It was an 11 hour trip from my site to Atacames. We ended up traveling two days to avoid getting into a city we didn’t know after dark. However, in broad daylight, three women did try to rob us as we boarded a bus…but they were unsuccessful.
The first beach, Atacames, is a popular vacation spot for Quito’s wealthier residents. It is a packed beach on the weekends. So on the plus and minus side is the amount of people there on any given weekend. We got our hair braided…for 5 dollars :) But after fear of a burnt scalp, it only lasted a day.
The next stop was Mompiche. It is a beautiful beach town that has been rather overrun by surfers but it still is a tiny Ecuadorian village. It is located in a cove, so the water is very still and peaceful. The surfers use the far end of the beach for surfing where rock formations make waves.
Pedernales was really just a stopping point along the beach where we could travel back to Santo Domingo and then back to our sites. This town had the least beautiful of the beaches, but was more like what you would expect from a small port city…fishy smell, no tourists, good seafood. It is also the closest beach town to the equator (within 5 miles).
The sun here is so intense…if you are not in the water, everyone is under an umbrella or cloth tents. I luckily did not get burnt…(and thanks to those who gave me 100+ sunblock before I left…The Arnish’s, Liz, and Aunt Joyce). But what is crazy is how you can feel it anyway…I was not red but I felt burnt. Yikes.
My favorite part of the trip is my new found love for coconut batidos. This are fruit based milkshakes. Also great were the banana-coconut ones. Yum. And they do up the drinks. Fruits and toppings…check out the photo. (I won't show the X-rated "Sex on the Beach" drink picture, even though it was very creative...)
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