Days 3 - 5, Ayampe, Ecuador

After a very long ride from Cuenca, we made it to the beach! It was a very long drive back across the mountains, and the drive back through Guayaquil was intense! Three lanes became five, and we weren't 100% sure which way to go. I did manage to ask someone while we were stopped in traffic. I was quite proud of myself since I had chosen the correct road, Nueve de Octobre. I'm not sure what significance that road has in history, but it was our road.
I convinced Matthew to hang a hard right to get out of traffic, then a left so we were parallel to the awful road, and it was only a couple of blocks before we turned on our La Via de la Costa (road to the beach!).

We drove, paid our tolls, drove some more, and after about 2 more hours of navigating...

Needless to say, we made it to the beach! It was so very beautiful. It was warm, the breeze was nice, and the colors of everything was amazing. The road were not marked well, but there was one sign pointing to Ayampe. There were locals who had not even heard of it! We did not see signs for Finca Punta Ayampe (our hostel), so we asked a family. They had no idea! Long story short, we went the up the only other road and found it. We rang the bell, met our host, Mariscal, who showed us to our room. It was just enough. At least we had a mosquito net! A first for me, but Matthew kindly pointed out that it just made me feel more like a princess.


These are the signature rocks you will see in most pictures of Ayampe.

The first night (Tuesday), we ate at the restaurant and didn't do much exploring because we were exhausted.

I was instantly in love with Ayampe! Our host, Mariscal, was so wonderful. He wanted to make sure he took care of us because we were on vacation. He served a simple breakfast of toast and coffee. Mariscal told Matthew about the local surf instructor, Ryan. He and his wife, Vanessa, are from Canada and opened a surf school called Otra Ola.
Puerta Lopez was the next major town over, so we went to find flip flops and check out the town. They have phone booths which we later used to phone home. We returned to Ayampe for a little lunch and beach time. Matthew and I walked over to Otra Ola to ask about lessons. Matthew had emailed Vanessa a couple of times inquiring about lessons. Vanessa also does a yoga class in the mornings, but I never took advantage of it. Ryan returned from a lesson and talked to Matthew about the next day. Ryan was going to town to pick up some new boards and did not know if he'd be back in time for a 3:00 lesson, but "the waves will still be there the next day."

The next morning, Matthew and I had our morning coffee until the kitchen opened. We decided to drive to Puerta Lopez again and had breakfast there. It was very good and only $3 for the both of us. We headed back to Ayampe for some beach time. I sat and read my book, and after a while, Matthew went to Otra Ola to see if Ryan was back. About thirty minutes later, Matthew is walking up the beach with two boogie boards!!! It was awesome and scary! These waves are so much bigger than the ones on our coast. I caught some pretty good ones that raced me to shore. We returned the boards a couple of hours later, and Ryan still had not returned.

We decided to try something different for supper, so we walked back up the "main" road. A couple owned a restaurant called "El Paso", and the food was amazing! Matthew asked Arycele to make his food 'pica' (spicy), so Arycele picked some peppers off a bush growing right next to the deck. Matthew said it was just right! We also witnessed the most beautiful sunset that continued for at least 30 minutes.
Thursday was just a chill day. We took another morning trip to Puerto Lopez and made a couple of phone calls to the states. Matthew went to his surf lesson, and I hung out in the commons area at Finca Punta to read. I had gotten too much sun Wednesday, so I was all about the shade. I met a woman from New Zealand who was teaching English at a school in Cuenca! She was a surfer and had come to Finca just for that purpose. We talked about all kinds of stuff, including the obnoxious American that visited Finca the previous day. Let's just say, he was a loud know it all.

I spoke to Mariscal about Isla de la Plata. It is called the "poor man's Galapagos", and I wanted to go! Friday was New Year's Eve, so Mariscal called to see if they were giving tours that day. Much to my luck, they were, but they couldn't pick me up! Matthew had surfing plans, so I drove myself to Puerta Lopez. Well... NO PROBLEM! I had ridden with Matthew the past two mornings, so I felt pretty comfortable driving myself. I was going to see some Blue Footed Boobies!!!!!