We hung out on the beach all day on Friday, breaking only for lunch. The weather wasn’t fantastic, but both the air and the water were warm. The beach itself was really nice – clean sand, no rocks, no seaweed.
It was actually nice that the sun wasn’t shining at full blast…we would all look like lobsters! On Saturday, we hung on the beach despite a little bit of rain. We took a boat tour around a little rock island and saw some crabs, blue-footed ____, and los Cuevas del amor, or the Caves of Love (“donde entran dos, salen tres…”). We jumped off the boat and swam out to the caves. (below)
We didn’t venture off the street of Atacames that runs parallel to the beach. That street, however, is lined with hotels, stores, restaurants, and markets on the inland side and bungalow bars on the beach. (below)
In the morning, vendors parked out front of the tiki hut bars selling fruit, vegetables, and breakfast foods, while by night, bar hopping tourists line the streets. Many of the bars looked the same, with hammocks or swings on the beach side and circular bars in the middle, and they all served a similar selection of fruity cocktails, some served right out of a coconut or pineapple! The music was loud, fun, and different in each one, and they were all open air so you could see which ones were most popular for dancing. It was such a fun environment!
The biggest difference between the beach at Atacames and others I’ve been too, especially OBX and the Jersey shore, was the presence of vendors on the beach. People were walking up to us all day trying to sell sunglasses, instruments, coconut oil, fruit salad, fruit juice, fruity cocktails, hair braids, boat tours, etc. Someone new walked by every few minutes and would often just stand there for a few minutes, despite our continuous “No Gracias.” There were also a ton of stray dogs on the beach (as there seem to be all over the streets of Ecuador), and they liked to come lay on our towels. I may or may not have jumped about 5 feet when I felt a cold nose on my arm while I was lying down on my towel.
Needless to say, it was a great weekend getaway, with great people, great food, and great dancing, despite the not so great weather.
Our group!
Earlier last week, I returned to Colegio Menor for my second day of pre-prac. I observed each of the teachers in their Spanish department, which was very interesting because it would be like observing an English class in the states. Two of the classes were reading poems or books that I had either learned last semester or have on a syllabus for this semester. I am hardly qualified to teach these kids Spanish literature, but it was very interesting to observe! Also, during their break, we had an earthquake drill, which was also something new for me. (No need for those drills in NJ or MA!). We had to get under desks for one minute before evacuating the buildings with our hands over our heads.
Otherwise, classes are going well and life with my host family is great! I think we had duck soup last night, but I’m not quite sure…I got a little lost when they were describing it to me. The broth was peanuty and the meat (poultry?) was unlike anything I’ve tasted before – somewhere between the texture of clams and squid and potatoes (sounds strange, I know) but Maqui told me it was a typical Ecua dish, so hey, why not! I hope you all enjoyed the Superbowl!
[Correction: I obviously heard wrong...the soup was called Caldo de Patas, which literally means Broth of Feet, as in cow's feet. I thought I heard Caldo de Patos, which would have been duck. Not exactly the same...]
Earthquake drill is something I havent done either. While in Natchez last spring break I participated in a hurricane drill. Pretty similar drill... The kids had to move to the lowest room in their "campus" which happened to be the room I was in which was nice. Miss you!!!
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