April 3, 2015
The town of Crucita has grown twice the size overnight. Wow, lots of Ecuadorians come to the beach town for the long weekend. Beaches are full, lots of tents set up on the beach. People rent them to get out of the sun. I am already burnt to a crisp. Trying to wear long sleeves but it is hard in this heat. Staying in the shade a lot. Had to get into the water to cool off but it is not that cool. Even the ocean is kind of like a bath. Got a little nervous in the ocean today when I got taken under with a big wave. May stick to the pool for a few days. It is a few degrees cooler. Met some Americans who have bought a condo in the building next door. The condos in our building go for about $80K for a 3 bedroom and next door it is $115K for a 2 bedroom but they have an elevator and are apparently bigger. It is nice to have a condo here so you don't have to worry about getting broken into. Everything is locked tight at night and there are dogs that bark and let the caretakers know if someone is around. If you own your own house, you must get someone to check on it a couple of times a day if you are not around. One lady we met who lives down here had 8 phones stolen in 2 years. On the roof of our building is an area where you can barbeque if you bring charcoal and it has a great view. The sunsets here are perfect in the ocean right in front of us.
We ended up drinking beer at Motumbas again and then Gary and I decided that we would go to this free concert down the beach. A long walk down the street. The street in Crucita runs right along the beach. They closed the whole street off for the holiday. There
must have been 2000 people at the concert. People sitting in lawn chairs drinking beer, people dancing, and fantastic latin music. Large band with lights and sound and special effects. The funny thing was that hardly anyone clapped or yelled at the end of their songs. Gary and I tried to make up for it but....... We got up close to the front and I laughed when I looked around because Gary was for sure the TALLEST man there. The Ecuadorians are tiny. Lots of people had their kids with them. They start making babies early here. The girls have some special ceremony when they turn 15 here. You see them out on the beach out front all dressed up getting their photos taken. Not sure if that is their coming of age party but all I know is that there are a lot of girls around with babies that look like they are only 15.
It started to rain which felt very nice and we grabbed a cab which is not a car here but a buy with a motorcycle and an attached buggy on the back. They are all unique. They decorate them themselves. We had a nice man who took us right where we were going which was back to Motumba to see if Vern, and Guillo were still there with David. Because the main street was blocked off we had to go way around. We asked how much when he dropped us off and he said $2. Gary tried to give him $3 but he would not take it. He shook our hands and said muchos gratis. They are so thankful here. I think this may change with the number of white Gringos moving into the area. Guillo says we should not tip. They are not used to it and others get mad because then they get used to it and the price goes up. Around here you find out how much things are and you give then that. You don't even ask after awhile how much things are. Takes time for that to happen though. We now know which bars are $2 for a beer and which ones are $1.50. To take them out , they are only $1. We found Vern had gone home and we sat and had one last beer with David, Guillo and their friends. There was a lot of photo taking and carrying on as it was one of the girls birthdays. Everyone has their kids with them. Too cute. We were invited to go next week with David bird watching and with the other friends to their pool to fish for shrimp and fish. Could catch their drift of what they were talking about when they were inviting us to their pool to fish but I am game. We will find out soon enough.
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