually join the trivia game at the Surf Shak on Tuesday nights. A couple of weeks ago, there was a dance-off on the bar to settle a tie for first. Nothing was really settled but we all had fun. This week, Alan, the owner, cranked up the music at the end of the game and we all danced for half an hour. We still got home before 10.
We usually go out for lunch or dinner about 4 times a week, especially on Tuesdays before the trivia game. That night, dinner is preceded by happy hour at the Bambu where we continue to enjoy the “Bambu Coctele” composed of maracuya (passion fruit), mango and a lot of rum. A couple of weeks ago we posed with empty glasses to represent our friends Pat and Kevin who had gone home to Ottawa.
For St Patrick’s Day, we had happy hour at the Bambu, dinner at the Suki Bar, which doesn’t look like much in the pictures but is a good place to go, and finally a drink at the Coco Loco. Still made it home shortly after 10. We’re also still enjoying occasional lunches of ceviche de cameron at our favourite Cevicheria Saboreame #2.
We usually shop in San Vicente or Bahia de Caraquez where there is more selection. A few weeks ago we were on a bus in San Vicente that stopped to wait for a few minutes. Across the street we saw a man with a styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and a rope leading three goats in the other. He knelt down, milked one of the goats a bit into his coffee, took a sip and kept going. Apparently he buys his coffee black and adds his own cream.
Canoa isn’t thriving as much now as before the earthquake. There are only a few little shops to buy groceries, like the one in the picture where Anita is picking through the vegetables. Along the Malecon, business is picking up but there really don’t seem to be as many expats or Ecuadorian weekend tourists as there used to be. However, Canoa’s answer to Dairy Queen is still selling soft ice cream from his tuktuk.
Finally, we never get tired of the sunsets. It’s a great life.
Our flight leaves Guayaquil at 6 am on Tuesday. We change planes in Panama City and again in Fort Lauderdale before arriving in Ottawa about 11 pm. That night we’ll stay at Zack and Annie’s before driving home the next morning. Because we used Aeroplan points to fly here, by the time we get home our whole 12 weeks will have cost about $6,200 Canadian.
It’s been a great winter. We’re not really tired of it here but, on the other hand, we’re ready for spring at home. Although we’ve been living in a bit of an expat bubble rather than in the local village, the benefits of living in a really nice condo on the beach outweigh the cultural experience of living among the local people. We’ve already reserved a condo at Playa Azul, about a 20 minute walk north of here on the beach, closer to Canoa, for 10 weeks next winter.
Over the last month, we haven’t done much out of the ordinary. We usually join the trivia game at the Surf Shak on Tuesday nights. A couple of weeks ago, there was a dance-off on the bar to settle a tie for first. Nothing was really settled but we all had fun. This week, Alan, the owner, cranked up the music at the end of the game and we all danced for half an hour. We still got home before 10.
We usually go out for lunch or dinner about 4 times a week, especially on Tuesdays before the trivia game. That night, dinner is preceded by happy hour at the Bambu where we continue to enjoy the “Bambu Coctele” composed of maracuya (passion fruit), mango and a lot of rum. A couple of weeks ago we posed with empty glasses to represent our friends Pat and Kevin who had gone home to Ottawa.
For St Patrick’s Day, we had happy hour at the Bambu, dinner at the Suki Bar, which doesn’t look like much in the pictures but is a good place to go, and finally a drink at the Coco Loco. Still made it home shortly after 10. We’re also still enjoying occasional lunches of ceviche de cameron at our favourite Cevicheria Saboreame #2.
We usually shop in San Vicente or Bahia de Caraquez where there is more selection. A few weeks ago we were on a bus in San Vicente that stopped to wait for a few minutes. Across the street we saw a man with a styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and a rope leading three goats in the other. He knelt down, milked one of the goats a bit into his coffee, took a sip and kept going. Apparently he buys his coffee black and adds his own cream.
Canoa isn’t thriving as much now as before the earthquake. There are only a few little shops to buy groceries, like the one in the picture where Anita is picking through the vegetables. Along the Malecon, business is picking up but there really don’t seem to be as many expats or Ecuadorian weekend tourists as there used to be. However, Canoa’s answer to Dairy Queen is still selling soft ice cream from his tuktuk.
Finally, we never get tired of the sunsets. It’s a great life.
