The Ecuadorian Coast (Montanita and Puerto Lopez)

Montanita: we got off the bus in Montanita and were greeted by a small child who offered to take us to the best hostel in town, El Tiki something… We checked in to what felt like a grown-ups version of a tree house and went out for some food and drinks. Montanita is a small little town with just as many budget hostels as ceviche vendors. The street leading up to the beach is literally lined with bumper to bumper ceviche carts offering the days best raw seafood for $5. Our second day in Montanita we were finally convinced to try some of the beach town’s best seafood and we indulged in some ceviche mixto (shrimp, clam, oyster, white fish, octopus, lime juice, onions, mustard, and a few different hot sauces, and a scoop of dried corn cornels.) It was well worth the money as the vendors cracked open the clams only seconds before they mixed it into the bowl. We have since tried it in a few restaurants and a few different towns, and so far nothing compares to Montanita’s ceviche mixto. 

We went on a few beach walks, but the weather left a lot to be desired. Both days it was overcast and a little chilly so we whimped out from venturing into Montanita’s surf. We hung out in the small beach town for two nights and then our travel ADD kicked in and we decided to move on. Our next stop was Puerto Lopez, a port town about 45 minutes north of Montanita. At first the town appeared to be little more than a run-down beach town. However, after checking into another decent hostel called the Sol Inn (also resembling a tree house) and booking a tour to a nearby island called Isla de Plata (the poor man’s Galapagos) our spirits began to improve. Until we discovered that we had only $5 and the towns only ATM was out of service. This posed an interesting problem.  We had an unpaid tour the next day, an unpaid hostel, and no money for dinner.  We spoke with the bank teller and were promised that the ATM would be fixed that night at 8:00.  No surprisingly that is not how it worked out.  We made our way back to the ATM many times after 8:00 to find out the ATM would not be fixed that night and we would be unable to repay our debts.  We had a dilemma on our hands and decided there was nothing we could do until the next morning.  We went to bed after eating a few granola bars from Oregon’s Costco and hoped for better luck with the ATM in the morning.  We woke up to our alarm clock at 6:00 AM and checked the ATM again with no luck.  We hopped on the bus back to Montanita and used one the towns working ATM’s.  We then headed back to Puerto Lopez in time for our tour.  To our knowledge the ATM is still out of order.

The tour to Isla de Plata was interesting to say the least. Even being compared to the Galapagos seems like a gross overstatement, but overall the tour was fine. We took a small boat northwest for about an hour where we stopped offshore and watched Humpback whales playing in the water. We got a few really good pictures and got to see the whales within yards of the boat. We then docked and went on a small “trek” onto the island where we saw Blue Footed Boobies and some kind of black bird called a Fogata. Both bird species were interesting in that they had no natural fear of humans and we could literally stand within inches of the tropical birds. However, an hour on the desert island was more than enough time. We got back on the boat, had lunch, and then fed some lettuce to a nearby population of sea turtles. After getting our fill of them, we put on our snorkel gear and swam towards the coral reef that housed, according to our guide, every species of fish from Finding Nemo. We then got back on the boat and returned to Puerto Lopez for one more night. Other than some really good Italian food and some decent wine, our last night in the port city was pretty uneventful. We decided to leave the next morning for Banos, a city located in the central highlands. We are currently in the Guayaquill bus terminal eating Pizza Hut and McDonalds while we wait for our 6 hour bus ride inland. Starting to see a trend? Yes. All we do is eat, sleep, and ride buses. But, we are having a lot of fun and are very excited to get to the self-proclaimed outdoor adventure seeking town of Banos.