The City By The Bay

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” -Mark Twain

     Good news world, I have found a hostel that will let me volunteer.  For the next two weeks I will be working at Hostel Coco Bongo in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador.  It took about 5 hours of traveling to get here from Puerto Lopez.  I wish I had some awesomely exciting stories to tell you of my recent adventures, but its been fairly routine.
     I spent five days in Puerto Lopez, mostly lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean, which is warmer than any pool I have ever been in.  I spent one day going to a nearby island that is home of Blue-footed boobies, a bird that is mostly found on Galapagos.  They call the island the poor man’s Galapagos because it only costs $15 to go there instead of close to a thousand to get to the real Galapagos.  I did a bit of snorkeling and kayaking there, then headed back to the mainland sporting a very impressive sunburn.
    I chose to stay in Puerto Lopez for the next few days after that since I didn’t have a volunteer job lined up yet and was only paying $8 a night.  However, come Thursday, I was packed and boarding a northbound bus with my end destination set for Bahia de Caraquez.  Bahia is a self-proclaimed ‘eco-city’ and is the hub for many environmental volunteer projects in Ecuador.  Located on a peninsula with a bay to the east and the Pacific to the west, it still fit my desire of a coastal town, and with the volunteer gig all set it seemed foolish not to go here.  I can volunteer for two weeks, which still leaves about two additional weeks completely unplanned.
     My duties at the hostel are simple, sit at reception.  I spend about six hours a day sitting in the lobby in case anyone comes in.  I watch movies on my computer, study Spanish, surf the web, and talk with guests.  I’ve decided there are two types of people that travel.  The kind that haven’t established a career yet, usually mid to late 20s, and then those who have retired and are finally seeing things they have only dreamed of.  This hostel seems to be popular with the latter.  I am the only person under 50 here but we all still get along just fine.  All my days are pretty much the same.  I wake up around 8 and go running on the beach, swing by the market and get some fruit for breakfast, come back to eat and change, then back to the beach for an hour or so before I need to be at reception.  The rest of the day is spent sitting and waiting for someone to need a place to stay.  I basically live on $2-3 a day so life is cheap right now.  I’ll post again when I have something exciting to share.  Hope all is well in whatever part of the globe you are reading this from.  Ciao!

No where to go and all day to get there

"Mind on a permanent vacation.  The ocean is my only medication.  Wishin' my condition aint never gonna go away." -Jimmy Buffet


     I’ve covered a lot of ground to get where I am now, which is the lazy beach town of Puerto Lopez.  The drive out here was about as diverse a scene as Ecuador can throw your way.  From Baños, I went across the Andes and down into the tropical plains (if there is such a thing) near Guayaquil.  Arriving in Guayaquil I saw my first highway since I left the states.  Guayaquil, from what I saw, most closely resembles Los Angeles.  Not the skyline but the areas surrounding downtown.  I changed buses there and kept heading west.  Another three hours and I had to change buses again.  This time in the dusty town of Santa Elena.  Who knew that Ecuador had a desert.  Wind blew tumbleweed across the road and cacti were the only other vegetation.  It definitely looked liked it belonged along the US’s famous Route 66.  Another hour and I was in what I had hoped would be my home for the next month, Montañita.
     Montañita is a tourist hotspot that is unlike any other town in Ecuador.  Located right on the beach, the town is filled with hotels, hostels, bars, surf shops, dreadlocks and 20-somethings.  Getting off the bus I was smacked right in the face by the most humid air I have ever experienced.  Reggae music blasts from every which way while the air is occupied with the scent of fruit from juice stands, sunscreen, and burning marijuana.  It is high season in Ecuador (meaning a lot of tourists, nothing related to the marijuana reference) so prices are a little higher than usual.  I had trouble finding a hostel and, after being shot down by about seven, I opted for a hotel.  I got a single room with a shower that did not work for $30.
     At night the streets are full of young adults of all nationalities.  So far on my travels I have encountered a lot of Australians.  Not in Montañita though.  It was like the Olympic games of tourism.  Every corner of the globe was represented.  I met people from all over Europe, North America, a few from Africa, but the vast majority were Argentinean.  A quick side note: Colombian women have officially been dethroned.  The girls of Argentina take the cake.
     I went around to various hostels to see if they took volunteers, which none did.  This left me very little choice but to hit the road and continue north, which may have been a blessing in disguise because I don’t think I could have handled staying in the craziness of Montañita for the long term.  A 1-2 hour bus ride and I arrived at Puerto Lopez.  I found a hostel/hotel that only had one room left. A single with a fully operational shower and a balcony with views of the ocean for only $8.  I will use this as my base camp for the next few days as I try and find a volunteer possibility that will help save money, but $8 a night isn’t a bad alternative.
     Puerto Lopez is located on the edge of Machalilla National Park, which I am hoping supplies me with a few nice excursions into the wilderness.  Each morning dozens of fisherman compete with a few pelicans for the catch of the day.  I will continue to look for a month long volunteer possibility... tomorrow.  For now I’m just gonna relax in a hammock, eat a mango, and watch the sun disappear into the ocean.