Turtle Tuesday

Today was probably one of the best days ever! Not just of the trip, but one of the highlights of my life - but I don't know that in the morning.

It's Sophie's 22nd birthday and in addition to the spa preparations last night we've thought of a few things to do. I actually wanted to watch the sunrise on the beach, but the hotel gate was chained up, so that didn't happen - great fire safety in the hotel. So I lie down again until we meet up again later for breakfast. I walk quickly with Emily so that we can decorate the table in the same restaurant as yesterday and buy a brownie, in which we can stick a 22 with candles. Callie brings flowers that have just been freshly cut in town, and Sophie is incredibly happy about the surprise we gave her. After a few minutes on the beach, one of us makes our way back to the hotel. From there we start our adventure to Ñuro, a small town not far away that is known for two things: local fishing and turtles! Because we get to swim with turtles and I'm as excited as I was before the swing jump in Baños. We get life jackets for the boat trip and take a walk around the harbor, where the captain tells us a lot about the area, sustainable fishing and the protected areas of the turtles. Then we get big goggles and are allowed into the water. The motto: no loud noises so as not to scare the turtles, and don't actively touch them, although they might touch you - the turtles are very playful. The next half hour is just a dream. The turtles are at least a meter long, swim next to and under us, touch us several times or breathe right next to us on the water surface. Being able to experience that was just WOW! The pictures speak for themselves, I think. Afterwards we share ceviche again right at the harbor - it couldn't be fresher - and we make our way back to the hotel and then to the beach. To talk about our morning, of course, and to let it all sink in in the sun on the beach.

In the evening we get ready for Sophie's birthday party! We all put on our new clothes from the beach and/or our handmade earrings from Cuenca and then take a few tuk-tuks to a sushi restaurant that is a bit outside the city. There, a decorated table is waiting for us and we hang a 22 made of balloons over Sophie's seat. At the table, some people spontaneously write the last congratulations on the card and we give it to her. We enjoy the evening with sushi, poke bowls and good drinks and then make our way to the hostel in town to really celebrate Sophie again. It's not that busy yet, but with our group of eleven people, we're doing well. Classical music that we all know from our clubs at home is playing, as well as Latin American raggaeton. Other guests of the hotel who come from Chile show us how to dance to it, we play beer pong and have a great evening together that lasts longer than expected.