Ecuador 2012: Hitting the beach

After our awesome time in Guayaquil we decided to head up the coast and find out what Ecuadorian beaches are all about. While there may be prettier beaches in the world, they do have an undeniably addictive vibe. There's nothing like sitting on the beach, beer in hand, watching the waves and enjoying the best fish and ceviche the country has to offer. 

The coast is dotted with small fishing villages. The perfect atmosphere to relax and unwind…

A local shaper putting the finishing touches on a new longboard.

I think I heard that local guy in tan pants say “Are gringos falling from the sky?!?”

Yeah… just a few bags. When you’re traveling with a crew of 12—some of which have been traveling for a long, long time—finding where to stash the bags after checkout / before bus ride is a tough challenge. Thankfully, once again the brotherhood helped out—more than once on this trip we had local friends we didn’t know offer to watch our bags for us!

This is the sorriest excuse for a batmobile I have ever seen.

Our group. All Kiwi’s except for a few of us. The accent started rubbing off, and by the end of the trip we all sounded like Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords.

Montecristi is a great place to buy handicrafts—and oddly enough, the birthplace of the Panama hat (who knew?!?).

Panama hats for sale. I was kinda disappointed this guy didn’t have them all stacked on top of his head. I bet he’d sell way more that way!

One of many beautiful sunsets along the coast.

Fishing boat.

Ecuador 2012: Staying in Guayaquil

Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, and by all accounts one of the dangerous and least picturesque.   However we needed to stay there to attend the convention. Thankfully one of our friends here in Tarija is from Guayaquil, and he arranged for us to stay with some of his friends in the city. That's one of the amazing things about the brotherhood of Jehovah's Witnesses—we were able to show up at the house of complete strangers and instantly we were like family! They treated us incredibly well, the hospitality they showed went way beyond what we expected.

Here’s us with Ana Contreras and her mom. They made us promise to come back some day!

Our room at the Contreras’ house. We had the upstairs bedroom, complete with hammock!

The malecón (boardwalk) in Guayaquil. One of the few places in town you don’t have to worry about getting mugged and/or killed.

This is an Ecuadorian drink Ana made for us every day. It’s made from a type of sweet tomato that grows on a tree (OK, maybe it’s not a tomato at all, but they call it one). Most deliciously refreshing!

Ceviche is a national dish in Ecuador. Ana made some shrimp ceviche for us the first night we arrived. Served with some sweet tomato juice and fried bananas, it was incredible!

  

Ana kept us supplied with an endless variety of rare tropical fruits (rare for us anyway, in Ecuador I'm sure they practically grow on trees). This one is a type of passion fruit. Crack it open and the pulpy fruit makes a great snack. One of the most amazing fruits we’ve ever tasted.

Ecuador 2012: District Convention

So what made us decide to visit Ecuador in the first place? The impetus for our visit was the 2012 District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It happens to be one of the only English conventions in South America, and is organized every year by the branch in Ecuador. There are many English-speaking JW volunteers in Ecuador—the convention had an attendance of about 1000 each day—so it’s a chance for everyone to hear and experience the program in their native tongue.

There were delegates at the convention from UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US, and other countries, and we made lots of new friends. The program was incredible—nearly every speaker was a graduate of Gilead, a CO, DO, missionary, or branch committee member. Since almost everyone there was like us—volunteering in another country—it was great to share experiences, tips, and get a feeling for how others have coped with common problems and challenges we all share.

The convention was at an assembly hall on the branch property. Despite it being an open-air venue, and near the equator, it was surprisingly pleasant and breezy. The grounds are full of iguanas and interesting birds.

Lunch time!

Sam, Michael, and our new Ecuadorian friend Diego, who joined shared a taxi with us each day to the convention.

Here's the contingent representing Bolivia—five americans, three Kiwis, and one Canadian!

The assembly hall was quite empty in the early morning before the program started...

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Ecuador 2012: Whales off the port bow!

So we recently visited Ecuador—much more on that later—and went whale watching (among other things). We just happened to be there during the best two-week window of the year for seeing humpback whales. And they didn't disappoint. Check out the photos below!