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Ecuadorian Coast DiscoveryEcuadorian Coast Discovery
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A 17-day adventure by Ralf Read more
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  • TravelerEcuadorian Coast Discovery
    Day 13

    Relax time in Mompiche

    August 17, 2021 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Stayed two nights in the small surfer and fisher town Mompiche - definitely worth a stop if you want to relax and destress. And the beaches are getting better and better still 😎!

    Met an Ecuadorian guy in the hallway of my hotel and he greeted me in German “servus” (which means hello)…I was surprised and thought damn I still have the German looks 😜…in the end it turned out he spoke with the hotel owner and got the info from there, so I can sleep well again 😅.

    Mompiche itself has a beautiful beach, but what was even more stunning was the beach on the nearby island Isla Portete which you can reach by a 15 min car ride & short 1 min boat transfer and is a definitive must visit!

    The locals were super friendly in Mompiche as well and got easy in contact with the relaxed surfer crowd…ended up having beers with them until 2am in the night 🍻.

    There is a huge population of vultures as well living in Mompiche - they looked like giant bats when they were circling in the air, impressive sight.

    For living it is still too quiet for me and also the internet bandwidth lacks here for digital nomads. So rather a weekend retreat.

    Stay: San Antonio Suites (25 USD for me only, but actually stayed in a 3 bedroom suite) - my place was with superb sea view and balcony to relax on, simply beautiful. The owners even drove me with their car to the nearby island - gotta come back there!    Read more

  • TravelerEcuadorian Coast Discovery
    Day 14

    Biking off the beaten track - Atacames

    August 18, 2021 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    On my way up to Esmeraldas I found out there is not really much to see in Esmeraldas and the nice beaches lie outside of the city. Therefore, decided to stay one night in Atacames, the beach town famous for its beach bars & weekend party spot for Quiteños.

    I took the longer beach route from Mompiche over Muisne to Atacames with my bike off the beaten track (which was recommended by my hotel in Mompiche - always great to get some local advice 👍) and loved the windy roads through rainforest terrain. There were not many people on these roads (you should not be scared of this 😉) and probably many of those small fisher villages never have seen a guy packed up on a motorbike according to the looks I received 😅. The condition of the road was overall great (seems that one was freshly paved), but there is also a part dirt road. Especially note able was Playa Escondida, a private land (5 USD entrance fee) with beach and possibilities to stay there in lodge style houses as well as camping options. I just went beachside with my bike, had a look around and could avoid paying the fee after talking with the relaxed guards 👌. Seems like a place off the beaten track with good relaxed vibes 😎.

    I have been in Atacames on a Wednesday night, which was rather quiet as usual during the week. Made the most strange encounter of the whole trip through when a guy in the street started talking German with me. Then he insisted to have more German communication with me and practice his German. As nice guy I said ok let’s go and have something to eat. I encountered then that he had obviously psychological problems as he was talking with non existent persons in the room 😳…after the dinner gave a short farewell and stayed for the rest of the night in the hotel trying to avoid re-meeting him in the streets 😅.

    Atacames itself has a nice wide beach, swimming though was not possible due to high waves 🌊. It seemed for me during the week it is rather a family than a party spot.

    For living this is a pretty small holiday retreat, where I lack the infrastructure and as well would be annoyed I guess after a while by the tourist crowds.

    Stay: Hotel Rosmarg - convenient located right beach side. Has everything needed but still pretty basic for 25 USD per night (small room). The staff was rather helpful for Ecuadorian standards 😉.    Read more

  • TravelerEcuadorian Coast Discovery
    Day 15

    Heading back home

    August 19, 2021 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    2 weeks are over and I covered all the way from Guayaquil to Esmeraldas - I feel now it is time to get back to Cuenca and really look forward to it seeing friends and the known environment.

    Doing the trip back from Esmeraldas in a two step approach in two days with each round about 6h of driving. Made it to Quevedo - a business town which no note able sights. I met a friendly Ecuadorian guy in the hotel I stayed in and he helped me with some issues with my phone contract. Later on went out for dinner and drinks with his friends and ended up introducing me to Manabi liquor (Cana Manabita), Ecuadorian drinking games and lots of fun 😋.

    Unfortunately, had one of the worst nights in my life afterwards (not alcohol related , I know how to handle that 😉) as obviously a fish soup I ate on the way for lunch was not good - had literally no sleep and puked all night 😔. Luckily found a doc that examined me and rehydrated me with an overnight stay in a private hospital - I felt well taken care of me and my private room was quite decent with Wifi and TV.

    I met literally at every place nice people on the road, but I think I need a hub to live in, where you feel comfortable. Traveling every 1-3 days is too stressful for me on the long run. I might consider though a Nomadic lifestyle, but with stays of minimum 1 week and rather open on the other end. It is too much effort unpacking and repacking your bike every couple of days.

    With my purchased combination of saddle bags and top center bag from Nelson Rigg I am pretty happy . Good quality and enough space for my needed things. Just the strapping creates some manual effort which cases do not have.    Read more

  • TravelerEcuadorian Coast Discovery
    Day 17

    Home Sweet Home Cuenca

    August 21, 2021 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Made it back home to Cuenca after another round about 6h highway ride from Quevedo. Actually, pretty boring roads until the entry of Cajas National park. Lots of traffic on the highway put me into the situation to overtake lots of vehicles, especially the loaded trucks. Felt in these situations and in the steep parts of Cajas that the 411cc of my Royal Enfield Himalayan could be better pushed to 650cc when fully loaded to give more power…

    Was super cold this time in Cajas as I rode through pretty late in the evening from 4pm to 6pm. My winter gloves were not enough, would have needed extra hand protectors or heaters.

    Summing up this journey, I mostly enjoyed the riding still through Cajas with this amazing landscape and turns around as well as the parts between Montanita to Manta as well as the off beaten track from Mompiche to Atacames. I saw lots of new places on the coast, met friendly people along the way and tasted delicious seafood 😋.

    It is definitely a different way of travel with a motorbike than by car or bus, but I enjoyed it as long as I did not need to ride the super long exhausting last two days with each 6h nearly only highway. Sometimes I felt especially my lower back itching but I hope to clear up this issue with putting my steering bars higher with an extra part that is being shipped over from the US currently.

    In the end I found my new home Manta as well, scouted already my future apartment and look forward on moving there pretty soon 😎. New adventures coming up soon! The 🏄‍♂️ in Manta should be good!    Read more

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