Is this real life?

So last week, the whole country took a long break from class and work, Wednesday through Sunday. During this break, I traveled to the coast where 16 WorldTeach volunteers were gathered to chill and have fun. We went to a town called Montanita; a small little tourist town with a pretty beach, tons of hostels, clubs, and cocktail stands lining the streets. Needless to say, it was madness. So of course, I don't have a lot of pictures, but I'm still going to use those to show what it was like, rather than explaining everything. (Mostly because I don't really have time to try to describe everything.)

There trip to Montanita took 14.5 hours (10 hours in a bus, an hour for dinner, and then 3 hours in a taxi), so this was quite necessary.

 Chilling on the beach the first day. :-)

 Check out all the rainbow umbrellas. Literally, they were everywhere, as was the blasting pop & salsa music.

 My first hostel was down at this end of the beach.

Iris and I love WorldTeach.

Out in the waves. The water was actually pretty warm, since it's the Pacific Ocean. However, when the sun went away, it got chilly.

Frisbee on the beach, with a local 3-legged dog.

 Robert and Jessica went surfing. Jessica's board was too heavy for her to carry, though. (It was twice her size, after all.)

 Parasailing! I really wish I'd gone. :-(

 James goes out to teach Jessica how to surf while Robert got pulled down the shore line by the tide.

So that's what the beach part of Montanita looks like. I didn't take any of the little town or the 2 hostels I was in, but they were very colorful and full of rainbow umbrellas and tiki decorations. As for why I was in 2 hostels: I stayed with Iris and Jessica in Casa del Sol for the first 2 nights. On Friday, they went to Manta, and I decided to stay, so I went to Elizabeth, Johanna, and Grace's hostel for Friday night. On Saturday, the 10 of us remaining headed back to Guayaquil. I spent Saturday night in Guayaquil at a hostel with Elizabeth, Johanna, and Robert. We got to hang out with Jorge and CJ for a few hours, which was fun since I haven't seen either of them in a month. On Sunday, Robert, Elizabeth, and I flew back to Quito.

It was a fun vacation, but I'm happy to be back in Quito. I love the sun, but I don't like having sand everywhere, all the time. I also like having access to water 24/7. The second hostel I stayed in did not always have running water. Also, if I have a choice (which I do), I prefer the mountains.