Sunday January 15th

So, we are still in Same and loving the relaxed pace. We were planning an outing to a nearby town today, but unfortunately I was afflicted with that lovely traveller's disease. I was hoping to avoid this with the Dukoral, but no such luck. Thankfully, we had brought antibiotics with us for this exact purpose. Anyway, as a result I did not feel up to doing much of anything. Mike went to the corner store on his own (wow) to get water and Gatorade to help with dehydration. I am not sure if the problem was caused by the salad I had at dinner, or just poor hand hygiene.
During part of the day, Mike was chatting with our host Leo about his previous adventures. Leo was born in Belgium but has lived in Kenya, Costa Rica and Ecuador (for about 20 years). Leo worked in the cut flower industry in Kenya. He told Mike about the political history of Kenya. Leo has lived a very interesting life, and now seems content to relax with his faithful dog Dan in this beautiful country.
Later in the day we ventured over to Max's restaurant so that Mike could eat, and I could nibble on rice. We met a couple of awesome ladies, Debbie and Maryanne, who were from Utah. They had been in the Andes for a few days, then on the beach, and were headed back to the mountains again. They were looking forward to a train ride in the Andes and some zip-lining. It was lovely to chat in English with them. Debbie had excellent Spanish, so this also allowed me to gain a few more words and sayings.
We headed back to our villa for our last night in Same. As luck would have it, Mike soon started having the same issues as me. Oh well! At least we are getting it over with! Tomorrow we travel to Canoa, an area hit hard by the earthquake last spring.

flowers at Villa Ana

Our room, and kitchenette

Bamboo and thatch used everywhere

From our balcony

side of the house, main level

Our balcony, with the hammock that was my favourite!