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. :-)
