Blogs from Montañita, West, Ecuador, South America

From Mancora in Peru James and I caught an overnight bus to Cuenca in Ecuador. At first I was a bit apprehensive as a lot of the posts I had read online had talked about the border check points being quite far apart from each other and buses that were meant to be going straight through just kicking you off and leaving you to your own devices. It turned out however that due to certain degrees of corruption and passport theft the two countries have recently come together and at three in the morning we passed through a unified border where we were stamped out of one country and immediately into the next. The only delay in the process was with some of the highly intelligent individuals on my bus having the inability to fill out ... read more

Well what to say about Montanita? Would have been a much more pleasant stay if the weather had been a little bit nicer! Had some fantastic weather the first couple of days, was able to lay out in the sun, get my tan on :) but of course, me being me, got sun burnt the first day. I obviously suck at putting sun cream on.. Random patches of sunburn on my stomach and my knees. Made laying on my tummy to sleep quite painful! Spent the first 2 nights at a hostel in town, but too noisy so found a hostel down at surf point, about a km walk along the beach into town. So nice and peaceful, hardly anyone hangs out this end of the beach during the day, and you can fall asleep listening ... read more

So have finally made it! Arrived in Guayaquil after a massive 36 hrs, trip made very much longer by being stuck in the middle seat! First time though, that I have stayed awake the whole time and pretty much watched tv non stop.. 5 year engagement, the lucky one, what to expect when your expecting, friends with kids and get the gringo.. rom com anyone? Had the unexpected 8 hr stop over in Santiago (well unexpected to me anyway) which is not the most exciting airport in the wrold. Though it is pretty, surrounded by the snow capped andes. Tried to do the traveller doze across the airport seats, think I may have dozed a liuttle, but not enough for my poor body that was thinking it was night time.. Then the 5 hr flight to ... read more

Hola mis amigos, nachdem das Busunternehmen die Fahrgaeste Richtung Guayaquil weder Einreiseformulare (wie es bei Grenzueberquerungen per Bus, Schiff oder Flugzeug ueblich ist), noch uns darueber informiert hat dass wir die Grenze ueberqueren, stand ich nun ohne Einreisestempel da. Die Grenzueberquerung von Peru nach Ecuador duerften die Fahrgaeste gegen 1 Uhr (Samstag) frueh wohl "verschlafen" haben. Spaeter ging ich vor zum Busschauffer, und fragte ihn wann wir endlich am Grenzposten ankommen. Er antwortete nur kurz, dass wir schon vorbei seien! "Aha!" Im Busterminal Guayaquil beschwerte ich mich ueber diese Causa. Gut, dem Busunternehmen war dies scheinbar egal, dem Bussfahrer sowieso. Ich war nun illegal im Land. Da ich 1) ein Busticket nach Montañita besas, und 2) Miriam dort treffen werde, entschied ich mich vorerst fuer die Weiterreise. Ich nahm den Anschlussbus nach Montañit... read more

Vamos a la playa de Montañita Matka Montanitaan meni sujuvasti, vaikka vessaa ei ollu. Lindalla oli hiukan nukkumisvaikeuksia, mutta loikoileenhan rannikolle oltiin menossa niin väsymys ei sinänsä hirveesti haitannu. Bussimatkalla tutustuttiin kahteen ranskalaiseen matkaajaan ja yhteen sveitsiläiseen, joista oli suuri apu, kun meidän piti vielä ettiä vaihtobussi Libertadista Montanitaan. Montanitassa meni viä tovi, kun kilpailutettiin hostelleja. Pisimmän korren vei netillinen huone, joka oli yöltä pari dollaria toista suosikkia hintavampi. Käytiin katteleen biitsiä tulopäivänä ja kylää muutenkin. Montanita on kalastajakylästä pieneks surffikyläks kehittyny rantalomakohde, jossa on hostelleja ja ravintoloita vuoronperään muutamalla pääkadulla. Kojuista myydään koruja, vaatetta, pikkupurtavaa ja irtokarkkeja. Selvittiin siis koko yhdeksäntuntinen bussima... read more

Wow, what a surprise Ecuador was. I just learned to go into every country with low expectations. Ecuador was a place I haven’t heard to many backpackers talking about, and after Colombia kinda disappointed me, I wasn’t expecting much. The only thing I heard about Ecuador was the weather can change within minutes (being only a few miles from the equator though the weather is constant all year round) and the high amount of crime, often involving the police scamming the tourists. Nicci and I landed in the capital Quito late on the 30th and checked into a hostel called the Colonial House. The first night we just crashed cause we had to catch three flights that day, Santa Marta to Bogota, Bogota to Medellin, Medellin to Quito. On New Years Day I just walked around ... read more