Dalama Adventures Tale of two corporate types ditching their jobs and traveling the world for 14 months... check out all photos, blogs & interesting tid bits at http://www.dalama.net

We decide to take the bus back to Guayaquil tonight, to be sure we have no issues making our flight out the next day. We would have had to leave the beach on the 5:00 a.m. bus if we were to leave tomorrow, as there are only two busses that go direct, and the 1:00 p.m. bus would have caused us to miss our flight. "Gun shy," we are not comfortable taking an early morning bus, so one day less of beach time is the price we'll pay for safety and piece of mind. We take the local bus for 50 cents to Montañita, for the second time, passing through this tiny surf town. Now noon, the town is hopping, tourists abound, and the little street cafes are packed with people starting early with cervezas to wash down a late breakfast. It's the total little surf rat town, smaller than a Rosarito, but similar vibe, minus the ever enlarging Papa's 'N Beers. Apparently the surf here is supposed to be the best in all Ecuador, but right now it's extremely low tide, and the beach break is closing out... but sure has potential, a bit like Dominical beach break in Costa Rica. We board a "tourist" bus for Guayaquil and are pleasantly surprised - this bus is brand new, and Japanese made. We have posh reclining seats, and an actual adjustable air conditioning vent above the seat so we won't freeze on the trip. The driver doesn't even blare local music or videos, nor does this bus make stops along the way to pick up roadside local passengers... probably the reason it's a safer "tourist bus," with less chance of banditos getting on along the way. Paying the extra few dollars is definitely worth it on this bus. Guayaquil is a sprawling city, we pass through miles of slums before we finally hit the core of the city. One thing we see quite frequently in Latin America (both Central and South America) are huge cement cemeteries that resemble parking garages converted to mass morgues. There are endless cement buildings with rectangular cubicles 30 plus high, that tightly pack in all the local deceased. We had learned from a volunteer friend in Guatemala, that if a family can't afford to pay for the cemetery "cell" and defaults on payment, the body eventually gets tossed into the large dump surrounding one side of the cemetery. We wonder if this is a common practice throughout other countries as well. We get to the gated terminal in Guayaquil, and catch a licensed taxi to our hostel Alexander, where we don't know whether there will even be a room available... but it's our lucky day, our driver not only gets us safely and directly to our hotel, but the hotel has a room left, with a window (overlooking slums, but it's a window none-the-less). We settle in, fresh shower, wash our laundry in the bathroom sink, and head downstairs for some grub, feeling slick and clean. We eat the most nasty, greasy pollo y arroz while we watch a fight break out on the street in front of us. Not a real inviting place to want to go out and explore. We use our day to catch up on sleep and our typical administrative tasks like following up on accommodations we hope to stay at in Peru, paying bills, scanning credit card and bank accounts for potential fraudulent use. We end up sleeping through dinner, waking up early to get ourselves packed for our flight to Lima.