The Galapagos were incredible,
but it was inevitable that we would have to return to mainland at some point. This
point came around way too quickly, and next up we spent some time on the coast
in Ecuador.
Here we based ourselves in Montañita
at first. This is a real tourist town, which means a bit less authentic culture
but plenty of opportunities to find somewhere to stay cheaply, eat cheaply,
party cheaply, you get the picture.
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| Montañita |
We had an extended time here, as
we had read about the Montañita Spanish School and had booked in here for a
couple of weeks of lessons there. I always feel that a huge part of both
enjoying and respecting a country you visit is to learn some of the language:
if I go away for a couple of days I might only learn enough to say ‘please’, ‘thank
you’, and to order things, but being away for 12 weeks seemed a great opportunity
to delve deeper into the local language.
Montañita is pretty self-explanatory
when you get there, so you don’t need many top tips to get by – plus, most
people there are there to party, which gives most people slightly different priorities to mine. That said, I do have a few
pointers I feel I ought to mention:
Firstly, you must check out
cocktail alley. This is one of the little roads leading down to the beach,
along which, lining both sides, are little pop-up- or kiosk- style cocktail
bars, each with a handful of seats at the front and a selection of spirits and
fruits on display, and each manned by a different person. The quality and
prices at them all is pretty much equal, and sometimes an order at one will be
fulfilled by another (for example if they don’t have the right fruit, or are
too busy) so it doesn’t really matter which you go to – just pick one you like
the look of! And don’t worry if you’re not a cocktail person, you can get great
fruit juices cheaply too. Head there in the evening when most of them are open.
Secondly, make the most of the local-style
cheap eats around town. There are several large, funky looking café/restaurant/bars
around, where you can get good food at reasonable restaurant prices – and for
the most part (certainly while I was there) they were the ONLY places where you
could get ok coffee. But don’t limit yourself to these touristy places – there are
so many small local style restaurants in the town, from where you can get a
Menu del dia for between US$2 and US$4. These ‘menus’ consist of a choice of
starter, usually soups and cerviche, followed by a choice of main course –
often with fish, red meat and chicken options. You also get a drink, normally a
small fruit juice. And it’s always freshly cooked and delicious, and much
better value than the tourist restaurants.
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| Delicious food - this is from Tiburón |
As well as permanent restaurants
there are carts everywhere selling fresh juices – blended from chunks of real
fresh, ripe and delicious fruits mixed with either water or milk. You can totally
customise these drinks – remember to ask for no sugar (‘sin azucar’) if you
want to keep calories down. A roughly pint sized drink is about US$1-2. These
places almost all also offer fruit salads. Fruit here is so ripe, sweet and
delicious that a fruit salad – served with a pouring of yoghurt and a sprinkling
of granola – that you can get a really tasty meal from a fruit salad. Ideal if
you have a bit of a hangover and want to put some goodness back into your body,
or if you simply want a delicious breakfast. These salads cost US$2-3.50 while
we were there.
Thirdly, Montañita might be party
central, but with a gorgeous beach where you can sunbathe, swim, surf (or learn
to surf) as well as watching the pelicans and looking out for turtles, not to
mention the nearby excursions into jungle to spot wildlife, or up the coast to
visit the Machalilla National Park – then you don’t need to be a party animal
to enjoy staying here. Avoid peak times, such as Christmas and New Year, and
stay just outside of the main town centre. Montañita is so small that ‘just
outside’ means only a 2 minute walk from the restaurants and bars, while
allowing more calm accommodation away from the thumping music. I highly
recommend Kundalini Hostel.
This fabulous place is still reasonably priced – although I predict that to
change in the near future – with lovely rooms in mini cabañas, complete with
hammocks outside each room. Located against a grassy lawn, the other side of
which meets the beach, the sea-facing rooms have wonderful views, and the whole
place is a very short walk from the main bit of town while being quiet enough
that you can get a good sleep there. The breakfast area is right next to the
beach and the eggs, fruit and coffee served up are included in the price. The whole
place is clean and smart, and the staff are really helpful, particularly Diego.
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| Kundalini - photo from www.hostalkundalini.com.ec/en/ |
Finally, get out and about! It’s
really easy to grab a taxi and travel to Dos Mangas, a small nearby town from
where you can walk into the forest on a couple of routes, either to a small
cascade or a small natural pool in which you can swim and cool off after a hot
hike! You sign in to the area and hire guide for these walks, and remember to
get the phone number from the taxi driver when they drop you off so you can
call when you need a ride back.
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| Pool reached from Dos Mangas |
The Spondylus cycle route also
passes through here, and while this wasn’t something I did while we were there,
you can get plenty of information and hire bikes to enjoy the area from several
places in town.
A very cheap 45 minute bus ride
up the coast takes you to the town of Puerto Lopez, which is another starting
point for walks in the forest and also
for boat trips out to Isla de la Plata, sometimes known as the ‘poor man’s
Galapagos’ due the abundance of wildlife to be seen here. Trips within
Machalilla can be booked from Montañita or Puerto Lopez, but bear in mind that
often if booked from Montañita then you will have to make your own way to
Puerto Lopez (just flag down a bus on the main road). Machalilla forest walks are
great for seeing howler monkeys and other jungle wildlife, and as we had
already seen lots of marine birds and sea lions on the Galapagos, monkeys
appealed so this was the trip we did. You can do this trip on horseback or by
walking, so even more options for variety.
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| Machalilla National Park, looking down towards the sea in the distance |
This only covers the small part
of the Ecuadorian coast that we saw and there is far more to explore, but it’s
not a bad start :)
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