LAST NIGHT IN CANOA

FRIDAY 17th JUNE

  Alex was up at 7.00am for his fishing trip, and went off early to the beach.  It turns out the crew had been out at 5.00am already and had come back and would go out again about 8.30am, enabling Alex to buy some food for breakfast. 

 

Out on the ocean free!

  I got up for mine about 9.30am and sauntered over to the breakfast bar, where I ordered an American breakfast.  However this produced a torrent of questions that I was unable to answer.  Fortunately Bill, the retired American pilot from Quito was there and was able to act as interpreter.  So I opted for fried eggs and bacon over ham and coffee over tea.  I returned to our little terrace and finished off my book.  I then went for a walk along the beach paddling in the incoming waves most of the way.  The water was really warm.

  Alex returned about midday and got to work on answering a whole stack of e-mails whilst I caught up with the blog.  We decided to go to the Bamboo for a late lunch, and I sampled the local white wine along with my chilied prawns (they are becoming something of a staple diet as far as I'm concerned!).   It really is a pleasant setting at
the Bamboo, looking out to sea.

  We sat outside for the rest of the afternoon, until Alex spotted the sun setting behind us over the sea.  I dashed in to get my camera, and hurried out to the beach, just managing to get a few shots of the sun sinking on the horizon.

  We went out on the town about 7.00pm with a view to catching a part of the Happy Hour at the Suki Cocktail Bar.  There were noticeably more people around than during the week, and Carlos assured us that things really start swinging on a Saturday night - however we will be on our coach by then heading for Quito!

Alex, Carlos and I outside the Suki Bar

  We decided to go and get something to eat and tried a different restaurant for a change on the corner of the high street and the beach road.  Having ascertained that the owner could change a $50 note we ordered our usual prawns although Alex had his done in cocoanut sauce.  Delicious as ever. We then decided to buy a beer at a disc-bar and sat and watched the action.  Alex took a leaf out of my book by breaking the leg of his chair.  The
only song I recognised was The Macarenas.

   We then returned to Suki's where we joined a small party including Carlos and his uncle, an engineer who came from this area but had lived in Europe and had been to Warsaw and Cracow.  He even spoke a bit of English.  He and Alex hit it off instantly and chatted away in Spanish, whilst the sixth member of the party kept calling for yet more bottles of Pilsener and filling up everybody's glass.  Eventually the party broke up and I headed home, whilst Alex accompanied his new friend for a few more libations.