The Ecuadorian Riviera!!

Backpacking up the West coast of Ecuador with our thirty year old daughter that travelled here before by staying in $3-a-night-hostels, eating meals from street vendors and chatting up all the street folks (the bracelet-sellers with dreadlocks and plaited beards) can be a bit trying to say the least. 

Backpacking in Ecuador

We landed in Ecuador to spend a couple of weeks on the beach and Keenan spirited us off to Montanita, her favorite beach resort town in Ecuador. So I merrily travel up the highway with visions of Ixtapa or Cozumel in my mind and looking forward to four star resort restaurants- boy was I surprised! Montanita is more like Haight-Ashbury before the hippies moved out in the sixties. I did see three North American/European white males over 55 while in Montanita, two with dreadlocks, beards and peace necklaces, and the other similar to me. 

The pool girl at Swisspoint

Montanita does have a lovely beach and good restaurants. We stayed at the really nice Swisspoint Hotel on the edge of town, with nice rooms and a great pool. Twice we went to Olon, the next little fishing village, and spent the afternoons soaking up the sun, drinking beer and coconut rum and eating at the beach cabanas that all had the same seafood menus.

Montanita beach

Keenan making friends in Olon

Chuckwagons at Olon

There are miles of lovely beaches along the coast, some with no people for miles, others like Montanita with shoulder to shoulder surfers and sun bathers. 

After a week in Montanita we moved North up the coast to an eco lodge where we could do some day trips. The views of the ocean from the lodge were beautiful, looking out through palm trees and tropical flowers. 

Our first day trip was a horse back ride to the top of a mountain through the rain forest jungle. I was given the privilege of riding a mula, a Jenny in North America, that had absolutely no stop whatsoever. She was strong and willing, but would totally do as she wanted, so there I was, fifty years of cowboy behind me, being led up the mountain on mula by a sixteen year old! The horses that Loreen and Keenan rode were much better minded when they were not stopped eating palm leaves or treats along the trails. 

Mula & the guides

Mom & "grazer"

Again my expectations were a little more than reality, I envisioned a road or path, where in actual fact it was more of a goat trail through the jungle, in places too steep to ride either up or down, so it was dismount and scramble up on foot or slide down through the mud, did I mention it is rainy season here and the mud was ankle deep in most places. In one place, crossing sideways on the mountain, the guides walked below the horses pushing on them to make sure they did not slip sideways down the slope. But we made it to the top and spent a half an hour watching a group of howler monkeys. Both our guides could imitate them and convinced the primary male that another male was in the vicinity. He hung out of the tree above howling and growling to scare us off. 

We saw a few parrots, a couple of toucans and one venomous snake on the trail, that the guide instantly smacked on the head with his machete.

After a three day consultation in Bolivia with the toilet seat, I had steadfastly avoided any street food and now back in the village we were led into this little dark, dirty two roomed building for lunch. The kitchen was just big enough for the cook, her two gas stoves, a work table, the dining table and a few chairs (no sink or water in sight)! Three bowls of vegetable/chicken soup appeared before us and Loreen and Keenan dug in with gusto, so I sucked it up and dug in. This was followed up with a plate full of rice, with a spicy vegetable sauce and another piece of chicken. Loreen and Keenan even had seconds, I stuck with one plate. Actually it all tasted pretty good, other than the chicken was probably the great, great grandma to all village chickens, it was that tough. After we left, Loreen told me "as long as it is cooked it should be okay" and the man of the house did keep the chickens, dogs and cats chased outside while we ate. After this I felt bad and thought maybe I should go back for seconds! 

Our transport driver picked us up to take us back to the lodge and much to my amazement, he turned around in the middle of the road and headed off in the other direction. After a couple of miles I asked Keenan to find out if this was another way back. No, he just liked us and wanted to show us his farm where he grows just about everything: pineapple, banana, papaya, corn, sugarcane, melons, pumpkins, squash, oranges, tomatoes, guava and a few things that I didn't know. He was very proud of his farm and after a half an hour loaded us up and took us home laden with fresh picked bananas and papaya.

Our driver & his 9 month old papaya tree!

The best part of the day was feeling the warmth of the Ecuadorian village people, the friendliness of our guides, Danny and Jonathon, the way this elderly couple welcomed us into their humble home and the friendship and pride of the driver in his farm, village and country. 

The 3 Musketeers on Isla de la Plata

The next day we visited the poor man's Galapagos, Isla de la Plata, a small island an hour and half by boat out of Puerta Lopez. Isla de la Plata supports many of the same bird species as the Galapagos, but has no turtles or penguins, but for $20 I was able to get up close to the blue footed booby, watch hundreds of frigate birds whirl in circles in the sky and had the opportunity to snorkel. Snorkeling was not good, so Loreen and I stayed on the boat and watched every one else splash about or high dive from the top roof.

Blue-footed booby and her baby

Keenan making a splash

Now off on our next adventure, catching a local bus to our next destination. Now, did the guy at the lodge tell us to catch the green bus? The red one? Or maybe it was blue. I wonder where this guy with the bananas is going? I hope they didn't put that ladies chickens in our luggage compartment! 

Waiting for the green bus