December 30, 2024
GUAYAQUIL, PUERTO LOPEZ & AQUA BLANCA, ECUADOR
Christmas Morning, I left the Ship, with 5 others, for the first time for an overnight excursion. Have to admit, I didn't like having to pack, I have gotten used to life on the Ship, where it does all the moving for us! We got picked up by our excursion coordinator at the Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador around 10 a.m. We then had a 3-hour drive through central Ecuador to get over to the coast and Puerto Lopez. Our rental - the YING YANG FLOWER HOUSE was located a 1/2 block from the beach. As we drove through Guayaquil, we saw tons of these papier mâché figurines. They are effigies they use to decorate over the holidays and then burn on New Years Eve to say goodbye to all the things that went wrong, for them in 2024. They vary in price from $10 to $100 and take vendors several days to custom make and paint. After the burn they jump over three times to send the spirits away. Alot are political and silly, regardless colorful!!
After we dropped our stuff at the house, and had some fruit and bread, we headed to AQUA BLANCA, about 20 minutes away. It's a commune community. There are archeological remains in a small museum, a mineral pool, mud massages available and some snack shops. I totally embraced the mud massage! It felt amazing and left my skin sooo soft. Others (Scott & Kelly) had apple & lavender oil massages and Debbie, just got the mud applied without the massage. A truly unique fun way to spend Christmas Day! I went in mineral pool after mud had dried to wash it off. They also had showers and changing rooms. Then we had a home made feast back at house by 2 local ladies - fresh fried fish, seafood rice, plantains, pork in a peanut sauce, salad and amazing avocados! We all enjoyed some drinks and chatting, getting to know each other better. Scott and I took a walk to beach too - was a gorgeous night!
