Tuesday, Carnivale finale

Tuesday morning we woke to beautiful blue skies but everything needed to dry out. We swept the rain water from the patio and planned on a quiet day on the outdoor couch, the touristas were still getting some beach time but we knew by late afternoon they would be getting packed to go home. Mike suggested a walk, and so around 11 we donned sunscreen and headed out. As we were returning, our friends at the restaurant wanted us to come, Ramon and Rafael had already started drinking, so we joined them, as we ordered lunch.

This is Captain Fernando, in the stripes, his nephew Patricio (Ramon's son) and Rafael in blue.

Here we have Ramon, Mike and I, Rafael, captain Fernando's sister Viviana in black, their mom Lola and aunt Gloria from the Oriente on the end. They have definatly accepted us into their family, and we love it. Such good people!

As the afternoon wore on, the clouds came back and the touristas left. We continued to sit and drink, talk, laugh and eat. The ladies are such maestros in the kitchen, over the course of the weekend festivities we had shrimp ceviche, shrimp viche, breaded shrimp, breaded fish and now langostinos!

We were so full, could hardly eat another bite, but it was so good, and they are so pleased to share. The ladies finally got the kitchen cleaned up and the real party could begin...we chipped in for more beer and got the music started.

I'm a bad influence and got all the ladies to drink, they worked so hard this weekend, they needed to unwind too! We got a really big speaker plugged into our house, and danced for awhile, then had a foam fight, and it was time to call it a night. A perfect end to a not so great Carnivale, the afternoon and evening was the highlight, good times with good friends...

So, stay tuned...the adventure continues!

 

Sunday and Monday

Sunday got off to a good start, the weather was beautiful, blue skies and sun shining. The beach goers had a good long time before high tide, and the vendors were in full force on the beach. The fishermen restaurant opened, complete with newly painted sign compliments of moi...(Caida del Sol means "fall of the sun")

They added two more tables this year, and a larger serving area. We kept an eye on the customers, and finally caught a good time to go eat lunch, when they weren't slammed. We had a shrimp ceviche to share, and  a breaded fish, and breaded shrimp, each came with rice and small cucumber/tomato salad. Super yummy, as always! And Of course when it came time to pay, they wouldn't accept our money...

I had planned on asking a couple store owners if they would sell my crafts, but I never did, so I tried to sell them out front. 

I sat inside the fence, under the shade, but nobody even came over to look...my plan now is to take them to sell to vacationing gringos at The Cottages. They make good gifts too, so not a waste.

Late in the afternoon, tide was getting high, and we were full from lunch, so took a nap, when we woke it was almost 6pm, and the clouds had blown in. The big party was to be in San Clemente, which is something we only needed to do once, so we stayed home, and out of the crazy. Here are some pictures from Facebook, Mas gente! (Many people)

During the night the rain started, and stayed with us ALL day Monday. The fishermen restaurant diligently stayed open but got very few customers, simply because the people stayed indoors. There were many kids on the beach, and in the water, but the ones who buy lunch...didn't. 

I went over and ordered lunch to go, and sat while it was prepared, got a little dripped on, but no big deal. (at least it's not cold rain) We promised we would go to the band (at 10pm! Ugh) but when the rain didnt stop by 8pm we changed our mind, and our clothes, getting dressed for bed. Of course, later as I heard music gearing up in town, I felt bad and we decided to get dressed and go see. The rain did stop for about an hour, we danced a couple songs, saw some people, had a couple beers and called it a night. Getting home by 11:15. And as we were deciding to head home, we saw the fishermen wives, asked where the guys were...they told us they were in bed! Ha ha! So, now we were really glad we made the effort!

Today is the end, the restaurant is open, tide is low and there is no rain, hopefully the towns people can earn a little more before the tourists head home. That was the saddest part about the rain and all the permit trouble, the lack of extra income to our little village and the traveling vendors. The Ecuadoreans are so optimistic, they take it all in stride and don't seem to get flustered, I love their positive attitudes!

It'll be back to normal soon, We survived another Carnivale...stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Saturday, slow start

We have been anxiously awaiting Carnivale, and it's been a rather slow start. Last week was the final push, the fishermen getting the restaurant ready, and ive been getting my crafts done. Mike helped the fishermen, and we all made quick work on a beach clean up, we had the place looking great.

I decided Saturday morning after the egg man came, that I should go do some shopping in case the stores sold out. I didn't plan on doing much cooking for the next couple days, but better to be prepared. As I was coming home from town, I saw two large buses filled with people dropping off. These people were loaded down! Some are here for family beach houses, some may decide later if they want to spend the night and see if there are any hostel rooms available, and others may be vendors coming to set up. Our little cove got quite busy, but I'm sure the bulk of people were down in the next cove where the shade structures and hammocks for rent are located. The morning wore on, and low tide gave the beach goers a nice beach day. 

We expected the restaurant to open Saturday, but they never did, that was ok, We had a pool party to go to. Our friends recently bought and completely renovated a cluster of guest cottages, (I'll do a whole post on that another day) and we were invited to join for pool and refreshments. 

One of the things that happens during Carnivale is foam and water fights, this mostly is a big city thing, because here on the coast buying foam to spray on strangers is frivolous. But some people "from away" buy it, and of course the gringos! Mike joined in, in what we were calling "Canadians gone wild" but there were many nationalities involved.

No one was safe! But as the "foamers" pointed out, some of these vehicles turned around and came back thru, so they must have been having fun too.

Good clean fun on the coast of Ecuador!!

A vacation these guys won't soon forget...good times!

We stayed til almost dusk, then walked home to see what was going on in town. Had a quick hamburger from a street vendor and wandered over to where the stage was being set up...or was it being torn down?! It was being torn down, the police were saying they didn't have a permit and couldn't set up, what the heck?! We didn't care, since we'd been in the pool all afternoon, we were calling it a night. 

We never heard any noise, so they must not have gotten the permit thing worked out, too bad. The next morning on Facebook, there were stories of restaurants being hassled and complaints that the ministry of tourism (or whoever) was discriminating against our little town...don't know the whole story, but I know Carnivale has been much smaller this year, BUT!

Stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Football field or lake?

We walked to the main road the other day for lunch, and on the way home we saw what used to be a football field, had been turned into a lake from the heavy rain.

Our fishermen friends Fernando, Rafael and Ramon all live over here, it's about two blocks back from our house. The local football leagues play here sometimes, if high tide says they can't play on the beach.

We are meeting new friends in Centro this morning, taking them to the fruit truck and then maybe we will walk this way to lunch and see what it looks like. 

But this morning I need to get my sign for the fishermen pop up restaurant finished. Fernando brought me over some lacquer, he wants put on it, so I have to test an area, and then string it all together after its dried. I also need to put some hangers on the driftwood plaques, and string some wind chimes. The touristas (people from "away") will start arriving this afternoon, and festivities will start tomorrow, going thru Tuesday...so, as always! Stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Getting ready for Carnivale

The town is a buzz, fresh coats of paint are going up, improvements are being made, and the place is oozing excitement. The pop up restaurant run by our fishermen friends wives is being doubled in size, and will be open for yummy ceviche, fish and empanadas. The men plugged into our power yesterday and asked if they could today for a little while, and we said yes, of course. I'll ask the ladies when I see them what the menu will be, and offer to paint a sign for them. Some signs/plaques I've gotten finished.

And the one that Shadrach photo bombed...

I'll get the rest of my plaques finished today, and see about stringing my shell windchimes. The days sure get away from us, I guess it's true what they say...time flies when you're having fun!

Last post was El Niño, and while we haven't had any rain in the last week. The vacant lot next door has sprouted a crop of green.

And the hills are gorgeous. Next time we go to Bahia we will take pictures of the green hills.

Check out the picture I found taken on Nov 20...

And this morning...

Look how much sand has been washed away!! Crazy when you get to see it, and compare. And another picture taken in October...always changing!

Just goes to show, you never know what you might wake up to on the coast of Ecuador! I'm on my second cup of coffee, and guess I better get busy, those boobies aren't going to paint themselves, haha! 

So, Stay tuned, the adventure continues!

El Niño?

At my house the fishermen are my weathermen, when they move their boats, I know to watch for high water. This past week the ocean has been taking sand from in front of the house, it's constantly changing...

All these rocks used to be buried under several feet of sand, it's not that big a deal for us, but I'd think it would be dangerous for the boat guys coming in and out, in the dark especially.

We had a really big rain a couple nights in a row, and today the debris from the River has begun to surface on our beach. At the moment it's just dislodged water hyacinth plants and some bamboo, but from last year, I know there will be much much more.

Some photos from Facebook, to show what the ocean has been doing in other parts of Ecuador and SA...

Monsterous waves on the Coast of Chile

Above is Bahia, below is Crucita

Even tho the weather is warm, it is still Winter, and so these are our "winter storms"...won't really know if it's El Niño til it's over probably...but the bright side, when there has been lots of rain, the sunsets are even more spectacular!

Photo courtesy of Casa WF (above)

Note the difference in sand in this picture, none of those rocks in the first picture are showing yet.

Well, that's all for now, hope everyone stays safe from their "winter storms", stay tuned...the adventure continues!

Manta friends

I'm sure you all thought we had gotten washed away...almost two weeks since a post, lo siento! (I'm sorry, in Spanish)

Well, we survived the high tides, we had to do some sweeping, and shoveling of sand, but no damage. High tide coincided with happy hour, so we sat out with a drink and watched the water come closer and closer, and then slept well knowing we weren't going to drown! 

We invited our Manta friends, whom we met at the weekend of the air show, (a blog readers family) to have a day at the beach on Saturday. We had lots of snacks and a cool overcast day, good conversation and a very nice afternoon.

Our friend Felipe's cousin Soledad, here with Mike and I. She lived in the States for a couple of years, so her English is very good, and their daughter is learning English in school, so it was a fun mix of English and Spanish for the afternoon festivities.

The girls were very interested in all the crafty stuff I do, and we talked about Pinterest and all things recycled most of the day. They live near the beach too, but don't get the shells we do, they couldn't believe all the fun ones we'd found.

Later at low tide, the boys took a walk down to the Boca and Mike showed Rubelly and Samuel the Mangalar tower, little Samuel loved it! What a great place for a five year old boy!!

The day was a huge success, all the kids (even ours) were very well behaved, and we have plans for an outing after Carnivale. 

At one point the fishermen were coming in, so Rubelly went to help push the boat to shore, and was rewarded with fish and some small crabs. Our shrimp guy came by and gave them my "family discount" and they took home plenty of seafood for cheap!

They really enjoyed getting to hang with us, under the new shade, and right on the beach. We are so thankful for getting to visit with our blog reader Felipe, and for him introducing us to his wonderful family. Thanks again Felipe! Hope you are well, as for your family, they are doing great!

Carnivale is early Feb this year, and I'm trying to get some shell and painted driftwood things made for sale, so I've only got a couple more weeks, yikes! Then we will plan an outing with Soledad and Rubelly, either to a monkey reserve, or another beach community, Frailes...whatever we do, we know we'll have good food, and great company, so stay tuned, the adventure continues!