Our first three days in Ecuador have been incredible! We arrived at our hostel, Hostel Saiananda, in Bahia, Ecuador Thursday after many hours of travel by plane and bus. We arrived early Friday morning, got a couple hours of sleep and awoke to a delicious breakfast of local fruit, eggs, and homemade bread. After some bonding activities, we set out on our first adventure, a scavenger hunt through Bahia. Our leaders, Drew and Amanda, split us up into pairs, gave us a bit of money and sent us out to catch the bus. We all ended up getting off the bus about a mile out of town, which took everyone a little while to figure out, but each group figured their way to the center of town. Our scavenger hunts took us to every corner of town. We had to find out information about local hostels, museums, and transportation for later trips. They also encouraged us to talk to locals about the politics in Ecuador and the daily lives of locals. We reconvened back at the hostel at 6:30 for dinner and discussions about the day.
Our next day was absolutely amazing. We traveled to Isla del Sol, an island made completely of mud and mangrove trees. It didnt take us long to get covered from head to toe in mud. The minerals seeped into our skin while we bathed in the mud and explored through the tangled mangrove trees. Before we headed back to the hostel we made sure to have a rousing game of mud tunnel tag and a few wrestling matches. It was an incredible and spiritual experience for all. We headed out of the hostel right after lunch today, thanking all the people that worked there and the exotic animals that woke us up in the morning.
We are now in Canoa, a town a bit north of Bahia heading to Rio Muchacho, an organic farm for the week. The truck has arrived to take us to the farm, so we must sign off. We are all soaking in the new experiences and cant wait for more to follow.
Love to all,
your bloggers,
Claire and Eli
