Olon, Ecuador

You're never alone in Olon. It's our version of a beach paradise, or close to it at least. We spent a month here 2 years ago but this time we found it harder to find reasonable long term lodging and settled for 10 days. We actually booked the same apartment even though it had been sold last year.

Our friends from Madison, Marc and Jo Brand are regulars and happened to be here at the same time as us. They met a few other Wisconsin couples and we were invited to a dinner party consisting of 8 people from the Madison area. Such a small world.

On weekends, Olon bustles with Ecuadorian working class families enjoying a weekend at the beach. Also the rich families form the Guyayquil area enjoy their beachfront mansions, and a few of those have private security.

During the week, it's pretty quiet and beachcombing gringos is the most exciting thing around. That's fine by me. Deanne and I picked up an almost daily yoga routine on our morning beach walks. We also sampled the many restaurants and enjoyed nightly sunsets.

The beach is about 8 miles long and runs north to south, so everyone gets a sunset view from the beach. Our favorite restaurant is now a South Indian restaurant with friendly staff.

We cooked dinner twice and made our own breakfast every day. The fresh seafood market is a bunch of people selling the daily catch on a side street. You can choose between farm raised shrimp or Ocean shrimp for between $2 and $4 per pound depending on the type and the size. There's plenty of tuna, Mahi Mahi and a few other species of fish.

The word is out on Olon for retirees as there seems to be even more that have settled here in the last 2 years. There's a new sportsbar in town and duing an NFL playoff game, we met antother guy from Wisconsin and there was a couple nearby from Wausau. It's Cheesheads everywhere here!

Counting our 10 days in Olon, we spent a total of 3 weeks on Ecuador's fine beaches. It was great but it's time to head to the mountains. We will stop for a few days in Cuenca before heading south to our favorite spot of Vilcabamba.

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