Montañita, Ecuador

March 15, 2015

We wrapped up Galapagos nicely and are ready for some real R and R; no schedule, no planned trips, no crack of dawn rises, no airports, no hauling luggage, just hangin' on the beach and exploring, and that's exactly what we're doing. From Galapagos to Guayaquil by plane, and three hours by bus to our little town on the Pacific coast ($5.50 each), and a quick cab ride to the door, a whopping $1.50 fare.

Some had suggested that this may not be the best location as it's the surf capital of the country, but we must be in the low season as it's pretty laid back and calm and there really aren't that many people, except on weekends, which we prefer. We keep expecting Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley to surface though, perhaps they're incognito, peddling their hash brownies on the beach.

Many of the 20-somethings here sport dreads and hang out on the beach all day long, running back and forth to the surf. We're bringing the average age up a tad but we're on a point at the far end of the beach which separates us from the neighbouring town of Olón and the beach there is fantastic, with horses and donkeys roaming at large and is a huge expanse of light sand and waves and awesome sunsets. A cab to Olón is $1.50, or our preferred mode of transportation, the bus, at 80 cents for two. We've made it there a few times and even overshot it on foot the first time and ended up in Curea, pronounced Korea. The kid at the bar didn't get it when Rainer told him he didn't look Korean. Of course, after a lengthy explanation in broken Spanish, jokes just don't seem to have the same oomph.

Cost of living is relatively low - our beachfront room is $38 (US) per night which includes breakfast, and although it's a common balcony, we pretty much have it to ourselves. 600mL cervezas are $1.25, a huge cup of red is $3, also good Thai and salmon! Shrimp are a dime a dozen so we're doing our best to take advantage of that, and you can get a standard meal of meat (chicken beef, pork), rice and beans for $3 to $3.50, which includes good soup and some kind of fruit juice.

We celebrated St. Paddy's at the beach bar next door, barefoot in the sand floor, two Canucks on guitar, reserved surfboard parking rack in the bar, dogs running the beach, waves crashing. Very different from our  customary haunts at home. Could get used to this.

The sign down the beach advertises 3 Bramhas for $5 - we thought they meant beer but shot a few pics of the bulls that wander down on different occasions, so perhaps the sign is multi-purpose.

Hangin' here till the 31st, with day side trips in the works...back to walking the sands....