Huaquillas – Guayaquil – Salinas – Manta – Portoviejo – San Clemente – Pedernales – Santo Domingo – La Independencia – Mindo – Quito

Ecuador, straddling the equator, right in the 
centre of the world was our next stop. About the size of the UK, it 
is one of the smaller South American countries, but has pretty much 
everything its larger neighbours have to offer. There are two 
seasons here: summer (cool and dry) and winter (hot and wet). We 
arrived towards the end of the cool, summer season and temperatures 
between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius were well hot enough! 

The border crossing from Peru to Ecuador brought 
us through 4 km of busy market stalls and then onto quieter roads 
with courteous drivers. Gone were the hooting of horns and gringo
dame plata shouts. It was thumbs up from the truckers and a lot
of non-verbal communication from the roadside.

Banana plantations

 Malecón 2000

However, recent development efforts have left two brand new 
waterfront promenades with tropical gardens, cinema complexes, 
museums, shopping malls, playgrounds and a yacht club. What a 
perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle that this big city 
thrives on.

Government buildings, downtown Guayaquil

Police are on every street corner guiding the few 
tourists around through designated safe areas. One of these is Las 
Peñas, on Cerro Santa Ana where a lot of money had been pumped into 
restoration and paint, making it a gaily coloured mix of Valparaiso, 
Chile and La Boca, Buenos Aires.

Las Peñas

Strolling round we happened upon a real
Jurassic Park right down town opposite the cathedral. Hundreds 
of iguanas were climbing the trees, scuttling across the path, lying 
on the hedges, relaxing in the shade and generally populating this 
little park. Tread with care under the trees as iguana droppings are 
sizeable and not particularly fashionable.

The cathedral, Guayaquil

We were very lucky to receive first hand local 
information from Roberto, who we met shivering in a restaurant way
back in Uyuni, Bolivia. He whizzed us round to the best bike shop in 
town and kindly shared with us a load of his amazing music 
collection. Super nice guy.

Roberto

Being the dry season, the road to the coast was 
quite unattractive and grey in colour. The sky was constantly 
overcast and the vegetation in a dull hibernation.

This is when a silver car pulled up ahead, and 
out jumped César who opened his trunk and invited us to slaughter a 
huge papaya with him. Hale and hearty at 70 years of age, he puts 
his good health down to zero alcohol, two cigarettes a day and loads 
of local fruit.

César

Our 500km route along the Pacific coast took in 
the Guayas and Manabí provinces on the Ruta del Sol. Clear 
turquoise water lapped deserted white sand beaches, but 
unfortunately in the Guayas area, the skies continued to be grey.
However, it didn’’t stop us from dipping and 
enjoying the fresh water to cool off in the 30 degree heat.

Prawns, shellfish, octopus, squid and sea fish 
dishes did not disappoint either. Ceviche, the local answer 
to Sashimi, is a tart refreshing seafood dish served with banana 
crackers and delicious at any time of day.

Ceviche and banana chips

Ceviche for breakfast

Montañita is a surfers’ paradise with loads of 
bamboo accommodation nestled around a couple of streets off the 
beach. We hit it on a full moon long weekend party and it rocked all 
night with a lively crowd from Guayaquil and the rest of the world.

Leaving Montañita, we were pleasantly surprised 
when the road went out of its way to show us some green jungle 
scenery. There was a climb involved; a price we gladly paid for a 
wonderful ride and great views.

Road out of Montañita

Along the coast there are numerous eco lodges 
where camping on the beach is affordable. We enjoyed first class 
meals at the award-winning Alandaluz Lodge…

I see you!

Puerto Lopez is where the sun came out and with a 
blue sky backdrop it was as if people also came to life. This was 
the beginning of the Manabí province with a friendly, relaxed 
atmosphere and smiles all round.

Early each morning there’s a fascinating fish 
market on the beach selling everything from stingrays to hammer 
sharks.

“Three for twenty!”

We happened to be there for the spectacular 
helicopter entrance of Rafael Correa on his presidential election 
campaign. He has since made it to the second and final round and is 
running against the multi-millionaire owner of none other than Darina’s 
Bonita bananas!

Rafael Correa

Did you know that the world famous Panama hats 
are actually made in Ecuador? Well, we pulled up in Monte Christi, 
the Panama-hat capital, and left exactly like tourists with a couple 
of straw hats more than we had on entry!

Just before the road turns away from the coast we 
stopped in San Clemente for a quiet afternoon on the beach. Our 
hosts Carla, Pedro and Pedro José at the beautiful Peñón del Sol 
Lodge cooked up a storm and enlightened us on the ins and outs 
of Ecuador today.

Pedro, Pedro José and Carla

The next morning, while hitting the water for our 
daily swim, we were joined by a dozen or so dolphins gracefully 
surfing the waves and playing Skippy. Darina was so beside herself 
with excitement, we have no evidence of this delightful encounter!

The best thing about the Ecuadorian coast is that 
in many places at low tide it’s possible to cycle along the beach.

Not a soul in sight

Ecuador will never go down in the history books 
for its accuracy of road signs. This is another excellent argument 
for cycling along the beach!

Which way?

What Ecuador does excel at, is creative warnings 
about the effects of drink driving and speeding.

“I’m waiting for you”

“If you want to fly, buy yourself an airplane”

Beef and dairy farming are big in Ecuador as 
there is no shortage of fodder in this fertile land. One morning we 
poked our heads out of the tent to find a herd of dairy cattle being 
mustered along the beach to the parlour for milking.

Ceiba (kapok) tree

A typical meal in Ecuador consists of a 
substantial soup followed by rice, beans and fish or meat in varying 
forms. There’s a lot of choice and with a juice thrown in it rarely 
costs more than one or two US dollars.

A typical soup

The best thing about the local markets is the 
wide availability of exotic fruit shakes and juices. Fruits include 
coconut, papaya, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, jack fruit, tree 
tomatoes and, of course, bananas of all shapes and forms. Every day 
we encounter a new fruit that just has to be tested. 

As we left the coast and moved inland to the 
hills, we passed hacienda (farm) after hacienda with 
palm oil, rubber, passion fruit, sugarcane, pineapple, citrus fruit 
and yes! You guessed it: banana plantations. The land is so 
fertile, if you put a broomstick in the ground it would probably 
sprout! 

Rubber plantation

Road kill ahead!

Humming birds never cease to amaze us as they 
hover and dart around backwards and forwards with their 
characteristic hum.

A still hummingbird

We had a well deserved rest day in beautiful 
Mindo, situated in a valley surrounded by dense jungle and 
criss-crossed by a few rivers. There we had a ball checking out
orchids. With 4,200 native species in Ecuador there’s always one in 
sight.

Our route from the coast to Quito zig-zagged the 
Equator no less than 6 more times. The Equator is such an integral 
part of Ecuador, we even passed a town called the centre of the 
world. There, to get that perfect picture of Kurt balancing on the 
famous line….

Kurt on the Equator

Climbing from sea level up to Quito at 2,800 masl 
involved crossing the coastal range that brought us from dry forest 
into bright green grazing pastures.

Cattle grazing in the hills

Wellies and machete

Friendly 
faces on the road

Now safely installed in the capital, Quito, we 
are looking forward to Darina’’s brother Karol’’s arrival tonight…… so tune in next 
month for details of the long lad’’s adventures far from home!