This past weekend, I went to Ayampe, Ecuador with other members of my program, El Nomad, as well as Arturo, Pip, and Flo, who run/work for El Nomad. Ayampe is a beach town that most Ecuadorians haven't even heard of because it is so small. Most people I told just looked at me like I was crazy.
I could understand why once I arrived. Ayampe is made up of 4 or 5 hotels, and about that many restaurants, all surrounded by houses and tiendas (shops). It is on the beach between the well-known tourist-filled Montanita and Puerto Lopez, where you go to get to Isla de la Plata (more on that later). It is about 5 hours drive from Cuenca.
The whole weekend was awesome, especially since we didn't have access to the internet and barely had cell service. So it was definitely an escape and a great way to spend the weekend. I'll just hit on some of the higlights.
Isla de la Plata::
AKA the Poor Man's Galapagos, since it has some of the same species but is only an hour boat ride off the coast from Puerto Lopez.
On the way there, we got to see two whales (ballenas)!
I also got to see piqueros de pata azul, fragatas, and many other species on the island.
It's name comes either from a hidden treasure or the silver appearance of the rocks covered in bird s***.
We went on a 2 hour hike, and then went snorkeling!!! It was my first time and it was awesome.
Los Frailes::
Just one of the beaches that we visited on Sunday.
Each one is a little different but they are all connected either directly or by paths.
There was a lot of biodiversity here as well, including sea urchins (erizo del mar), one of which I fell on and got spines stuck in my foot. I'm okay though, no worries.
Both of these locations are part of the larger Parque Nacional Machalilla.
It was nice to be away from the altitude and in a hot climate. Though it was humid and filled with mosquitos. We had a little rain at the beach on Sunday, but otherwise pretty good weather. I tried ecuadorian ceviche (different than others apparently) at Mariscal's restaurant, as well as lots of other delicious foods. I spent my down time reading or hanging out with the others in hammocks in a tiki-style gazebo.
The easiest way to summarize my weekend is by the numbers:
92 photos
23 mosquito bites
5 holes in my left foot from sea urchin spines
2 burnt ears
1 scraped knee
1 book finished
So, all-in-all, an awesome weekend!
I could understand why once I arrived. Ayampe is made up of 4 or 5 hotels, and about that many restaurants, all surrounded by houses and tiendas (shops). It is on the beach between the well-known tourist-filled Montanita and Puerto Lopez, where you go to get to Isla de la Plata (more on that later). It is about 5 hours drive from Cuenca.
The whole weekend was awesome, especially since we didn't have access to the internet and barely had cell service. So it was definitely an escape and a great way to spend the weekend. I'll just hit on some of the higlights.
Isla de la Plata::
AKA the Poor Man's Galapagos, since it has some of the same species but is only an hour boat ride off the coast from Puerto Lopez.
On the way there, we got to see two whales (ballenas)!
I also got to see piqueros de pata azul, fragatas, and many other species on the island.
It's name comes either from a hidden treasure or the silver appearance of the rocks covered in bird s***.
We went on a 2 hour hike, and then went snorkeling!!! It was my first time and it was awesome.
Los Frailes::
Just one of the beaches that we visited on Sunday.
Each one is a little different but they are all connected either directly or by paths.
There was a lot of biodiversity here as well, including sea urchins (erizo del mar), one of which I fell on and got spines stuck in my foot. I'm okay though, no worries.
Both of these locations are part of the larger Parque Nacional Machalilla.
It was nice to be away from the altitude and in a hot climate. Though it was humid and filled with mosquitos. We had a little rain at the beach on Sunday, but otherwise pretty good weather. I tried ecuadorian ceviche (different than others apparently) at Mariscal's restaurant, as well as lots of other delicious foods. I spent my down time reading or hanging out with the others in hammocks in a tiki-style gazebo.
The easiest way to summarize my weekend is by the numbers:
92 photos
23 mosquito bites
5 holes in my left foot from sea urchin spines
2 burnt ears
1 scraped knee
1 book finished
So, all-in-all, an awesome weekend!
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