NO ROBAR. NO MENTIR. NO SER HARAGÁN.

The title of this post is the Incan "Moral Code" from when they dominated South America in the 1400s (ish). It means "Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't be lazy." Pretty good code if you ask me, pretty much sums up what it takes to be a decent human being. The last part is the most important to me, although there should be another one added to the end "NO SER ESTÚPIDO." Hope you can translate yourself, seems a bit straighforward.

Another highlight in my day: printed off a color copy of my passport at school today, but it came out on 8 pages, measuring about 2 feet by 3 feet when all taped together. Definitely going to keep that bad boy, also going to show it to the security checkpoint officers when on busses, can't wait for their reaction.

Anyway, on to the good stuff, the pictures from Canoa. I had a hard time choosing only a few, so here goes nothing:

THE BEACH. The water was so warm, I could't believe it. Actually the first time (Mom, help me out with this) I've ever swam in a warm ocean; sad but true. Another amazing fact about this beach is that it stays really shallow for a really long time, so you feel like you're about 300 feet off the shore, yet you can still touch the bottom in-between waves.

Canoa's main drag. The beach is directly on the left, our hostel on the right, and all of the bars and food places on either side. It was really cool because you could basically just leave your flip flops and shirt at the hostel, and you could go anywhere without feeling weird or out of place (but with a nice sunburn!)

Don't know why this picture is so small, but I'm already frustrated from trying to adjust it for the last 18 seconds. I'll just let it be. This is the "lobby" of our hostel, and the big shaded canopy on the right was my home for all of saturday. The hostel was really cool, every wall made of bamboo, and the owners let us plug our own iPod into the speakers, which was really nice to relax and drink a bit after a long day surfing and jumping the waves.

The view from outside our rooms at the hostel with the ocean in the background. Honestly, I didn't even realize we could see the ocean over the trees until just now. Glad I really soaked everything in.

Our group at the first restaurant we ate breakfast at- fried eggs and rolls: the go-to Ecaudorian breakfast.

Another picture of the beach, with the huge cliffs in the background. We could have gone tandem hang-gliding from them for about $40, but we spent it on surfboards and beer. (Aren't you glad, mom?)

Saved the best for last: Saturday night's sunset. Wish I could say that's me on the surfboard, but I didn't dare go into the water after my burn, because the warm water would have felt terrible. Also was the first time I left my shaded canopy all day.

That's about all of the mom- (and grandma) approved pictures to put up, so I think my time here is done (thank god!) Well not God, but you know what I mean.

Best,

Blair