Tour of Bethel

So I guess it's been a while. I've had several comments about not having written anything so here it is. I'll have a few new posts over next few days so hope you enjoy.

We recently took a trip to the coast and here is a short blog about the first part of our journey.

Entrance to Branch

My sister is down visiting us for three weeks so we had to head to the coast to Guayaquil to pick her up, this made for a perfect little trip. We decided to see Bethel and check out the coast at the same time. On Monday we left Cuenca by bus to Guayaquil which is a 4 hour trip. The bus ride was nice we got see the Cajas again one of our favorite sites. We arrived in Guayaquil around 3 pm, and the Bed and Breakfast we stayed in, which is owned by the Mina family picked us up at the Bus station. They have a cute little place on the side of their home with 2 rooms and a bathroom and shower in each room. Cost was $10 each and $5 for the transport service which they provide with their own bus. They have a nice mall about 10 minute walk from their home which was perfect for dinner and snacks.

Dinning Room

At 1 am they drove me to the airport to pick-up my sister who basically finished customs as we arrived. Perfect timing. After a short sleep they had breakfast ready for us in the morning of eggs, toast, coffee, fruit and juice a good start to a long day. They kindly called us a taxi which showed up just in time for us to get to our tour at Bethel.

The Ecuador Branch is truly beautiful. Mango trees all over the property, well kept buildings and a convention hall on site. Our guide was from the states and had been in Ecuador for nearly 20 years I think she said. The tour took about an hour and a half and was really worth it. Especially for the boys to be able to say that they saw a branch in South America. They are now asking to see New York this summer. Will have to make it a point to visit. Although I think the highlight of the tour was seeing the lizards on site. Keefe keeps trying to find a small one he can bring home with him.

Literature Desk

After our tour we headed back to the bus station to catch our next ride further north west to the coast where we would spend the next 4 days. Although, to do it again, I would have just waited outside the branch and caught a bus to Santa Elena.

Stay tuned for our beach side vacation blog.