It’s been a while since I last wrote, I know. The reason isn’t because I’m lazy and it certainly isn’t because I haven’t been doing anything. The reason is because 90% of what happens in Montanita is inappropriate for me to write about. With that being said I was excited to take a trip out of Montanita this weekend to Puerto Lopez, another pueblo along the coast.
Puerto Lopez sits in the same slipstream as the Galapagos so it has all the same marine life. For this reason, it has been called the Poor Man’s Galapagos but since the cheapest package to the Galapagos that I’ve encountered has been $1500 for a few days and a bus ride to Puerto Lopez costs $2 I’m going to call it the Reasonable Man’s Galapagos.
On the way there my eyes enjoyed the view as we drove through the small mountains and along the coast as well. However, my stomach was furious with me as our bus aggressively climbed the windy mountain roads and engine braked its way back down to the coast. Once we arrived, it took a few hours of haggling but we were finally able to arrange a whale watching trip. When we got into our dingy of a boat and started on our way out into the ocean I noticed our captain make a cross motion and give a little prayer which seemed a bit unnecessary at the time. We made our way out in front of a small island and saw nothing. The captain decided it would be best to head to deeper waters so we motored further into the ocean. It was around this time that my butt started to get a little sore as there were no seats in the boat and I was planted only on a thin piece of unforgiving fiber glass.
Our boat flew into the air and slammed against the sea repeatedly as the ocean waves had their way with us. Our skipper held onto a rope and stood at the front of the boat like a bad Titanic remake. However, we were at the back getting beaten up and drenched by the waves. After an hour of searching all we saw were a few birds hoist themselves high into the air then torpedo into the ocean and come up with a fish. The captain had to call it off – no hay ballenas. It was disappointing but the worst part was that we still had another miserable hour’s ride back to Puerto Lopez. The novelty of the terrible trip wore off quickly and we found ourselves completely miserable, giving dirty looks to the captain and the driver while begging them to stop every so often so we could rest – it was bad.
Just as we were arriving back at Puerto Lopez the captain asked if he could take us somewhere to look at some birds. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and the request quickly grew to an argument. In the process of our yelling a sudden burst of mist exploded from the ocean surface. No words were said as we all regressed into our unfriendly yet familiar positions in the boat and kicked it into high gear. There was more of a sense of relief than excitement as the first humpback whale crested out of the water, then another, and another, and another. A whole family of whales no more than 50 yards from our boats. After following the massive creatures for while, watching them flip their fins over and hoist their tails high in the air as they dove deep into the ocean we were still miserable however content as well. The whales went for another dive and where out of sight so we decided it would be a good time to head in. Just before we drove out a humpback breached out of the water, launching almost its entire body into the air. My mouth fell to the floor and the sight even impressed the skipper. Had I gotten a picture it surely would have made National Geographic jealous. On that note we drove back, stopped to see the damn birds, argued over the price of the trip in broken Spanish, picked up the first bus back to Montanita and proceeded to party until morning as usual.
MO
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Getting to know the culture
The tourist scene in Montanita is almost solely made up of Ecuadorians with a few Europeans and once in a while an American. Every weekend tourists from all over Ecuador travel to the beach to party as hard as they can. This strong tourist scene makes for a very fun city which is essentially a non-stop party; however, it hasn’t allowed me to learn as much about Ecuadorian culture as I’d like.
Last weekend I thought I might be able to make up the cultural void that I’ve been feeling because I had the chance to accompany my host family a Quincenera. In Latin American culture a quincenera is a fifteenth birthday party for a girl and it is a very, very big deal. As my host family and I approached the party I couldn’t help but be impressed by the set up. The family went all out by reserving a portion of the busiest street in the city center, putting up a stage as well as seating for over one hundred, constructing huge walls of speakers, and adorning the whole arrangement in pink. The party went like this – most people got hammered drunk, there was a procession that closely resembled a wedding, everyone was bored until they were able to start drinking again. The grandeur of the party was very impressive and the family certainly pulled out all the stops but, at the time, I didn’t find it to be a profound cultural experience and the rest of the night I spent with my friends.
However, at 7 in the morning, I could hear pounding music coming from down the street. I got up to see what it was and as I made my way back to the city center. The street looked like a war zone. Hoards of passed-out people lay in the street and on top of cars. When I arrived at the scene of the crime I was greeted by my host uncle, Clever. What I saw blew my mind. I was certainly impressed that people were still up drinking but more so by one person in particular. As I peered into the party I saw my host grandpa, not only awake, but dancing with one of his fifty four grand children. After seeing this I quickly came to the realization that I don’t need to look so hard to understand the local culture. It seems that strongest local custom is to stay up partying until the sun comes out. With that in mind I’ve been strongly participating in the local tradition since I arrived here and won’t stop until I leave.
matt
Last weekend I thought I might be able to make up the cultural void that I’ve been feeling because I had the chance to accompany my host family a Quincenera. In Latin American culture a quincenera is a fifteenth birthday party for a girl and it is a very, very big deal. As my host family and I approached the party I couldn’t help but be impressed by the set up. The family went all out by reserving a portion of the busiest street in the city center, putting up a stage as well as seating for over one hundred, constructing huge walls of speakers, and adorning the whole arrangement in pink. The party went like this – most people got hammered drunk, there was a procession that closely resembled a wedding, everyone was bored until they were able to start drinking again. The grandeur of the party was very impressive and the family certainly pulled out all the stops but, at the time, I didn’t find it to be a profound cultural experience and the rest of the night I spent with my friends.
However, at 7 in the morning, I could hear pounding music coming from down the street. I got up to see what it was and as I made my way back to the city center. The street looked like a war zone. Hoards of passed-out people lay in the street and on top of cars. When I arrived at the scene of the crime I was greeted by my host uncle, Clever. What I saw blew my mind. I was certainly impressed that people were still up drinking but more so by one person in particular. As I peered into the party I saw my host grandpa, not only awake, but dancing with one of his fifty four grand children. After seeing this I quickly came to the realization that I don’t need to look so hard to understand the local culture. It seems that strongest local custom is to stay up partying until the sun comes out. With that in mind I’ve been strongly participating in the local tradition since I arrived here and won’t stop until I leave.
matt
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Adjusting to Paradise
I’ve found myself getting into a rhythm while living in Montanita. My mornings start with two hours of Spanish class then a trip to the hilarious 90’s themed gym for a quick workout. My obligations for the rest of the day are only another two hours of class in the afternoon. In the meantime I have a myriad of activities to choose from - most of which consist of going to the beach where I can go surfing, take a nap, swim, or just hang out with friends and enjoy the sun. Beyond this I try to do a little studying and exploring every day. If I happen to have a few cents in my pocket I can go to any number of local restaurants for some chow. Around 5 o’clock it’s time for surfing and I’ll stay in the ocean until dark at which time I head back to my homestay for dinner and more Spanish practice with my host family. After dinner is when I experience what Montanita is famous for, the nightlife.
Each night has something different going on but a typical night might go like this; meet up with some friends and enjoy a beer at their hostel then head out, cervezas in hand. We might see what’s happening on the streets – maybe a street performer or grab some empanadas. After that we might choose to plant ourselves in a proper bar for a little while and play pool. If we’re feeling cramped we might head to Cocktail Island, an entire street made up solely of drink carts. Each cart is set up as a bar complete with bunches of fruit hanging down from the sides to make fresh squeezed fruity, sugary cocktails (I’ll stick to beer though, thank you). We’ll enjoy our drinks in broken plastic chair or on the curb while we listen to the blasting music that runs down the street. Because the city is so tiny we will inevitably run into some more friends then the entire group might choose to move to the beach and finish the night around a bonfire. If it’s an early night, I’ll be in bed by 3. The pace of life here in Ecuador is slow but my days are packed and the time is going by quickly.
This Friday is a national holiday which means everyone has the day off and a lot of fiestas are planned throughout the weekend. This combined with the large waves or swell that’s coming in plus a quinceañera (I’ll explain later) is going to make for an exciting weekend so I should have another bog up Monday or Tuesday complete with pictures.
chao,
matt
Each night has something different going on but a typical night might go like this; meet up with some friends and enjoy a beer at their hostel then head out, cervezas in hand. We might see what’s happening on the streets – maybe a street performer or grab some empanadas. After that we might choose to plant ourselves in a proper bar for a little while and play pool. If we’re feeling cramped we might head to Cocktail Island, an entire street made up solely of drink carts. Each cart is set up as a bar complete with bunches of fruit hanging down from the sides to make fresh squeezed fruity, sugary cocktails (I’ll stick to beer though, thank you). We’ll enjoy our drinks in broken plastic chair or on the curb while we listen to the blasting music that runs down the street. Because the city is so tiny we will inevitably run into some more friends then the entire group might choose to move to the beach and finish the night around a bonfire. If it’s an early night, I’ll be in bed by 3. The pace of life here in Ecuador is slow but my days are packed and the time is going by quickly.
This Friday is a national holiday which means everyone has the day off and a lot of fiestas are planned throughout the weekend. This combined with the large waves or swell that’s coming in plus a quinceañera (I’ll explain later) is going to make for an exciting weekend so I should have another bog up Monday or Tuesday complete with pictures.
chao,
matt
Monday, May 23, 2011
First Days
I’d like to forget the turbulence filled, horribly delayed, over-night plane flights that brought me to Ecuador so I won’t even comment on them. After the flights, I was picked up at the airport by probably the friendliest, most outgoing driver I have ever met. He was overjoyed at the opportunity to point out every notable landscape and attraction as we made our way out of Guayaquil. Among them he identified the massive slums of downtrodden shacks that blanketed the smaller mountains surrounding Guayaquil. He showed me the fruit farms and the large, wild mountains which he claimed to be left natural (he must not have seen the huge mining operations which had already devoured a large chuck of the mountain). After that I fell asleep despite my driver’s best efforts to keep me awake by pointing out everything we drove past. When I awoke we were driving through a completely desolate landscape made up solely of dead vegetation, dirt, and other debris. I soon learned the state of the landscape was due to the large oil drilling operation. Next we hit the ocean shore and passed through a few tiny fishing towns, fish hatcheries, and salt refineries. Each city was poorer than the next and I thought to myself … in a two hour car ride I had seen fruit farms, some type of mine, an oil drilling operation, a salt refinery and immense amounts of fishing, so where was all this money going because I could see it clearly was not making its way to the people of Ecuador.
The first day in Montanita was spent mostly getting a sun burn on the beach and convincing myself of the reality that I was basically living in paradise for a month. After some confusion I was finally put into a home stay with a great family. I ate the traditional meal of fish and rice and proceeded to sleep for 10 hours in order to recover from the travel. In the morning I found out I had a roommate, Christian, who was German and had been to Madison once and was going back after this trip –it truly is a small, small, world. My roommate, a few others and I spent the day surfing and drinking beer on a beach one town over from Montanita. This town was in many ways identical to Montanita. It was the same size with the same terrible dirt roads, half finished construction projects, and a central square built around a cathedral. However, this town did not have the same tourist industry and that made a substantial difference. In Montanita, there were more dodgy corner stores than there were corners, all sorts of reggae themed bars, street performers, food carts, and the other general tacky tourist attractions that are commonplace in a beach town. This town, however, had none of that and therefore none of the money that comes with it. It was fascinating to me how two completely homogenous cities could end up in such different situations. The thought was interesting but fleeting – my mind drifted back to the beautiful sunset I was watching while joking with friends in broken Spanish. I was having no trouble adjusting to life in Ecuador.
cheers,
matt
The first day in Montanita was spent mostly getting a sun burn on the beach and convincing myself of the reality that I was basically living in paradise for a month. After some confusion I was finally put into a home stay with a great family. I ate the traditional meal of fish and rice and proceeded to sleep for 10 hours in order to recover from the travel. In the morning I found out I had a roommate, Christian, who was German and had been to Madison once and was going back after this trip –it truly is a small, small, world. My roommate, a few others and I spent the day surfing and drinking beer on a beach one town over from Montanita. This town was in many ways identical to Montanita. It was the same size with the same terrible dirt roads, half finished construction projects, and a central square built around a cathedral. However, this town did not have the same tourist industry and that made a substantial difference. In Montanita, there were more dodgy corner stores than there were corners, all sorts of reggae themed bars, street performers, food carts, and the other general tacky tourist attractions that are commonplace in a beach town. This town, however, had none of that and therefore none of the money that comes with it. It was fascinating to me how two completely homogenous cities could end up in such different situations. The thought was interesting but fleeting – my mind drifted back to the beautiful sunset I was watching while joking with friends in broken Spanish. I was having no trouble adjusting to life in Ecuador.
cheers,
matt
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