Beach time in Puerto Lopez

We said good-bye to our Ecuadorian family in Cuenca and headed to Puerto Lopez on the coast for some R & R and whale watching. Our plane landed in Manta. The scenery was bleak, the land parched with dry shrubs and stunted Ceba trees, and there were vultures – lots of them, in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen so many vultures. I envisioned bones scattered throughout the landscape - no chance to see them though, as we sped down the highway at about 80 MPH with Latin music blaring. We arrived in Puerto Lopez 1 ½ hours later.

Hosteria Mandala (our lodging for the next 4 nights) is a lush oasis located on a long stretch of beach. It has colorful tropical gardens with many birds. The cabins are dispersed throughout and accessed via a maze-like pathway that winds its way through the garden. The beach has powdery light beige sand and there are pelicans, Frigate birds and of course vultures flying overhead. The water feels about 70 degrees. To the left you can walk toward the town to see the local fisherman bringing in their catch starting around 6:00 in the morning. To the right you can take a leisurely stroll for an hour or more and encounter only beach, surf, crabs, shells and if your lucky baby turtles. We encountered two on one of our morning strolls. They were struggling to access the sea against high tide. We provided them with a little human assist and set them a drift in deeper water, past the shallow waves that kept re-depositing them further up the shore. We watched for a bit to see if they would get washed back and when they didn’t return we wished them well on their continuing perilous journey.

In addition to our daily beach walks and hammock time, we went on a whale watching tour that proved to be the best we’d ever encountered. First we saw a mother and baby Humpback about 15 minutes into our tour and farther out we found another mother, baby with an adult male. They performed for us for nearly 2 hours and did everything from fin slaps to spy-hopping. The grand finale was a breach by the adult male. What a treat! Whale season here is June – September.

Our last day in Puerto Lopez we visited a local community called Agua Blanca where they have Pre-Columbian ruins. For $5.00 you get a tour with a non-English speaking guide. The ruins are not too impressive and unless you speak Spanish well it’s difficult to get the history from a guide that doesn’t speak any English. They do have a sacred natural lagoon fed by mineral springs where you can swim. The dip was a refreshing after a hot dusty hike but the water smelled heavily of sulfur, so got in swam across it and got out. After this stop we visited a lovely secluded beach called Los Frailes in Manchalilla National Park. It is a perfect beach for swimming, picnicking, etc.