Montanita, Ecuador VS Mancora, Peru

Upon arrival to Montanita, we were disappointed by the gloomy skies and small waves. Our friend, Jens, once again joined us for this journey. The town had a carribean feel with sand streets and outdoor entertainment. After our 10 hour over night bus ride, we were delighted to enjoy some fresh ceviche from a street vendor. On our first night in town, we got lucky (but maybe not so lucky) to find a bar that would show the Dolphins-Saints game. The next day we traveled to Parque Nacional Machalilla and did a 4km hike and wound up at Los Frailes beach. It was muy bonita.


Montanita, Ecuador



Park entrance

Los Frailes

After two days of no sun, we decided to head to Peru early. We caught a bus from Guayaquil to Mancora, Peru. We had a speedy border crossing at 2 am (no fees!) and arrived to our destination yet again 2 hours early. Since it was 4 am and we could not check into our hostel, they were kind enough to put our belongings in storage and let us sleep under the stars in hammocks. Waking up we realized we booked what looked like a white-walled Greek resort on the Mediterranean Sea (it was nice and super cheap!). When we were shown to our room, we were happy to see that our dormmates were German travelers we met in Montanita (Hi David and Jackie!). The next day we did nothing but lay on the beach and enjoy the luxurious pool. Amanda got way too much sun and was in for the night. Cory also had a chance to surf some fun waves. On Friday afternoon we set off for a 14 hour bus ride heading to Huarez, the adventure capitol of the Andes.

                                                               Mancora, Peru

                                                     Our lovely hostel, Loki Del Mar

                                                                  See the Greek resemblance?

                                                                   David and Jackie