Oh Hey Ecuador!

It is safe to say that I love Ecuador! I had a crazy time here.

So first off, we all went to machala, this pretty little city near the beach. We planned to meet up with a coordinator there. We hadn't heard from her yet, but we thought that by the time we got there she would have responded. So we get off the bus in Machala, sit on a bench at 7 am and realize there is not going to be any way to meet with her. No message back. So after sitting there forbout 15 minutes we hop on another bus going to Guayaquil!

Prettiest bus ride ever. Seriously. Went by tons of banana plants like this

In Guayaquil I had a date night with my two main men

When we got there we found out the screenings for the next two days had been cancelled. So we went to this park where the iguanas hang out like pigeons!

Then went to a cafe for lunch

Then shopping in an artisan market! Where we bought William this shirt

Afterwards we had decided to go to the temple and stay in temple housing. But totally forgot the temple was closed on Mondays sooooo we hopped in a van to Cuenca (it sped the whole way, I was slightly terrified) and in the same van were two women who helped us know what to do/ where to go when you only have a day, and the people at the van stop helped us find a place to stay! Seriously, we are so blessed. We have always had people to help us when needed. Heavenly Father is so good.

Jaen Screenings

We screened around 200 children in the past 2 days. We started a new area with Liahona Children's foundation, in Jaen (pronounced Hi-en) Peru. This place was insanely gorgeous. Set between the mountains and the amazon jungle, it is a sort of hilly paradise. There is even a stream coming down one of the roads. It has a cute street market, a gorgeous cathedral, and some of the most amazing people. If I ever make it back to Peru, I will be doing an eco tour there.

 just up in the clouds

 there is a waterfall at the top. Bradley and I want a house right next to it ;)

Jaen

She was awesome! cooked for us twice a day and her cooking is crazy good

The people who made the screenings a success. 42 more children in the program

While everyone else worked, I played with all the children and chatted with all the moms. my spanish is improving a TON

a lot of kids do not like being measured lol

As usual, this baby made tons of friends

A day at the beach

I don't know why it never occured to me that being closer to the equator means closer to the sun. Not only is it hotter, but you can burn easier too. Lesson learned. My feet resemble lobsters, and my poor sweet baby has a tiny bit of a burn on his arms. Luckily, I'm definitely the worst off, and baby's sunburn should heal in a day or two.

I've heard that Peru has some incredible beaches and definitely wanted to check them out, especially since it is hot. We decided that today was the day! We were going to adventure out to find the beach! So a taxi, convi, and long walk later we found ourselves at the water!... except, this place was NOT for swimming. I wish I had taken a picture. tons of fishing boats and big barges, and two men peeing into the water. Not quite what I was expecting. We went to a little sit down shady area with benches and sat down, debating what to do. There was a cute older couple sitting next to us and we struck up a conversation. Within minutes we had adopted them as our Peruvian grandparents. They were the Sweetest!! They had just had their 50th wedding anniversary. They were originally from Chiclayo, but currently lived in Lima, but were here visiting their daughter (who married a frenchman) and their grandchild (a little girl). They told us how to get to a quiet little beach that not many people know about, and accompanied us to the van to get there! We got all their information and may hopefully be able to see them later in Lima. Also, I am pretty sure our meeting them was divine intervention. Heavenly Father is looking out for us, even in the little things. I feel extremely blessed.

Eventually we got to the beach, and had it all to ourselves! It was the most perfect little town. When we arrived everyone in town was eating lunch together. Like, literally everyone! We made our way through town and down to the beach and got quickly into the wonderful cold ocean water. It was glorious! Especially since it was easily 95 degrees out. and this is considered their winter. and people were in long sleeves and jeans. and i have never sweat as much as I have in the past 4 weeks of being in South America.

William was NOT a fan of the water. It was too cold for his tastes and every time we dipped his little toes in he would cry and I would have to give him some serious cuddles to make it ok. Once, a big wave splashed him and he wouldn't calm down till I breastfed him. lol my little sweetheart. Bradley has it on video, so hopefully we can post some of our adventures soon 

 Side note about this swimsuit. I forgot to bring a swimsuit! Then, where we first stayed, when I realized how hot it was and that I DEFINITELY wanted to go to the beach, I went looking for a suit. But it's supposedly winter here, so there were only super overpriced swimsuits in the mall! I had just about given up when we went to the supermarket to get food, and they just happened to have a swimsuit, in my size, for the equivalent of only $3! Score!

 

Mama needs a pedicure, but this view was perfect

Lima, and lots of pictures!

We spent this past weekend in Lima! It was sooo much cooler there. Didn't even need a fan. A nice little break from the heat. Missed our friends from up North though!

Lima is pretty. The beach is absolutely gorgeous. It doesn't have a ton of access, but it's got this road that runs right next to it for a while that is pretty awesome :)
We spent one of our days at this mall in the very expensive part of town. We had some great food, and just enjoyed the view for awhile.

Please ignore my messy hair and lack of make-up. Doing my hair and make-up just takes too much time, especially when I know it won't last in this humidity.

So one thing about developing countries is that the homes are usually still in the process of being built. Families will literally build brick by brick. When they get money, they put it into building their home, something tangible, as opposed to a savings account. When they have an influx of money, they build another row of bricks. Due to this slow building process, the roofs are made out of moveable material. Most roofs are made out of tin in the cities, and then some are made out of wood and mud, and others out of woven palm leaves.

Lima is a lot more developed than most places here. A lot of taller apartment buildings for housing. It also has a beautiful LDS temple! We were fortunate enough to stay in temple housing, where I had my first hot shower, and night in air conditioning in weeks. It felt a little surreal to be in such a calm and comfortable place. It was very peaceful.
The next 2 nights we stayed in a hotel, it was right next to one of the big malls, a church, and several parks. I'm fairly certain William is going through another growth spurt cause I am ALWAYS hungry, so I was grateful to have a burger king across the street.Also, there were ceramic St. Bernards in pretty much every park. not exactly sure why.

 William has a newfound love of grabbing anything that comes anywhere close to him! None of my food is safe anymore. He really wants to start eating soon. But the little mister is just gonna have to wait at least another month and a half. I'm pretty dang strict on the nothing but milk till 6 months rule. Especially in a country where the water isn't safe to drink. William has also discovered that when he smiles at someone they will almost always smile back, so he will stare at someone till they look at him and then smile really big. It's adorable. So glad to have my little travel buddy with me!