Beach Review
- anraymond96
- Sep 18, 2018
- 6 min read
I had the pleasure of spending every weekend this month at a different beach in Ecuador. This is absolutely a novelty for me after being land locked 90% of my life. Since Ecuador is along the coast, there are many beaches to choose from. Here are all my thoughts so far.
Montañita
The most fun I had was at Montañita and it is mostly due to the hostel my friends and I stayed at: Kamala Surf and Backpacker Hostel. The town of Montañita is nice, but, like the other coastal towns I’ve seen, it was dirty and smelly in places. Kamala was about a 20 minute walk or short taxi ride out of town. We were in a clean quiet area next to an almost empty part of the beach. The environment was relaxing during the day and more social, but still chill at night. Many of the people in my group made new friends they now follow on social media.
My favorite aspect of Montañita was all the tourists. Travel sites imply that this makes a place less exciting or authentic, but I loved it. We got to meet people from all over the world. I talked to people from Australia, Britain, Germany, and Spain in just one weekend at my small hostel. With the numbers of people that go through there, the variety in the town overall is much greater. Getting to bond with people from so many different cultures was a unifying experience.
It should be mentioned that Montañita has a reputation for clubs and drugs. I got nervous beforehand because even locals seemed scared of this place. Like everything I’ve encountered so far, though, the fears were over the top. There were drugs, but you could find worse in the U.S. There were plenty of clubs too, but so what? We planned ways to be extra cautious of our belongings and each other, and our weekend went by without incident.
Since none of us are accustomed to hostel travel we forgot to bring locks for the lockers and left our belongings in our cabin, which could not be locked, the entire weekend. No one touched anything, and the hostel was such a great environment for making friends that we all felt very trusting of the others. I would recommend to anyone wanting to go to Montañita to not worry about the reputation. I will, however, remember to bring locks to the next hostel. Like I said in my last post, it’s possible to be cautious without being fearful.
Puerto Lopez and Los Frailes
This beach is tied for first in terms of my enjoyment, but if someone only had time to visit one beach I would tell them to go to this one. Los Frailes is in Machalilla National Park, about 6 miles from Puerto Lopez. It’s a beach surrounded by cliffs that block out the wind, making it more comfortable to swim in than nearby Puerto Lopez in the winter. The park has specific rules about trash and water vehicles; everything is as gorgeous as can be. I can’t remember seeing a single stray piece of trash in the area.
On top of swimming, there is a hiking path and some rock climbing. The short hiking path goes up one of the cliffs and leads to a stilted gazebo that is the destination for taking your perfect shot. The path is sand, so it can be walked up barefoot. Some of the plants alongside are sharp, so I eventually put my shoes on. The part that I did walk barefoot was still surreal, seeing as how that’s not something that could be pulled off at home.
There is a sea cave in the bottom of this cliff. Depending on how high the water is you can walk there in the sand or risk your ankles climbing the slippery rocks. I’d recommend the more dangerous option in this case because we all had a good time, even those of us who were scared. At the end we got some impressive photos and felt like adventurers.
Puerto Lopez is the public beach near Los Frailes. It doesn’t have the same rules, so boats are abundant and it is far from pristine, but still stunning and worth your time. We didn’t hang on the beach here, but instead immediately began a boat tour. We first went to see local birds with duck-like blue feet called Blue Footed Boobies. They nest on the cliffsides and frequently rest on the water’s surface. There are also sea lions nearby.
After taking photos of the animals, our boat headed out to the middle of the ocean and we traded the view of land for one of whales. At first, they were only coming up for air, but later they began jumping. The best part of whale watching turned out to be the dolphins. We caught sight of some and took off after them. The boat workers were giving everyone turns sitting up front. My two closest friends here and I got brought up right as we reached the dolphin superpod. I use that term because dolphins usually travel with about 11 others, but can occasionally be in groups near a thousand. We were surrounded on all sides of the boat including below. I could look down and see them swimming under me and it felt like I was swimming with them. Looking around me, fins were sticking out of the water in a large radius around the boat. We were the center of the superpod. Sometimes a dolphin would jump and everyone cheered. Over the boat’s engine and the wind in our ears someone screamed that this was the best day ever, and the rest of us yelled back our agreement. Never pass up an opportunity like this.
Salinas
Salinas was my one of my least favorites, mainly because it was too cramped. The city pushes up against the edge of the beach. Not much sand is left for relaxing and playing, so it was almost completely full when I went, and that was in the off season.
I also went whale watching in Salinas. Here there is a company that will guarantee seeing whales, while the company in Puerto Lopez admitted that about 10% of their trips didn’t get to see any whales. I did see whales on this tour, but that’s all I saw and they didn’t even jump.
One thing this beach has going for it is its proximity to Guayaquil. Even though it’s the largest coastal city, Guayaquil is an hour from the nearest beach. Salinas is about two hours away. So, while it isn’t the favorite, it is a convenient day trip for locals.
Playas
Playas is a beach named beach; yes, playa is beach in Spanish. Playas struck me as the opposite of Montañita. This is another local hangout and is the closest beach to Guayaquil at about an hour away. We didn’t run into travelers whose backgrounds spanned the world, but we did get to make up the Spanish practice we missed out on in Montañita. It is also family friendly. Grandma, mom and dad, and the grandkids were all out to soak up whatever sun managed to make it through the clouds. My fellow exchange students and I quickly noticed how conservative the dress was on the beach and many of us felt uncomfortable in what we were wearing.
The beach wasn’t the prettiest and rocks scattered the sand in places, so we had to watch our steps. I also found this location to be a bit dirtier than the others, but for the number of people there it wasn’t bad.
To anyone considering coming here in the summer, I would think twice. Playas wasn’t overly packed when I went, but my excursion took place on chilly winter afternoon. With the number of people there in that weather, I wouldn’t be surprised if the crowds are unmanageable come January.
All in All
All in all, every beach has something to offer and where to go depends on the time you have. For people on a whirlwind tour, go to the popular tourist spots and see the natural beauty. Those who have more time, on the other hand, do it all! See the sights and take the time to get to know the locals and practice your Spanish.
Comments