Hosteria La Perla Las Tunas

... to Blue and Red-Footed boobies (birds not breasts guys), which was alright, and then snorkelled in the sea with some nice looking fish. But for me the fun was already over. I love the sea and the animals in it, and to see a whale and a whole load of turltles in one day was heaven. When i die, I want to be buried in the sea in a turtle grave, maybe next to some dolphins and whale´s would be nice too...<br><br>"I left my soul there, down by the sea"<br>

... and then the guide had just explained that it was really rare to see the whale and at this time of year, it certainly wouldnt jump... when it did.... we all stood there absolutely amazed... including the guide...! he said it was to protect her baby.. and so we then left them to continue their journey and we continued ours to the island... we parked up and were surrounded by turtles... about 15 of them... another surprise... it turned out to be ...

14th September 2009<br><br>Hostal Sol Inn, Puerto lopez, Ecuador (16 usd)<br><br>Warmer than out at sea<br><br>Today we went whale watching and very fortunately for us, we saw some. The Humpback Whale comes from Antarctica to the coast of Ecuador to mate and the spectacle is witnessed by many people between June and September. It's the end of the season, so, our boat wasn't full, there were only 6 of us, 2 from France and 2 from Holland and us. It was a ...

... a bit more up close and personal.<br><br>The other highlight was meeting up with dawn and Terry, so most of yesterday was spent talking and catching up on what we've all been doing since we last met in laos, in April. In the evening we had home cooked egg and chips, with bread and butter, and a shed load of rum. That'll be why my head hurts a tad this morning. They are leaving on the night bus tonight for quito, and so our brief catch up in South America will end, we ...

... the dirt road into one big puddle of mud... We were hoping for some beach and whale watching but as the beach ust wasnt gonna happen we decided to do the whale watching that same afternoon and then move on in the morning to the next beach resort. <br><br>So We got on a mall boat with another German girl and 30 Ecuadorians (about 4 families with dogs, kids, everything...) and went about 30 ...

... and offers surfing, borseback riding and breakfast is included. And it kept us within our budget for the day. <br><br>It was a good opportunity to catch up on the email and internet and paying the bills back home and just taking it easy to think about the next step in our trip...what did we want to do? We thought about just stopping the trip and moving here to Ecuador....<br><br> <br>

... out of time to do so ourselves. It is a small town that probably sits in the shadow of Montanita, &#8220;the best beach in Ecuador&#8221; and a surfers haven, which is only south by an hour or two by bus. The malecon, or street that runs parallel to the beach is lined with restaurants and little cabanas that sell freshly made juice of all kinds. There are coconut venders who will take a machete to the coconut, stick a straw in the hole, and you can drink the coconut milk. The bars on the ...

... that I could start drinking immediately with no side-effects, meaning my initial horror from my encounter with the "doctor" was unnecessary; Fluff (aka Charlotte) a nice 18 year old girl on her gap year who lived next door and was spending 9 weeks in Montañita, and who I did surfing with; Tom, another 18 year old on his gap year who had a penchant for rum, playing his guitar by the poolside and a borderline unhealthy obsession with the $1.50 almuerzo place (when it was closed ...

... no apparent reason. I think I've had enough of inefficient local buses.<br><br>Puerto Lopez is a beach town, but July is not the time to go to the beach in Ecaudor. The entire Pacific coast is blanketed in thick clouds and the temperature hovers in the low 70s. Fortunately, we hadn't come for the beach. The weather may be cool, but the water is warm, perfect for humpback whales. They gather in the coastal waters to mate before beginning a 3000 mile ...

... pharmacy, which to be honest was little more than a glorified hut, and asked the child inside for the doctor, as the sign advertised. Two minutes later and a bare-chested and fatigued looking middle-aged man came clomping down some stairs behind the main room and ambled towards me while putting on an ill-fitting and vest that had seen better days. I explained in broken Spanish with the help of my dictionary (which incidentally, WH Smith you *******s ...