While we spent a lot of time at our hosteria in San Jose playing on the beach, surfing and learning Spanish, we did get out and have some amazing adventures.
The most memorable activity was parapenting. Parapenting is a cross between hang-gliding and parachuting. We all got the opportunity to fly like birds. Pablo at Parapenting Adventure and his crew took great care of us.
There were three other families that came with us that day. We all got about 15 minutes of flying time. Michael and Lucas got to fly their gliders. We all flew over the ocean. It was peaceful and exciting at the same time.
We found a great guide named Johnny who took us snorkeling, hiking and on a visit to an ancestral community.
Our first outing was to Ayangue for snorkeling. We took a boat to Islote El Pelado and got to see sea lions and lots of fish.
We had a fun day hiking to Las Cascadas de Alex. The waterfalls are in Olon. We took a taxi as far as we could go and then we had a 45 minute hike through rivers to get to the waterfalls. The waterfalls are not huge, but we had fun jumping off rocks and going for a dip in the falls.
I took the trip to Agua Blanca without Michael, Lucas and Henry. Two other families went. Agua Blanca is an ancestral community that lives off of tourism. They have a museum and archeological site, and give tours to talk about their culture. They also have a sulfur lagoon that is said to have healing properties. It is located near Puerto Lopez in the Machalilla National Park.
The coast of Ecuador is wonderful. We like that it is not built up like the beaches in the United States. The small towns along the beach are inviting. The Ecuadorians we met in these towns are kind and friendly. It was nice to have a slower pace for a month.
