Carnaval

In the beginning of March, there was a 3 day time period called Carnival, Carnaval in Spanish. Most people think of carnaval in Brasil, with the huge shows and crazy outfits and out of control parties, and forget that it happens in other parts of the world too. In Ecuador, it obviously isn't as big and exciting as in Brasil, but still, it is really fun. EVERYONE goes to the beach for 3 days. The majority of the people don't work, a lot of stores are closed, and basically, life shuts down.


I went to a beach in the Guayaquil area with one of my best exchange student friends, Gus, and his family. Salinas is a gorgeous town and its bigger and more modern than a lot of the other beach towns I have been to in Ecuador. The water is really clear and the town has a lot of bars, restaurans, and shops. It is also really safe. I walked around with Gus by ourselves a lot and never felt in danger...that was a nice feeling. During the day we just relaxed on the beach, walked along the beach and the malecon, and did whatever. It was relaxing and fun just people watching all day.

One thing that I didn't expect was the fact that on the malecon, everyone bought cans of foam and would spray it at random people walking by, and it was acceptable. People sprayed me in the face, all over my clothes, threw water, paint, and sand on me, and it was normal. If you are walking on the malecon, you have to expect to get dirty, wet, and to stain your clothes. It is called "jugar carnaval", like to play carnival. People even spray the foam and stuff and police offiers, and into cars that have open windows. At night it is even crazier....people are drinking and there are way more people, and it is just like a huge, crazy party all over the place. I didn't expect anything like the experience that I had during carnival before. I had heard storeies of the foam and the paint that they throw on you, but I neer expected it to be so intense.