May 5 - boating / more canucks

I wasn't sure how this would work out but was pleasantly surprised.  In reality, 1.5-2.0 hours on a boat isn't all that long.  I didn't want to go on a cattle boat, however, so we paid the boat fare rather than the per-person ($5 per person vs $120 per boat).  That was well worth it.

We really didn't go far, simply along the coast to what's known as Chocolatera (whirlpool), that I guess used to exist, and back.  On the way back we stopped out on the ocean and went for a swim.  That was great.

Our neighbours arrived and we were introduced -- from Alliston.  The 11th floor in this place used to be one big condo but was divided up along the way into two.  Other floors are also divided into two condos, split down the middle, both with balconies.  Ours, is split differently -- we have the front side, with a huge balcony; they have the back side, as it were, with none.

They had the tent next to us on the beach but we didn't fraternize down there.  After beach time, they joined us on our balcony for a drink.  Jas and Lo are going to give them the key to the place while we go to Quito, so they can use the balcony.  What are new friends for ?

Nice people.  The one couple just flew in while the other has been in Ecuador for two weeks; one week in Quito and one in the Galapagos.  We talked about the latter and have planned our 1.5 days in Quito around their advice.  The only issue is that their travel company, Gulliver Expeditions, website is down.  We'll give them a call when they open in an hour.

So, the plan is that we take a flight around 9pm tonight to Quito, from the airport that's just about 1km away from this condo.  We've got reservations in Quito for two nights.  On Sunday, late in the day, we fly back to Guayaquil while Jason, Lo and Kim fly back to Salinas.  We've then got a couple of hours before we fly from Guayaquil to Miami.  That will be one very long day.

That's about it ... onward !