On Thursday evening, Julie, Angela and I still hadn´t bought tickets to Loja (the connection city to Vilcabamba), even though our plan was to leave the bus terminal by 8:00 PM. Because we waited until the last minute and because pretty much everyone in Quito seemed to be leaving for vacations on Thursday night as well, all buses to Loja were sold out and our original plan for the weekend was dead. Even getting to the terminal turned out to be a hassle when our taxi driver didn’t want to take us all the way there. According to him, there was "too much traffic and too many dangerous people." We managed to convince him, however, on the grounds that he had a car to protect him while we were three gringas with bags carrying our few possessions. Instead of letting these minor setbacks get us down, we made a slight tweak in our schedule and decided to head for Montañita, which is a little surfing/hippie town on the coast about three hours west of Guayaquil. Our bus left at 10:00 PM from Quito, got into Guayaquil at 6:30 AM, and then we eventually took two more 1½-hour buses to arrive in a very gray, drizzly and muddy Montañita at close to 11:00 AM. Despite the weather, it was still a fantastic trip.
We spent the majority of the time listening to reggae music, lying around in hammocks, eating delicious food of all kinds, strolling along the beach, swimming in the ocean (which was surprisingly warm for this time of the year), and checking out various jewelry and clothes shops on the main road. A lot of other USFQ students happened to be there this weekend as well so it was nice to hang out in a big group and get to know each other better. The night before we left was insane. We stayed up until 1:00 AM, and then came back to a hostel with damp sheets, a toxic-smelling mosquito net, holes in the roof and crazy loud techno music from the club next door that was literally still going strong when our alarm went off at 4:15 AM, so we could catch our bus at 5:00 AM. It was necessary to leave this early, unfortunately, because it was the only direct bus to Guayaquil in the morning and we wanted to get home to Quito before nightfall. Although Saturday night was pretty uncomfortable (to say the least), it’s not going to stop me from wanting to return! I hear that the town really comes alive for New Years, when the weather is better and people come from all over Ecuador to take advantage of great waves and big celebrations. Julie and I have another trip planned for this Wed., so I’m going to be extremely busy in the next couple days if I want to make that happen. Sorry about the lack of good pictures this week! With all the rain and cold I didn’t feel like breaking out the camera too much and I didn’t think I could capture why Montañita is so amazing in such bad weather anyway. ¡Caio!
1 comment:
Pobrecita que el clima no te hizo bueno en Montanita!!
Hola Anna!! So glad to hear your adventures are going well and you feel right at home (I knew you'd love it). Bummer about Vilcabama, but if you get down there pronto and drink the water you'll be able to visit again and again for the next 100 years (you've heard the tales of the alive and prospering 100-year-old residents, right)?
Yes, you most definitely should retrun to the coast for Fin de Ano (in fact, many Quitenos heard west to soak up the rays during vacaciones, so perhaps your host fam will be heading that way). I'll be stopping by Montanita after arriving in Guayaquil in a few weeks, then to Bahia for the holidays. I've got you numero, so I'll be in touch when we arrive.
Que sigas divertiendote!! Nos vemos!
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