Do you know what the California Gold Rush, the Building of the Panama Canal and the beautiful hats of Montecristi, Ecuador have in common? Not many know the answer, unless you've traveled to this city tucked into the coastal hills of my new country and purchased one (or more) of their world-famous hats.


Ecuadorean craftsmen have been making hats since the middle of the seventeenth century. It is an art form passed on through the generations, that continues today in several locations in Ecuador. Montecristi is the center of the hat making industry, though, and its products rank among the finest hats available anywhere in the world. 

These hats began showing up in the Isthmus of Panama long before the Canal was built. Panama was the drop off point for people going to the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic side. Passengers would disembark on the eastern shore, travel across the short distance and get on another ship heading west. Along the way, entrepreneurs began taking the hats of Ecuador to Panama, and selling them to the travelers to help keep the intense sun off their heads.

During the Gold Rush of 1849 thousands of people

heading to San Francisco bought these hats in Panama. Later, when construction began on the Panama Canal, the hats became a very popular accessory. President Teddy Roosevelt purchased one when he went to inspect the progress of the Canal. The beautiful straw hats of Ecuador became known as the Panama Hat, and they still carry that name to this day.

Ecuador is the primary producer of quality straw hats in the world. There are imitations made in other countries, like China, of course, but none can compete with the hand-made hats of Ecuador. Politicians, movie stars, vacationing millionaires and so many others have all worn the hats of Montecristi, but here you can go to several shops specializing in the sale of hats, and you can even go to a museum to learn their history. The hats are woven from the fibers of a coastal plant the locals call la paja toquilla, a palm-like tree native to the area. The price of each hat is determined by the weave; the finer the weave, the more expensive the hat.

I went to Montecristi with two friends last week to see what the town and its shops had to offer. It was a long three-hour bus ride each way, but we had a great time finding hats, spending a good deal on them as we shopped. I had a recommendation from a friend to check out a restaurant in Montecristi, so we went there for an early dinner before heading south on the bus. La Trattoria de Gabriele was tucked into a tall hillside, where you could see the ocean fifteen miles away. The food was homemade like you'd expect in the finest Italian restaurants in your favorite city. It was incredible! 

If you're fortunate enough to visit coastal Ecuador, find your way to Montecristi. Buy a hat, and enjoy a wonderful Italian meal. And if you already live here in Ecuador - what are you waiting for?

Hasta luego! See you next time! 


Mark 

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

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.

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.

H

Hello again from Olon, Ecuador! It's been a few weeks since my last blog post, but I haven't stopped enjoying living here along the famous "Ruta del Spondylus." The Ruta is the highway that runs along the Pacific coast for several hundred miles. It's also known as the "Ruta del Sol," a name that I figured out pretty easily. It's the "Route of the Sun." But the more famous name baffled me for a while. What the hell was a spondylus, I asked?

A friend told me it was the local oyster, which made sense to me, since I've seen many oyster shells along the beach. I learned that the indigenous tribes of the coastal region depended on the harvest of spondylus, much as the native people did on our North American oysters. So, I filed that information away until recently.

Some friends and I were discussing shells that we had found along the beach when one of them started talking about a beautiful spondylus shell she had been given. She talked about it not being as pink as some of the ones she had seen, but her shell actually consisted of both upper and lower parts. It was a complete example of a spondylus.

Pink? I was confused; I had never seen a pink oyster shell either here, or in the States. What could she be talking about, I asked. It turns out that a spondylus is not an oyster at all; it's similar to an oyster as far as a food source goes, but that's where the similarities end. It has become so rare, where once there were millions, that the Ecuadorean government has laws about its protection. They've even started a re-seeding program, helping the mollusk to regenerate itself and be abundant once more.

My friend showed me her spondylus shell, and I have to say, I was quite impressed by it. It is very unique, and looks nothing like an oyster. It looks more like a clam on steroids. Instead of a smooth shell, it has spiny hackles all over it. It would not be something you'd want to step on as you walked along the beach.

A couple of roaming street artists spent a few days here in town a few weeks ago. They painted murals all over town, depicting both ancient and current scenes. Their work is quite good, and since they left town they've been traveling north, painting in other towns and cities as they go. I picked out some of their work, and wanted to share it with you. The first painting is a spondylus; you can see how unusual it really is. I've personally dubbed it the "smiling clam," since it appears to be quite happy. Its smile reflects the general feeling that most of the natives seem to have here; they're happy in this world they've grown up in. Many of us are blessed to be able to share it with them every day.

So, my friends, now you know what a spondylus is! You'll never find one of these on the beaches of North America; not on my favorite Plum Island, Massachusetts, or the famous Daytona Beach of Florida. Won't happen! But, with some hard work by the Ecuadorean government, we may see them flourish once again along the coast of this beautiful country.

Here's another photo of a couple of paintings from the ancient Valdivean culture, the dominant tribe along the coast many years ago. One is a tribal mask, and the other depicts a woman blowing a conch shell, used to call the people to gatherings. I think they're pretty cool; hope you do, too.

Have a great day! Hasta luego, see you later!


Mark


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

 

At Sunset's Door - Olon, Ecuador

Before coming to Ecuador, I had researched the entire country for close to a year. Most people who had moved there before me talked about not having a personal vehicle. Buses and taxis handled the job of moving them around the country. 

I remember thinking how liberating that concept was to me, in both a personal comfort zone and in keeping with a "green" environment. The idea of riding the buses everywhere was a bit challenging at first, but after a few assisted trips I seemed to have mastered the art of travel here in my new home. 

Last week I went north to take care of some sightseeing and some personal business. It took me three different buses to travel the five-hour distance, but I actually did quite well maneuvering the big bus terminals. On the way home a few days later, the same trip was completed using four buses, but again I managed to get on the right bus each time, and safely made it back to Olon Thursday night.

So, yesterday morning I walked to the local bus station and boarded a bus to Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest and most populous city. I thought I was doing fine until I got to the bus station from hell in the city. The place is huge! A helpful soul assisted me in finding the taxi stand, where I needed to grab a cab downtown to get my official Ecuadorean Resident ID card. Getting a cab was perhaps the single toughest thing I've had to do since I got here two months ago.

I walked out to the taxi area, where I attempted to get into a line for the next incoming cab. I had no idea that  at least a hundred locals would jump in front of me, taking every available seat in every cab that pulled up. I knew I had to toughen up quickly, so I marched over to a woman directing the cabs, and basically whined in my best Spanish that I needed to get to the Civil Registry downtown. She smiled at me (probably thinking what a dumb Gringo I was), and put me into the next taxi that pulled up. Three more people piled into the little car, but at that point I didn't care if it was boarded by a troupe of clowns!

The driver took off for downtown, narrowly missing other cars and taxis by inches at least a dozen times. With my heart in my throat, I clung to the handle over the door and held on tight. But I made it, or I wouldn't be here to tell you this story, would I? 

After getting my business done a few hours later, I went outside and started waving down a cab. Two of the drivers actually refused to go to the bus terminal, and I instantly found myself respecting them for that decision! But I found a cab, and off we went. Within two minutes we had already had a couple of close encounters, but about five minutes later my driver played chicken with another car trying to get into the same space. I heard the slap of rear-view mirrors colliding, and thought that my trip was about to be delayed. Wrong! He just kept driving, not caring about what had just happened. It was actually pretty funny; I couldn't help but think that back in the States they would have both stopped, screamed at each other for a while, and then filed "whiplash" complaints, but here in Ecuador it was just business as usual!

But here's where the hell part started. My taxi dropped me off out in front of the building and I entered the terminal. The place is huge, as I said, and resembles a mall, with retail stores and restaurants everywhere. I went to where I saw ticket counters earlier, and began searching for the office of CLP, my bus ride home. I searched everywhere, or so I thought, to no avail. I asked a policeman where I could find the ticket window and he directed me to a completely different place I hadn't been to yet. I bought my ticket, after going to two wrong windows, and made my way back into the terminal to find Gate 74. 

I walked the entire terminal before I once again stopped to ask another policeman where the gate was. He said "Arriba" (upstairs) and pointed me to an escalator. Up I went, and began a search of this new level I had been unaware of earlier. With the same results (or no results, actually), I once again approached somebody to ask about my gate. I got another "Arriba, senor," and was pointed to another escalator. Three levels; hundreds of buses, and thousands of people. It was amazing that I ever got out of there, but I fell into my seat when my bus pulled in and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I had conquered the giant and lived to get away! I felt like I had just won the lottery or something!

It is cool that Ecuador has an incredible system of buses and cabs throughout the country. Mass transportation is simply a way of life here, and the locals take it for granted that they have this available to them. In Guayaquil alone, there are probably a thousand city buses that move their four million inhabitants around each day. It's what we've needed in the US for a long time, but it will probably never happen; we all value our mobility too much to give up our vehicles. But here in Ecuador, I'll be riding the buses and taking taxis. Did I mention that I love not having to deal with owning a car?   

Hasta luego! See you soon!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy your holidays!

 

Mark 

 

If you haven't read any of my books yet, let me offer you a free copy of my first one, Serpent's Curse. It's a fun, quick read, with a little bit of a dark twist. Here's a link for a PDF copy:

      http://www.cocoabeach.com/bradbury/Serpent%27s-Curse_Mark_T_Bradbury.pdf

Let me know if you like it! Thanks!

At Sunsets Door - Olon, Ecuador

Thursday, December 3, 2015

I was walking along the water's edge here on the beach a couple days ago. I was poking along, looking for interesting things when I spotted what appeared to be a black trash bag stuck in the sand up ahead of me. I was upset that someone would leave something like this on our beautiful beach, and so I worked my way up to the tide line to investigate. When I got to the "trash bag" I got a bit of a surprise.

It wasn't trash at all! It was a good-sized sea turtle caught up in the shallow water. It appeared to be dead, or so I thought upon my initial inspection. Since I was the only person around, I began talking to the turtle, hoping to get some sign of life. I was rewarded when she raised her head slightly and opened her sad eyes, looking helplessly up at me.

My guess is that she came up during the night to lay eggs on the beach, and couldn't get safely back to the water before losing her strength. Since the tide was low, and had gone way out, she was about twenty yards or so from any water at all. I don't know how long she was laying there, but the sun was shining brightly overhead, and it was probably cooking her inside her own shell. The sun here on the equator is very intense, and it doesn't take long to get a sunburn, so it made sense that she was probably extremely dehydrated.

Having never encountered a sea turtle quite so close-up and personal, I wasn't exactly sure what to do, but I knew she needed to get into the water to have any chance at life. I got a hold of her shell at top and bottom and tried to lift her into the water. She was heavy, and since I have a balky back on a good day, it took me a while to get her into the shallow water. I pushed her along as best I could until the incoming waves started to roll over her a bit.

I heard a woman's voice behind me asking me if the turtle was alive. I turned and told her it was, and she came down to the water to help. The two of us continued pushing the turtle into deeper water, and after a half-hour or so, she started showing some strength. Her flippers and back legs responded, and she was making every effort to swim into the waves. She wasn't quite strong enough to swim through the  crashing surf, so she kept getting washed back into the shallow water.

My assistant thought that everything was okay and continued her walk back towards the main beach. I spent another thirty to forty minutes helping my new friend back into the deeper water every time the incoming tide forced her backwards. She made a valiant effort to break through, flippers pumping and holding her head up high. I was pretty stoked!

Unfortunately, she didn't make it through the waves. She was pushed back once more into the shallow water, but this time she turned around on her own and headed back out. She raised her head and looked right at me; I could almost feel her gratitude. And then she started pumping her flippers and off she went. I think she made it that time, because I didn't see her again.

I've had some adventures since arriving here, but this one was probably the best. The worst part of it is that for the first time in weeks I had gone to the beach without my camera. I don't have a single photo of this event, but I have some terrific memories!

Hasta luego! See you soon!


Mark


If you haven't read any of my books yet, let me offer you a free copy of my first one, Serpent's Curse. It's a fun, quick read, with a little bit of a dark twist. Here's a link for a PDF copy:

      http://www.cocoabeach.com/bradbury/Serpent%27s-Curse_Mark_T_Bradbury.pdf

Let me know if you like it! Thanks!

It's been almost three weeks since I landed here in Ecuador, and so far things are going well. I had some early culture shock, having never visited this country before, but I got over it quickly. I think it's necessary for people interested in living in a new country to accept the way things are. If you think you're going to change the way they have lived for centuries, you should probably just keep your bags packed and return home.

That  being said, I was shocked by some of the things I saw on my way to my new home in Olon. When you look at the travel brochures or the travel magazines they do a terrific job at showing you the best of the beautiful places. They show the tropical beaches (which are truly spectacular), the natural scenery (again, nice) and the highlights of the towns and cities. They don't show you the Third World poverty that is the norm for most countries I've ventured to prior to coming to Ecuador, and this nation is no different.


There's a couple from Florida here at my hotel that have been visiting for the past week. After two days here, the lady made the statement (often heard from travelers) "this is a nice place, with a gorgeous beach, but I would never live here." She's basically not willing to give up the comforts of an American-style retirement in Florida. The difference for me is that I'm willing to look past the poverty that surrounds us here, and accept the fact that the locals here are happy, well-fed and enjoy their lives despite not having the material things we've all struggled to get our whole life. The natural, rugged beauty of the coastal areas and the beaches here are balm to my soul. I made the choice to leave the States to live a more laid-back lifestyle. The natives call it "tranquilo," pretty much the same word.

The dichotomy of the coastal zone is everywhere. Walking down the streets around my little town, you'll see homes that are as rustic as it gets, and others that are finished nicely, side by side. Nobody seems to care if their neighbors are living in a shack; they all like and respect each other. Their kids play in the park together, or they play soccer in the streets, and I haven't seen a game console since I've been here. The middle class families from Guayaquil come here on weekends and play on the beaches all day long. This is definitely a good area to raise a family, even if some of the parents struggle to feed and clothe their young ones.

As many of you who follow my Facebook postings can attest, I spend a great deal of time each day walking the beach. I usually walk a couple of miles each day, soaking up the salt water and air I love so much. As I walk the sands, I see a tremendous amount of newer, and a ton of new, construction along the shoreline. Beach front property is no longer a cheap proposition here, as prices have gone up considerably in the last few years.

Homes, and compounds, like the ones shown here, are some of the newer additions to the beachside. A local friend told me recently that almost all of the oceanfront land has been bought up here, and construction of condos and gated communities is either underway or soon to be.

Eventually some of the money spent by these new property owners will trickle down to the locals here, but I doubt that their way of life will change that much. Things along Ecuador's Coastal Zone have been the same for centuries in some towns, continuing the uninterrupted cycle of life evident here since the ancient Valdivean culture built their homes and temples here.

Hasta Luego (see you soon)!!!!