We made it to the coast. We spent a few days in the northern city of Atacambes at Hotel la Barca. The rooftop pool and location on the malecon made it a perfect place to relax in the sun.
We continue to be perplexed that Ecuador and Colombia do not have very good food. The markets are packed with wonderful vegetables and new fruits, but the typical plate consists of chicken or fish or steak, fries, and iceberg lettuce. If they really want to mix it up, they fry the protein.
Jess' vegetarian diet baffles the restaurant owners who proceed to ask, "what about chicken, fish?" We found Domingos restaurant on the malecon the exception. The owner went to his fridge and whipped together a rat-tat-touli consisting of a huge delight of vegetables and rice.
We waited in the shadow of a huge KFC for the bus that the guy who sells hard-boiled quail eggs said would be coming. He's quite a legend in these parts, known for his extensive knowledge of the buses and timetables. Thank God for him because beforehand had to run to each bus inquire where they're going and sulk back having our heart sink again and again because it was the wrong bus. To top ot all off was the extreme heat of nearly 100 degrees with 95 percent humidity.
Without concern for how haggard we looked, we took turns running across the street to the supermarket to stand in front of their fan displays to cool down a bit. Finally, the coastal bus arrived after two hours of waiting. The egg guy was equally excited as we were as he rushed from behind his stand to make sure we got on.
We rambled three hours down the coast with the usual vendors, musicians and beggars coming on at each stop. We finally reached Mompiche. My first thought was how closely it resembles the North Shore of Hawaii with its hippie surfer vibe.
We found the Oasis Colibiri one block off of the coast. The sand floor was such a cool touch.
After settling in we hit the beaches. Twenty minutes outside the city and a short boat ride to enjoy the island Purrte. Right in the middle of the delta of a river lays a black sand island which is part fancy hotel, part private and part public. Much like the town, the beachfront of the island is quickly going away as the sea reclaims it.
The town's seawall is smashed to bits due to the rising tides. 4-meter waves have proved the wall inadequate and poorly built. Everyday the tides retreat 100 yards revealing a huge beach and come back to batter the wall again.
The island too is losing ground as El Nino releases its wrath. The locals have installed tarp cloth on the banks so the water takes less of it away. Sand bags and pylons are placed on the break lines so the water hits the beach gently.
Our goal was to take the coast from top to bottom. Unfortunately, between Mompiche and Manta or Canoa you must hire a transfer company (30.00pp 8hrs) or transfer multiple times on the buses (4 buses and 10-12hours).We chose a transfer service that would drive us through the night so we'd wake up in Montanita. He tried to make us pay an extra 30.00 to keep the trip told us we could take a very round-a-bout route that would be particularly tedious. We canceled our ride and told us we'd be able to go in the morning. Rather than kill a day on the bus through transfers or a direct daylight route. we went back to Esmareldes for a night bus south. Ten min into the trip the bus broke with a radiator problem.
