Petra and Uwe in Ecuador: 2015

I haven’t written a post about our life here in Salinas for quite some time so here we go.

First let me mention that our weather this year has been extraordinary! Usually starting in the month of June (and lasting until December) our winter season begins with gray cloudy skies and cooler temperatures. I know I know- weird for 2 degrees south of the equator but true. But not this year! Wow! Our skies have been sunny, ocean still warm and we are having great beach weather. Possibly the beginning effects of El Nino coming this high season? We’ll find out and hope for the best.

July 1 was Canada Day. Since there are many Canadians living here, our newest bar/restaurant Fiddler Green (located on 2^nd St. 1 block from Banco Pichincha), celebrated Canada Day.

We went with our Canadian and American friends (we all like parties of any kind) and enjoyed a great time and good food at one of our favorite places to hang out.

July 4 was USA Independence Day and was of course another excuse for another party. This one hosted at yet another new bar/restaurant Aloha2 (located at the former ‘Sin’ bar). The turnout was amazing- almost everyone we know was there.

The dinner consisting of a whole pig was delicious.

And 3 bands were there to entertain.

The dancing carried on way past my bed time.

And then there was live entertainment! An awesome party.

It has been a year since my friend Susana, was elected president of the local chapter of the Red Cross/ Cruz Roja here in Salinas. During that time many changes have come about. The Cruz Roja building has been repaired & repainted inside and out. New doctors are now available and some of the spaces not required have been rented out producing much needed revenue. As well, a large number of dedicated volunteers have helped in several endeavors during the last year. Our new and invigorated Cruz Roja is alive & well thanks to our new Presidente!

In July, we held a 75^th anniversary party for Cruz Roja in Ecuador at the building. Food was provided by the volunteers ( I baked 60 little quiches ) and several dignitaries were invited to participate including the mayor of Salinas, the head of the Salinas Yacht Club the the Cruz Roja president of Guayaquil.

Several volunteers were thanked for many years of service and of course we listened to many speeches hohum LOL.

The entire group posed for a picture.

A sand castle contest was held on the main beach- first prize was to be $100. Each sand sculpture had to do with whales as it was the start of Whale Watching in Salinas. Humpback whales come to the warm waters of Ecuador from Antartica every June to September to give birth and find mates- not necessarily in that order LOL.

Many entire families participated in the contest..

Sections were partitioned off for each group vying for the prize.

Sculptures beginning to take shape

Awesome finished pieces

I don’t believe a month goes by that we do not have a parade and July was no different. Many of the local businesses participated in this one including the new Amygo's owned by our friend Amy- a service that does travel, new visitor help, tours etc.

Many friends came out to help march

And dancing spontaneously started

Nothing like a Salinas parade.

The new Salinas Aloha2 bar also had a Craft Show this month. Both Ecuadorian and gringo artisans were invited to display and sell their treasures.

Bought a huge doll from this group.

These women hand painted rocks- bought one plus ordered fridge magnets for presents to take home.

As throughout the year, we had our Beersbee on the beach every second Tuesday. Though the crowds are much smaller this time of year, we still had great fun chatting, drinking beer and participating in the several team sports.

The sporty types

The audience

My good friend Cody from Cuenca and her friend visiting from Prague spent a few days with us. We spent 2 afternoons sitting on the beach and enjoying the great weather.

One of the mornings, the four of us took the long walk to loberia (so called because sea lions live there –called lobos del mar-sea wolves).

From there we walked along the new path all the way to Chocolatera hoping to see some whales. The weather was awesome and scenery great!

That afternoon while sitting on the beach, we decided to buy live lobsters from one of the many local vendors to cook at our condo that night. We stored them in a styrofoam cooler until it came time to cook.

OK, in all honesty, I’ve only been an onlooker in one other lobster fest at home but figured I could duplicate the process. First we brought our huge pot of water to a boil. Uwe swept the sand off each lobster (we bought 6 for the 4 of us)using the brush from our dust pan, then I washed them off in the laundry sink and then into the pot, 2 at a time.

We all took turns tossing 2 in and NO they did not scream!

Our dinner turned out delicioso- lobster tails, warm garlic butter, salad and pasta with parmesan cheese.

Uwe and mine 20^th anniversary also fell in July. Usually we just go out for a really nice dinner but this time as after all it was the 20^th, we decided to do something different. Even though we had been to Montanita (a great little surf town an hour north of us) many times, we had never stayed overnight. We booked a room at a very nice(and expensive) Hotel Dharma overlooking the beach.

The weather was misty and rainy both of our days

We did take several long walks along the scenic beach

And we browsed around town and had a lovely Italian dinner

And last but not least, several members of our Salinas Cultural Society Art club went on a trip to check out more museums in the city of Guayaquil. We hired Victor with his van

victorcolorado85@yahoo.com to take us and arrived after a 2 hour drive.

Our first stop was the MAAC

Museo Antropologico y de Arte contemporaneo
http://www.museos.gob.ec/redmuseos/maac/

After spending approximately an hour admiring many archeological and painting exhibits, we walked to the end of the malecon, to the Pena neighborhood to see Music Museum

www.armada.mil.ec
Museo de la Música Popular Guayaquileña Julio Jaramillo

While there we also went to the Cerveza (Beer) Museum- a personal favorite

http://turismo.guayaquil.gob.ec/es/museos/del-cerro-santa-ana/museo-de-la-cerveza

And after a great lunch

We went to the last museum for this great day enjoyed by all!

www.museos.gob.ec
Museo Nahím Isaías

So you think retired life is boring LOL? Not so where we live. There is always something going on in Salinas.

We did two wonderful new trips during this visit of our friends from home, Di & Murray.

The first was a tour I have always wanted to go on, the Chocolate Farm Hacienda El Castillo http://www.haciendaelcastillo.ec/home.php

We hired Victor who has a 7 person van to take 6 of us on this trip. His email is victorcolorado85@yahoo.com .

This farm is located about an hour and a half from Chipipe just past the exit to Progreso from the main highway to Guayaquil. We arrived around 11AM and after a delicious chocolate juice drink (and yes, they do make juice out of the pulp surrounding the cacao seed) plus some rum, we were taken on a tour of the beautiful hacienda house.

Beautiful huge rooms are available to rent for a night or two of tranquility.

A guide took us on a tour of the Chocolate Farm. This walk lasts about an hour along paths that could be quite muddy if you come just after the rain. The guide only spoke Spanish so bring an interpreter with you if required. And, as we found out, please bring bug spray as the little buggers were in fine biting form.

We saw the cacao trees

Checked out the inside of the seed pod- and yes the pulp surrounding the seed was yummy

We saw where the seeds were dried

And where they were crushed and molded into the finished chocolate product.

We all bought several bars, both 55% & 70% dark chocolate- delicioso!

We had decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the hacienda. The tour cost was $15 person and was only in Spanish. Our driver, Victor, translated for us. The total cost for 7 persons including lunch was $34/each- not a cheap trip.

Lunch on the beautiful patio

Our motley crew

The second trip we took with our friends plus another couple who live here in Salinas was a Sailing trip on a two masted 54’ sail boat for 4 hours one beautiful afternoon.

Arnaud ,our captain, was a wonderful host, and ran the whole boat by himself while we ate snacks, drank beer & wine and watched the incredible scenery.