Sunrise, Sunset, Sunburn

So as soon as we got back from the jungle, I had to prepare a little presentation for the one class that I have on Fridays(LAME). So I stayed up late Thursday to work on that. Friday morning, I gave the presentation...I´m pretty sure I made up a lot of what I was saying, but I´m already over it. Then we went home, got our stuff packed up, watched a little basketball at a local sports bar(unfortunately the Badger game was not on TV in Ecuador, very sad). Anyway, around 10:00, we headed to the bus station.

Once again, my friend Tylenol PM and I got along splendidly as I slept almost the entire way to Bahía, which was about 8 hours south of Quito. We arrived early Saturday morning, and hopped on a boat that would take us over to San Vincente, which was on the other side of the bay. Then we had to ride a bus about twenty more minutes until we finally reached our destination of Canoa. Honestly, it was probably the most beautiful beach I´ve ever been to. Aside from the white sand, and the bright blue water, there were huge grass-covered cliffs, and gorgeous rolling hills all around us. It was amazing.

We stayed at a hostel called Bambú, and each ¨room¨was actually it´s own little cabaña..it was right on the beach, and it was really nice. There were hammocks all over, and a porch swing on the roof of one of the buildings that overlooked the water.....sooooooo pretty, and quite clean, as well.

We spent all of Saturday on the beach and in the water. The waves were huge, and the ocean floor was really smooth, so it didn´t even hurt when they slammed you into the sand. We played frisbee and football, and enjoyed the view. Later in the afternoon, we went for a walk to the cliffs and made friends with a bajillion crabs that were inhabiting the rocks...We walked around the cliffs and rocks for awhile, then I of course slipped and fell because it wouldn´t be a real trip if I didn´t somehow get injured. No biggie.

That night, we went to one of like three bars that are in Canoa and talked with a lot of interesting people. We made some British and Australian friends who are living in Canoa for four weeks to learn Spanish...it´s customary for them to take a year off between high school and college to travel...not a bad deal. Then we all went back to the beach and sat around a bonfire-it´s so fun talking to people from all over the world...I feel like I learn so much from meeting new people.

Since we all got a bit too much sun on the first day, we invested in a shady tent umbrella thingy (that´s a technical term) for the second day. I was pretty much fine, with the exception of my hands...I don´t know what´s wrong with me, but my hands are extra sensitive to the sun. So they were hurting quite a bit, despite the fact that I wore SPF 50 AND reapplied it. The only thing that gave them relief was to be in the water. So I spent a LOT of time in the ocean on the second day, and that is how I think I got my face so burnt...once again SPF 50...I know we´re on the Equator, but MAN did that sun do a number on me.

So after another long day of playing in the sun, I was really hurting. Luckily, I was distracted from the pain for a bit when the sun started setting. ¡Qué maravillosa! It was sooooooooo gorgeous. I´ve seen the sun set before, but never like this. It was just amazing. I took a ton of pictures. Breathtaking...

So we packed up our stuff and got ready to catch the bus that would allow us to catch the boat that would allow us to catch our other bus back to Quito....got that? It´s a lot less complicated than it seems. At this point in the trip though, I was miserable. I was applying aloe vera like it was my job, and doing anything to keep my skin cool....including dunking my tank top in the dirty dish water at a local restaurant....it was not fun. And I felt bad for my friends for having to look at/put up with me.

Anyway...we got on our bus, and since I knew that it was going to be a rough eight hours, I thought I was prepared by taking wet towels and wrapping my hands in them. I also tried taking some more Tylenol PM hoping it would just knock me out and make me forget about the flames that were my hands. Yeah....not so much. Instead, I was all wet, got my friend all wet, made myself really cold, and didn´t have anything dry to warm up with, and couldn´t sleep for the life of me. It was a really super fun eight hours....yay!

We got back to Quito at around 5:30, and I went home and tried to sleep, but all I could do was run my hands under cold water. So after about three hours of that, I started to get ready to go to school. After my first class, I decided that what was going on with my hands was not normal...I´ve been burnt before, but this was an intense pain that I´ve never experienced.

I went to the university clinic and the doctor told me I had first and second degree burns on my hands.....yikes...so he gave me some pills and some cream, and hopefully I´ll be better in a few days. Again, I was wearing sunscreen....lots of it...just a testimony to how intense the sun is here. And it´s already a little better, in case anyone was worried...I´m fine.

Anyway...it was a great trip, besides the burning. I had a lot of fun, and I am thinking that I am going to take my parents and/sister there when they visit...it was just so pretty.

Back to class for me, but again I hope everyone is doing well. Keep in touch. Love you guys