When I came to Ecuador I planned to travel a little bit but I never expected that the natural beauty of this wonderful country would be so addictive. I discovered as many places as possible and everywhere I went I felt at home. I visited the coast on several occasions and I loved every part of it. My all-time favorite was Mompiche, a quiet fisher’s village with a tight-knit community, sandy roads and a dreamy beach.
Ecuador is an amazing place to visit since it is such a diverse country. Even though it is one of the smallest countries in South America it has four different climates: the mountainous Sierra, the coast, the east jungle and the Galapagos Islands. Travelling by bus is very easy in Ecuador, as most busses are incredibly comfortable. I always tried to travel in the night-time so that I could save on a hostel and gain half a day.
When I was in Quito, my friends and I visited Baños which is only a couple of hours away by bus. The first day we went cycling and apart from the bikes being ridiculously uncomfortable we enjoyed the scenery and the beautiful cascades. On the second day we went rafting and canyoning which was an amazing experience.
The best time I had was at the coast. The atmosphere is amazing, everybody is incredibly friendly and all of the dishes are delicious. I loved every bit of it and I had this burning desire to visit the coast again every moment I could. The only things that I struggled with were the accent, big, swollen feet from the heat and of course mosquitos.
The first time at the coast, I travelled with some friends from Esmeraldas in the North to Montañita in the South. I did not like the town of Esmeraldas, as it is dirty and smelly. However the scenery at the beach is quite beautiful. I then travelled to Atacames, a small, lively town that I really liked. The beach is incredibly beautiful and in the evening we enjoyed a cocktail in one of the many beach bars. After a day and a half well spend, we travelled to Mompiche. I tend to look for quiet places when I travel and this is exactly why I loved Mompiche.
The place that I loved the most at the coast was without doubt Mompiche. This amazingly quiet fisher’s town was like a dream come true. The people are amazingly friendly and if you befriend some locals you will have the best time ever. Many houses and hostels are made out of bamboo which adds a paradise feeling to the wonderful village. It has this dreamy atmosphere, the streets are sandy from the beach and the community is tightly knit.
The village is very quiet, however you will find plenty of things to do. I took my first surfing lesson while the sun was setting and even though I was terrible at it, I loved the experience. In the night I went swimming in a specific spot where I was surrendered by fluorescent plankton which was an amazing experience.
Sadly I could not extend my stay in Mompiche since we were meeting with friends in Montañita. Montañita is a very famous party town where tourists and locals flock to on the weekend looking for drugs and to get drunk. I left Montañita earlier then my friends because I really did not enjoy it. However, in the early evening we enjoyed sushi and a cocktail on the furthest right side of the beach which was a pleasant experience.
Luckily, a couple of weeks later I had a long weekend and I decided to visit Mompiche again. I visited some friends I had made, took a second surfing course and just enjoyed being in the place that I love the most in Ecuador.
A couple of weeks later, I went to Puerto Lopez because I wanted to visit Isla De La Plata which is also known as ‘Poor Man’s Galapagos’. Isla De La Plata has some of the wildlife the Galapagos also has, such as the Blue-footed Booby and the Magnificent Frigate Bird.
When my friend and I arrived on Friday morning, we went straight to the famous beach called ‘Los Frailes’ which is a protected area and thus there are no hotels, bars and restaurants. The next day we went to Isla De La Plata which is an island an hour away from the main land. The boat trip itself was already an amazing experience. Once we got to the island we hiked for about two hours. The hike was tiring because it was extremely hot but the scenery and all of the birds we saw were amazing.
When we got back from the hike we got on the boat and had lunch while about five turtles circled the boat, enjoying some watermelon. Later we went snorkelling were we saw many beautifully coloured fish, turtles and starfish but we also got stung many times by teeny tiny jellyfish, which was not a pleasant experience.
On the way back we saw a whale which was an amazing and humbling experience. This was the first time I saw one in my life and even though it was not the famous Humpback whale I was still speechless. I celebrated the end of the day by enjoying delicious calamari, a cocktail and dancing on the beach.
I love history, languages and reading novels. My biggest passion is gardening, nature and sustainability. I would love to move to a different country and follow a course in permaculture. In the future I would like to own a farm, live mostly self-sufficient and start my own business.