Costa Trip #2 was very different, but still awesome. Our Volcanology class went to Crucita, a small town on the Coast of Ecuador. Usually, I don’t enjoy the volcanology trips very much, but this one was actually really awesome. Instead of the 3 full busses, we took just one bus, about half Ecuas half gringos. It was really nice and a lot more chill than all the previous ones we’ve done.
The trip to the coast is between 6-10 hrs, depending where you go. We left Quito at 6pm on Friday and finally got to the hostel-thing at 3am. Yeah… long bus ride. But totally worth it. I also watch more movies on these volc trips than any other time in Ecuador (9 movies this entire weekend? más o menos?) Got back on Sunday around 730 pm, another very long bus ride (left at 1030 am, stopped only for 30 min for lunch all day). But still, totalmente vale la pena.
On Saturday we went inland to some nearby regions and learned rock things. Went to some quarries and other random stops all over the place, including a cute little beach. The beach was fun, although it was way too windy, cloudy, and cold to go swimming. We saw an exposed area of the Carnegie Ridge and other plate things used in the creation of the Galapagos. Was cool. Also got to see a raided sea turtle nest and another dead honu. That part was sorta sad, but also cool.We got back to Crucita around 5 and all went to the beach. Our hostel was directly across the road from the water, which was awesome. I had an “oh man… we’re in Ecuador… this is so amazing” moment when we were in the ocean. Standing in the waves, bracing myself in the sand (had a surprisingly strong current for the relatively small waves), bathed in sunset, watching pelicans glide above the ocean… It was amazing.
The rest of the night was really chill and fun. We all just kinda sat around, drank some coconuts and beers, swam in the pool, played Kings with the Ecuadorians, and just kind of hung out. The Ecuadorians were really cool and fun (no screaming girlfriends this time, thank god). Add hammocks, the sound of waves crashing, and great weather to the mix and you can get a sense of the chillness of the night.
All in all, a good weekend. Sitting on the beach and seeing all the plants of the region actually made me somewhat homesick for Hawaii. If I had taken a picture and seen it without knowing, I easily could’ve mistaken it for the Leeward side of Oahu or something. It’s nice to be in such a familiar environment. I felt so at home in the water, jumping under waves and everything, it was definitely a (unexpectedly) good weekend.
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