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Lisa gets robbed again

I got my wallet stolen on the bus ride from hell. We were on an overnight bus from Puerto Lopez to Quito. For part of the bus ride I was sitting in the aisle seat and I’m guessing someone took it from my purse while I was enjoying a good gravol induced sleep. I only got 65$ taken along with my Canadian ID card, health insurance card and my Ecuadorian residency card. It sucks but I’m guessing that whoever took my money needed it more than me.


Puerto Lopez

Other than that the beach was a great time. Since it’s the rainy reason in Ecuador there wasn’t a lot of sun but it was still beautiful. Puerto Lopez is this tiny little fishing town with great waves and a beautiful beach. We ate some great seafood, had some lovely pina coladas, and basically relaxed all weekend on the beach. The hostel we stayed at was lovely; it was right on the beach and was surrounded by beautiful flowers and butterflies. There was a little Brazilian restaurant in the hostel and they served organic coffee and chocolate. The owners also had a huge dog named Scooby; he was some sort of Dalmatian and other giant dog mix.

Valle de los Manduriacos (Loofas)

Last Monday and Tuesday I visited the Valle de los Manduriacos, where the loofah cooperative is. It is an incredibly beautiful community and I am very excited to start working there in December. The area is sub tropic so it is full of lush green plants and beautiful flowers. There are lots of bugs, mosquitoes, and cockroaches too. I will be working on various projects within the cooperative such as administrative things- taking inventory, and organizing and shipping orders. I will also be sorting and packaging organic grains- corn, beans, soy nuts and lentils. The community also makes organic liquor from cane sugar and fruits, and once the new roof is put on the building I will be making some rum. (I know it’s like a dream come true!) And of course I will be making a few loofahs. It was very exciting to see all of the new loofah designs that they have created. There are now loofah penguins, loofah carrots, loofah turtles, and loofah lobsters.

When I am working there I will be renting my own little wood cabin, nothing too fancy- bunk beds with mosquito netting, with a simple bathroom and kitchen. Although I will have my very own hammock and little balcony so I can relax and watch the roosters and pigs. There is also a little store that sells everything from ketchup to propane, and a small restaurant that serves simple meals like fried fish or fried chicken, rice, beans and juice for 2$.

Tuesday Afternoon

So for lunch today my host grandmother prepared this Ecuadorian speciality, apparently it is really popular in Guayaquil and on the coast. I should also explain that I was a vegetarian for 10 years and just starting eating meat again in August in preparation for my trip to Ecuador. So as I take my first bite, I’m thinking gee this meat is rubbery and chewy and kind of tastes weird. It was cow intestines. It took a while for me to get this out of them, at first it was just carne de res, then carne de vaca, then estomago. At first I had thought it might have been lamb, but I had forgotten the word for lamb so I just started making lamb noises, which didn’t turn out well. Luckily they weren’t offended that I didn’t like it, it was kind of like the ceviche incident all over again. Ceviche is raw seafood marinated in garlic sauce. So that’s my little take on meat in Ecuador. The chicken is delicious, as is the seafood when it is cooked and your on the coast of the country.

I am on way to pick up season one and two of LOST from this nice man that owns a bootleg dvd store. I cannot possibly explain my happiness over this! Its kind of strange the things I am missing…. my bicycle….joel plaskett cd’s…..breakfast at the pyramid café…..and LOST!!!!