Vacation

Ok, so it´s been a long time. First, I went on vacation for about two weeks. I´ve been back for two weeks, but have been pretty busy with the start of classes, so I kinda dropped off the radar. So let me catch you up.

Robin came to visit for my two-week break. We spent most of the first week in Quito, seeing sites like the historical district of the city, El Centro, and taking the TeleferiQo up the mountain to enjoy a nice view of the city. We also spent some time with some friends and took some Salsa classes together. We were planning on going to nearby Papallata to enjoy the natural hot springs, but the trip kept getting delayed until it just didn´t happen.

After a week things picked up a bit. We went with a bunch of friends to Atacames, a busy little beach town. It was pretty touristy, but cool in that we were staying basically right on the beach, and there was a long series of open bars/clubs on the sand that you could wander in and out of at night. We only stayed for two or three days, but it was a good time. The only problem is that everyone serves the exact same dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was no variety and after a few days I thought I would never want to eat rice again. (Rice is a staple of Ecuadorian cuisine, to the point that Ecuadorians cannot wrap their heads around the idea of a meal that doesn´t include rice.)

After a short break of a day or two back in Quito, Robin and I went to Baños. It is another touristy town, but a little more chill than Atacames. It is in the mountains and is known more for it´s cool adventure sports. We went whitewater rafting, which was a great time, and also took a tour of a series of waterfalls in the area.

All in all, I had a nice vacation. I´ll definitely be going back to Baños, and I´m going to be on the coast near Atacames again this weekend.

It was back to work for me, however, about two weeks ago. But I don´t mind too much. I´m enjoying teaching for the most part. It´s probably the best job I´ve ever had. And it´s only another six weeks before I get another vacation. Haha! I love it!

Anyway. Oddly enough I ended up taking almost no pictures at all during my vacation. Sorry guys. But I assure you that I still look basically the same. Maybe I´ll take a few at the beach this weekend. No promises though. It´s a pain--and a bit dangerous--to wander around with anything valuable, like a cammera.

Hasta la proxima vez.