South America...Great!!! We got on a boat at the Guayaquil yacht club and skimmed the surface of the Pacific Ocean for 2 hours. We arrived at our destination and pulled up to a small deck leading to an island dedicated to Biocentinela's shrimping. What an interesting place! To give you an idea of what the last month has been for us here are some buenos y malos (highs and lows).
Smelling the ocean air as our boat captain navigated through mangrove pathways, destination Jontec Island...bueno. Weeks later getting stuck in the mud and having to wait in the ocean for 45 minutes on a wooden boat until the tide rose was not comforting...malo.
Choclo con queso fresco, so delicious on a cold morning when you're excited to try new things...bueno. Queso fresco three days in a row and nothing with flavor to help you choke it down...malo.
Three large meals a day in the company of the nicest people you would want to be stuck on an island with...bueno. Large portions of rice three times a day...with queso fresco on top for a treat...malo.
Watching everyone communicate with three deaf guys even though no one knows proper sign languauge. Some how they could all understand each other and everything worked beautifully...bueno.
Being married and spending mornings rowing with my spouse on serene lakes feeding shrimp, listening to egrets and basking in the sun...que bueno. Tasting the microorganisms that the shrimp get....whoa, malo.
Watching B rated movies after dinner dubbed over really badly in Spanish, then barely being able to keep our eyes open before dragging ourselves to bed around 7:45 p.m., priceless and oh so bueno. Being awaken from wonderful dream filled sleep at 4 a.m. by cross bred rooster chicken birds...malo.
Mateo becoming a top notch futbol goalie and helping his team win two days in a row, he was never scored on...bueno
Fishing for shrimp at midnight until almost sunrise was a first for both of us. It was dark, cold and a lot of work...bueno. Preparing the drained lakes for new crops of shrimp is dirty work. We walked through mud above our knees throwing lime and bokashi (a japanese organic mixture for the bottom of the lake). Good process (organic) but thick stinky mud...malo.
Getting our feet sliced up by sea shells. If you've never done it you might not know that shells are like razor blades and if you step on them with no shoes they cut your feet like butter. The worst is trying to sleep because they sting for days. I only had a few but both of Mateo's feet were sliced to pieces...malo
It was overall really really good. Eat organic shrimp if you get a chance, it's great! We left the farm and stayed in Guayaquil at the company house for a couple days before making our way back to Quito...
So what did we do when we got to Quito? We walked for an hour in the dark at 5 a.m., since we couldn't get on the local bus with our big backpacks, found our hostel and prepared ourselves for home. That's right...after 9 months of adventure our next destination was set for The United States...and we're BACK! Maybe we'll be in a city near you soon!
We want to thank everyone for travelling with us. We can't tell you how much it meant to us to have your presence. You really helped pull us through some tough times. We can't wait to see you all and hear what you have been up to. We are still working on elements from the trip so keep checking back for updated pictures through the end of our trip. New photos should be up in the next week or so. We will continue to use the blog for future travel and updates on some of the projects we plan to continue to support so don't throw away the address. Again, thank you so much and we should see you soon.
salaam
Mateo and Joronda
