On a Boat

Our flight arrived in Ecuador around 11pm. By the time we went through immigration and customs it was almost 12. We were greeted at the airport as planned and were all happy to see our host families and be quickly taken off to our respective beds for the night. After finally getting some good sleep, we all reconvened at the Salinas Yacht Club. Where Rotarian Luis has a beautiful sailboat.

Salinas is about 2 hours west from Guayaquil. It is a smaller city that is known for its sports fishing and water sport activities. Once everyone was on the boat we set sail and traveled about an hour along the coastline. It took about that long for some of us to get our sea legs and the rough waters didn’t help. The beautiful blue green water of the South Pacific Ocean and views of land, as well as the delightful company did however.

We set sail again after resting for a bit and ended up in a cove near the beach. Maddy and Sherrilynn were brave enough to test the waters and went for a swim. While both claimed that the water was warmer than it ever is in San Diego, the rest of us just decided to take their word for it. After some tasty lunch of tuna and olive sandwiches and encebollado de albacore (fish soup with onions, yucca, and cilantro) followed by sweet vanilla gelatin (like flan) covered with fresh strawberry sauce, we headed back to port.

We were out on the water for at least a good 3 hours. And while we might have been grateful to be back on solid ground, we were more grateful for the experience and the day to simply relax and enjoy our time.

Tomorrow we are headed to our first school. It is a Rotary school that has made incredible gains and it is home to one of the mechanical cows. If you would like to know what that is, you’ll have to check back in tomorrow.