ECUADOR AND PUERTO LOPEZ AREA

As I sit on my balcony and ponder where to begin to tell you about this wonderful adventure, I am kept company by my husband who is enjoying an early evening snooze in the hammock,  and a very large Iquana nearby lazily draped over a large branch of the Flamboyant Tree.

On the drive down to Puerto Lopez, it was grey but not raining.  The ocean was beautiful as we drove along it and when we wound inland, the hillsides were incredibly lush and green.  This transformation from dry and brown is a sudden one that is for sure.  Once a little rain comes, the land becomes alive and greens up inside a couple of weeks.

We passed through several small fishing villages and were entertained by the frigate birds who hover around the boats as the fisherman bring them ashore with their daily catches.  The Frigates, we are sure, are rewarded with the guts as the fish are cleaned and filleted.  There are so many birds it brings to mind Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds !!  Except these birds are twice the size of Hitchcock’s Ravens and much more attractive to watch.  Some of the villages appear to be more poor than others but the one common denominator is that they all look happy with life and know it as it is !!  Their homes are tiny little boxes of concrete and brick or the bamboo wood, or a combination of both.  Many have some laundry hanging on a line and it amazes me how white the ‘whites’ are.  White t-shirts seem to be a common wardrobe item.

Entering the town of Puerto Lopez was quite easy but manuevering the side streets was very muddy.  They had just had a big downpour of rain overnight and the main north and south streets are paved but the side streets are all very muddy.  We did manage to find our way down one and knew we were at Mandala Hosteria when we saw the amazing wood gates and the amazing sign of Mandala Hosteria above them.   A most impressive entrance to a most impressive property.

Suddenly, we are surrounded by a tropical paradise.  The couple that own Mandala (and built it from the ground up) are hardworking and nice hosts.  He is Italian and she is Swiss.  I could write pages about this beautiful resort which will be an annual trip for us from now on, but you should go to their website and read all about it for yourself.  www.hosteriamandala.info.   It truly is a place of nature and of art.  The breakfasts are delicious and we enjoyed dinner there two of the 3 nights as well. Everywhere you look on the property is amazing wood art.

On our second night we went to a fun restaurant recommended by some other Canadians staying at Mandala. The next day, we returned because they suggested we have the hamburger ... but also suggested we share it.  Here is why !!
The couple who have just opened this restaurant are so sweet and hard working.  Their dog and siamese cat greeted us and stayed with us knowing we are animal lovers.

After a lazy afternoon in the hammock and on the balcony, a wonderful tropical surrounding while enjoying a fresh fish dinner, we took to our room, pulled the mosquito net down over our bed and talked about our journey the next morning.

Isla de la Plata - here we come!   At 9:00 a.m. the tour company truck picked us up at the hosteria.  We were driven downtown (in the rain I might add) and dropped at the office of the tour company to sign our waiver and pay for the day trip to the Island.  For $35. We set off on our adventure.

Isla de la Plata is an island about 40 KM from the mainland.  It is part of the Manchalilla National Park system. There are 3 varieties of the Booby bird there.  Dolphins in the area (our same boat had run across a huge pod of almost 500 the day before) , sea lions and turtles ... big turtles!  They call this island “The Poor Mans Galapagos” because you can enjoy most everything here that you can enjoy in the Galapagos for very little money.  Galapagos has become VERY expensive.

This same tour group offers some pretty incredible whale watching from June through September.  The whales come from Antarctica to frolic and play and put on some very spectacular shows for the whale watchers.

So back to our day trip...
A 10 minute walk down to the wharf where “AMAZING” out boat, and crew awaited us.  Our guide Galo had greeted us at the office and accompanied us to the wharf.  In the rain, we made our way down the gang plank to the boat, were all asked to remove our shoes/sandals and toss them into a big bag...  it was barefoot only in the boat !

This is Galo, our guide standing in front of a Palo santo tree.  The wood that is collected for spiritual ceremonies and smouldering/smudging as well as for making essential oils comes from this tree but is only harvested after the wood has fallen to the ground and dried for 4 years.

We were then given a safety briefing and handed life jackets to don.  The detail to safety really impressed Joe and I.  The side of the boat had a plastic cover over it and so we did not get wet on the boat ride to the island and we were kept protected from the wind.  Just before arriving, we were offered the most delicious piece of banana bread for a snack.  OMG ..it was so good !  The rain let up for our arrival to the island.  It was a beach landing so we had to be hasty getting off the boat... I mean fast !!!

Once on the beach, we reclaimed our footwear, and with water bottle in hand, we met at the base of the hike for a small discussion on the preservation of the island, some of the bird and animal life we might see on the hike, and that from a certain point at the summit, only groups of 10 at a time could be together.  One minute into the hike, the heavens opened up and it started pouring... What to do !!!  Keep on going ... the rain was warm, the temperature was warm and we were all in good spirits.  We even had a large family of 8 from Toronto area on our boat.  Two of them were 80 and 81 years old... and they joined in with great attitude!

Along the way Galo reached my hand over and rubbed my finger on  a small bud-like spot on the branch of a tree.  It came away with a spot of “blood-like liquid on it.  He says they call this “Dragon blood”.

Some of the trail was as muddy as you can believe.  Weighting our shoes down with more mud every step of the way.  Every once in awhile we would stop and scrape it off.  There was one very difficult uphill (with some steps) grade which took us all some time to get up.  But Galo our guide was patient and just waited for us all to catch our breath and then continued on.  He was constantly doing a head count.  Again - so very conscientous!

We passed so many Blue Footed Boobie birds.  Babies and adults.  The feet are not that deep and brilliant blue until they are about 4 years of age.  Above were hundreds and hundreds of Frigtate birds and Pelicans and numerous other kinds... soaring above the cliffs which are a nesting and breeding ground for them!  Along the way were little lizzards scurrying out of our way.

After about 3 hours, the sun was shining and we were back at our start point and out came the bag for our shoes again...  now just imagine how that bag of shoes looked back on the mainland after a few hours of trekking around in the mud !!  Not a pretty picture...in fact laughable... but everyone claimed their yukky footgear and moved to where they could put it back on.  I still don’t know how those with flip flops and sandals every made this walk...  they were perhaps NOT informed of what to wear on the day trip.

Again, the boat was quickly backed up to the shore, we were all asked to very quickly get in the boat and make our way to the front which kept the rear in a float mode... and away we went...for 200 yards or so.  We were served some delicious fresh fruit and sandwiches after which we were offered snorkels and masks and into the water we went.  There were turtles and every kind of colorful fish a choral reef could offer.  To make it more fun, a couple of the crew tossed bits of watermelon rind into the water which atrracted the fish and turtles like bees to honey !!  We were able to enjoy snorkelling for about an hour and then it was everyone back on the boat.  The water is so warm wetsuits are not required.  Such a great experience!

Both sides of the boat were open on the return trip back to the mainland.  The sun was shining, the ocean was beautiful and all 16 of us were happy tourists!  We thanked Galo, our guide, and the crew for such a wonderful day.  Joe graciously gave Galo $30 gratuity for his great attention to making our day fun, safe, and memorable.

Back on land, we stopped at the Palo Santo shop and stocked up on wood and essential oils and made our way back to the hotel in a moto-taxi ...tuk tuk.  Later in the evening we found our way to a local restaurant and enjoyed some paella and beer.  The day was done and back to our balcony we went for an evening of chatter, reading and smelling the smoke from the palo santo which keeps the mosquitos away.

The next morning, as usual, it was misty and overcast.  We headed out to the beach after breakfast and walked north for about 15 minutes to a Marine Rehabilitation Center we had heard about.  Here they care for injured turtles (of which there are many) and on this morning, there were some Booby birds there.  The volunteer attendant let us come in and walk amongst the tanks.  One poor turtle must have just died and others were fairly mobile.  Mandala is very supportive of this centre and they sell lovely t-shirts with either whales or turtles on them to raise fund for a new x-ray machine that is needed.  We each bought a t-shirt as did some other friends who were there.

Upon our arrival back at the hotel, I enjoyed the most amazing hour and 20 minute massage I have had in years!  The massage therapist brings her bed right to your room so you have the peace and quiet of the tropical surroundings while you are receiving an amazing massage.

It was time to pack up and make our way back to Manta.  Again, we enjoyed all the same sights upon our return as we did on our way to Puerto Lopez.  Have a look at the website. www.visitPuertoLopez.com to read a little more about the town.

After a few days in Manta, on Saturday we are taking a bus to Guayaquil (3 hour trip) so that we can enjoy and experience Ecuador train travel.  More on that in the next blog !
I post all my photos on Facebook.  Just can’t get them all into the blog !

ECUADOR days.

It is interesting how different countries have different rules.  I observed, while standing in the mall the other day, that customers are not allowed to wear hats when they enter the bank.  They remove their hats prior to entering.  All banks have a security guard at the door and they enforce this (although he never did have to remind anyone to remove their hat).   I wonder how that would affect the rate of bank robberies in North American if this rule were implemented?

We have had a few quiet days here in Manta.  Our plans for the next couple of weeks include an overnight trip to Puerto Lopez which is a coastal town about 1 1/2 hours south of us.  We will visit some archaeological ruins, a chocolatier, and book a day trip over to Isla de la Plata which is commonly referred to as the "Poor Mans Galapagos".  Joe and I have concluded that we are not quite ready to be on a boat for a few days which is required if we want to go tour the Galapagos.

Yesterday, we met friends Mike and Marla at the Pacifico Mall and gve them a ride home to their development Mirador which is an hour south of Manta.  It was a very rainy day but the drive was enjoyable.  We got a kick out of all the Frigate birds along the way who were sitting soggily on the power poles near a fishing village we passed through.  I suppose they were looking for free handouts since it was too wet and rainy for them to fish.  I wish I could have captured a photograph of them !

Today we are resolving the issue of getting a flat tire repaired in a city where our Spanish is limited and the tire repair places are definitely all Spanish speaking !!  We are saved always by Google Translate which is amazing.

Our developers' staff member Berenice has a sister who works with an indigenous group in the Amazon.  She is in the planning stage for us to experience 2 nights and 3 days with this village in the Amazon.

We continue to explore Manta and all it has to offer.  One thing I know for sure.  The Ecuadorian people are wonderful.  They are kindhearted, happy and gentle people.

February 10 marks the beginning of "Carnival".  This is a huge celebration here in Ecuador that occurs every Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent. This carnival takes up the entire two days with the Carnival de Lunes and the Carnival de Martes.  The party actually will begin on the Friday before so we are in for a loud and raucousy few days !!  The silly string is being sold by the hundreds of cases in every store!  It is a national holiday and everyone parties hearty !!  Some cities have a big parade with colorful floats all vying for first prize! Manta is not one of those cities so we will miss that.

Just google 'Carnival Ecuador " and you can read all about this massive country-wide party.

Signing off for now.   Writings will continue .......

Relaxing in Ecuador

It’s been a few days since I sat down to write.  We have been laying low here in Manta with little activity.  Today, we moved upstairs into our new digs.  An ocean front apartment with a view.  Sitting here drinking our coffee, we enjoy a constant fly by of pelicans.  They just ‘soar’ by our apartment and one of these days I am going to get a video of them.  A couple of frigate birds and a couple of turkey vultures make their presence all day long...  the frigate birds are fishing and the vultures and looking for bugs, mice... who knows what !   In the country side, they eat road kill and a variety of lizards.  To say the least, we love our new space!

We haven’t journied too far from home because Joe has been fighting a flu bug.  Today I insisted we go to a clinic and see a doctor.  I would not normally write that my husband is sick except for the clinic experience!  We took a taxi to the new Mall Del Pacifico where we have been told there is a wonderful clinic.  The advice we received was right !

Joe saw an amazing doctor who took well over 30 minutes to examine him thoroughly, check his current prescriptions and prescribe him some medicine to help with the flu issues.  The entire bill for doctor consult and prescriptions ws $50.00 !!  Yup - $50.00.  We were stunned and asked if the bill was correct.  The clnici didn’t recognize our BC Health Care or private travel insurance, but we sure didn’t mind after paying this bill for such great service in a great clinic.  This clnic is associated with the University of San Francisco.

During the appointment, Dr. Bella noted that Joe ( on his list of medications) had allergy medicine.  Joe said he doesn’t have to take it here in Ecuador.  The Doctor told him nobody has allergies in Ecuador.  The sea air makes sure of that ..   So there you go.  All of you people with allergies can move to Ecuador and discard the allergy meds !!

Yesterday, while driving to the airport to renew our rental car, we passed by a little old half town that was very weighted down with fresh tuna on ice !!  I could not get over the size of the fish in that truck.  I was able to catch a quick picture of it going by.  I hope you can see that one big hunk of fish on the ice !  The truck box was filled with those big fish!

On Sunday, we drove out to Santa Marianita for a Sunday breakfast at The Donkey Den.  You can google it to find out more informaiton about this very unique hostel on the beach.  It is owned by an American lady who operates it as a hostel, a cat and dog rescue, and a breakfast restaurant.  As you sit and enjoy your breakfast, you will often be greeted by a dog and always have a cat nearby checking out your plate or what you might drop.  Joe was pleasantly minding his own business when a little cat stretched up and tpped him on the lap - suggesting a little tidbit coming his way might be nice.  Joe didn’t offer a treat but did pet him a few times.  Well, in a flash, that little cat juped up on Joe’s lap, grabbed a hunk of ham from the plate, and jumped down... faster than you could blink an eye !! We laughed our faces off at the stealth actions of this cat.  Linda, who ownes the Donkey Den, said he  is notorious for the grab and go activity!

If you look at the expression on his face, you know he is up to something !  This was when he was tapping Joe to get his attention...

On Tuesday, we made our weekly trek to the Central Market for our supply of fruit and produce.  It turns out there was also some kind of street fair and the taxi could hardly get us to the market.  All the little side stalls were open and everyone had something to sell.  We saw dirty, tired old blenders and juicers to new clothes, to old used and worn shoes, and several little merchants with open bags of beans, corns, cat and dog foods, etc.  I captured a photo of one such merchant.  I love it when they roll the tops of the sacks down to display the items.  We saw this years ago in a market in Croatia as well.  It is attrative, colorful and in my opinion, artistic!

Thats it for this week.  Next week we plan to go explore Puerto Lopez and points south of us.

ECUADOR fun and relaxation

It’s been a lazy and ‘local’ week here in Manta, Ecuador.  We’ve enjoyed exploring a couple of different beaches.  One in the city and one about 30 minutes from the city.

Walking down the city beach, we see a huge freighter nearby that is full of new cars.  The closer we got, the more massive it appeared.  I’ve always said I would love to take a tour of one of these huge ships.

We enjoyed our walk with Greg and Lisa and Amber (their rescue dog) of course.  Amber loves chasing the wee crabs on the beach and it is about the only time she barks ... when she is harrassing one !!  As tiny as these little crabs are, they put up quite a fight and display their little claws in a very brave way!
Here is Amber telling a crab what she thinks of it !!   We think Amber is from the Kelpie breed (thanks to friend Beris in Australia!)

Manta has always been know for its tuna fishing fleet and what I didn’t realize that when the boats full of frozen tuna finally arrive in port, they have likely been at sea for months !!  Not days !!

Here is a fun little fact about Ecuadorians...  the $2.00 bill is good luck !!   My friend Jan educated me about this and actually gave me 5 bills to use for the taxis.  Most of the time, the taxi drivers face lights up when he sees you have handed him a $2 bill .   

As much as they use US Currency here in Ecuador, the $2 bill is not a priority for the banks which means there is a scarcity of them here meaning there are very few in circulation.  It’s that scarcity that gives the bills their allure.  So much so that there’s even a black market for the $2 bill.  A clean, crisp new bill might sell for $4-$6!!  The superstition is that if you possess a $2 bill, more money will come to you!  So if you plan on travelling to Ecuador, and you plan on using taxi’s, bring a stash of $2 bills.

On Friday, we drove to San Lorenzo beach which is just south of the Pacoche Reserve we visited a week and a half ago.  It is another stunning, sandy beach with some gorgeous rock outcroppings for added beauty.  In the rock outcroppings, there is a cave you can walk through during low tide.  

This beach is a turtle conservation area.  When we arrived at the beach, we noticed several small roped off areas which information signs on them.  These signs indicate when the eggs were laid by the turtles.  Approximately 45 days later little turtles hatch and make their way to the sea.  Usually they do this at night because the moonlight reflecting on the water is their ‘guide’ to where they should be heading.  Sadly, some see the street lights up behind the buildings which is away from the beach and the head in the wrong direction.  They usually become bird feed or the sand crabs eat them.

This is the view of the village from the road above.  We enjoyed another $5 resh seafood lunch in a beachside grass shack restaurant here.

Here we are on the beach and near the cave entrance.  

We noticed a “Hostel” or “B&B” on the beach called Lookout Hostel.  We dropped in to see it and discovered the owners are George and Christine from Oyama in the Okanagan !! Right around the corner from our home in B.C.  They retired here 3 years ago and built this lovely B&B right on the beach.  Tonight we are spending the night because last night our friends Michael and Marla Finch (from Calgary) stayed over and were witness to hatchlings making their way to the sea by moonlight.!  Tonight it is our turn.  

If you want some secluded beach time in a clean and affordable B&B, check out this B&B.  Here is their website:   Www.thelookouthostel.com

Next post will be turtle hatchlings I hope !!  Until then....  

ECUADOR Beach and Market days

Friday has arrived and after a very lazy Thursday at home, we made plans to drive south to Santa Marianita which is a small village south of Manta about 20 minutes.  The road is windy and rolls up and down but is paved and easy to navigate.  Along the way, we see how the rural local people live and it is very interesting.  Many live in small brick homes on steep hillsides with fenced areas that run down the steep hill.  I would assume these areas are for goats or chickens.  We didn’t see much animal life but were happy about that because it was quite sunny and they wouldn’t have a lot of protection from the sun.  We would dip into a valley, then rise up and out to a stunning view of the aqua and blue Pacific Ocean.

Santa Marianita has been referred to by “Little Canada” becasue there are many Canadians who winter in this small beachside community over the winter months.  Here you will find some of the best kite-surfing in all of Ecuador.  There is a steady wind and the waves are quite favorable for this sport.  We even saw a sizeable Canadian flag blowing in the wind !!

Along the beach we found many little restaurants offering fresh fish and local menus.  We stepped into one and enjoyed a fresh fish meal with a couple of very cold beers as we enjoyed the stunning view of the beach and the ocean.  After an hour on this patio, we concluded that we have to make a couple of trips a week here for lunch or dinner and the uninterupted views of the Pacific !  The setting is just so perfect !

This meal was $5.00 and I couldn’t eat all of it.!

After lunch we enjoyed a long walk along the beach letting the waves swoosh in and wash over our feet.  Once again, we are mesmerized by the warmth of the water here !  Satisfied and refreshed, we drove through the village one more time and drove back to our city home.

Saturday has arrived and Joe is off to golf with the boys at Montecristi which is just south of here 20 minutes.  Jan and I decided to go to the Central Market (Mercado Centro) to stock up on our weekly supplies of fruit and vegetables.   All the farmers bring in their produce to this market which is on the second floor above a huge meat market.  I can tell you I want on that escalator fast and to get to the top because I do NOT like the smell of the meat market which is on the main floor!!   For less than $10 here is what I came home with today.

At the market, I learned that you hand the merchant $1.00 and ask him for whatever that $1 will get you.  In this way, you receive far more than you would if you gathered a quantity of something then asked “how much”.
I was delighted to find fresh pureed warm peanut butter at the market!!  I had been craving peanut  butter and could not find it in the grocery stores.  Voila - here it is at the market ... and it is warm because it has been ground from warm roasted peanuts !!

The vendor in this photo is scooping my peanut butter ‘order’ into a small plastic bag.  I had to squeeze it out of the bag into a container once I got home.

The bananas here are tree ripened (rather than being in a refridgerator truck for days and room temperature ripened) and you can just imagine how sweet they are !!  And the flavour is amazing!  I stocked up on more Dragon Fruit which has become one of our favorites here in Ecuador.  The peppers are full of flavour and tonight I think we will enjoy a stir fry of onions and peppers !

When you buy onions in the markets or grocery stores here, they are always peeled.  Here is a vendor peeling his red onions for display and sale in his stall.

That’s it for this blog.  Time to settle in on the balcony and get my nose into a good book !

Until next time...