Olón

Last week Friday was the start of Carnaval. It is a "festive season that begins just before Lent". It is also accompanied by a water war, which in recent years has evolved into a water fight including food coloring dyed water and even flour. The people on the streets of Ecuador throw water at each other, spray each other with squirt guns full of dyed water, or throw flour on you. Our in-country personnel advised us to leave the city during this time ... So we went to the coast and stayed a nice little hostel in Olón, called The Sea Garden House. It was right on the beach, and we absolutely loved the city. It was a very small little village, tucked away in a corner on a beautiful beach!! Unfortunately, we did not get many pictures of the actual beach, and most disappointing of all, no pictures of E on the beach or in the ocean!!! Both of us thought the other would take the pictures ... and of course neither of us did.

Here are some of the photos we did manage to capture:





E "playing Carnaval" with some of the other girls at The Sea Garden House





There is a local orphanage in Olón and The Sea Garden House works
with the children there. They spent the day at the beach and then
had fresh fruit and ice cream. E loved playing with all of the "niñas"

This is what happens when you give a 4-year old markers to pintar with!