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Published: December 3rd 2006
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Cuenca
Anyone seen forrest gump? Ayampe is a small village 20 minutes north of Montañita. There is very little there, but it is an extreamly beautiful place. There are a couple of places to stay in the village, but it is still the off season, so there is nobody around. Our accomodation is an eco-lodge called Tortuga (www.latortuga.com.ec). The main complex at Tortuga has a bar/restaurant and beachside cabins. It is quite luxurious, but well out of our budget. There is a second site 50m further along the road. For $5 a night we opt to stay there in permanently constructed tents. Inside we have bunk beds, lots of space and an en suite built on to the back with shower, sink and wc. The grounds are extreamly well kept by the one permanent member of staff, a Colombian gentleman called James. James lives at Tortuga and is our only neighbour. We have the whole of Ayampe to ourselves, not a single tourist in site. We quickly settle into our own patch of heaven.
After a surf on our first day in Ayampe, we are desperate for some food. There are 2 small local shops in the village that sell water, beer, rice, crisps, chocolate and not alot else. The restaurant at Tortuga is expensive, so we head out in search of a place that serves merienda. The only venue we find after walking around is a small resturant called Picanteria. As we walk inside it doesnt seem to be open. The owner appears, tells us both to sit down and brings us a beer. He takes our order (both have fish) and then gets on his bike and leaves. After 10 minutes he returns with 2 local ladies, who turn out to be the cooks, and a bag of fish for our dinner. The kitchen is opened specially for us, and the two ladies who have been dragged into work prepare our meal. I felt slightly guilty, but we needed to eat. The meal sums up Ecuador. The people are so friendly. If they dont have what you ask them for, they will do their best to point you in the direction of someone that does.
As well as there being nobody else at Tortuga, there are also no phones or internet in the whole of Ayampe. For the first time we are completely cut off from the western world and it feels good. who needs the internet when we have our own beach and jungle to keep us occupied? The wave at Ayampe breaks best at high tide, which for our first couple of days was early in the morning and late evening. The rest of the time myself and Pete chill out on the beach at a river estury. The river is almost dry, but locals still come to fish and bathe. There are a wide variety of birds treating us to our own private natural history show. Pete even tries to do his own voice over with his best David Attenborough impression. When he decides that the Pelicans are Nazies and the Gulls Allies, acting out their own version of a world war two air battle, i suggest that maybe we have had enough sun for one day, and should probably sit in the shade for a while?
On the walk back to Tortuga along the beach, we meet three young children who are trying to catch crabs. As soon as they spot a crab, it is a race to see who can catch it before it has time to scurry back down its hole in the sand. It looks like great fun, so Pete and myself lend a hand. Even with 5 people the crab manages to evade capture for some time. When it makes a last ditch attempt for the safety of its hole, the eldest boy digs it out, picks the crab up and quickly pulls off both its claws. I thought we were just having a bit of fun, acting out our own version of the scene from Rocky when he chases the chicken as part of his old school training. Is this brutality really necessary? It turned out the crab was for dinner, so i guess it was ok.
Every couple of days we would take the bus to Puerto Lopez to get food supplys from the market. 1kg of rice, vegetables and a whole Tuna fish would cost $5. Most nights at dusk we would collect wood and build a fire on the beach. One night we decided not to cook our dinner in the kitchen, but to use the fire on the beach instead. Once the flames had died down, we placed our tinfoil parcels on the embers. We sat, beers in hand, watching the waves by moonlight and waited for our food to cook. When it was ready, the food looked superb. However, when we started to eat, the constant crunch of sand between our teeth meant we quickly losty our appetites. I love being on the beach, but it definately isnt the place to enjoy a good nose-bag.
My feet are becoming a bit of a nightmare. The antiseptic powder i got in Bahia has dried up most of my wounds, except one. I have what is basically a large hole, about the size of a 5p coin on the side of my right foot. A combination of Iodine, Alcohol Antiseptic and Powder Antiseptic has kept infection away, but it is refusing to heal over. The pain was starting to get quite bad, so i reluctantly decided that it was time to have some time out of the water to let things heal. One morning i was sat on the beach, watching Pete enjoy having the lineup to himself. in the distance i can see an elderly man walking along the beach towards me. He has bow legs, skin like leather from years of exposure to the sun and is wearing a baseball cap. He is also carrying a length of rope over his shoulder and a metal caine in his hand. As he approaches me, he smiles a toothless grin and starts to talk to me in Spanish. I usually have Pete to bail me out in these situations when my spanish runs dry, but he has left me flying solo, so i give it my best shot.
"Buenos dias señor"
The mans smile broadens, revealing a couple of lonely looking teeth.
"¿Commo estas?"
"Bien gracias. Y tu?"
"Si. Todo bien"
The man holds out his hand to shake.
"¿Commo se llama?"
"John. Y tu?"
"David."
"Mucho gusto David."
Thats as far as i managed to take the conversation before i had to throw in the towel. Once David started to talk freely in spanish i was forced to say.
"No entiendo. Soy Ingles. Yo solo say un poco Español."
He smiled again and handed me a bag of crabs to inspect.
"Bueno"
"Adios Amigo."
"Adios."
As David walked off down the beach, i was actually glad i wasnt in the water surfing. Although my Spanish was extreamly basic, i had managed to make a friend.
The same afternoon we decided to hike along the river into the jungle. Both of us only had flip flops to wear on our feet, but were assured by James at Tortuga that if we followed the path by the river, we would be ok in flip fops for a while. Once the path gets deeper into the jungle, flip flops would be a no go and we would have to turn back. I started the walk with two objectives. The first was to keep my foot dry and the second was to see a dangerous animal. After 10 minutes, we had been forced to wade through the river and during 3 hours of walking, all we saw was a cow, donkey and a chicken. Not exactly what i had in mind. The scenery was spectacular though. The hills rose very steeply on either side of the valley, covered in thick green rainforest.
When i woke the next morning, it appeared that my day spent on dry land had done the trick. Never before have i been as delighted to see the appearance of a skab on my body. I inspected my foot closer, and it looked like it was starting to heal over. That was untill the sun came out and high tide brought chest high surf. The scab dissapeared when i bashed my foot on by surfboard, first wave. The pain shot up my leg, but it was well worth it. I was back to square one again with my foot, but it was to be my last surf in Ecuador before heading inland to Cuenca on our way to Peru. Hopefully, without the temptation to go surfing in cuenca, my foot will have improved by the time we arrive in Peru.
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