Day 11

It’s our first day in Puerto Lopez! After a wonderful  beachside breakfast, we headed to Machalilla de National. There, we did a short hike up to a beautiful vista. We all were sweaty and a bit tired, but the wind and the scenery made it all worth it.

Then we walked to Turtle beach in hopes of seeing some turtles. While we didn’t see any, I got to swim and relax in the water while the boys were having chicken fights and trying to do flips! We walked along the cliffs a bit as well and got some really cool photos, just enjoying ourselves.

We took the bus back and then walked into Puerto Lopez for some lunch and shopping! There were some cute restaurants on the beach that we went to and the kitchen was on the other side of the road which I think is a cool idea. I am getting better at haggling and bought a bracelet on the way back to the hotel!

We went back to the hotel to relax a bit and ended up watching the sunset on the beach. It was incredible and Anna and I danced while the boys played soccer with some locals. The sunset was incredible and we all had a good time getting to relax and talk.

After that, we headed back into town for some salsa lessons. We weren’t experts by any means by the end of our hour long lesson, but I loved learning to salsa and it was so much fun! 

Day 12

It’s our last full day in Puerto Lopez and we woke up early to get on a hour boat ride out to Isla de la Plaza. It was a little rough for me since I get motion sickness, but I made it! At the island, we went on a hike around the island that was about 6 miles. While it was a hot and a long hike, it was worth it because we saw so many different species of birds like blue footed boobies! 

The part where we walk along the cliffs was amazing and looked unreal. I got a little too much sun, but it was worth all of the different things we got to see. 

We had some lunch on the boat which was well deserved after our hike and got to see some sea turtles! There were four total and they were majestic. I am so happy that we got to see them!

Some of us were invited to sit at the front of the boat on the way to the snorkeling spot! It was super cool and we got a splashed here and there  because of the waves. On the way, we saw sea lions! This was one of my favorite moments on the trip because of the ocean air and just all of the amazing things we got to see.

I haven’t snorkeled in the middle of the ocean before, but it was a lot of fun! I saw a bunch of different species of fish, my favorite was a Blue Tang, like Dory! The water was really salty and felt great. I was so tired on the boat ride back that I slept for most of it, but we got to see a pod of dolphins! They were hard to photograph, so I just enjoyed seeing them jump out of the water a few times and swim around the boat!

Day 13

Today we said goodbye to Ecuador. It has been such an amazing trip, and I got to experience so many new things. We spent the day traveling a lot, but we stoped at a hacienda on the way to the airport. There, we got to try a frozen drink made from cacao fruit. It was delicious! We also got to see the fermentation process up close, which was a part of the chocolate making process we didn’t previously see in depth.

 After that, we left Guayaquil and flew back to Quito. It was a short flight so I didn’t sleep, but I slept the whole time on the flight at 11:59 from Quito to Atlanta which was good. We arrived in Atlanta around 7 AM. There were eight of us, including me, flew into Philadelphia, along with two others who were going to Newark . Sachi suggested to go see Coca Cola World since we had a 7-8 hour layover. It wasn’t very far away, so the ten of us got Ubers and headed over. I really enjoyed this because it was a fun thing for us to all do together one last time.

Going on this trip was truly the chance of a life time and I am so thankful for the opportunity. I learned a lot and had so much fun at the same time.

Thank you for following my adventures in Ecuador!

Maddie