Tuesday, February 16, 2016


This is the fishing village of Los Frailes, on the coast of Ecuador, a little more than an hour north of my home in Olon. A friend and I signed up for a tourist package last Thursday that consisted of snorkeling and visiting the famous Los Frailes beach. It's touted as one of the nicest beaches in Ecuador, so we thought we'd check it out.

Los Frailes is part of the Machalilla National Park, and access is very restricted. The park also
includes the Isla de la Plata that I had visited back in December. Isla de la Plata is an island about thirty miles offshore that features blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and other local birds. Often called "the poor man's Galapagos," the island is a big part of the local tourist scene, as is La Playa de los Frailes, our adventure for the day.

After riding a bus to Puerto Lopez, a small city that is home to a large fishing fleet and the
headquarters for all of the park tours, we took a second short bus ride to the town of Los Frailes, where we boarded a boat for a small, rocky outcropping just outside the harbor. Snorkeling gear was passed out after anchoring, and most of us jumped off the boat, anxious to explore the coral reef surrounding the island.

My friend Pauline did well, and swam off with the group to see what the reef had to offer. I swam about twenty feet and had water leaking into my mask. Of course I ended up snorting some sea water, which is never a good thing, and swam back to the boat to try to adjust my mask. Thinking I had it nailed, I swam off again, eager to join the group. Well that didn't work either, as more water started coming into my mask. Another adjustment with the same result helped me make the decision to get back on board and take pictures!

Pauline fared much better than I did with her equipment, and was able to spend some time actually snorkeling, and not coughing on salt water. Her report was that she had been able to see only a small amount of fish, and they weren't too exciting. Seeking a good excuse for wimping out, the lack of fish near the island justified, in my mind at least, my return to the boat. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a snorkeler, you know?

We headed back into the beach after having some lunch, and got back into our little tour bus. A quick ten-minute ride had us at the entrance to the park and off to the beach. As I said earlier, Los Frailes Beach is famous throughout Ecuador, and is
visited by thousands of people, both locals and tourists, but there seem to be daily limits to the amount of people they allow in. The nicest thing about the beach was the fact that there were no houses, hotels or buildings of any kind. It was just sand and vegetation at the top of the beach. They close the park at four each day to allow the sea turtles that nest there to come up on the beach at night with no human interference. I really like that a lot!

It's nice to see that the Ecuadorean government is doing everything it can to protect the natural beauty and the wildlife that inhabits their country. Not all Latin American countries do, so seeing these protected areas here is always a pleasant experience. The beaches of Ecuador are beautiful, and the Pacific Ocean is quite different than the Atlantic I grew up in, but it's still just a big pond for little fishes like us!

Hasta luego, see you soon!


Mark


For information on my books, please go to: Mark T. Bradbury, Author, on Amazon.com.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Some friends and I jumped on one of the local buses and headed south the other day. Our destination was a small town we had heard about from some of my friends here. The town is called "Ayangue," pronounced "Ah-yahn-gay," and as we soon discovered,  it just happens to be a great place to enjoy a day at the beach.

After exiting the bus, we grabbed a cab into town. Our taxi driver dropped us off at one of the local cabana restaurants on the beach. We had asked where we might find the best seafood, and he brought us to a place we might not have seen if we had just gotten off in the center of town. After introducing us to the owner, he left, and we decided to take a walk along the beach before eating.

One of the first things we noticed was the amount of kids playing in the water. In Olon, where we live, our beach is beautiful, but our waves come hard and fast, making it difficult for young kids to handle the surf. Ayangue is a natural harbor, protected by cliffs on both sides, and the resulting waves are just gentle rollers that anyone can deal with.

Another thing we noticed that really impressed us all was how clean the beach was. With so many families, and lots of children, you would almost expect to see signs of trash scattered about, but there was next to nothing. It was refreshing to see a beach so well cared for. As we strolled through town later we saw that the whole town was very well kept, leaving a lasting impression on all of us.

After walking the beach and taking lots of photos, we made our way back to the restaurant the driver had brought us to earlier. Lunch was very good; here's a photo of mine. It's a Pacific spiny lobster, with rice, salad and fried patacones (plantains). Plantains are a staple of the Ecuadorean food service; we get them fried like this, and they also cook the very ripe ones in coconut oil. They're a tasty addition!

We had spotted a very unique building at the end of the beach, snuggled up against the cliffs, so we walked up to it to explore it a little further. It was a fairly new hotel with one of the most fascinating roof lines of any building I've ever seen. The manager gave us a tour of the place, including the top floor. It was a huge open area designed to host functions, with a beautiful view of the harbor. The entire roof and support structure were made of local bamboo, and the effect is striking. Here's a shot of the workmanship.

Bamboo is used extensively in building construction here. It's a very renewable resource that grows
very quickly here in the Tropics. It is used to construct entire homes, fences, roofing, and just about anything else that comes up. It is extremely tough and durable, making it perfect for everything. And it's hard to beat for giving you that tropical feeling you like to have when you're in a place like this. Could you pass me the sunscreen and my coconut water, dahling? 

This is the hotel itself, and as I said, the roof is amazing! And there's two big party areas; one in front, and the one on the beach to the back. Pretty cool, don't you think? I can just picture my next big party up there on the terrace. Anybody want to come?


  
Here's my friends and I on the terrace, with the harbor behind us, enjoying what turned out to be a nice little adventure on the coast of Ecuador. Ninety degrees and sunny; can't beat that for February!


Hasta luego; see you later! Thanks for reading!


Mark


For information on my books, please go to: Mark T. Bradbury, Author, on Amazon.com.


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