Beaches and Ballenas!

I just got home from an incredible beach vacation in Puerto Lopez with Shannon and my host sister Pauli! Even though it took us 16 hours to get there, 12 to get back, and we were only there for 2 days total, it was well worth it! We spent Sunday out on a boat whale watching, going to Isla de la Plata, and snorkeling, then relaxed on the beach all day Monday, happy to be out of the cold! The whales were unbelievable. On the way to the island we saw a pod of 8-10 adult humpback whales (ballenas) VERY close to the boat. The guides told us they were all males following and courting one female, which made it exciting for us because we saw several of them breach, and lots of tails poking out of the water. At one point the whales swam under the boat and came up right alongside us! Even the guides were excited about it, so I think we got very lucky! On the island, Isla de la Plata, we got to see many blue footed boobies, enjoy the strange mating dances, and hear their funny calls all along the hike. We also saw hundreds of frigit birds (fargatas) in a favorite mating site on the island, with the males throats all puffed and red to attract the females. From there we went snorkeling off the island where we got to see a little bit of coral a few neat, big, colorful fish! The way back was even more exciting when we came across a momma and baby whale. The guides said the baby was very young and he was just loving life. He leapt from the water every few minutes, which was quite the site right near the boat!

We spent almost the entire day on the beach Monday, which I’m regretting with the sunburn now, but was quite wonderful. There were 6 other volunteers there, so we hung out with them a lot, which was nice because I hadn’t seen them since November. I also got to see Kirsten, a good friend of Kathleen’s from Baltimore who I met a few times at CC. She was visiting Ecuador with a tour, so we hung out with her group a bit.  Eating lunch on Monday, I ran into an old friend who I grew up with and haven’t seen in about 5 years, so it was funny to randomly run into her on a beach in Ecuador!

We decided to take a night bus home on Monday instead of losing another 16 hours of travelling during the day, so we left Puerto Lopez at 7pm and got into Shannon’s site at Tisaleo at 7am. We spent the morning resting in Tisaleo, then went into Ambato to get our nails done, do some shopping, and enjoy our last day of vacation!

I went to work at the foundation today where I made apple cobbler with the kids, which was a huge hit! The baking group has been the most successful part of summer classes because the kids all love it, and they enjoy having a little dessert after lunch! We have made cookies, carrot cake, tres leches cake, and now cobbler. Hopefully I will be able to continue with the baking group once regular classes begin again in September, although it’s harder when the kids have homework that they have to get done. Tomorrow I am only going to the foundation to check in for a few minutes before I leave to catch a bus to the Amazon. I am going to meet up with the medical brigade in Misahualli tomorrow night and begin working with them Friday, which I’m looking forward to. It should be a great experience!

Tomorrow is the last day of classes, then the foundation closes for the rest of August so they can do some repairs and have a little time off before regular classes begin again in September. I can’t believe how quickly time is flying – we are just 2 weeks away from completing one year of service, which means there is only 1 year to go! I’m looking forward to our mid-service conference in September to see everyone again, then in October my parents are coming for another visit!

I am keeping busy with extra activities since things have been slower at the foundation, but things are always hectic there. Last week we took 36 kids on a trip to Chambo, just outside of Riobamba, to do an exchange with another KNH foundation in the area. It was a sports day, so we had a young boys’ team, a girls’ team, and a teenage boys’ team. There was of course of election of the sports princess, and then my group presented the traditional dance. All of the bosses from the KNH office in Riobamba were there and loved the dance, so that was good and my counterpart was happy. All of this happened before lunch, and after lunch all the kids went swimming (because we were at a little ranch). I was elected to go into the pool to help with the kids since neither they nor the adults know how to swim. Luckily it all ended well and it was a lot of fun just hanging out with the kids!

I’m still working on my embroidery, so hopefully next time we have to present the dance, I will be wearing my own blouse! We’ll see…might not get it done that quickly.

Cora is doing well – someone commented on how fat she was the other day, but she is really just well fed, unlike many of the dogs here. Her ego was only a little bit hurt. She and Precioso are still best buds, and I’m so happy to have a family that doesn’t mind taking care of her for me when I’m gone. It is so much less stressful leaving when I know that she is in good hands, getting fed, and playing freely all day!

Those are the updates for now! Things are going very, very well and I will have more updates about the jungle in the next few weeks. I hope everyone at home is doing well – I miss you all!

Un abrazo,

Kerry