Phrase of the day: Pues bien, estaba diferente... Well then, that was different.
Understatement. But we'll get to that later... I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
On Christmas Eve Eve (yes, the day before Christmas Eve), I went to Bahia to check my mail and use the faster internet. I was lucky(grateful) that I was able to speak to many of you on skype! I had to be sure of one better-than-normal-meal for the season, so I ended up at Hotel La Herrandura for dinner.
Yeah, definitely a bit more classy than I needed, but I went more for the food than the atmosphere. I started off with a banana milkshake and then asparagus soup.
It was pretty good. For seconds I had spagetti with chicken and olives. I thought about having lazagna, but I knew it wouldn't have been as good as back home, so no point in trying. 
For dessert, naturally, I had the most expensive ice cream dish. It was watermelon, pineapple, and cantelope topped with ice cream, dulce de leche, and strawberry preserves. It was pretty good also, but I was missing Big Auntie's Christmas cookies! (Cross your fingers; maybe the post office people didn't steal them and eat them and they're still on their way!)
The way back to San Isidro was definitely interesting. Now that it has been raining for a few weeks, you're able to see all the green around here. And there are always cool pics right before it's about to pour. (Yeah, I got soaked).
I'm not sure if it made the news back home, but during the wee hours of the morning on Christmas Eve, the biggest bus accident that San Isidro has ever seen happened. The day was different, to say the least. And the night as well.
There was a candle light vigil, and I saw more people than I've ever seen at one time in town.
The priest of the Catholic Church here said that there would be no Christmas this year, and much less a Happy New Year. But the food was all prepared. To celebrate Christmas, the people have a second dinner at midnight. Mario's girlfirend, Lisette, is very nice and invited me over for it. It wasn't exactly the happiest, but it was nice.
Yeah, I definitely did not drink any of that... it's funny how they are just like my friends back home and they love pictures of me with drinks though. The next morning, Christmas morning, I was woken up by Mario before I had the chance to open my gifts from back home. Apparently we were going on a car trip to visit his grandmother in Portoviejo and then...?It ended up being a whole day of traveling. We had lunch, probably the best home-cooked meal I've had in Ecuador, at his grandmothers, and then went up to San Isidro along the coast, stopping at towns along the way. In Crucita we went to the highest mountain and enjoyed the views.
I took some crucial pics throughout the day.
One of our last stops was Mario's great grandfathers. To my surprise, he had the most Christmas spirit. His house was decked out with Nativity scenes, lights, and a big Christmas tree. That was my second favorite part of the day.
When we got home that night, I opened my Christmas gifts right away. Could not have been better! (If you haven't tried these granola bars, go out and get some).
We'll see what New Years holds... Have a great one!
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