Day 7 (Into Ecuador)

Sunday, January 21, 2018

We all woke up around 7 so that we could quickly get around, eat breakfast, and finish packing. The plan was to leave the hotel at 8 so that we could be on time to see the turtles. However, time isn’t something that Peruvians particularly like to follow. This meant that our breakfast was served very late, meaning we left the hotel quite late.  

Hoping to be on time and swim with the turtles wasn’t quite enough. We ended up getting to the beach around an hour late. The turtles hadn’t left the area, but the tide had changed, meaning the men wouldn’t let us enter to swim with the turtles (because it could be a dangerous situation depending on the swimming level of the person). We did; however, get to see the turtles. There were probably around 10-15 all swimming around. Because we couldn’t swim with the turtles, we returned to the hotel with the promise we would try again when we went back south. 

Once back at the hotel, we showered, and than hit the road, heading north to the city Tumbes, Perú (about 45 minutes from Ecuador). We ate lunch, visited the Plaza de Armas, and walked around a little bit. We then hit the bus again, and headed a bit further north to ECUADOR! Having been illegal in Perú for some time, I was a little nervous to attempt and leave the country. Thankfully, it went without a hitch, and I was able to enter a brand new country!  :)

Ater we all made it in (no one had a problem), we all went to go board the bus that would be taking us to Guayaquil (where our hotel was and the city activities were). The drive was not too long, but certainly not 30 minutes. My first thoughts of Ecuador were lots of positive ones. It was beautifully green, we kept passing giant fields of banana tree. But of course we passed families that live in poverty too. Before long, the sun had set, obstructing our first glimpses of Ecuador. Not being able to see, Jeanne and I decided we would have a dance party to celebrate our arrival. Pretty soon the whole bus was involved, singing and dancing our way into Guayquil. 

Once we arrived at the hotel, we all waited, got our room numbers, and quickly headed up to our rooms before we went to dinner. We quickly ate our rice, beef, and drank our fresh fruit juice before we went back to the rooms to shower and sleep.