We, and 7 college students, left Quito while it was still dark and quiet on the streets. As we wound our way up and down through mountains and more tropical regions, we worked our way towards the coast. The 10-12 hour bus trip took us 9.5. Either our driver was going to get us there really fast or not at all.
Puerto Lopez was a colorless coastal town with mototaxis running people around on the dirt streets. One had a lone goat in the back. I wasn't sure who was taking whom for a ride. It was desert, few trees (no leaves right now) and cacti, but the hosteria was like an oasis, overlooking the town and bay. The pool on the side of the hill spilled over the far edge, looking like it was cascading towards the ocean. It was a view right out of national geographic. We could see the ocean from bed! The food was wonderful and the landscaping beautiful.
The weather was overcast and rainy, but we enjoyed swimming and picnicking nonetheless. The whale watching tour we went on was by far the best thing of the entire weekend. We spotted 2 whales about 15 minutes into the tour and followed them for a couple of hours. They come to have their young in warmer Ecuadorean waters. It was quite a thrill to watch them breach the water and hear them spout. We turned around to head back when three whales swam under our small boat. The third one jumped 20 feet off our bow, crashing down and turning the water to blue foam. The guide's eyes got really big and her face turned as white as the belly's of the whales. We had no idea that this wasn't a normal part of a tour. It left us all speechless. Watch out Jonah, here we come!
The group ended the day by snorkeling off a small island complete with the famous blue footed boobies from the Galapagos! It seemed that the Lord just kept on giving and giving us blessings. I was able to enjoy much of our time and be with the group!
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