Paradise not found... yet

November 12, 2008- We had to postdate this one a bit due to lack of an internet connection...

We’d had enough of freezing on the Equator and wanted to hit the beach. We’d heard of a small surfing town- just two streets- called Mompiche on the Ecuadorian Coast. Described as “Ecuador’s best kept secret” and “some of the best beaches and surfing in Ecuador,” it seemed the place to go. Instead of backtracking to Quito, we decided to take the road North to the top of the coast. That trip took us from the mountains into a different world.

The map made it look like we could journey from Otavalo to Mompiche in one day, with time for an evening dip in the Pacific. Not true. We made it from Otavalo to Ibarra quickly, and it wasn’t long before we found a bus to San Lorenzo on the coast. Time slowed from there. The mountains disappeared from sight and the lush green jungle surrounded us. All of a sudden we had left the mountains and their indigenous people behind and were suddenly in an African world. We passed small villages with banana trees and buildings on stilts. We picked up riders carrying machetes and rifles. We finally pulled into San Lorenzo, a town that’s colors, sounds, and smells made it feel like we were at least in Brazil, if not Africa.

(Dusty streets of San Lorenzo)

We checked into the first hotel we found, tired from the trip. No way we were going to find a bus towards Mompiche that day. After dinner we hung out in the hotel for a bit but soon wanted to step out and buy some water and a few beers. At the bottom of the stairs the hotel manager was standing guard behind the gate.

“You want to go out? What could you need at this hour? I probably have it here, it’s better for me to just get it for you…”

“But it’s 9 o’clock…. Oh…”

The billboards on our way into town were focused on stopping drug trafficking in the area but I guess they hadn’t yet succeeded in securing the area. Good thing we bought a season of the Sopranos while in Quito to watch on the laptop. We looked from the balcony out onto the street for a bit, but the streets were deserted with the exception of a few men lingering in the shadows and corners.

(Waiting for the bus out of town)

We found the first bus we could the next morning to Esmereldas, where we would have to transfer buses towards Mompiche. Again, our ride on the old beater seemed to take longer than belief…Time dragged as we stopped to pick up passengers headed the same direction or every time the bus driver had a hankering for a snack - not so different from much of South America, but definitely exaggerated here. We were stopped at the most intense military checkpoint we’ve seen on our trip. Bags searched, soldiers checking between the seats, groups separated into those with ID and those without. They didn’t know what to do with us, but enjoyed pointing out our respective countries on my tattoo. We finally arrived in Esmereldas. Our guidebook said: Take care when moving about, especially near the bus station. Point taken, we found the first bus we could going South that would let us off anywhere near Mompiche. Before we left though, some guy did try and follow Megan into the bathroom to get a peek before she slammed the door in his face.

The bus let us off by the side of the road where we were told we could take a “mototaxi” to Mompiche. Sure enough, there was a motorbike with a cart attached to the back. Sweet ride eh? We hopped in for a rough trip down a dirt road until we could finally see the ocean in the distance. We made it to town right as power cut off for the night, 7 pm. It seems like a nice place- two sand roads, everything right along the beach. I just hope it’s a nice spot to mellow out after the two day trip here- and that the power comes back on as the lady who got us a room told us, so we can get some food. Until soon my friends…

(On the mototaxi)

November 15 update:
A couple of days of being consumed alive by mosquitos in Mompiche proved enough for us. It seemed we arrived just a few months too early. The whole town (1 street really) seemed under construction, with nobody yet open for business (with the exception of one fantastic pizzeria). Most locals didn't seem ready yet to have visitors around, so we soon caught the moto-taxi back to the road and kept going South. We arrived in Canoa last night, and it seems we've finally found what we've been searching for. A great beach, good waves, sun, things to do, and a friendly town... more on all that later.

(Megan was experimenting with some night photography in Mompiche. The little girl in this photo can only be seen by the trail of the burning log she was playing with as she walked)