Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Adventures a la playa en Ecuador, Part II



So, we arrived at Mompiche and it was beautiful!! Love at first sight for sure! Got off the bus and one of the locals immediately ran over and started trying to help us to find a place to stay. Considering we didn't ask for help, I was a little concerned that he was going to try and get something from us... Unfortunately, the innocent me, wanting to believe that everyone is just helping out of the kindness of their heart, has been tainted by my travels elsewhere (i.e. in Costa Rica, where we met one local in particular that pretended that he just wanted to help out and be our friend and then later demanded money from us!). Anyhow, that was far from the case in Mompiche. We found a hotel for only $5/person per night, thanks to some help from our friend and he simply said that he hoped later that we would stop by his little bar. So, we thanked him and put our stuff away in our room.
Our roomate...

I forgot to mention that both Scott and I tried to use the atm in Atacames, with no luck. We were pretty sure that there would be no atm in Mompiche, and we were right. So, we arrived in Mompiche with about $115 between the two of us (I only had $30)... Good thing Scott is a little more well prepared, but then again I was the one who had brought a pretty fair amount of food from Quito, which also came in handy. We went down the way to the local surf hostel to inquire about renting a surf board. That was when we met Edwin, one of the locals that makes surfboards and helps to run the Tabo surf hostel. He told us that it was $15/day for the surfboard and $10/day for the body board for Scott. That would have been quite a bit of money for us since we were so poor. haha ; ) They only had one shortboard for rent and it was a 6'8" pintail... A little over-gunned for me, but better than too small and it looked like a decent board (minus the typical brown spots and dings of a rental board), so I took it. Anyhow, after a little bargaining, he ended up giving us a great deal and let us take the boards that night (so we got 1.5 hours of surf for free too).

We ran down to the beach out front and paddled out. The waves were fun, but far from all time. I was just so happy to be in the ocean again and there were a few little dumpy beach break waves coming through that were fun. I knew that the point was were the real waves were anyhow, but it was high tide (the point doesn't work as well) and the swell hadn't really hit yet. The surf report had said that the swell was coming, a little on Thursday night, but mostly on Fri./Sat. Surfed until it was almost dark. The water was clear, warm (but not hot), and seemed very clean-it was great.
Went back to the hotel, changed, and headed out to look for a place to eat some dinner. Luckily for us, the food in Ecuador is also very inexpensive and muy rico (delicious). We found a little place outdoors, right on the sand. We both ordered calamari (I tried to order crab, but it was not in season, and the lobster-at $8 was unfortunately too expensive for us), and I got mine encocado (in a coconut sauce). Had a Pilsener while watching what remained of the beautiful sunset and waiting for our meal to be prepared from scratch. When the food came, it was sooooo good! So fresh and huge, with fresh homemade salsa also and it was $3.50 a plate... Perfect for los povres. We were exhausted still from all the travel and the night before, so we decided to head back to the hotel, read a bit, and go to sleep early.
Woke up around 7:30 the next morning and went down to the beach to go and see what the waves looked like. There were a few locals around, mostly fisherman and a few people riding their horses down the beach. I thought I saw a few waves down at the point, but it was hard to see, so I headed down to go check it out. No one out, but definitely looked like a few waves. For once in my life, I was wishing there was at least one other surfer around, since there were lots of rocks everywhere and I had no idea how to paddle out, or where to sit. Finally, as I started to head back to the hotel around 8:30am, I see two local guys heading down the beach with boards. I asked the one guy where he was headed and he pointed out front to the point. So, then I started back at a faster pace towards the hotel for my board.

On my way back, ran into Edwin, heading out to the point with his board. When I got back to the hotel, I made Scott get up and convinced him to come with me. We got back down to the point and Edwin was already walking back on the rocks. He had snapped the nose right off of his board. At that point Scott decided that he didn't want to body board out there. Although I was a little sad that I was on my own again, I don't blame him, since it was obvious that it was pretty shallow, dangerous, and not a good place to learn. I had seen another local walk all the way out on the rocks and jump off the end, but considering that rocks were sticking up everywhere I decided that a little longer paddle was worth not taking the risk, so I paddled from the mid-way point.

Finally, made it out after a little effort-I was hurting from yesterday, since I was so out of (surfing) shape. My ribs and arms were killing me. The waves were firing and the locals were taking off way outside, right in front of the rocks. I chose a spot somewhere in between where I could watch and wait for a larger set swinger for a bit. I got one decent one after waiting a bit, but I quickly realized that the locals were good and they knew the spot well=you have to paddle deep and go big, or you will be waiting a long time for a wave.

Edwin was paddling back out with another board and he announced to the other 8 or so locals that the next wave was for the chica. He motioned for me to paddle outside and sit by him. Most of the guys agreed and they all told me va-le (which means go!) when the next wave came through, but I had to laugh, as at least 3 of them were paddling in front of me just in case I didn't actually get it. Then another guy (the 1st one that I had seen paddling out earlier-Maxamille) told me to paddle a little inside and he came with me. This turned out to be the best place to sit, since although there was still rocks in front, you had a little better chance of making it and of the locals not making the 1st dangerous section. So, I got a plenty more waves and finally was so tired and cold (shivering, but still not CA water-cold) and decided to head in for some lunch. Found Scott reading on the beach and we went and made a tuna sandwich (just tuna and bread-we didn't have mayo or sauce). Scott decided that he was going to go to Playa Negra (the local black sand beach) with some of the other people he had met at our hostel from around the world. I said that I thought I was going to stay and take a little walk on the beach, in hopes that the point would still be firing in a bit. I went down the beach and ran into Edwin and some of the other locals heading back from the point and asked them where they were going to surf in a bit. It was decided that we would head to Playa Negra as well.

After a 20-30 minute walk down the beach and a long rocky dirt road (without shoes-OUCH!!), we made it. Scott and all his new friends were still there playing music and hanging out on the beach. We had a crew of me, one guy from Boston, and 5 other locals, but there was no one else in the water. There were a few make-able sections, but it was fast and dumping close-outs for the most part. I could see how it gets pretty fun there most of the time though-it just needed a bit less wind and more shape. The locals were getting some and I managed to get into a few.
Finally paddled in and headed back to the hotel. I explained to Edwin our money situation and he invited us over for some homemade pizza that he prepared from scratch. But first, I decided to brave the cold water shower that consisted of a pipe (kind of like a hose stream) coming out of the wall, since my hair was now turning into dreads. The shower was a little scary, but the water was not that bad since the air temp was warm and it felt good to rinse off. The pizza that Edwin made was fantastic and so fresh!!
Then, he tried to teach me some salsa lessons and that was fun... I was not very good, but I got the basic step down. Then a few of us watched some surf movies and Edwin played a few of his songs-he was really good, I was impressed! We watched Riding Giants and Thicker than Water-awesome! Went on a walk down the street to see if anything was going on, but found only funny people that had too much to drink and some people making out at the bar, so decided to leave and rest up for the session tomorrow.

Woke up the next morning at 7am and Scott woke up just long enough for me to tell him where I was headed and that he should come take pics for a bit, so I grabbed a power bar and my board and headed down to the point. Went down to the surf hostel and tried to knock on the door to wake Edwin up, but no luck... Guess I am going solo again. Paddled out at the point and endured the pain of my now dead arms and painful ribcage. No one out, which was what I expected, but now that I knew the wave a little better, I just figured that this meant more waves for me. After about 1 1/2 hours, Scott showed up to take some pictures. I had wished that he would have been there about an hour ago, or yesterday, but there were still some waves coming in and I was still the only one out. Scott got a few pics and then headed back... Finally, I had really started to wish that at least one other person would paddle out. The tide was going lower, more rocks had started popping up, and I wanted someone else there to push me a bit and to talk to. Just then, I see several people coming down the beach with boards-finally! The funny thing is that I guess the locals all like to surf at the same time, because within a few minutes the whole crew was out-all 8 of them... Edwin got a few deep set waves and there was another guy-Christian was doing huge snaps and 360 chop hops-pretty entertaining to watch. Managed to gleen off a few more waves and finally, after 5 hours decided I was too tired and cold to try for anymore.




Surfed once more that evening, but unfortunately after the perfection at the point, it is hard to surf the beach break again. Tonight, it was my turn to make dinner and return the favor of the pizza. Scott and I went to the store and managed to find some spaghetti, tomato paste, garlic, and an onion. It turned out decent, but nothing compared to the pizza from the night before. I have to say, our selection was pretty limited. Edwin and the surf hostel were throwing a full-moon party in the lot across the way that night, so I was looking forward to that. After dinner, the whole town lost power for about 30 minutes and it looked as though the party was going to be acoustic, but then it came back on and the fiesta was on.

Scott went back to the room and I offered to help with setting up the party. Edwin told me that I could bartend and I was happy to do this to repay all of his generosity and I figured it would give me something to do, since I was there by myself until Scott decided to come back. There was some fresh juice with aguadiente (the local firewater) concoction that I was to give people with their entrance ticket, beers and rum and coke, so not too complicated. Scott finally showed up and at that point the bar was getting really busy and he started to help me. Things started to get a little complicated since no one seemed to have change and neither did I, I got to the point where I had to start telling people that if they paid and got one drink now, that they could come back for however many I still owed them. This worked great for like the 1st three, but after I owed about 10 people money and 3 people owed me money, it started getting hard to remember who was who. Luckily, everyone seemed to be very honest and it all worked out. It was a lot of fun, a live DJ, firedancing and plenty of great people and funny things to watch. The party went on for a while, until we ran out of beer and almost everything and then it was time for dormir (sleep), since it was late and we had to leave in the morning to head back to Quito : (.


Woke up around 8am the next day and figured there was not much surf, since the swell was supposed to drop. I am sure that I could have had it all to myself, since I was pretty sure that the whole town was at the party last night. But, we had to get ready to leave, since the bus was supposed to leave at 10:30am. We woke up Bart (from Holland), our hotel next door neighbor
and went to go get some breakfast, fresh juice, and coffee. All the locals were finally starting to wake up when we were headed back from breakfast. One guy had his board, but everyone else was just talking and looking at the point. Back to the hotel, pack, and go to say goodbye to everyone.

Another 3 buses and 10 hours later, we were back in my favorite Quito... I was ready to turn around and go right back, but a las time to tie up loose ends here, since I leave in 4 days. I have a feeling that I will be back there soon though! I thought really seriously about just selling everything and buying a small lot down there and living life the way that it was made to be lived. Working just enough to survive, beautiful surroundings, wonderful, genuine people, and surfing/horseback riding/playing at the beach every day!! First I guess I have to finish my last year of grad school and then I will get a perfect job with Conservation International in Ecuador and live happily ever after. Ha : ) Hey, if you believe it enough, it will come. I will be excited to make it home just in time to catch some sick south swells and see my friends and family that I miss very much. Peace out. -H

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)