Monday 12th October
This weekend we went to a beach town in Ecuador called Montañita. It has one long lovely beach and lots of hostals and bars. It is very hippyish with alot of dreadlocked people selling hand made jewellery on the side of the streets. It is also famous for its surfing, but unfortunately the waves were too small when we went so didnt get the chance. Aswell as jewellery stalls there are lots of stalls selling fresh fruit juice and cocktails, and the local dish cerviche which is a cold fish soup and not for everyone!
The wildlife there is also amazing and there were constantly a group of pelicans flying overhead. Other seacreatures are jellyfish, though only small ones still stung two of the girls, we saw a starfish, and also a beached sea horse which we sqeamishly put back in the sea as was still alive!
The journey there was long and not that nice as on buses, but was still fairly interesting as we passed from the mountainous area to the cloudy mountains where we were literally in the clouds and it was humid and rainforesty, to the lowlands where there were bananas being grown everywhere and had a very latino feel (much hotter than Cuenca), through Guayaquil the biggest city in the country, to the deserty part and finally to the pretty coastal fishing towns.
During the days it was fairly cloudy and most of the girls got sunburnt. We took turns to go swimming and sit with the stuff on the beach, the sea was so warm it was lovely, and whilst on the beach the shops come to you with people trying to sell you jewellery and henna tatoos, and coconuts with a hole in the top and a straw to drink the milk!
In the evenings we went to a small bar/ club where there was lots of salsa and meringue dancing which was really fun.
Sunday morning was really hot and sunny which is typical and unfair as we had to leave at ten! But I definately want to go back when its high season!