Blogs from West, Ecuador, South America - page 60

Boobies, etc. This past weekend was a long one in Ecuador, also… not for Columbus, but for Guayaquil’s independence day (Monday). A new friend from Spanish school, Roxane, and I took a 10-hour bus ride southwest to Manabi province on the coast. It was great to see a sizeable part of the country outside of the windows… although unfortunately, the pictures I tried to take from the bus are crappy. The scenery really is striking, mountains everywhere and in some places, covered by clouds. Outside of the cities, it truly felt like the middle of nowhere, with some places designated by kilometer markers on the road rather than by town names. Many of the people are really poor. With the elections coming up, it seemed that not a house or telephone pole didn’t have at ... read more

Und wieder ist ein Wochenendausflug vorueber… Das letzte Wochenende entschlossen wir uns, mehr oder weniger spontan, nach Cuenca zu fahren, da wir aufgrund des deutschen Feiertages bis Dienstag frei hatten. (Das sind die Vorzuege einer deutschen Schule!) Cuenca liegt ca. 4 bis 5 Stunden suedlich von Guayaquil in den Anden Ecuadors. Entsprechend kann man sich die Busfahrt vorstellen. Abgesehen von den vielen Kurven, bergauf, bergab und Serpentinen, war es eine wunderschoene Fahrt. Angefangen von unserem Luxusbus, mit einer Toilette (auch wenn ich vermieden habe diese zu benutzen) und relativ viel Beinfreiheit, war es die Aussicht, welche die Fahrt so angenehm gestaltete. Wir fuhren mitten durch die Anden, umgeben von Nebel...links der Abgrund, rechts die Felsenwaende. Wir fuhren durch Wolken, die aussahen wie Zuckerwatte, an Felsen vorbei, aus denen wie aus dem Nichts Wasserfaelle hera... read more

We're on holidays! Free from school for 15 days, we decided to search for some sol y mar on the edge of Ecuador. Another all-day bus nightmare (had pleasantly forgotten about those the last few months) including a frantic search of the Guayauqil bus terminal (they bark at you like cattle from their little desks), and we found ourselves in lovely little Montañita, source of many a hippie bracelet stall and cheap cocktail. Reminded me of Thailand with its numerous budget lodgings, colourfully adorned bars playing reggae, and assortment of ragged travellers such as ourselves, looking for the beach bliss of a party town. Really all we did in Montañita was eat a lot, drink a bit, and hire one of those 4-wheel motorcycle things that I always look at with disdain when they zip noisily ... read more

My recent silence can be attributed to my location in a land completely neglected by time. Oh, it's modern enough... but good luck finding someone with a watch. Montanita is a hippy town deserving of the highest regard in hippy circles. Giant bongs walk down the beach, cradled casually in their barefoot carriers suntanned arms. People wake at noon and ask what time it is when they get to the breakfast restaurant. I, too, was guilty of this. See, my small backpack was robbed on the overnight bus from Trujillo to Tumbes, Peru. My clock was in the bag. I never had to worry about the time until I left magical Montanita. I spent my first two days there waking late and taking surf lessons. I rode a bike down the road with my friend and ... read more

Guayaquil is a busy hot city, every photo im in, i look like i have been at a four day festival in 40 degree heat with a red mac on! (for all you werchter followers out there). But just outside are beautiful beaches and a mass of banana plantations. I know i keep going on about this but banana really should be the local dish, i was doing a project on a farm the other day and the cows are even fed bananas, in giant troffs! The scenery is beautiful, there are mosquitos the size of dragon flies that you can hear coming a mile away. (Thanks Marti for the vit b tip, works a treat and i have sent for more supplies.) We took our first art lesson the other day, went really well, we ... read more