Ecuador: Trip to Esmeraldas

First, let's finish up our trip to Baños-- on the way back we stopped in Ambato at a mercado, or market place. We ate a typical Ecuadorian dish there, called llapingachos. It was SO good (I even ordered a second plate to share-- wait, did I share it? Maybe not, because it was delicious!) And I also loved the fresh juices that they offered at a nearby stand, too.
The cooks at work...Nadia (F's aunt--Marco's wife), Zoila (F's grandma), Marco (F's uncle), and Elvie (F's aunt).
One of my favorite things in all of Ecuador was all the fruits and vegetables they had. Here's a view at just a small part of their fresh fruits at the mercado. So much color! :)

Then, after Ambato, we stopped in Quisapincha, which is a little town near Ambato, famous for their leather goods. It was incredible what we were able to find there, and at unbeatable prices! We ended up getting leather jackets for each of us, and I got a couple pairs of cute boots, too! Loved it!

We got back to Quito late that night (Wednesday the 18th), and then left for Esmeraldas on Friday the 20th. Esmeraldas is a coastal city, famous for their beautiful beaches. (And they are beautiful.) It was about a four hour? drive there, but with several winding roads...

We stopped along the way to grab a bite to eat, and Diana (F's cousin) discovered a great way for keeping track of little Nathan! (That's her headband wrap thing..) :)
Nathan, just hanging out.. :)
Fermine, Diana's dog got to come to the beach with us-- which was great for keeping Nathan entertained during the drive. While we ate, he got to take Fermine for walk!
On the road again... (And that sign, about the curves coming up... yeah, no kidding. Although, to be fair, they have been doing a lot of renovation on their highways, and I was impressed with them, overall.)
This was the beach house that we stayed at-- it was Marcelo's (Diana's husband) parents' beach house. It was in a small gated community that was right up along the coast. Perfect, because since we were there during the off season, we had the whole beach to ourselves!

Now, I know beach pictures aren't the most flattering, but I'll make the sacrifice so that all can enjoy the pictures. ;-)

Nathan really enjoyed playing in the sand and the small waves-- and hey, there are shells and rocks to find!
The Ecuadorian beaches are suuuuuper pretty.. but beyond that, the water is warmer than you'd ever expect! And because they don't really have seasons, it stays that way all year long. You could go in the water at 4 am or 4 pm and it would still be warm enough to swim and enjoy the water.
Nathan with Grandma-- :)
These were the stairs down to the water, and the rocks that separated the higher ground with houses from the ocean-- during high tide, most of the stairs were covered!
Freddy climbing on the rocks. :)

The boys showering off after swimming..
The sun down there is suuuuper strong. I forgot to wear sunscreen for like ten minutes and I was already like a lobster..
Andddd... this is in town, when our camera broke.. It would turn on for like 0.2 seconds and then die. So... that's the last picture that we got on our camera. Luckily, Monica (my mother in law) was there with us and we got to use her camera for the rest of the trip (which was totally fine because her camera is way better than ours anyway.. Ha..).
And more to come, because after that we went on a week long road trip all along the coast and throughout Ecuador!! :)