We need to book out of Hotel Mercy by noon, and having slept like logs since 7pm the night before we rise with the larks. Our mission this morning is to clarify the vehicle insurance situation. With a lot of help from Google we discover the organisation responsible for motor insurance in Ecuador is named SPPAT and their offices in Machala are a few walking blocks away. We use Maps.me offline on ‘walking’ but walk faster than the little arrow which swings all over the place. After doing a few sharp u-turns mid stride B spots an exhaust fabrication unit with a USA bending machine just like his old one. He pops in to admire it and strikes up a stilted conversation with the owner. Our lack of Spanish and his lack of English are won over by motorbike photos of exhausts on B’s phone. I show the SPPAT address to the wife who very kindly flags down a bright yellow taxi, negotiates a charge of 2 dollars, and off we go in completely the opposite direction. With Google translate in hand we are let in by the armed guard at the gate and find our way to the offices marked SPPAT. “We would like to buy vehicle insurance for our motorbike” we talk into our speaking translator which then speaks to the lady behind the desk. She then speaks into the phone in Spanish and in turn the phone translates and speaks to us in English. How marvellous. The end result is that ALL vehicles are covered by the government and in the event of an accident the victims are cared for by the government. It's free. BUT, we are warned, “you must drive very carefully and keep your eyes opened and alert.” How very marvellous. We are sent on our way with a happy holiday wish to go and enjoy a breakfast of coffee and bread next door. Now we know why the driving here is so very polite and respectful. Stop signs are obeyed. Roundabouts have a formal give way to the right (the opposite to France) and cars wait while you cross the road. No need to upset the government with reckless driving. The only negative is the fumes. Not too much emission testing here.
Armed with a 30 day SimChipPlan, a new set of+2.5 readers and well informed about travel and healthcare we enjoyed the 10 minute stroll back to the hotel pacing our walk to match the arrow on Maps.me. We did notice a few things though.
1. The ladies here are very curvy, with both large tops and bottoms. Not fat, just curvy, and proud to show it all.
2. The window shop dummies are built to match.
3. There is an abundance of hair salons with manicure and pedicure. All busy and equally occupied by men and women. The men are particularly groomed coiffed and shaven with flick backs and top knots.
Still feeling a bit anxious about the danger/keep safe warnings we had received from our Safari Suite hosts in Peru we packed the bike and set off for the next town on our coastal route : Guayaquill. Stopping for lunch, in a restaurant BEHIND BARS, I was invited into the open plan kitchen to sample a shrimp fritter and some corn bread as we could not decipher the menu. It is so delicious we order one plate to share. An American man with his Ecuadorian dad stops to chat. He suggests we follow the Ruta del Sol, better known as Rute de Spondylus. So far, all our interactions and contacts with the Ecuadorian people have been warm, welcoming and friendly. We're beginning to like this place. Thanks to iOverlander App we drive straight to the chosen hotel with secure parking and enjoyed our 2nd night in Ecuador. Being a bit too nervous to venture out in the city at night we sat in the upstairs hostel communal lounge, enjoyed a few beers and watched the street happenings from 2 floors up. A very hard working young man in a stylish Ralph Lauren polo shirt, slacks and trainers walked down the rows of cars when the lights turned red selling peanuts from his tray of goodies, then ran back to the lights as they change to green, ready to start the trek down the queue when the lights turn red. For every 10 green/red changes he may have possibly sold one packet. He was there when we arrived at dusk and was still at it when we went to bed at 10.30. I was willing the drivers to buy from him. What persistence! And perhaps he also has a day job.
The visors on our helmets are beginning to show a great deal of wear and tear, even though one of them was newly fitted at the start of this trip in January. Having a crash didn't help! As Guayaquill is a fairly big city this morning’s shopping expedition involves searching for Brasso , which we eventually found after a good hour’s trudge into a variety of supermarkets and hardware stores. We also found a tiny breakfast den making instant fresh fruit smoothies. I chose Alfalfa leaves, Bananas and Avocado topped with a strange toffee-like liquid, labelled ‘Vitaminas’. Full of goodness and energy we travelled along the coast on Route de Spondylus ☆ , arriving 200kms later at Montanita by late afternoon. The skies turned from blue to grey although the temperature remained at warm 27 degrees. The Pacific beach front is lined with shrimp and lobster laboratories under high security and surveillance cameras. All very secretive. Until we arrived at Montanita where surfers and backpackers are gathered and there are plenty of hostels from which to choose. The prices match the tourist influx but we found a really cute yellow house on a side street away from the market stalls at just the right price with parking inside the lounge. We unpacked the bike, took all the bags inside for a 3 day stopover, and then B measured the door width with his chain. The bike was too wide by about 1 inch! . Both the owner and us were really disappointed as we then had to reload the bike and find another place. We found a hotel on the beach front with a large gated garden and a hammock. Along this beach front are a series of benches at regular intervals. They are regularly occupied by loving couples, cuddling and kissing. Not wishing to be left out, we found ourselves a bench, watched the world go by, and spent a happy afternoon polishing the scratches of our visors. We watched surfers, a metal detector guy and bright red crabs. B teased the metal detector guy by dropping a coin in the sand just ahead of him. The machine beeped and he got the joke and offered us the coin back but B said keep it.
We wandered about the market stalls and saw many beads, bangles, feathery things and polished spondylus shells carved into bird and heart shapes. The shell itself is now bordering on extinction, whereas once before it was used as currency ☆
☆ It served as a transaction currency, personal adornment, to make anthropomorphic statuettes, zoomorphic sculptures, funerary offerings, as part of religious rituals and food of the gods.
Magico-religious beliefs in Mother Nature governed the daily life of pre-Columbian cultures, to the point that they believed that owning a spondylus shell was synonymous with abundance, good omen, rain, was linked to fertility.
For my birthday gift, I chose a handmade silver necklace to which the Artisan attached a carving made of Jade from the Andes. Our relaxing sojourn in Montanita came to an end and we rode 45 kms along the coast to Peurto Lopez, renowned as a whale watching spot. Our very cheap and ‘cold shower plus balcony’ hotel kindly let us park the bike in their foyer overnight. We bought a delicious turtle-loaf and local salty cheese to have with Wine for supper and Orange Juice for breakfast. So versatile.
From our balcony we watch the boats and wander across to the jetty at fish market time. There are hundreds of Frigate birds swooping around and Pelicans bobbing on the shoreline waves anticipating an easy catch. Frigate birds are not waterproof so cannot dive to catch fish. They get their meals by stealing from other birds or out of the fishing baskets. B had great fun throwing a few dropped fish into the air for them to catch and fight over. Sadly we saw a Marlin and Sting Rays that were being chopped up into pieces for selling. Needs must, I suppose. We researched a trip to the Galapagos, and have decided that a 3 hour whale watching one is more suitable. So it's booked for tomorrow.
A short walk back to the jetty and us plus another 20 eager spotters climb aboard the Rosita. Life jackets, rules and introductions done, we had out to sea. “is it going to be rough? “I ask. “no, it's the Pacific “ is the reply from our tour leader. The sea matches the black sky as we zoom along, bouncing forward as well as bobbing from side to side. B and I focus on the horizon and cast our eyes wide and far looking for tell tale water plumes. The 5 ‘ babelas’ (hangover) boys who had swaggered on turned paler and greener as the boat skimmed the crests and dived in the troughs. We just kept on gazing out across the inky black ocean and we're rewarded handsomely. The captain trailed a pod of 4 whales in a circle for about an hour as they sped, surfaced and showed us their glorious fins and tails. The humpbacks have a stretchy white pleated underbelly which glistens bright turquoise in the water and we were lucky to catch it on camera. I used the burst function to capture the swift rise and fall of the whale in between the rise and fall of the boat, quite successfully, I think. The babelas boys decided that watching movies on their phones or sleeping at the back of the little boat was more rewarding. The journey back to the jetty took us past some blue footed Booby’s who were preening and balancing on tiny pebbles embedded in the step cliffs.
We ride on further along Ruta Spondylus, knowing to go no further than Pedernales where the Equatorial Line divides the world into North and South. We pass a forest of plump juicy fat green trees, looking like multi-armed monster men and eventually turn off down a gravel track to recommended cabanas, which are closed. The night watchman however phones the owner who agrees we can camp on the lawns. We are guarded by 3 great Danes and have a wonderful evening watching the subset and snuffling up in our new free standing tent bought in the supermarket in Lima some months before. We decided that the posh hoop tent that needed pegs and guy ropes was not very practical and losing the 3kgs weight was an added bonus. This 20 euro 6 berth weighs in at 1kg and we can keep our belongings inside with us. Where better to put the tent up for the first time than on a lawn next to the Pacific and watch the sun go down. The dogs kept us safe, although lots of cuddling and tail wagging made me wonder about their ferocity.
In 27 degrees and mist we rode past the feeble road sign marking the equator at Pedernales, then directly East through this green jewel called Ecuador. Down through Green Valleys, up over Green Hills, past rivers of Crystal Clear Waters and like any jewel it was being polished and shined by Squads of Cleaners. B and I cannot get over the Lack of Litter. There are troops of people just cleaning and sweeping and dusting and wiping. The roadsides are immaculate. The hotels are immaculate. The restaurant tables and floors are immaculate. Get the message, its the cleanest place we have ever ridden through. At 1500 metres the mist is too dense and the road too twisty so we stop at a hotel run by a lady who speaks German. B needs to ride along the pavement and the shopkeepers willingly move their stands of chips and peanuts out of the way. We warm up with some yummy yucca soup before checking WhatsApp from family and friends in our spotlessly clean room. There's a big rumble early in the morning at 6am and we look out the window to see about 20 motorbikes parking up for breakfast. Having moved a lot of tables in the restaurant to accommodate our bike we now need to get the bike out of the restaurant to accommodate hungry bikers. It is such a pleasure to meet the Quitobikers on their Saturday run and we enjoy our breakfast with them. BUENOS DIAS. The sun is out and so are they. They are riding West and sadly we part company as we ride East towards San Antonio De Pinchincha through natural vertical green gardens rising to 3000 metres and then down to 2400 metres. We get lost in San Antonio, find the monument and stop for coffee to admire an incredible canti-levered building and the art work of a artist who uses plants to create the collages of Ecuadorian legends. The moon dance and tiny figures are displayed prominently in his beautiful glitter, sand and bark works.
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