Puerto Lopez.....home of Wison Churchill

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Puerto Lopez is a small, beautiful fishing village on the coast of Ecuador and I have to say our visit their has been one of the highlights of our trip. However, getting to Puerto Lopez from Cuenca was VERY long. First we traveled to Guayaquil, then onto Puerto Lopez. A bus company called Jipijapa have a few direct buses to Puerto Lopez from Guayaquil each day.... but be warned.... they are C.R.A.Z.Y :-) After a full day of traveling we arrived to Hosteria Mandala at around 8pm via a motorcycle taxi (another memorable experience!). The Hosteria was beautiful and the owners gave us a wonderful welcome (along with their 4 lovely dogs!). The Hosteria is made up of a main house compete with restaurant, reading area, board games, etc. Individual cabins/lodges are dispersed throughout the gorgeous, tropical garden. Each cabin comes compete with your own hammock just outside your door.... bliss :-) We were so tired on our first night that we opted for a home cooked meal and an early night!

The following morning we walked 3km along the beautiful beach to the town. The beach was located just across from the hostael. The walk was really pleasant and we got to see all the local fisherman bringing their catch to shore, trying desperately to avoid the hungry birds who attempted to snatch themselves some breakfast!

In the town we met a local man called Wison Churchill!!! He offers tours of Puerto Lopez and in particular a boat excursion in which you sail along the coast of Puerto Lopez and surrounding areas, spot blue-footed boobies and other birds as well as snorkeling and fishing. When we joined Wison for the excursion he introduced us to captain of the little boat who resembled someone from Miami Vice! The fishing was great........ although poor Paul got a little sea-sick! But I think the highlight for me was watching Wison prepare fresh ceviche on the boat using the fish we just caught and it tasted yummy.

Paul also did a bit of snorkeling which he thought was amazing.... some great varieties of fish to be spotted! I didn´t brave it myself..... way too cold in that water!! Later that evening we headed out to a local Colombian restaurant for some more gorgeous food.

We both loved Puerto Lopez. The people are really friendly and the place is very relaxed.... a great place to visit if you want to chill out. Unfortunately we were 10 days too early to see the many humpback whales who visit the area to mate between mid-June and October but even without this, Puerto Lopez is definitely a great place to visit :-)

- By Karen & Paul

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Photos

Puerto Lopez
Beautiful sunset in a wonderful town.

Under Attack!
The fishermen bringing in the mornings catch, only to be attacked by hundreds of hungry birds!

Puerto Lopez
Us having a quiet walk on the beach

Which way to?
See if you can find Dublin. Its definitely there!

The Humpback Whale
The Skeleton of a giant whale. We were 2 weeks too early to see the humpback whales who come to Puerto Lopez in mid-June to mate. Ah crap!

"We have to finish painting this wall today, so get movin
The Boobies busy at work!

Give me a kiss!
Karen was the first one to catch a fish on Wison Churchills boat.

Poor little fella
It looked alot bigger in real life!!! :( Still it tasted good in the ceviche!

Tasty Ceviche
Wison whips up a lovely batch of fresh ceviche on the boat using the fish we just caught!!!

Bombs away!
Wison joins me for some snorkeling. Got to see alot of beautiful fish

The Lodge
Our home in Puerto Lopez. What an amazing place :)