Sunday morning, bright and early, we travelled the 3 hours to Manchala. It was quite a scenic drive, as some of the mountains were luscious and tree-covered, just as all the other mountains we had seen earlier in the week. However, there were also those that appeared to be a bit dehydrated. We were informed that it was the result of a rain shadow. When clouds try to go over the mountains, sometimes they are too heavy, and have to release some of their water, which is why the Andes are usually quite luscious. However, once the clouds are light enough to get over the mountains, they have released almost all of their water. Therefore, they have no more water to release on the other side/section of the mountains, which is why you can go from covered in trees, to covered in dust. Nonetheless, all the mountains are gorgeous.
Once in Manchala, we headed out into the Gulf in our cute, little boat, that thankfully had a cover over it. Still, we had to wear hats and plenty of sunscreen during our boat ride, because the Ultra Violet rays from the sun were so strong there, that they could penetrate the cover that was over us. Remember, we were literally on the Equator, at sea level; it doesn't get much hotter than that. On our boat ride, we rode past a little island that we were informed was the place where all the seagulls make their nests. We also rode past Dead Man's Branch, where it is said, if you stay there long enough, you can hear voices. Kinda creepy, right? We also rode past several groups of fishermen, trying to earn a living. Can you imagine, as a teenager, spending your weekends sitting out on the hot Gulf, for hours at a time? I don't know about you, but I would much rather be sitting in air conditioning, and watching a movie, but a lot of people around the world don't have that choice, if they want to be able to eat.
Our first stop on our boat tour, was a beach. Our original plan was to do some swimming on that beach, but, due to all the recent rain in Manchala, tons and tons of trash had been washed up onto the beach, so we elected not to swim in the plastic bottles. We did walk around a little bit, and discovered dozens of tiny crabs. They were so cute! However, they were much more on the cautious side, to say the least. We could not get within a couple feet of them, and not scare them off. We also saw four different types of Mangrove trees; red, white, black, and another one that I can't remember the name of. After our boating adventure, we headed back to the city, and enjoyed a meal of fried corvina (which is the best fish on the planet).
On our way back to Cuenca that afternoon, we were caught in the aftermath of a banana truck that had busted an axle, or something like that. We had to try and get our bus around the banana truck, with only about 5 feet of road space. Thankfully, our driver, Kleber, is amazing! We all applauded when he got us through. Once back in Cuenca, we enjoyed a luxury that all of us missed from the U.S.; Papa John's pizza! It was good too! Then it was scanning the channels for anything in English, and off to bed.
Yesterday was our chill day. We all slept in, and hung out around the hotel in the morning. After lunch, we went on an excursion to a nearby museum, where we were able to explore some ancient Mayan ruins. Among the things we saw were the barracks of some of the Mayan soldiers, a house that was reserved for only the finest women, that were specifically chosen to be allowed to live there, and then there was a tomb. One of the things we learned was that Sasha gets cell service in a tomb to the Underworld. That's not something you hear everyday. Then we wandered around the local supermarket, where we purchased some essentials that we would need for the rest of the week, as well as some SUGAR!!!! We were also finally able to find some peanut butter! Yes! That, along with some bread, was our dinner last night. Then it was rummy and a little English television, then bed.
This morning, we all went in separate directions. Mr. Brumbarger went off doing all of his work stuff, Tanner was hanging with some fellow American friends, and the rest of us, together with our new friend Maria walked through the city of Cuenca. Our first stop was a museum. One of the displays was composed entirely of Nativity Scenes from all over the world. Some of the materials used were wax, oxen horns, grass, silver, marble, wood, glass, and gourds. It is spectacular to see different countrys' interpretations of the Nativity Scene. After eating some delicious "pan de yuca" which is a type of bread that is made from a local vegetable called yuca, we headed off to a Panama Hat factory. That is really ironic, because all those hats are made in Ecuador, not in Panama, but oh well. We all left that place with hats on our heads, and don't worry, we totally paid for them. Then it was back to the hotel for lunch. We still don't know what exactly we ate, or how much it costed, but it was wonderful, so it doesn't really matter.
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| This is the hat Hudson SHOULD have gotten. I think it's his color. |
Our next adventure was our trip to a few local malls. Surprisingly, they are very, very similar to the malls we are used to in America. Sasha and I discovered happiness in that mall; chocolate-covered strawberries! Oh my gosh they were absolutely delicious! Like happiness on a stick. Anyway, after we got our fill of the malls, it was back to the hotel once again, to meet up with the rest of our group. Tonight, we are going to be attending the youth group at a local church, so that should be interesting.
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| Ancient Mayan tomb.....and Sasha has cell service. |
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