Ecuador: Curia Town - The Coast

I just realized that I never finished blogging about our trip to South America that we took back in December/January. Now that eight months have gone by maybe I'll finish :-) From the mountains of Banos we headed to the coast...it was time for Brian to surf and for me to relax!

We knew some folks who had lived in Ecuador for a while, so they gave us the recommendation to stay with a friend of theirs who rented out rooms from his house on the water. It was a great spot where we ended up spending a week and made friends with a group of Argentenians who were staying there as well.

And here are some more friends we made...Helmet and his twin daughters are from Germany. The girls had just finished a few months of studying in Quito, so he flew out to do some traveling with them...they were a great family!

This was the view from our room...

One of the great things about staying at Dicky and Susie's was that they had boards...yay! If we didn't go anywhere for the day Brian was still able to surf out front; even though the waves weren't the best there, they were still surfable. I was even able to try short boarding for the first time....and I got up! It was heaps of fun until the fin decided to come crashing down on the back of my arm, which gave me the biggest bruise I have ever had....

Here is a day that we went searching for waves....and we played, "how many people can you fit in one truck?" I think there were 12 of us...it was pretty impressive.

Aaaaaaaand we got stuck on the way out.

Besides surfing, our other activities included:

Crab Catching


Relaxing

And LOTS of Eating!

Pan fried fish with fried plantains


Fish and shrimp ceviche with fried plantains...AMAZING!


Breaded fish...these plates were about $2.50 and they were SO good!


Corviche. Some sort of dough that had peanut butter in it then stuffed with squid and fried...it was yummy!


Fried shrimp


Yes, that is the "restaurant" right behind me :-)


Mora (blackberry) popsicles. These things were out of control! They also had chocolate and coconut ones that came in a close second place. We eat lots of ice cream (whatever form it comes in) when we travel, it's just what we do!

There were a few nights that we all ate together and the Argentinians bar-b-que'd for us in traditional Argentenian style. They even treated us to a delicacy....any guesses??? Cow salivary glands! Yes, we ate them, and yes, they were strange. They were kinda sticky and chewy but with somewhat of a meaty texture. I don't think I'll eat one ever again....

One of the craziest nights we had in Ecuador was New Year's Eve in Montanita (a 10 minute drive from Curia). Unfortunately I don't have any photos from the night, but to give you a picture of what it was like: thousands and thousands of people (mainly young people) flock to Montanita for the New Year's celebration where, at midnight, they burn massive "puppets" on the beach, then a bunch of drunk idiots run through the fires. We saw a guy rolling in the waves because he caught on fire...don't worry, he was fine. There were tons of people night surfing, lots of music, and dancing in the streets. By far the craziest New Year's celebration we have ever been a part of!

The trip is almost over...I'll fill you in on our next destination soon....

Bermuda

Yes, it's true, we were just in Bermuda for 5 days. I know, so random....who goes to Bermuda??? It was a mixture of a work trip (though there was technically no work involved) and a vacation. I am so proud of Brian and his accomplishments at work last year. He is the hardest worker I know, and it was great to see him being recognized for all of that work.

Bermuda is not a place we would have ever chosen to go, but it ended up being just what we needed! I got to watch Brian relax for the first time in I don't know how long...we were so lucky that this trip fell at the time that it did. Being 7 1/2 months pregnant I was still feeling good and had a decent amount of energy.

We were put up at the Fairmont South Hampton, and this was the view from our room...not too shabby....

And the pool facilities...

The first two days of the trip there was quite a bit of rain, but we didn't let that dampen our spirits! Tropical rain is so different then the rain we get here, so it is more of a novelty. The dark clouds actually made for a cool photo...

Luckily our massages were scheduled on one of the rainy days, so it worked out perfectly. I can't tell you how great it felt to lay on my belly (they had a pregnancy massage table) and how fabulous my masseuse was! Brian experienced his first massage ever and he is now a HUGE fan...he looked like he was going to fall over from being so relaxed :-)

The water in Bermuda was the perfect temperature! Cool enough to feel refreshed when you get in, but warm enough that you could literally stay in it all day. Sorry in advance for the loooooong columns of photos...if I knew how to use Photoshop I would place some of them side by side, or make small collages, but I have no idea how to do it...anyone up for giving me a simple Photoshop tutorial?!?! Anyway, the water photos...

And now for a close-up of the belly....

Bermuda is expensive! We decided it is probably all east coast billionaires who own homes there. This is what most of the houses look like...

We spent most of our evenings attending company events where we actually had a blast...there were some great people to hang out with, and I even hit the dance floor two of the nights. I think maybe that is what wore me out the most! Here is Brian accepting his Falcon Award on the night of the big awards ceremony....Yay Brian!!!!!

And this was our last night at the goodbye beach party...

Well, that's the quick recap...we so enjoyed our time of relaxation, perfect water, and pink sand beaches!

The Bump: 28 - 31 Weeks

Week 28: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Week 29: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain.

Week 30: Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

Week 31: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin.

Cravings

I haven't really had many pregnancy cravings...unless you count my diet of pizza, bagels and cream cheese, and coca-cola during my morning sick period "cravings," but I more so consider those the only items that sounded somewhat appetizing. But, within the past few weeks I guess you could say I've been getting cravings. I have been dying for baked goods! Seriously, every time I am out and about I have to keep myself from stopping by Gayle's or The Buttery to purchase myself some sort of delicious, flaky pastry, fresh cookie, or moist cake slice with butter cream and ganache...it's a good thing I'm not traveling through Europe right now!

Last night it was Thai food...all i wanted was curry and Pad Thai. Luckily, I had two cans of coconut milk and green curry paste on hand, score! I whipped up some delicious thai green curry if I do say so myself, and it only took about 30 minutes start to finish...it would have taken longer for me pick up the take-out. The only problem is that I ate far too much and ended the night with that horrible pregnancy heartburn, but it was worth it :-) And I have enough leftovers for dinner tonight! As for the Pad Thai, I didn't have the ingredients on hand and I had never made it before...does anyone out there have a good pad thai recipe?

I just used the veggies that I had on hand: onions, bell peppers, green beans (from the father-in-law's garden), and basil (from our "garden). DELISH!