Bedding down in the sand

Well I have a month left before I head back to the states and Keith starts his slow decline towards depression.  After leaving Huanchaco where we spent the majority of our time fighting off the cold water, fighting off sickness, and fighting boredom via surfing and eating cheap yet tasty food, we are now in Mancora.  I can see why so many people flock here for their summers.  The soft sand is flooded with tourists and locals alike, all out to catch a mixture of sun and waves.  I personally have been very successful in the former of these two endeavors as I ripped off my toenail on a rock coming in after our first surf session.  This has left me doing plenty of reading, wave watching, writing and chilling with some of our other hostel goers who themselves are usually nursing hangovers or catching up on sleep.  However, my toe is looking better and tonight we leave for Ecuador.  Our first and possibly only long term stop is Mantañita.  If things go well both Keith and myself should be able to trade work for free room and board at a hostel allowing us to save some change while meeting plenty of people.  Of course the relatively shorter work hours would provide ample time for me to catch the one good wave I have been jonesing for since we first bought our boards back in lima. 

In other news I am fairly sure that I have reached an all-time high in the freckle department, I was also able to go for a jog without wanting to keel over and die so that was nice.  Minus the toe the beaches have been great to us and I while I cannot wait to get home, I am definitely stoked to take full advantage of the next three or four weeks.

Yay the coast

Well Keith and I have finally left behind the elevations whereby walking up and downstairs leaves us winded as we are now in Lima Peru.  We had a great month working with the Collins and their team of missionaries in Bolivia where most of our time was split between painting their new offices/living quarters and working at their carpentry shop.  At the shop I passed many an hour talking with Carmelo who (long story short) was deported back to Bolivia after his second drug charge even though he was adopted by a family in the U.S. at a very young age.  It was great to have enough time to build a relationship with someone from a completely different background and our conversations ranged anywhere from the validity of the bible to our favorite rap and hip hop artists (he greatly appreciated my collection of akon albums on my ipod since our boss listended solely to rock and country). Keith and I also got along well with a great guy named Alejandro (yes every time I said his name is reminded me of the rather odd music video by Lady Gaga).  He took us on an overnight fishing trip to the amazon basin where we fell asleep in a random boat tied to the shore.  We also ate at one of his friends houses which might have gifted me with some of my current stomach issues.  Overall we were both thankful to get to serve in a somewhat more stable environment while also leaning about the lifestyles of many missionaries in Bolivia, but now are quite glad to be back on the road.  We also managed while were there to pick up some strange intestinal disorders-Keith is just finishing his last dose of pills to kill of the amebas that took up residence in his lower intestine, i tested fine but my stomach at times looks similar to that of a child from one of those 'save the children' commercials, and while my condition has improved, it's been nearly a week since I felt close to normal.  So I think finding a place that sells prescription drugs over the counter is in my near future. 
In other news, we plan to stay in Lima for a few days, trying the many different foods, relaxing in a nice hostal with good breakfast, and trying to regain some energy before heading to the northern coast before Christmas.  There the plan is to take a few trips into the jungle, surf, and try and work at one or two hostals in order to save money on rent. By that time I will be close to my departure date, but still want to see a good portion of Ecuador, possibly via rafting and a zipline tour, before I head back to start real life in the States.
Miss you all greatly, hope all is well wherever you might find yourself reading this-Logan