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Published: October 12th 2006
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In between teaching and hanging out in Puerto Lopez, I managed to explore quite a bit of the coast.. with Jill who has just bought property here, and with Bryan who came down to the coast for 10 days on his way south to Peru...
ISLA DE LA PLATA.. Spent a day in the National Park on Isla de la Plata ("The poor man´s Galapagos".. 1.5 hours off the coast of Puerto Lopez) .. Walked for about 3 hours around the island and saw blue footed boobies, red footed boobies, frigates etc etc (loads of birds, but that's all the names I remember).. the blue footed boobies are really cute, but are definitely not well designed for walking on land, they look so clumsy until they get in the air! The humped back whales were still around too.. it's the end of the season for the whales here (they migrate to this area to mate and give birth) so I didn't expect to see any, but we saw about 7.. some really close up.. diving in and out of the water, and females slapping the water with their flippers to attract the males.. I believe it works! .. great
views as we climbed onto the roof of the boat.. a little bit scary as they disappear for a few minutes and then appear on the other side of the boat
.. did a few trips South from PL..
MONTANITA: Went down to Montanita a few times (a small, hippy, surfing village an hour and a half south of PL).. hung out, checked out the surf scene, and generally didn't do much apart from play scrabble and pool and sit in cafes drinking coffee and red wine!.. there's not much else to do there! The sea was a bit cold for me (the sun doesn´t shine much at this time of year!) but Bryan was brave enough to have surf lessons and hit a few waves. Also had to head further south down the coast to Libertad and Salangas (by necessity, as the ATM in Montanita didn´t like our cards.. it´s quite hard to get cash out on the coast).
ALANDALUZ: Jill's new home is at Alandaluz, an Ecuadorian run eco-resort (www.alandaluz.com).. right on the sea.. cabanas, restaurant etc and even a little pool.. so spent a few evenings there with Jill. And we
drove up to CANTALAPIEDRA (up in the cloud forest, where Alandaluz grow all their food). The drive up there was "fun" .. up a very muddy, very slippery track, along and through the Ayampe river (37 times!).. so Jill had to do a bit of off road rally driving (she´s fast!). There are 3 zip lines at Cantalapiedra, in amongst the forest, bamboo, orchards, flowers and vegetable gardens.. so beautiful views, but I couldn't really concentrate on the scenery while flying through the air harnessed to a wire!
SALANGO: Cycled along the coast road from PL to Salango, and along Salango's long and deserted beach.. the beach was deserted and beautiful.. but the waves were quite strong.. and one stole my sunglasses!.. so for the 2nd time since I've been away I have to go shopping for sunglasses.. decided on a $3 pair this time, as they're obviously not destined to last long. We hitched a ride back to Puerto Lopez on the back of a passing truck, due to a puncture on Bryan's dodgy bike! Also met Beatrize's family in Salango (through Jill.. Beatrize is a teacher at Salango's school) Her father is a fisherman and despite
the fact that he must be over 60 he goes out fishing twice a day (6am and 4pm) to support his family.. all 9 kids! .. a really friendly family.
.. and Jill and I drove North for a few days on her route up to Quito.. A beautiful drive up along the coast (lots of wierd Ceiba trees.. and mostly dry forest). We gave lifts to a few people on the way (quite common here as the buses aren't very frequent).. including one toothless, shoeless old woman carrying a bundle on her head.. She hopped into the back of Jill's van and we saved her a long walk! .......... she couldn't stop smiling.. and showing us her one tooth! .. we have met some really interesting people by picking up rides
BAHIA DE CARAQUEZ .. Stopped off at Hostal Coco Bongo (great new hostal run by an Ozzie woman.. and cheap.. $5 a night for a dorm bed) on the way up and the way back. The town of Bahia de Caraquez was almost destroyed by the 1997 El Nino, and the 1999 earthquake (you can see houses that used to be 2 stories, which
are now one story as the mud from the hills filled slumped down into the town and filled in the first floor!.. and some of the roads are still split and twisted from the quake), and was rebuilt as a self proclaimed "eco city": the town's rubbish is collected and recyled (no mean feat.. Puerto Lopez has only recently got itself a garbage truck.. and they still only have one.. most villages and towns here have a huge litter problem). A relaxed atmosphere, and lots of yachts in the bay.. I did consider hanging out at the yacht club to meet some rich expats one night.. but decided that hanging out at the hostal was more my scene!
RIO MUCHACHO.. Organic farm run by Nicola and Dario (friends of Jill's).. interesting place with a great philosophy. They have volunteers working there for a month at a time.. learning about organic farming, and working with the animals (so if you fancy getting your hands dirty for a month in Ecuador... www.riomuchacho.com). Had an amazing veggie lunch made from food all grown there (carrots in a peanut sauce, and beans in a curry sauce, followed by home grown and roasted
coffee).. and an interesting toilet experience (all of the toilets are self compostable.. so you "go" in a pit and cover it with sawdust.. which then turns into compost). There's also a primary school at Riomuchacho for the local kids, so the volunteers can teach aswell.
CANOA.. Just passed through this chilled out beach village.. stopped at Bambu for a drink, and watched the beach boys surfing and doing their push ups and weights.. quite a nice view! .. and looks like a place to definitely head back to
PUNTA PRIETA .. Spent two nights at Punta Prieta.. A cliff top guesthouse run (and artfully decorated) by Alonso, sitting on the edge of a black volcanic headland between two sandy bays.. A windy place, in the flight path of all of the pelicans and frigates heading south! Walked the beaches (black volcanic sand, mixed with white sand.. beautiful patterns), did some yoga in a deserted bay in front of a cave, ate great seafood, played scrabble.. and had one funny drunken night with the owners and a few people that were staying there.. lots of wine and a fire on the beach. There's no village or
shops on this part of the coast, so all meals were ordered in the morning (fish or shrimp?!) and cooked by Olonso's "mujere" (his description not mine)
.. and crossed the ecuator into the Northern hemisphere for a fruit juice in PEDERNALES before heading back down South. Nothing really to mark the point apart from a line painted on the road and a small sign.
.. and 3 buses to get back to Puerto Lopez after the trip North.. The journey was OK but I did have an "Ecuador bus moment" .. I've got used to the rattly old buses, but at one point I could see the driver texting while driving (at least he didn't have a beer in his hand, which I have also experienced), the obligatory loud music was blaring (of course) and a blind begger had been singing and banging a rattle next to my ear for at least 15 minutes.. just when I was on the point of offering the blind man $$ to stop playing, the bus boy (each driver has a helper.. to collect money and load up the roof) asked him to stop! Travelling by buses is always
interesting here, but sometimes....
.. Ecuador has gone election crazy.. and I dread to think how many dollars have been spent on campaigning! There are posters attached to every tree, houses and walls are painted, vans are driving round blaring out music and slogans.. and one of the candidates (Correa.. apparently the more socialist, less corrupt one.. according to people in PL!) even visited Puerto Lopez so the flags were out in force that day..
So my time on the Ecuador coast was great.. met lots of interesting people, and learnt how to relax into the slower pace of life! .. Up to the mountains again next (Quito and surrounding areas) before heading down to Peru...
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Jill Sare
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coastal splendours!!
K - I loved reading your Manabi blog -- Your "bus moment" made me giggle. Fortunately, we´ll have Morci for our Otavalo and environs explorations!! I`ve been picking people´s brains to find out the best places to visit. Looking forward to seeing you (day after tomorrow!) Good luck using up those 10 hours!!! Un beso Jill