first stop was puerto lopez, a sleepyish fishing village on the central coast. mostly we went there because it was easy to get to by an overnight bus from quito, but it exceeded all expectations. we got a great hotel room right on the beach for 7 dollars, scott got right to surfing, and i commenced sunning myself all day every day (with sunscreen, dont worry.) there were tourists, but not very many...probably about a dozen in a city of several thousand. the town is pretty small, and the economy is almost completely based on fishing. this makes for an incredibly laid back atmosphere, since everyone gets done working at about 11am. after hauling in their fish, the fishermen sit around on hammocks and in deckchairs on the sidewalk, with their shirts pushed up to get breeze on their bellies. people play cards with their families, hang out with dogs, and mostly just lay around looking pretty happy. giant coastal vultures and pelicans swoop around in the sky above the beach hoping to find some scraps, and there are always people playing soccer. there are little huts on the sand that sell juice and beer and sandwiches and ceviche, and if you buy anything there you get to hang out in their hammocks all day so we were happy there for a long time.
because of the lack of other tourists (relative lack, we did meet a nice guy from arizona and some old swiss people) and most peoples early starts for fishing, the town pretty much goes to sleep at 9pm. eventually we felt like making friends and getting some party time in, so we headed south to montañita, the fiesta capital of the ecuadorian coast.
turns out, montañita...sucks. its basically trying to be vegas/mykonos/cabo, so if thats your scene maybe its fun. we made the mistake of going on a weekend, a BUSY weekend with the reef south america surf competition, so it was super crowded, filthy, and expensive. it did have a beautiful long beach full of absolutely gorgeous super tan human beings from argentina, uruguay, chile, etc, but other than that it was pretty nasty. at night it filled to the brim with 19 year-old ragers from guayaquil and everyone got really, really drunk. we hung out for a while, but unfortunately scott drank most of a nalgene full of completely unpurified tap water (a result of accidental steripen misuse) and then got quite ill. our 40(!!!) dollar a night shithole hotel room only had partial walls dividing us from the two-song-only teenage dance party in the hallway, the toilet did not work, it was approximately 120 degrees with no fan, and we both got bedbug bites all over. soo, next morning, once scott rallied, we made our way out.
to ayampe! a tiny little town on the ruta del sol, north of montañita and south of puerto lopez. its a beautiful area with lovely beaches and people. the towns are so small theres really no restaurants only eco-hostels, so your only option is eating there. they know this, so its expensive, but nonetheless super comfortable so we relaxed and recovered for a few days, enjoying our tent in the jungle. i read dracula in a hammock, which is a great book, and totally deserving of its fame. scott read a cheap thriller novel. the waves here were interesting in that the break was super close to the shore, so you could watch all the shredder 10 year old local boys do tricks right between you and the sunsets.
we swooped back to puerto lopez for a few days and did a snorkel trip to isla salango where we saw blue footed boobies and sea turtles, and a giant pod of dolphins swam with our boat. we ended the tour on a secluded white sand beach on an uninhabited island with fresh fish ceviche and fried plantains. it was totally worth it.
continuing up the coast, we finally made it to canoa, everyone´s favorite beach and surf town. we stayed in an excellent hostal, coco loco for any of you planning a trip, run by a super rad alaskan/mexican couple. we had our own kitchen and everything. everyone at the hostal was fun, the bars in town were great and cheap, and scott got to surf every single day, multiple times a day. we met tons of interesting people and a few real weirdos (in the best possible way). also the hostal is a cat and dog rescue operation, where they rescue strays and spay and neuter them and find them homes. there were tons of cats and 4 super dirty kittens, so i loved it. the weather in canoa was a little tropical, it rained every day but not all day. WE REALLY LIKED CANOA! on the weekend the beach was packed with families from quito, swimming (i.e. sitting in the shallow waves getting SUPER sandy) in their clothes in huge groups and hanging out, but the rest of the week was chill and laid back. the only real drawback was that the closest atm was 20km away, so you have to take a cab or hitchhike and devote a chunk of your day to re-up your money.
oh also, coastal ecuadorian spanish just doesnt sound like spanish at all. they drop at least half the word, no one says S´s, and people with the thickest accents sound like they have their mouths full. not only is it hard to understand, they also didnt understand us! all our spanish confidence was shattered, but now that we are back in pifo for a couple days we are once again feeling competent...
from canoa we went up to mompiche, the last stop on our coastal jaunt. mompiche is very hard to get to, but well worth it. three busses and a ride in the back of a guys truck later, we finally arrived to a tiny town sprinkled here and there with gringo surfers and quite a few argentinian expats. its an absolutely beautiful place. the beach abuts a coastal rainforest that stretches all the way from ecuador to the darien gap. we met a really lovely man from california named sol funk who is starting a permaculture situation just up the road and owns a restaurant that usually isnt open, but where we hung out drinking beer quite a few nights. mompiche has an excellent point break, where when the swell is just right the surfing is apparently out of control good. the rest of the year its still good, but no 15 foot waves, which is just as well for me. this is where i finally got up! scott says im doing great, but i feel like hes just flattering me because it works out really well for him if i like surfing, like, in life. so i do like it, but im sure i have a loooong way to go. but i can catch waves and stand up for a while! so. the only drawback to mompiche, is the rainforest. rainforests have bugs. bugs like me. even bathing in deet i came away with well over 100 bites, of all varieties. iiiiitchy. (see photo on flickr.)
now we are back in pifo, hanging out with the puppies who are finally getting fun (and huge and fluffy) and obviously leona, who is just the sweetest thing. she plays with the baby puppies which is hilarious, because not all of them know how to play fight yet. yesterday we went to otavalo, which is the largest indigenous market in south america. apparently in the 1960s peace corps volunteers went to otavalo, which is mostly indigenous, and taught them how to make sweaters and tapestries and helped them set up businesses for selling handicrafts. its now a prosperous town with a GIANT market with every kind of souvenier you can think of, as well as a huge section of meats, vegetables, grains, jewelry, etc.
today and tomorrow we are working on setting up wwoofing in peru and argentina, and tuesday morning we are heading to latacunga to to the quilotoa loop, hiking to a lake in a volacanic crater. from there its down the andean spine of ecuador to baños, cuenca, and vilcabamba, and then on to PERU to the coastal desert and the longest wave in the world. (hear that surfistas? greg, stu, mitch, etc? the longest wave in the world! you can ride it for almost a MILE! come down!) we wont be back in ecuador now for many months, so internet access will be sporadic. i will try and get us into the habit of shorter, more frequent blogs and picture updates, so expect more soon. until then, peep flickr for lots of pictures of sunsets, beaches, and palm trees.
