Montanita!

We left Canoa about 9:30AM with some concern.  We were both still sick last night and were worried about how the 3-4 hour drive would go.  To my surprise there was no problem!  Jeff and I made the drive fine.

We skipped breakfast and stopped for a little almuerzo but they were out.  Instead David, our driver/guide/translator, asked the owner to cook us something good for our upset stomachs.  She sent out some type of stewed fish and rice.

Now, I'm from Louisiana and we like our fish fried there but let me tell you, that fish was good!  So for $2.50 we got rice, a large piece of fish, and fresh pineapple juice.  Jeff and David cleaned their plates but I couldn't finish all mine which is normal for me.  This little eatery is right between the road and the beach.  The fish was very fresh, probably caught today.   We sat and talked for a while and just enjoyed the view.

Most of our drive was along the coast and it was beautiful!  Miles and miles of beaches and lots of sunshine.  We drove thru verdant forests that reminded me of Costa Rica or St. John and arid areas that reminded me of Fresno CA.  They're at the end of the rainy season so even the arid areas are pretty green right now.  

We went thru many small fishing villages and some larger towns but didn't stop again until we got to Manta. In Manta I saw a McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  David gassed up at a Mobil gas station while Jeff and I went inside.  We could have been in any minimart gas station in Acworth GA.  The bathrooms were clean and the shelves were full of chips and candy.  The only things I recognized were Ruffles potato chips, Gatorade, Coca Cola, and Pepsi.  There was a small deli/chicken place in there as well as a pharmacy.  I tried not to cringe as I went by the ATM machine they were working on.  4 armed guards with what looked machine guns and an armed technician were  working on the ATM we needed to use.  While we waited for them to finish we visited the pharmacy and got Lactobacillus and anti-diarrheal meds.  They didn't have any charcoal pills.  We used the ATM and headed out again.    Manta is a large city with an airport and seaport.  4 lane roads only make Ecuadorian drivers worse.  After we left Manta it was more of the same - beaches and sunshine.  Just outside of Montanita was a monastery clinging to the side of a cliff. It was both beautiful and worrisome to me.  It looked like it was going to fall in the ocean any minute! 

We got into Montanita and found our hostel.  In Ecuador hostels are like motels - full size bed, private bath, AC, and DishTV. $45 for the night and that includes breakfast the next morning.  RIGHT ON THE BEACH!  

 Here's our hostal in Montanita

Standing in front of our hostal.

An hour nap and we hit the streets.  Friday night in Montanita was hopping!  Hippies and surfers everywhere. Last week Montanita hosted some type of International Surfing Championship so there were still lots of surfers and groupies hanging out.  Vendors up and down the streets as well as the dogs.  I'm a little conflicted about the dogs in Ecuador.  Every village, town, or city has them.  Anyone that knows me knows I love dogs but the dogs down here are not really pets.  They aren't vetted or fixed or even fed so they just kind of scrounge around eating trash and leftovers and pooping everywhere.  Some of them are obviously ill.  So far I've managed to avoid stepping in anything but it's just a matter of time before it happens. Yuck. 

Since Jeff and I felt good and hadn't been sick we decided it was okay to eat roasted corn on the cob with mayo and cheese.  Jeff and David also had what looked like shish kebobs. Tasted great but I can guess what you're thinking and you're right.  Big mistake!  We went to bed and in a few hours we were taking turns in the bathroom again.  Sigh.  BART.  That's my new diet until I get rid of this. Bananas, Apple, Rice, Tea/Toast.