Carnaval

Carnaval is pretty much a 4-day long water fight and huge party during the rainy season in February. Things here started on Friday night, when we were hanging out in a beach hut with a few friends and got eggs smashed on our heads by some other people we knew. Saturday, it was time for revenge! Jorge, Denise and I walked along the beach in the afternoon, armed with colourful foam spray and ended up swimming in the ocean in our clothes. That evening, we went down to the boardwalk armed with the foam and 2 dozen eggs :) In between playing Carnaval, we fit in some dancing and by the time we wandered home around 3:00am we were covered in foam spray, eggs and flour - yum!
Sunday, I made a point of staying in the house so that I wouldn’t get wet/ egged. In the evening, we made chocolate fondue at Denise and Jorge’s place and watched a movie. I stayed over there so that at 4:45am Jorge and I could walk down the road to buy Guantanamera. It’s a rich wild boar stew type dish with a peanut plantain sauce that a lady sells early every Monday morning for the fishermen. That night, we went on the Ferris wheel with Jorge’s sister Vanessa and then out dancing.
This morning I went paragliding! We went to the top of a sea cliff with Jorge’s friend who is a paraglider. Once we were all strapped in, the sail lifted off the ground and we had to run off the side of the mountain. Once airborne, we just sat back and relaxed :) It’s such a beautiful sensation of just gliding in the open air, over the seaside hills and beautiful white sand beaches. Definitely a must do!
I just finished packing my pack and luckily everything fits in! I leave Puerto Lopez this evening. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Ecuador for more than 3 weeks. Time just flies! I’m taking an overnight bus (10+ hours) to Quito, where I will spend a week with my host families and friends before flying to Brazil.