Ecuador

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Montanita - Day 8

Breakfast in the room this morning. We had our coil to heat up coffee water in our cups. Coffee, fruit, and pastries made a great breakfast. Walked the beach to check out how to transport our luggage to the next hostal. The sand near the water was hard and easy to walk along, so we will probably move via the beach rather than by the main road. The beach was quiet and beautiful this morning. There were several dogs on the beach, a couple of them frolicking in the water. A few boys were practicing their long jumps.



Next was our ATM adventure. We tried a couple banks, and we couldn't get any money out. Then found out that maximum withdrawal is $100, but you can do this up to three times (which is sneaky because it triples the fee!) Tried again, and still no cash. We'll try again later tonight or tomorrow. We contacted the bank before we left and told them we would be here in Ecuador, so that shouldn't be the problem. We are ok to get to the next town, so not panicking yet.



We looked for a quiet place to read and blog. Bob found the stairs up to the roof. A beautiful spot, great view, chairs, a wonderful ocean breeze, and a table for blogging. Now Bob has his hammock! I can see surfers from up here, trying to get some photos. There are many yellow butterflies flutterimg above the trees. Now back to my Kindle book.



Out again for some more exploring. Noticed how much they use bamboo here. Most all fence posts, beams, columns, etc are made of bamboo. Bamboo is also a favorite for vases, either singly or several of differing heights and widths attached together. Tattoo parlors are popular, as well as rasta hair-dos.



Tried the ATM card again, no go. Then tried our Visa debit and it worked. Now we don't have to do dishes. Got a wonderful lunch at el Sazon Guayaco. The almuerezo (daily inexpensive lunch) we ordered was fish or squid, rice, beans, salad, plus fresh pineapple juice, all for $3 per person. We would definitely go back there.



A walk around town in the evening, very peaceful and comfortable. Picked up fruit and pastries again. Lady at the bakery insisted we get a free roll hot out of the oven. Stopped for a pineapple batido (milkshake) at Casa Tua. Yum.

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Photos

Lunch at el Sazon Guayaco
Calamares and fish

Comments

[gail and richard]

Looks like a lovely town
Glad to see you found your hammock, Bob! The beach in the photos looks lovely with lots of white sand. Nice to have all that fresh fruit for breakfast. Gail and Richard

[Mike McDonald]

Hammocks
Looks like a great adventure for you two. Keep finding those hammocks!

[tak1]

Hammocks
No more hammocks as we bused from Guayaquil (sea level) to Cuenca (about 8400 ft). We spend the rest of the time in the mountains. Guayaquil is the lagest city in Equador (over 2 million people). I expected a large Manta (which is loud and trashy) but Guayaquil is very clean and has an awesome Malacon.

[Ken King]

ATM
I mentioned your ATM problem to Karen, Cheryl, and Clay Friday night. They suggested that you U.S. ATM card does not have the embedded chip like European cards and that may be the reason your card can get you any cash.

[tak1]

ATM Card
I sent emails to our local bank. They said it must be routed through Columbia and that is the problem. Two cards, three cities and four banks with the same problem. Fortunately we have a card from an internet bank that works fine.