Let the Ashes Commence

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After being in Canoa for about 5 days, we still hadnt got cash and were putting everything on a tab. I started to get worried that i wasnt keeping record of what i was spending, so we asked for the bill before we went to get money. I couldnt believe it when 5 nights accomodation and all our food and drink only came to 25 pounds each. Canoa just keeps getting better and better.

The journey to get cash involved taking a bus and a ferry. When we got off the ferry, we immediately found the cash point to get some deniro. Rather than heading straight back, we though we should have a look around. We went to a pharmacey to stock up on insect repellant and i try to get something to put on my feet. The sea ulcers from my mosquito bites are starting to get pretty nasty and i am hoping to find something more effective than Germoline Second Skin to put on them. This is all we have in the first aid kit, and it doesnt seem to be doing the trick. It also hurts like hell when i put it on!! The pharmacey isnt exactly Boots. When i go in there are a few lotions and potions in a glass cabinet, with a teenage girl stood behind the counter. I can almost ask for what i require in Spanish, so give it a go.
"Tienes antiseptico por aqui?" I lift my foot onto the counter and point.
The young girl grimaces, and goes into the back to get her mum. Mum comes out, looks at my feet, also grimaces and then hands me a tub of what appears to be antiseptic powder. I am not quite sure what it is, but am willing to give it a go, so i pay and leave.

We decide to have a look at the beach, so jump in a taxi. Its a man on a bike that has a carriage on the front for two people to sit. As we get in, im thinking i hope the beach isnt far? The fella is no spring chicken, and with all the extra timber Petes carrying, im actually worried for his health. Luckily the beach is only at the end of the street, so we pay and jump out. There is very little to see at the beach, apart from a midget riding a bike selling ice cream. We buy two and sit down on the sea wall to try and eat them before they melt in the sun. Magnum Toffee, Beautiful!!!!

When we return from Bahia, we arrive back at Bamboo to find Simon has moved in (Aussie we met in the water on our first day). He has knocked his voluntary work on the head because Bahia was so dull and he realised that hanging out with a couple of English lads by the beach was way more fun. Simon recons he doesnt like cricket or rugby and only started to surf a couple of years ago. Im thinking he isnt actually Australian at all. He has probably just bleached his hair and is putting on the accent to pull birds. Si has spent time at a Spanish school in Quito and speaks the language very well. Over the time we hang out at Bamboo, he is able to share the burden of trying to teach me Spanish with Pete. Which i am sure must have been a walcome relief.

We start our own ashes series combining a variety of activities that are on offer. Si comfortably wins at chess and scrabble. I win at poker and Pete wins at pool and backgammon, giving victory to the poms and the ashes are retained!! Si introduces a new rule with Ping Pong. We play first to 3, alternate serves and the looser has to stand with their back exposed, while his opponent gets a free shot at his back. the aim is to try and hit hard enough so that a body welt marks the spot that was hit. If my memory serves me correctly, i think England also took that series as well?

During our time in Canoa we get quite friendly with the locals. Ariol is always around. There are the two guys that work behind the bar at bamboo, both called Leo who are good fun to share a joke with, and then there is Jorge. Jorge is easily the most hyperactive person i have ever met. He takes great pleasure announcing that he wins all the local surfing competitions and is "the champion of Canoa!" In the water he is never still. He paddles at 100mph and absolutely destroys every wave he catches. All the time he has a broad grin on his face as he sings songs out loud. One evening he takes us out to a place he knows for dinner. In the restaurant there is a small tv showing a South American soap opera. Pete explains to Jorge in Spanish that back home i watch Australian soaps on tv and teaches Jorge how to say,
"John, you watch F*#king S*1t TV!" Which he shouts at the top of his voice every time he sees me.

As well as the restuarant that we went to with Jorge, Simon manages to find a few other places where the locals eat. It is never on the menu, but if you ask for merienda, you get a bowl of home made soup (chicken or fish), followed by a main course of rice, salad, fresh fish, plantane and a glass of fruit juice. All for just $1.50. Each day it will be different and Merienda quickly becomes the staple part of our diet. Along with croisants, coffee and fruit for breakfast and cocktails during happy hour at Bamboo. I start to feel guilty about drinking cocktails every night, but at a price of 50p, what else are we going to do? I notice a sign that says 1 free cocktail for every bag of rubbish collected from the beach.

The next afternoon, inbetween surfs, Simon, Pete and myself head off down the beach. Each of us armed with a sack, keen to do our part to save the planet and get free alcohol in return. If only the green party could come up with such a radical policy. They would get elected every time back home in the UK. As with everything Simon, Pete and myself have done over the last few days, collecting rubbish soon becomes intensely competetive. We fight over the large bulky items of garbage that fill your sack up quickly. Two young Ecuadorian girls start to help and everytime they offer out a handfull of rubbish, all three of us barge one another out of the way to get there first. It takes about 45 minutes to fill all three sacks. That night while i was enjoying my free Caparina, i didnt feel as guilty, as i had done something good to earn it.

Most of the time in Canoa we had waves. However, most days there was a strong on shore wind making the surf messy. Even very early in the morning it would be windy, apart from one day. I woke to see the surf was about 3ft, clean and no wind. I took my board down to breakfast, inhaled a plate of scrambled eggs, skulled my cup of coffee and paddled straight out. Simon soon followed along with Pete. The previous night at dinner, Si had been telling us how back home sharks dont worry him. He is more scared of getting stung in the face by a Blue Bottle Jellyfish. After we had been surfing for about 10 minutes, what does Pete do? Only duck dives a wave and gets stung just above his eye by a Blue Bottle Jellyfish. We had all been stung over the previous few days, but only on the arm or leg. Being the good mate that i am, i offer to piss on Petes face (which is supposed to stop the pain). He declines my offer and elects to paddle back in to get some vinegar, leaving the waves for myself and Si to enjoy.

Canoa is an average Beach break. The wave doesnt break very steep or with too much power, making it good easy surfing. There are no strong rip currents, so it is a safe beach to learn how to surf. Leo from Bamboo offers surf lessons to earn some extra cash. On a few occasions people wanted lessons when he was working, so i quickly stepped in. Leo charge $10 for 1.5 hours. I manage to charge $20 for 2 hours. The money isnt as good as in the UK, but the lessons i do pays my accomodation for a few nights.

Other highlights of our stay at Bamboo were, spending an afternoon at Leos house watching a surfing DVD that Pete had in his rucksack. One evening Ariol also lit a fire on the beach and put on a display of fire juggling. After being in one place for 2 weeks, as much as we had fallen in love with Canoa, it was time to move on. Pete and myself plan to head south to Montanita and Simon South and inland to Cuenca. we exchange e mails. Agree to meet up in Peru for Xmas and head our seperate ways.

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