The Ecuadorian Coast & El Carmen

Perfect Sunset

The Ecuadorian coastal road is pretty amazing although a lot of the time it doesn't strictly follow the shore. It sweeps inland and often curves up and above the coast so you get some wonderful views of the sea and beyond. It also takes you through some jungle feeling terrain, which is always nice. We left Salinas for this amazing ride as we were heading to a small place called El Carmen.

The ride to El Carmen, where Maisa's aunt and uncle have a home and where we were to be staying for one night, is some hours north of Salinas. Its hard to keep track how many hours, but we broke up our journey by stopping off at places on route. We made one stop at Puerto Lopez, which is actually a popular tourist spot as many come here to see the whales which often pass by this particular area. We only stopped off for lunch, but it also has a nice long-stretched beach to look at too, especially when you are eating delicious soup. We also stopped off at some small fishing village. I don't remember the name of the town, but the people there looked and acted odd and I don't think many of them had left the place, well, probably ever. It was an interesting experience being there though, as an army of fisherman were crowded on the beach standing over two huge swordfish. We watched as they hacked these things to pieces before feeding the unwanted parts to two very eager looking dogs. The smell made me feel somewhat ill, and it reminded me once again why I don't eat fish. It would have been fascinating to see those two swordfish actually in the ocean, alive and blazing through the water because before they were dismantled, they looked immense.

Eventually we made it to El Carmen. Just off the main coastal road, a small dirt-track leads to a farm, where Maisa's aunt and uncle have a rustic, wooden jungle house. It was certainly different to any of the other accommodation that we had stayed in thus far on this trip but it was incredible to be there. The shower is basically a bucket of water, the toilet has no flusher, and the rooms are simply wooden boxes with beds. Surrounding the house though is an assortment of amazing things. Chickens run riot there, and around is every type of growing plant under the sun. They get meat and eggs from the chickens, then the plants provide them with oranges, passion fruits, cocao plants, yuca and avacadoes.......plus more. They really don't need a local supermarket as they have everything right in their back yard. They cooked us some very fresh and organic food, including a typical Ecuadorian coastal dish which involves crispy rice. Unfortunately, there are also a ton of bugs there including thousands of mosquitos, but we slept with the nets up so it wasn't so much of a problem.

The next day we continued north about an hour or so, where there was a party that we were to attend. Im not exactly sure what the whole thing was about but it included the entire family of Maisa's aunt (who is not blood related). I don't think I ever have or ever will see a family this big again in my entire life - as there must of been like two hundred people there. Im sure if you were part of this family you would meet up with everyone and each time see some relative that you never had before. Maisa only knew a hatful of them there and im not suprised. I don't think if you counted the members of my family from all the generations going back to the time of the cave man (or Adam and Eve - whatever you believe), would it have totalled the number at this event. It was incredible. There was food and beer flowing and a lot of chatting going on. The event went on all day, mainly I think because by the time you had gone around and said hello to everyone you would probably have passed at least three hours. We only stayed a short time as we needed to get back to Quito, so off we went again, continuing north.

The views continuing north up the coast and then swinging east, past the town of Santo Domingo and on to Quito is pretty spectacular. It mainly sweeps around mountains and outlooks some wonderful views. If you have problems with car-sickness, this would have been your nightmare ride, but luckily I don't have such issues. We got back to Quito late, and I spent that last night at Maisa's house in the valley. The next day the parents prepared a huge feast including some delicious salty pork which is one of my favourite things to eat out here. Eventually Maisa gave Henry and I a lift back to the old town of Quito where I live. After a 10 day trip crossing two countries, seeing around 10 locations and doing an absolute mass of things, I walked into my room, shut my door and collapsed!!!

It had been an amazing trip and I was glad to take the time off work for it. It was packed full of adventure and a ton of travelling, but then I like my vacations to be busy. Culturally it was fascinating too as we covered so many different regions, foods and life-styles. One day we were staying in a 5-star hotel and the next in a wooden jungle house surrounded by chickens. It was worth every minute and one trip I won't forget in a hurry. For now though, once again, it was back to work................................