Bahia, as it's called, is located on the central Ecuadoran coast. It is a narrow peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Chone River estuary on the other. We arrived on the Sunday after New Year's day so the place was mostly partied out and the revelers were mostly heading back home. We found a quiet and slow town. Quiet by both the lack of people and a lack of cars. The "taxi" fleet in town is almost exclusively composed of bicycle-cabs which supports the quiet and the ambiance.
After a number of false starts checking the $20 per room hostels, we ended up at this $78 per room hotel on the beach, La Piedra Hotel. Although we try to be thrifty travelers, we are not 20-something backpackers and the $20 facilities were just too rundown for our spoiled and senior sensibilities. We needed to do laundry about this time in the trip but the only lavanderia in town was closed so the proprietor of the hole-in-the-wall convenience store we had shopped in agreed to do our laundry for us for $4. It sure is nice having Amy there to haggle with the locals since she speaks Spanish - and she does love a bargain..........
Here's a self portrait of us both holding down the hammock. It was one of those low gravity days and someone had to do it. :-)
You're like a cancer! Joe .....stop!
ReplyDeleteLove Will
I only go online as "without a name" because I am not a member of any of the optional groups.
ReplyDeleteWill
As I dig deeper, I understand that that you are merely a tourist in all of the mentioned countries. Thank God. That means that only tourists (we hope) are reading your blog (vis a vis any country south of the 49th parallel.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Will
I can't stop - it is my self-appointed mission to share beautiful and interesting places and things I encounter in my life. I'm trying to offset the negativity and bad news that permeates today's world. I do the same in my home area of southeastern Massachusetts in the US. (And some folks don't like that either).
ReplyDeleteI don't have very detailed analytics but I do know that the leading countries from which my blog posts are read (in descending order) are: US, Canada, Russia, UK, Germany, Ecuador, Mexico, France, India, Sweden. I don't know if they are tourists, aspiring expats, or armchair travelers.
ReplyDeleteHi, my boyfriend and I are considering going to Ecuador for a month-long vacation, and would prefer to stay somewhere along the coast where it's warmer than in the mountains/Quito. We're both vegan also. Were you able to find good vegan food in Bahia de Caraquez?
ReplyDeleteGina, it depends on your definition of "good." Most places understood what we wanted but none really had a menu for vegans. Like in the U.S., it was often necessary to cobble something together from their menu items - salads, beans, rice, nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits. But the friendly people in Ecuador and great weather there made up for any menu shortcomings. We didn't spend much time in Bahia - it was more of a stopover for us on the way to San Clemente. It has been over two years since I was there so maybe it's better now for vegans. Good luck.
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