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Wooooooo! Bring on the heat baby! It was well and truly time to soak up some cosmic rays and throw down a few David Frothelhoffs in a small, lazy beach village. Don't get me wrong, the mountains, jungle, desert and alpine regions were amazing, but it had been a good 4 months since I had spent time on a sunny, warm coast, and that was back home I think. Having not adjusted to the whole different type of climate going on, I was sweating like no other and needed more than ever to be off the bus (still packed out) and in the ocean. It was going to be some time before this however, a bus to the large-ish town of Manta then meant another bus to my destination Puerto Lopez, 2.5 hours away. It was exciting to just see the coast after so long. Driving through the coastal national park Machalilla caught my eye. Such a unique environment of dry coastal forest and unbelievably blue water was somewhere I knew I would be back to see. I made a mental note to return.
I found a hostel that was quite cheap with no other occupants. It became clear to me why this was: the owner was a small, bossy and extremely fast talking woman and I was unsure of whether she even liked me (probably not as she kicked me out two days later). Infact, the only nice gesture she ever made was offer me some of her homemade ceviche, which was really good to her credit, but the pleasantries ended there. Puerto Lopez was an ideal place to spend some of my last days. It wasn't all that busy, and a few streets, beachfront promenade and long stretch of white sand and warm water was essentially what the town was, but this simplicity suited me just fine. I believe the time I spent there was some of the best for looking back, eating delicious seafood (different types of fish, ceviche, crustacea etc), tanning up and just hanging. I made many a beach walk from one side to the other, studying the different types of unfamiliar fish washed up on the shore as well as enjoying a short football game with two local brothers. Swimming was also a top priority, and the tropical climate ensured fantastically warm water, of which I spent each day in.
One of the best things about the town was the daily hussle down at the beach, where every morning would see the arrival of fishing boats hauling in catch of the day. The action was easy to find, you only had to follow the cloud of seabirds circling the well-aware fishermen below. I sat at a beach restaurant enjoying my fish stew (in which the fish could have still been swimming) watching the events unfold. It was quite fascinating: one by one, the fishermen would run the gauntlet from the boat to beach carrying huge tubs of fish whilst the birds would push their luck, divebombing in the hope of snagging a filling breakfast. And this went on all morning! The end result were some extremely satisfied birds and a selection of fish, squid, shells, crabs, lobster and an array of other creatures presented for sale, gutted and prepared by the mongers.
The islands off the coast of Puerto Lopez were also a treat. Crystal blue water, white sand and plenty of unique sealife to see. They are part of the national park, and can only be reached by boat. I was able to take a ride from town and spend some time snorkelling and island hopping for a couple of hours. A new hostel brought me new mates from Belgium, Germany and the USA to sink cold beers on the beach with, watch the sunset and play thrilling games of jenga back in the hostel. We all got along really well. We ate together - making barbecued fish in banana leaves on the pit fire. I had no idea what I was doing but with the help of some Argentines (BBQ kings) it turned out well. In fact it was so good that the cats were determined to have a piece, I had to watch them. We also made our own ceviche, with fish bought from the local market that morning! It doesn't get much fresher (or cheaper) than that. Aside from food, playa ayampe and playa los frailes in the national park were other hidden gems, where we swam, did flips, played football and trekked to a small lookout. It was one of the most relaxing times of the whole trip.
I was truly satisfied with Puerto Lopez, as it was everything I was looking for in a place to spent my last week. However, I felt as though I still had some party vibes to set free from my system. The next day we were all on a bus to Montanita, one of the best known spots to let loose and bring on the good times. Things were going to get interesting.
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