Sun, Surf and Soup

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My next stop was Montañita - holiday resort, party town and the surfing Mecca of Ecuador. It was a cool place, and was filled with a mix of surfer dudes, travellers, dreadlocked crusties and hippy-chicks. It was also a town which INFURIATED me to the point which I wanted to batter someone over the head with a blunt instrument. Basically, no-one in this town seemed to have any concept of change (as in money). Imagine going into a corner shop in England and buying something for a pound with a ten pound note, or even a five pound note. You would get change, no problem. But not here. If you don´t have the right change, no chance. On one particular day, I got turned away from four consecutive shops because they had no change. Sorry if I start to rant here, but if you had to turn people away every day, surely you would grasp the fact that you need to get some bloody change!!! It happened day after day to me, and I spoke to other frustrated travellers about it. I felt like grabbing these people by the lapels, shaking them and shouting "GET A BLOODY FLOAT!" Rant over.

The surf in Montañita was consistent and magnificent, so I knuckled down to learn some surfing. I had two lessons and picked it up very quickly, catching more waves than I missed. Although catching the wave is only the beginning. Leaping onto the board and staying on your two feet is the difficult part. But I did admirably well, which was partly due to my recently acquired "surfers beard". Wear the beard and the power of the surfer will come.

From Montañita I headed to Guayaquil, Ecuador´s largest city. A friend from England, Ben, put me in touch with his girlfriend who was from Guayaquil. So Gaby put me up for the night and took me out on the town with her friend, Abigail. After early evening sightseeing of the gorgeous riverfront complex, we hit a nightclub at midnight. It was a friend´s birthday, and there was an interesting drinks scheme in place. The girls paid $10 entry, and I paid an unfathomable $18.25(?). This was a group drinks kitty. At all times there was a large bottle of Smirnoff Vodka on our table, with a bottle of soda, lime juice and a bucket of ice. So you can mix your drink how you want it and when you want it. When the vodka bottle is empty, another one arrives from the drinks kitty. There was a live band playing for most of the night, and sometimes between songs the crowd was shouting "Bo-te-lla, Bo-te-lla" (Botella - Spanish for bottle). Apparently there is a tradition for live pub bands in Ecuador. The band always buys a bottle of spirits for one of the tables. When prompted by the band, everyone starts chanting "bo-te-lla" and the loudest crowd wins. It turned out to be a very late night. These Guayaquillians certainly have some party stamina! We left the club at 5am, then went back to the birthday girl´s house for more drinks and to sing kareoke!? (I remember doing a particularly bad rendition of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson). To round the night off, Gaby and Abigail bought me "breakfast", to introduce me to an Ecuadorian speciality. It was a delicious fishy soup called encebollado. Drunk, and eating fish soup for breakfast at 8am!! Gaby was a fantastic hostess and really looked after me. Gaby and Abigail - If you are reading this , thank you again!

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Photos

the power of the beard
my surfing skills were increased three-fold

Gaby, my kind host in Guayaquil
enjoying a cocktail at 5am

Abigail, hostess number 2
also made me feel very welcome and gave me a Guayaquil tour with Gaby