La Playa Hermosa

In honor of Spring Break I took a trip to the Coast of Ecuador this past weekend and spent four glorious days on the beach! Ok so it was not exactly ‘spring break’ for us here, but I couldn’t let everyone in the States have all the fun! We did have Wednesday off from classes for a professional development day so Sally, Dana and I took the opportunity to make our one day off into a long weekend and head to the beautiful city of Canoa.

We left at 11pm Tuesday night and took a direct bus to Canoa. The bus ride was six and a half hours so it dropped us off in Canoa at 5:30 in the morning. For a while we just sat there because we had no idea what to do! Once it started to get light out, we decided to walk around and find the ocean. We knew which hostel we wanted to stay at so we found it and then watched the sunrise on the beach. Finally at 8:30 the hostel opened up and gave us a room so we passed out until 11.

The hostel we stayed at was called Hotel Bambu; it was right on the beach and we had a nice room with three beds, a private bathroom, and a balcony. We spent all of Wednesday just bumming around, is there a better way to spend time on the beach? We looked at all the vendors and their goodies, and swam like little kids in the water! Thankfully the beach conveniently had tents lining the shore so my pale body could hide in the shade instead of roasting in the sunlight all day. My meals for this day were: a breakfast of eggs, cheese, crushed peanuts, and bread with pineapple juice; and a classic hamburger and French fries for dinner.

Thursday morning we woke up to rain… boo. We made friends with another group of US exchange students and played cards to pass the time. Once it stopped raining we hopped on a bus to a neighboring city, San Vicente, to check that out. Canoa does not have an ATM and Sally needed money so that was our main purpose for going, but we also thought since it was still cloudy we could see what kind of shopping they had and get some lunch there. The town is nothing more than a fisherman’s town so we pretty much got her money and returned. Finally the sun came out so we could enjoy the rest of our day!

Since it was already late afternoon, Sally and I swam right into the beautiful sunset while Dana played volleyball with some locals. How amazing it was to swim in the ocean while the sun was setting at the same time! For our nighttime adventures we were really excited to celebrate St. Patty’s day because my guide book said there was an Irish pub in town, and I was sure to be the only red head there! Sadly the bar had been bought and was no longer an Irish pub.Oh well. We still went out for a night of dancing because at midnight it was Sally’s birthday! My food for this day: I ate a banana and chocolate crepe for breakfast with papaya juice; lunch consisted of a shrimp ‘tortilla’ (which was more like an omelet because the tortilla was egg with onions and peppers), yes I ate shrimp!

Friday we were determined to do an activity. First we tried horseback riding but the hotel that runs the tours couldn't get a hold of the barn so they told us to come back tomorrow. Then we thought about doing a kayaking cave tour, but the swell was too big so they also told us to come back tomorrow.

Thus we settled on surfing! Two guys took us out to teach us how to surf. Since I have tried surfing before and snowboarding, I was just fine and got up on the first try, no big deal :) so the guys told me how to do it on my own and then let me go while they worked with Sally and Dana. Let me tell you how exhaustingly fun that was! It was so cool being able to get up and cruise on the waves! But the current was really strong that day so walking out into the ocean and paddling wore me out. Our instructors felt bad for me and helped me every once in a while but I was still pooped. Afterwards we wanted nothing else but to sit and refuel. What is more refreshing than fresh fruit? I got a fruit salad with orange juice, Sally got watermelon juice, and Dana got a blackberry smoothie. That is the best feeling just relaxing on the beach with fresh fruit in hand! We spent the rest of our day napping, swimming and playing more volleyball. Sally decided to leave that night so Dana and I went out with a group of travelers from Germany and Canada that we met. It was so much fun because we danced the night away on the beach and in the streets! The food I filled my belly with was: a traditional breakfast of eggs, pineapple, bread, hot chocolate, and watermelon juice; and homemade vegetarian and Hawaiian pizzas for lunch/dinner.

Saturday morning Dana and I made our way back to horseback riding. That was another neat experience! We started in the jungle and the rode all the out way to the beach. My horse was very relaxed and didn’t like going very fast, but there were a few moments of running. Once we got to the beach we actually ran a lot! It was hilarious watching Dana and I bounce up and down like dolls on these horses! But we still had fun even though we were both very sore and hot afterwards. The waves were really big again that day so we couldn’t go kayaking, but instead we rented boogie boards. We got rocked by those waves! We kept losing our bathing suits and being dragged across the sand.

It was funny but really exhausting too! Finally we gave up and decided to just relax on the beach some more. That day we ate the same traditional breakfast as the day before, but then for dinner we went to a local burrito shack. The other group of American students told us about the place and it was well worth it. It was not only the biggest burrito I have ever seen, but it was also the most delicious one I have ever eaten! Oh my gosh we were in heaven between being tired, hungry, and eating an amazing burrito! Our bus left at 10pm that night and we arrived back in Quito at 4 in the morning. Good thing we were so tired so we could sleep all the way home!

Our trip was amazing! I always love the beach and never have a bad time there, but this was just so nice. It was great to get away from Quito and classes for a few days and spend quality time together laughing and relaxing. I really liked Canoa because it was a small beach town that was not super developed yet; meaning things were still inexpensive and there were not a million tourists (in fact the locals knew who we all were by the end of the weekend!) crowding the beaches. All of the food was delicious and the sun was fantastic! Now I can’t wait to see what the Galapagos are like!