We feel a little iffy about bringing electronics to the beach. Guayaquil and the coast get a bad rep from the rest of Ecuador. According to many, all the bad people live on the coast. Which I just don't believe is entirely true. A new big prison was built in Cuenca and someone told us that it houses all the criminals from Guayaquil. That being said, when in Guayaquil stopped at a light, a boy offered to wash our windshield. We said, no thank you and he continued to linger at my open window peering into the car. I really got the feeling that if there was something valuable within his reach, he would've stolen it. I can't know for sure because there wasn't anything of value within reach, but that's the vibe I got. Also gotta add, we never drove a car in Cuenca or Quito so... the experiences aren't equal. When we were in Quito, we were told that the Mountain people in Cuenca whisper behind each other's backs. There's a lot of regional prejudice here, very similar to the way it is between the east and west in Canada and places in the USA. So Ecuador is just a normal country. 

We brought our camera to the beach and I felt no risk of it being stolen. We did clip the backpack to the chairs and umbrella. 

I love the beach! There are so many vendors selling all sorts of things! We bought empanadas, green mangos with lime juice and salt and sweet plantain chips topped with a drizzle of mayo and cheese. Sounds totally weird and gross but it was out of this world delicious! Would eat again! 

All three of my girls love the ocean. They could swim all day. Things I wish I brought (in our carry-on luggage!) include sun shirts and a wrist to ankle swimsuit for Maeve. Greta got a little too much sun yesterday. I myself spend a lot of time under the umbrella because the sunshine here is strong! 

It's a little tricky to balance out Conor still working a few more days while we are here, but I just have to hang in there until Wednesday and then he's on vacation. And let's be honest, I'm on the coast in Ecuador. There's challenges, but it's also amazing! 

Maeve is learning to smile for the camera! And she discovered that the only thing better than swimming in the ocean is swimming in the ocean naked! I rinsed the sand off of her and she screamed and wailed when I took her out to a towel and a diaper. Baby girl is definitely my daughter! 

We are in Salinas now. I felt a lot of sadness leaving Cuenca, and a lot of gratitude that we could spend 7 and a half weeks in such an amazing place and make some really great friends! Salinas is a small beach town. This year is a very dry year - it's only rained 3 times so says a local. Which is great because that means there aren't so many mosquitoes. The town is a little sleepy. April and May are the tail-end of the hot season and it's definitely a little cooler than when we were here in March which is totally fine with me! The temperature is still great for hanging out at the beach! We went to a little french restaurant one night for dinner and it was really good, really fresh. We were the only ones eating there and, with kids that's rather freeing. Maeve wants to hold both my hands and walk around all the time and what else can I do other than indulge her? We all know she's the boss. She also really needs to learn how to walk soon! So I gotta support her in that. Bonus, Maeve sat in her high chair for a little bit! Anyways, it was a fun night. 

We assumed that our drive to the coast would take us through Cajas National Park, but our route did not and by the time we realized, it was too late. I was sorely disappointed. I really wanted to hike in the park one more time for a longer distance. Sometimes I have a hard time shaking these kinds of disappointments off. Stopping at this restaurant helped me cheer up. What an experience! I mean, check out that bare lightbulb! We ate lunch cooked in a stove built into the hillside! Lunch was mote (a type of corn), potatoes and lamb or sheep. And it was delicious! Those pots in the stove (or oven?) are traditional clay pots. It just doesn't get much more rustic than this! And no surprise, the lady making and serving all the food was so sweet and kind. 

For a couple days, we had some pretty cool upstairs neighbors. They are a family of 3 who have been living in Latin America for 8 months and will continue on indefinitely. We went out to dinner and ice cream with them one night because Conor and I both wanted to ask them lots of questions about their experience thus far. We had the best time swapping stories and laughing. What a treat to meet such a neat family! This will be us when Maeve is 12!

One of our last times with our dear friends Monica, Gustavo, Juanito and Nicole.