Here in Ecuador everyone knows me as Elliot. I wanted to use this name (now my middle name if you didn't know) to try to get used to it. At first, it felt quite strange when people called me that but I am getting used to it now and it feels quite normal.
The group of volunteers has been more stable recently and we haven't had anyone new for over a week. We're not due to have any more new people arrive until November but a few will be leaving after next week so the numbers will go down from 11 as we are now to maybe 6 for a month or so. J and M from Australia left last week as they wanted to travel around the country more before they go onto Mexico. It was sad to see them go but we had a goodbye party for them at the house with a camp fire and lots of drinks. N gave J a joke present of one of the big wooden posts that we carried the week before but unfortunately he didn't take it with him. :)
On Wednesday, we all went up to the 2nd campsite which is a 2 and a half hour walk away to start building there. We got an amazing amount done in the first day, which you can see from the photo. I helped levelled some of the ground and we all peeled the bark of the logs and put them in. A few of us stayed overnight and we sat under a plastic roof with our camp fire inside and heavy rain outside. N pitched our tent on a slope and it was very uncomfortable to sleep in. I had no mat and no pillow and if I tried to sleep on my side, I slid down the tent! I got very little sleep as my arm or leg went numb after about half an hour and I woke up and had to try to sleep in another position.
Three of us did some more work in the morning with the three workers and we got part of the roof on.
I left at 10 as some of us were going to the beach for the first time. I walked back on my own and encountered a big black snake on the way. It was about 2 metres long but as I tried to get a photo of it, it quickly went away. We have learned that there's only one type of snake here that it poisonous. Most of them get scared and disappear when they see a person.
I got back safely and we went to the beach in the afternoon. It took about 5 hours to get to the coast, which wasn't our destination. We checked into the first hotel we found, called Yam Yam, which to people from Wolverhampton will be quite amusing.
We went down to the beach to eat and have a drink. It was not a bad place (Pedernales) but we left after breakfast the next morning, via Chamanga to get to Mompiche.
This was a very small place but with some nice buildings made from bamboo. It had one main street and a few little ones going off it. Our hostel was right on the coast and only cost $5 a night.
We all wanted to go into the sea. I hadn't been in the Pacific Ocean before and it was nice and warm. We all started swimming but after about three minutes I said “I've just been stung on my ankle” and promptly marched back out. I had been stung by a jellyfish which got me all around my left ankle. I didn't know if it was dangerous so went to ask some locals. They said it was all right but it felt like needles were sticking into me. It only lasted about half an hour but the marks showed up more the next day.
I found the place boring as there was nothing else to do during the day. I sat drinking a milkshake for over an hour and met up with the others later. Luckily for us, their town fiesta was happening this weekend so we went to see it that evening but it wasn't very good. They had a beauty contest on and an old man singing old songs. We went down to a bar and drank a cocktail and sat on the swings.
On Saturday, we went on a boat ride to see some islands and mangroves. We got a cut price deal for $5 and it was really nice. It lasted about an hour and was worth the money.
In the evening, three of us went to eat at a nearby café. It had been hard to find anything vegetarian for the four veggies in our group but we got some spaghetti (or sapaguetty as it said on the menu) with tomato sauce and cheese. When we went back to meet the others and see the fiesta, they called us over. The barman from last night had threatened two of the women with a knife, saying he wanted to kill white people. He had seemed totally safe before this but he must have been drunk and frustrated. We went to tell the police but they really weren't interested in the story. We saw him again when we were with the main crowd and told the policeman again. He went to speak to him and we went back to our rooms. Fortunately, nothing else happened but we knew we wanted to leave after breakfast the next morning. We got back, after having dinner in the Chinese restaurant in Santo Domingo, at about 8.
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