Living by the beach in Ecuador
The Ecuadorian coast is often overlooked by travelers, as most of them head to the Andes or the Galapagos Islands. But I want to surf, relax by the beach and have some time to improve my Spanish.
First stop: Canoa
From Quito I’m going to the small village of Canoa, how else but by bus. But this time by night bus! I naively assumed that the otherwise normally busy station would be empty at night. Wrong. It's completely packed. Well, at least I hope everyone's going somewhere else. Who would go to such a little place like Canoa at 11:00 at night? Wrong again. There's an endless line outside the bus. Oh, great, I guess I won't have that two-seater to myself. Goodbye to sleep!
I walk onto a full bus and what can I not see? There's a whole row open at the very back. A miracle! I run frantically with my gigantic backpack across the bus to take up the space. All happy, I pull my sleeping bag out of my backpack. Yes, a sleeping bag. Comfortable above all! Especially when I have 9 hours on the Ecuadorian roads ahead of me. The other passengers are already looking at me like I'm crazy. But I happily snuggle into my sleeping bag and go to sleep.
I stayed on the coast for almost two weeks during the Ecuador trip. Why? Almost every day yoga on the beach, surfing, Spanish lessons, and in the evenings working behind the bar I had arranged at one of the hostels.
Being a beach bartender is great! Every time I run in with my head wet with sand from surfing class, throw on a hippie dress and go behind the bar! No one minds that I work barefoot, the manager pours me a red wine or serves me a beer to go with my work. Well, if it's a crowded night and everyone's tired, shots of tequila are poured.
Besides fishing, Canoa is also known as a great surfing destination. This is confirmed within a few days when almost every local boy proudly announces to me that he is a surf instructor.
These surf boys often come to the bar. Apparently the blonde bartender isn't often seen around here because they all hang around me too much. SI was told not to bother with them at all. Thanks to the girl working behind the bar with me, I learned the very useful word CALLATE! - Shout up! Yeah, that'll come in handy.
There are only a few travelers in the hostel. The really cool one is Tracy, a retired biker who decided a few years ago to sell everything and travel the world on her motorbike. She also adopted a dog off the street in Colombia who now travels on her motorcycle with her. AND she makes YouTube videos about it. Absolutely super cool!
Yoga instructor Naia immediately shares my desire to improve my surfing, so almost every morning after yoga on the beach we take our surfboards and run to catch waves. Plus, her Spanish is just as bad as mine, so we take online Spanish lessons together at breakfast and watch South American movies in the evening.
It's late September, high season at the coast is over, the sea is still warm but the weather changes frequently. Although most of the tourists have disappeared, it is definitely not empty and quiet here, it's perfectly normal to be woken up at 7am by the roaring salsa music from the street.
What I would say is the advantage of visiting the Ecuadorian coast in the cooler months is mainly the half-empty beaches and lower prices. The only downside for me was that it was perpetually overcast. The sun only came out maybe once or twice in 2 weeks, so catching bronze didn't quite work out.
Whereas in Amazonia I survived with almost no mosquito bites. Canoa is a whole new level. In less than two days, I have about twenty pinches on each ankle, which itch incredibly. The repellent doesn't help at all and what bothers me the most is that A, no one else has been bitten by mosquitoes and B, I don't even see any mosquitoes around.
Why, why me?
Yes, we're talking about my beloved buses again. If anyone thinks I write about them too much, give me a few weeks and I'll write a novel called The Horror and Terror of Ecuadorian Roads. For five hours we drudge along a rutted and leaky road with a driver who is either violently suicidal or has mistaken the bus for an armoured personnel carrier heading for the front.
It's almost impossible to stay in one place. Backpacks fly from one side to the other, and once the bus hits a pothole, everyone on the bus is glad they didn't smash their heads on the ceiling. Well, everyone except Naji, who decided to travel with me for a while, and the poor thing really hit her head on the ceiling. At one point I tried to reach into my backpack and get out my water bottle. Mistake. One bus manoeuvre and within moments I found myself feet up three rows away. Perfect.
Puerto Lopez and Machalilla National Park
Surprisingly, we made it almost without missing a beat to the town of Puerto Lopez, which is slightly larger and quite popular for its whale watching cruises or to visit Isla de la Plata, nicknamed 'Poor man's Galapagos'. Ironically, with our budget we couldn't even afford to visit the poor man's island. Hmmm maybe next time.
Instead, we take our bikes and ride to Machalilla National Park. The destination is the Agua Blanca Reserve, home to a healing sulphur lagoon. The water and mud at the bottom of the lagoon are extremely beneficial for the skin due to the sulphur content of the sediments. The locals offer mud wraps and massages for a few dollars. And we can't miss it!
