Those in the ‘you guys are crazy’ camp are probably saying, ‘I knew it couldn’t be as great as they make it out to be!’; those in the idealist camp will be saying, ‘but wait…’, and our fellow adventurers are probably saying something like, ‘Yep, I’ve been there!’
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| The blue-footed booby and her couple month old baby. |
While volunteering, we had something different happening every week. We only had one week where we actually went to the markets every day, because every week we had either stomach problems, or broken arms, or doctor’s appointments, or more sickness… Something happened every week. We had worse luck than any of the other volunteers. Not to mention dealing with the food that was making us sick so often, the lack of trustworthy water, and the constant stress. After we finished volunteering, there was more stress, less trustworthy food and water, and no friendly doctors we knew of to go to when we got sick. Tyler and I seriously got on each other’s nerves, and nothing turned out the way we expected. Some surprises were good, but often the food was inedible, the hostel was creepy, the shower was lukewarm, the beach was rocky, the weather was uncooperative, the spouse was more so, our loofah fell apart and had to be retied, the ‘shuttle service’ was a hostile hostel owner with a broken down old van…
There have been moments when I’ve sat down and cried. There have also been moments when we both have to laugh so we don’t cry. There have been moments when neither of us knows what to do next so we end up having a staring contest trying to make the other person make the decision. There have also been moments when we just can’t work up the energy to do anything, so we end up sitting in our hostel room playing games or watching movies on our iPad.
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| Sea turtles joining us for lunch. |
We’re tired of packing up everything we own every few days, tired of debating over whether to eat native or go for Chinese (yep… Chinese takeout is apparently a thing no matter where you are…) and which is actually safer to eat, tired of wearing the same two outfits ALL the time, tired of waiting 90 seconds for our Steripen to sanitize our water, and I am DEFINITELY tired of looking longingly at the salads, fruits, veggies, and especially the chocolate-covered strawberries (which are ridiculously cheap) and knowing I can’t eat them because they’re not safe. We’re just tired.
And yet….
For every moment I’ve sat down and cried, there have been ten moments I’ve laughed. For every staring contest, there have been ten moments when I want to cry because my husband is just SO amazing. For every moment of frustration, there have been more moments that have taken my breath away. Like sitting in a canoe at the Cuyabeno lagoon and watching the sun set, or walking along the back sand beach at Los Frailes in Puerto Lopez with Tyler and watching the waves crash on the shore. Or, oddly enough, the three dogs at the beach who decided to be our personal posse for a night, following us to our hostel, then to the bank, and back to the hostel, before finally leaving to go home. We’ve tasted some truly AMAZING food (breaded shrimp, anyone?) and met some truly wonderful people, most recently at both the Guayaquil and Lima LDS temples.
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| Iguana at the Iguana Park in Guayaquil. |
Traveling has been both the hardest, and the best, thing we’ve ever done. We’ll be heading back to the States soon, and while there are a few things I’m really, really excited for (hot showers and cold salads being at the top of the list), there are so many things I’ll regret leaving behind. Even though going on this trip means no down payment for our Tesla, (remember that? ;) ) it’s been worth it in so many ways. I hope you’ve enjoyed being on this adventure with us. We’ve sure enjoyed sharing it with you, and knowing I’m reporting to you has egged me on to do a few of the crazier things. :) We’re not quite done yet, but before we get to the end I want to make sure I thank you all for being part of it all with us! You guys are the best!
For more photos related this section of our journey (Puerto Lopez to Lima) click here.
