In the morning the "commute" took us up into the Machalilla National Park* to a community school where yet again we were met with smiling faces and shouts of "Hola!",one word we have got familiar with.
In this serene setting
Arturo, the project leader, is full of imaginative ideas and energy and as the morning wore on and it got hotter and hotter it was he who organized games in the shade of the trees,
eventually drawing in practically the whole school.
And it was Arturo who made the brilliant suggestion that as an end of the week treat we sample the delights of the nearby Laguna de Aguas Sulfurosas, and the reputedly rejuvenating mud, liberally applied, allowed to dry and then washed off with a gentle swin in the lagoon.
Whether the mud has had the desired effect remains open to debate
but the surroundings were guaranteed to soothe the soul
with time for a little r&r local style (sorry J!)
before an excellent plate of chicken and rice (omelette for the veggies) at the local restaurant.
The rest of the day was spent at Restaurante Patacon, ** home of the choc crepes and the best coffee in town - our "Wonder Bake" of the trip (see posts from Zambia last year!)- not to mention good beer and the most genial, tolerant host who didn`t seem to mind us sitting for hours as we made use of the wifi.
Today has been about a bit of a lie-in, some gentle strolling around the town and along the beach and saying goodbye to David Gordon, BookBus Chairman, who we`ve had the great good fortune to work with this week but who is now off back to London to continue promoting the work of the BookBus. His profile on the BookBus website says he`s very "hands-on" and that`s certainly been true this week. :)
And after such a relaxed day we`re all ready for a bit of an adventure tomorrow...........
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machalilla_National_Park
**https://twitter.com/pataconpisao01
I do miss a good hammock! And don't forget to get some mote in between all those crepes ;)
ReplyDeleteAh hah! Just had to check a technical dictionary but got the definition...
ReplyDelete'To Hammock' (v): to relax in a creatively lazy and slightly subversive manner, usually implying a large smile and unashamed swinging.
Good to see you so fully occupied. Was that lagoon dredged for crocodiles before you got in? That would have worried me. I can smell the coffee from here! Wonderful.........All's well here. Nothing exciting..or as exciting...happening here and to tell you stuff about life at Rose Hill seems so boring and pedestrian that I'm not going to! Shall save it up for when you get home. What a wonderful account of all your experiences. Keep them coming!! Axx
ReplyDeleteAh but W smiling at you is news!! :)
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