Saturday
After long travels on Friday, I ate breakfast Saturday morning (I ordered an Americano breakfast; eggs, ham, cheese and bread), and headed to the beach to soak up the sun! Atacames is a big beach that both nationals and tourists go to! It was very crowded (and a little crazy), but it is a gorgeous beach on the Pacific. It was so warm and humid in this area as well! There was a lot of overcast so the sun wasn't too strong, which was very nice. There were lots of vendors selling things on the beach too, as well as parasailing and whale watching.
For lunch (and pretty much the rest of my meals), I ordered seafood because it is absolutely delicious at the beach! I got so excited that I almost forgot to take a picture of my ceviche with shrimp and plantains. After lunch, it was back to the beach to make sandcastles (which was a struggle without the proper beach toys)! We then watched the sunset at the beach.
Sunday- Ecuadorian Independence Day
Today was Independence day for Ecuadorians. Although it's like our Fourth of July, the celebration here is not like our celebration. It is more a day of relaxation. When it falls on a weekday, everyone has the day off. Besides that, the beach was extra crowded with people on the holiday, but there were not any special festivities where I was. When I asked my family, they said it is not very common to have celebrations on this day and most people just relax!
Sunday morning, I only had until noon at the beach before I had to head back on another 7 hour bus ride. Therefore, I was up at sunrise to hit the beach early and find some seashells! I found a little bag full of beauties and was able to see the beach when it was a little less crowded. I ate breakfast then went to work on my tan! I also drank a glass of the best and most fresh pineapple juice that I have ever tasted! Yum! 
It was not as cloudy on Sunday, and I was actually able to get some good sun! The clouds and sky were so clear that they didn't even look real! Before I got back on the bus, I needed one more plate of fresh fish! It is so good! My favorite little restaurant had a cute little juice bar to make some of the best fresh juice you can imagine!
It was a beautiful way to spend my last full weekend in Ecuador. You can't beat the ocean, fresh fish, and a great tan! It was more than lovely! Thanks for following!
Love,
Danni