Montañita and Puerto Lopez

Today is Sunday and currently I am listening to the San Francisco Giants play the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. It would be nice to watch the game somewhere but the town that I'm currently staying is very quiet during this day of the week. Puerto Lopez is going to be a home base for the next three nights and four friends plus myself are staying at a cozy hostel called La Fragada which is located one block from a small fishing bay. Puerto Lopez is a small coastal town that has a beautiful waterfront and a very tranquil attitude.

Earlier in the evening we booked a boat tour of Isla De La Plata which is considered to be a cheaper alternative to the Galapagos. The price we payed includes transportation, snorkeling, and a guided tour of a place that houses a wide variety of wildlife. It should hopefully be a fun day trip and a good change from the more hectic Montañita, a wild party town we just visited.

Before taking a one hour bus ride north along the Ecuadorian coast to Puerto Lopez, my friends Nick, John, Sean, Hannah and I spent three nights living at the Iguana Backpacker Hostel in Montañita. The living situation boasted live iguanas and a social atmosphere and those are petty much the only good things about it because the amenities were pretty bare minimum. We reconnected with about twelve other people who had stayed un Quito so it felt very much like a reunion of classmates rather than the visiting of a foreign town.

Montañita is a very small surf town that offers warm water, great seafood, tiki bars, and an impressive nightlife filled with more discotecs than stop signs. Despite its tiny size this ocean community feels very much like Bourbon Street because everyone arrives ready to party and exist with very little sleep. The group I came with did just that and we had some long nights that crept into daylight. We also had one really nice beach day on Saturday and spent great deal of time in the water.

The next few days will also include Halloween back in Montañita then a long bus ride south to help Cuence celebrate its independence day/ Dia De Los Muertos next weekend. More updates coming soon and hope you are doing well too!