Arriving in Guayaquil
Guayaquíl is one of my favorite Central American towns that I have ever been to. It is much more affluent than I had previously thought and the architecture is really cool. My favorite part of the city was the old district, the brightly painted houses underneath the light house was a fantastic sight against the river back drop. The weather there was really good too. Cool and not too humid.
Guayaquíl is an impossible place to get out of unless you have a local guide. I am fluent in Spanish and have common sense but there are no signs anywhere and drivers seem to thrive on risk. Lucky for us, one of my friends lives in there, so we didn't need to try to do that part on our own. Angel, my friend, picked us up from the airport and drove us from the city out to the coast.
Another picture of the river from the boardwalk. There is a really long boardwalk that meanders along the coast of the river.
We were able to stop by the Valencia home and eat seco de pollo with them. It was delicious and it was really cool eating in the home of an Ecuadorian family. When we vacation, we try to soak up as much of the culture as possible. It opens our minds and allows us to appreciate others in a way that is hard to replicate through other means. The Valencia family drove us to the beach (2 1/2 each way), fed us, and dropped us off at the airport and walked us up to the security checkpoint. That is Ecuadorian hospitality. They enriched our trip and made us feel like we were family, even though I had never met any of them except for Angel, and I hadn't even talked to Angel in over a decade.
One of the unique attractions of Guayaquíl.
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| Late Sunday morning and not a single person on the beach |
Salinas is an awesome town. There are still no names for any of the roads and no signs. We parked along the boardwalk and ate at an incredible restaurant. This city is amazing. We found it very similar to Panama City, but on a much smaller scale. We woke up the next morning and surfed by ourselves at punto carnero, a mediocre beach break.
We stayed at a great bed and breakfast right across the street from the waves and had a private pool and hammocks under a palapa. We relaxed and watched the waves break from the balcony.
On our way up the coast towards Montañita, we ate at a restaurant that is shaped like a boat. I will likely repeat myself throughout this blog, but the food everywhere in the country is incredible. Best seafood I have ever had, and I am a seafood maniac.
One of the many attractions in Salinas. Great city to bring your family for a meal and a night out on the town. There is a lot to do and it is cheap. It is a city situated along the coast. There is a boardwalk, warm water and hotels and restaurants lining the strip.
Montañita
Our main purpose of visiting Ecuador was to surf in Montañita, a hippy/party town on the central coast. We stayed in a hotel right on the point break and our room was directly in front of the lineup.
The tides were crazy the week we were there, but on mid tides, we scored some killer waves. We were able to dodge the crowds a few days, since we had the advantage of staying right there and it was awesome surfing the point on an overhead swell with a small crowd.
We ventured out to Olón for a few sessions to escape the crowds and madness of Montañita. Olón offers mediocre beach break with absolutely no crowds.
The empanadas were amazing. The seafood was amazing. The pasta was amazing. The people were friendly and cool. We had a great time in Montañita. We scored good waves, ate great food and Chelsea was able to practice her Spanish, since almost nobody spoke English. When I say almost nobody, I think I only met one guy from England and everyone else was from a non-English speaking country. We were there for a week too.
Chelsea hanging out under the palaces, scoping out the surf at the point. She didn't let food poisoning get the best of her.
One of our most rewarding experiences was donating our clothes to some Ecuadorian families. We scored when we saw an old woman with her daughter, who had down syndrome. We dropped off a bunch of clothes and it made their day. They hugged us and took pictures with us. It was pretty cool. We are all a part of the human family and our brothers and sisters in many of the countries that we visit are often in dire circumstances. We can have a huge impact on bettering the lives of many by doing things as simple as giving away our used clothes or toys. A suitcase full of old clothes was all it took to make these peoples' day.
Chelsea did yoga in a bamboo studio right across the street from the beach. It was hot yoga by default, since it was about 90 degrees with no ventilation.
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