Ambato + Puerto Lopez, Ec. (Sept 28-Oct 2)

28- this morning we left for Ambato to visit a friend we had met at the Mame Negra Fiesta in Latacunga a few days before. When we got there, we  went to a hostel that our guide book (Lonely Planet`s ``South America on a Shoestring``) had said was clean and comfortable...LIES! I guess the ``on a shoestring" part means staying in dumps sometimes..because that's what the place was. It smelled kinda funky too. We decided to stay there anyways because we thought we had been spending too much money. We dropped off our bags and found the nearest internet cafe to get in touch with our friend Vanessita. She said she wasn't off work till 5, so we had some serious time to kill. We looked up some things to do in Ambato and decided to check out this big garden. It took longer than expected to get there but was nice. There were different sections with plants from all around the world, and a nice path that led down to the river. We sat by the river for a bit then went to meet up with Vani. When we met up with her, she took us to this museum with stuffed animals, birds, reptiles, and historic pottery and clothes from the indigenous people of the land. There was also a disply of "freak"animals, including two-headed calves, six-legged lambs, three-eyed bulls and some weeeiiirdd stuff. After the museum Robbie and I joined Vani for her english class at the University. Her teacher was cool with us staying, it was a movie day. The class was watching "The Great Debate" which was about racism in the 30's in the southern states. It was really good, but we didn't have enough time to finish it. The class was composed of kids ranging from ages 15-26. Some people were passing notes and talking on their phones, and it seemed like the teacher was frustrated. I talked to her after and she said she wasn't used to teaching people who knew so little english; she had taught people who were a level above this class before. 
When the class was over Robbie, Vani and I decided to grab some beers. It's ok to drink anywhere in public aslong as it's before 2am, So we sat down on a street bench and went at 'er. this guy kept driving by with his music pumping and we were all enjoying, he could see that. So after the 5th time of driving by he stopped and asked us if we wanted to hop in, he didn't seem like a creep and were getting good vibes so we said yes. He then suggested we drive to Banos to party, (Robbie and i had just come from banos that morning, but ok!). The street that was empty the night before was now packed with partiers, Ecuadorians and foreigners. The drinks at the bar were ridiculously priced (10$ for a shot of jaggermeister, 6$ for a shot of tequila). That's expensive compared to the $1.25 giant beers you can buy in any convenience store. So we got some giant beers and pounded em back. Then we went to the Leprechaun Bar, which was the coolet bar I've ever been in. It was painted up all elf and fairy-like, with sexy fairy paintings everywhere. There was a firepit in the back zone too! The bar was full of Aussies and guys trying way too hard to grind with the tourists. This one guy kept trying to get too close to me and so I went to chill at te fire. After a bit we went back to Banos with and extra person in the car. When Robbie and i got back to the hostel we really wanted to find another one, because I swear, there were boogers on the walll, but we had already paid, so we just went to sleep in our sleep-sacks (a sheet that has been sewn on 3 sides). 
29-In the morning we found a new hostel that was actually clean and comfortable and one 2$ more a night. We met up with Vani and she came to our hostel so that Robbie could hypnotise her. It took an hour and a half so I fell asleep and when it was done Vani went home to help prepare for her cousin's 15th birthday party that evening, which we were invited to. She suggested a few things for us to do, including a free cultural museum. We took too long to get there and it was clsoed when we got there, so we went back to the hostel to grab our books and went to a nice park to read for a few hours. then we went to the party, which was really fun :). Vanessita's cousin was dressed up in this prom dress, sitting at the door greeting people. Everyone was dancing, not on their own but in pairs. It was really nice to go to a party where the hosts were grabbing boys and girls and pairing them up to dance. The music was reggaton, salsa, merengue and top 40. There were shots being poured and popcorn and jello being served. A few hours into the party my lips and hands started to swell up, then i looked at my stomach and it was COVERED in hives. I dont know what set off the reaction, maybe the one shot of wine cooler i had had, but i felt like crap and was hot and itchy. We left the party and I took 4 Benadrils when we got back to the hostel. They helped alot and knocked me out. Robbie went back to the party because he had a thing for Vani (oo la laaa). He got back at 2:30 am. The next days plan was to get up early and take the bus to Puerto Lopez, a town on the Pacific Coast.      
30- We were planning on getting up early to take the bus, but we decided to sleep in a bit instead, since the party went late the night before. For breakfast we went to see if the restaurant we had gone to the day before was open but it wasn't, so we went to the place across the street. It was a chicken restaurant and Robbie and I chose to get 1/4 chicken each with rice and salad. I swear the chickens are bigger here than in Canada because it looked like we each got 1/2 chicken. I didnt even finish half of my chicken, but Robbie, being a guy, finished his. We then got on a bus to Santo Domingo (N.W of Quito, which is North of where we were..) on the recommendation of the ticket sellers. We later found out it would've been cheaper and a shorter trip to take another route. It took 3.5 hrs to get to Santo Domingo and when we went to buy our tickets to get to Puerto Lopez (our destination), we discovered the next bus didn't come for another 6 hours. We bought our tickets and went to wait in the park across the street. While waiting, we met some funny kids to play with. The bus finally came, half an hour late. Throughout the entire bus ride, the bus driver played music REALLY loud, even though it was 12am. We got to Puerto Lopez at 6am and met some nice German girls who also needed to find a hostel. All 4 of us walked to the hostel I had looked at on the internet the day before to find extremely tiny rooms (for the price) and bugs crawling everywhere. The Germans left to a hotel that was in their guide book, while Robbie and I debated staying. We chose to look for another hostel and walked along the beach. We found a realllyyyy cute clean one a block from the beach called Hostal Fragata. It had hammocks everywhere and was loaded with color. We crashed hard and slept until the afternoon.
Oct 1- With half the day behind us in sleep, we found a nice restaurant on the beach to eat lunch and then went to a beach-front juice stand. The lady making the juice was a total babe and Robbie was infatuated ;). Then we met a nice dog and named him Snickers. For the rest of the day we just explored Puerto Lopez,went to the local market, made dinner and chilled in the hammocks at the hostal. Oh yea, the best advice I got for this trip was to bring toilet paper with me EVERYWHERE. That means taking a roll in my purse. I dont know how people do it here, but there isn't toilet paper anywhere except hostels, where we steal the roll when we leave (hehe). 
Oct 2- Another lazy day in the beach town. Went to see the sexy juice lady again, lounged in the hammocks on the beach and had fresh banana milkshakes (the juices here are so feakin delicious!!!). We saw the German ladies again and chatted with them about their extensive world travels. Then we spent some time looking at handmade jewelry made by this aaaawesome hippie mama and talked to the people chilling around her stand. Then we walked along the beach and watched the waves crash.