Ecuador
Cantón Santa Elena

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 8

      Moñtanita

      September 22, 2019 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Gester bini bi de Gastfamilie ahcho und Hütt hani de erst Tag Schuel ga. Isch schochli es umgwöhne und uhmega viel Spanisch😄 aber wege dem bini ja au da.
      D Gastfamilie isch mega nett, au wemmer eus nonnig so verstönd, da sie nur Spanisch chönd.
      D Schuel isch au supper, Mir sind s zweite i de Klass und euses "Schuelzimmer" isch uf em Schuelhusdach, also ha e supper Ussicht überd Stadt. Hütt abig gömmer no mit de Schuel go Znacht esse zum mal all chli Kennelerne.
      Ab jetzt wirdi nümme so viel Schribe, da ich ja jetzt 6 Wuche da bi.
      Read more

    • Day 106

      Last night Montañita! Out with a Bang

      February 15, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

      So today was our last full day in Montañita, and as other days go here, it was pretty normal.... sit on the beach, have a walk into town for some street food and chill in a hammock /read a book maybe and obviously befriend the hostel cat who was waiting for us on our porch aww 😻. But this was the day we most definitely went out with a bang, or fire! 😳 🔥 So as we both agreed we had been indulging quite alot in the really nice restaurant right next to our hostel, and on the sea front (that does amazing Thai and Ecuadorian food, but was a little pricey) So we thought let's cook a full meal for once instead of having our usual tuna sweetcorn wraps that we were eating for lunch all week! 😂😂 So we cracked on and decided to cook some pasta... Mmm fancy! At one point the gas on the stove stopped working, so realised it needed a new cannister, so we asked the hostel guy Jackson to change it, which he did, and we managed to light it again.. Whoop! As we went on suddenly the gas connection came off, and caught the fire we were cooking with, and exploded with flames from under the stove, with the whole of the stove catching fire....we ran back but was too late for zachs leg hair and toes! 😳 Zach screamed "fire fire", and luckily one of hostel guys ran to switch off the gas, which stopped the fire! We both got away without burns gladly but we're we're in real shock, good job we already had a beer to drink after!! So in the end Jackson checked on us, then said because of this (as we had no way of cooking tea plus the trama 😔) he offered to pay for us to eat and drink at the restaurant we loved so much at the beach front... And of course we milked it for a full meal and red wine at sunset. And the freebies didn't stop there, we also got free beers at the hostel bar later! To say we have had such bad luck at this hostel, including the mess up with our room booking from day 1 (we managed to get a superior room and more free beers after this mess too 😂) and the fire! Despite all this we still loved our stay here, and were quite sad to leave after nearly 2 weeks. We'd deffo go back and hope the bad luck wouldn't follow us again lol.Read more

    • Day 105

      Isla Santa Cruz - Montañita

      July 5, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      Es geht wieder aufs ecuadorianische Festland, der Flieger geht um 10 Uhr in der früh. Es wird doch noch ziemlich knapp mit dem Weg zum Flughafen, da ich wieder jedes Taxi meide und wir mit Bus und Boot fahren. In Guayaquil nehmen wir einen Mietwagen und fahren an die Westküste nach Montañita. Da die Straßen aufgrund der Proteste noch in einem schlechten Zustand sein sollen, bekommen wir sogar einen Pickup. Das Starten des Wagens funktioniert allerdings nur mit Eingabe eines Codes vorher, sonst geht die Alarmanlage an. Naja bis wir das rausgefunden haben dauert ein bisschen. Am Strand in Montañita ist es dann schon dunkel.Read more

    • Day 9

      Montanita -Day 4

      January 22, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Last night i went back to the place with the pool table and played against a bunch of locals for hours, including David who i hung out on the beach with the night before and also became buddies with Nicolas originally from Peru. Starting to get to know the staff at certain restaurants here and a bunch of locals. Its nice to walk around town and hear my name called out or being greeted with huge smiles and fist bumps. A bit sad its my last day here. And i am casually curious about looking into properties here too.

      Woke up today incredibly sore all over. This surfing experience is having a serious physical impact. I actually feel 48 for a change haha. And no matter how much sun screen i put on, my nose gets redder and redder. I was very close to not surfing today but i don't know when my next opportunity will be, so it was time to suck it up and get back out there and enjoy the moment.

      Today went worse than yesterday. My timing was awful. Balance sucked. I read the waves poorly. And my pop ups were lazy, often going to one knee before standing up. I'm worn out and it shows. I really should go back to the 12 foot board until i get better.

      Three hour drive tomorrow morning to get the rental car back to guayaquil, so made it an early night. One thing i won't miss is all the mosquitos. My legs are covered in bites. Chao montanita.

      Edit: surfing pics are me
      Read more

    • Day 14–29

      Montanita Spanish School 2

      October 26, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      15 Tage Sprachschule, Fitness, schwimmen, Salsa, kochen, ein bißchen feiern und mein Geburtstag als Highlight. Schöne Wochen mit tollen Menschen in einem schönen Surfer-Örtchen, das Nachts zum Ibiza Ecuador's und einer Bühne des Lebens werden kann! Mit 26C und konstanter Bewölkung, manchmal Nieselregen, manchmal Sonne hat Montaña gehalten, was es versprochen hat. ¡Gracias! Nun geht unser Abenteuer so richtig los und die Einträge werden mehr. Etwas traurig wegen dem Abschied von vielen tollen Menschen, aber voller Vorfreude auf Galapagos, verlassen wir diesen wunderschönen besonderen Ort.Read more

    • Day 51

      Heading Home to Cuenca

      November 26, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

      The beach has turned rainy and humid and just now I noticed the tide has come in. It hasn’t stopped the surfers and the beach goers who are still sitting under umbrellas and taking lessons. Even the beach vendors are still out riding tricycle and walking back and forth selling sun glasses, shave ice, coconuts, and ice cream. I have a feeling that this place is the same every day of the year. People come, play on the sand, and like me, leave without a sun tan.
      I’ve got a 7 hour nonstop bus ride to get started. It will be long but I will be able to skip the Guyaguil 3-story bus station and ticket mess. The next time I see the pacific I will be in Panama City.
      Read more

    • Day 54

      Montañita

      January 27, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Die letzten 5 Tage haben wir in Montañita verbracht. Ein kleines Surferdorf an der Küste. Ein paar Tage Party und am Strand entspannen. Ansonsten hat der Ort eigentlich nichts zu bieten.
      Heute geht's nach Peru, denn die Tage bis zum Abflug sind bereits gezählt 🙄Read more

    • Day 7

      Totally rad, dude 🏄‍♀️

      November 15, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

      We had our last surf lesson this morning! We tried out the back waves which was interesting to say the least! Much more choppy and a lot more push on the board from the waves. Not sure how he thought I could get up there when I haven’t mastered the little waves, but I’m happy to have the experience. We moved to the little waves after and it felt so much smaller it was actually, finally, possible to get up a few times! And my last wave took me into shore!! So glad we got to do some surfing in one of the world’s best places to learn. Ademar is a great teacher! We then had breakfast and coffee (of course their coffee rates better than ours at home too). We did an on-land surf lesson, as well. We did Spanish lessons and then relaxed after lunch till having some dessert! Good day!Read more

    • Day 103

      More Montañita chillin!

      February 12, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Most of our time here in Montañita has been mainly relaxing and enjoying the hostel 'casa del sol' because the people here are so nice, and most of the time we can go to the bar and meet new travellers that are here for the same thing... Plus surfing! I think that's a given as its known for its beach life, parties and a good place to catch some waves!... The town centre itself is made up of boutique shops (hippy style) and restaurants with happy hour deals! 😁🍻🍷👍 Then nearer the sea front more touristy shops, including roulette shots at street food /drinking places and I would like to say that the clubs and loud music was just here too, but once you're in the centre it's everywhere 😂 We stayed out a few nights for food and drinks, while catching up with a couple we met in Quito a few weeks before (also from the North of England 😊) and its great if you're in a group.... Or on the pull I guess 😂😂 it's an experience! So we we're pretty happy staying away from most of the noises of the clubs for sleeping 😴 just adding though the nights seem short on a week day if you want to party as most places shut near 10 or 11pm 🙄 alittle odd! We definitely have put on some weight here though, eating either pancakes or breakfast burritos in a morning with a different fruit and topping on the pancakes everyday! (omg they even had cinnamon french toast with fruity cinnamon jam on 2 days 😋😍.. Will deffo have to try making these ourselves! ) This hostel out of all we've been to in the last 3 1/2 months has had the best breakfast... Good work chef.. Muy bueno! 😁👌Read more

    • Day 5

      We be learning and relaxing

      November 13, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

      We got up bright and early to catch the morning high tide for surfing today. The first thing I saw was my first sea turtle…. Dead on the beach being eaten by vultures 😭 Surfing was off for me today. I managed one good stand but did not get my feet under me any other time. Maybe I was tired, I’m not sure, I just couldn’t get focused. Then we had breakfast, the oatmeal here is out of this world, as are the beans, toast, and breadsticks! We then read books in the hammock and just chilled till our Spanish class. We then chilled some more before dinner, the breadsticks people!! We have some lovely (loud) interesting (religious) Americans at the restaurant tonight. Not sure if they are staying here or not. And now ending the night chilling back in the hammock.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Cantón Santa Elena, Canton Santa Elena

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android