Journey to destination
Montanita: Determined to finally leave Quito and get Forrest down to lower ground, we made the decision to get the bus in the daytime to Guayaquil (practically unheard of in Gap Yah circles) and from there hopefully get the night bus to Montanita. However, as the saying goes, the best laid schemes of Bea and Forrest oft go awry, and we arrived in Guayaquil to be informed that the next bus to Montanita was leaving the following morning at 7am. Stranded in the city Watson described as a ‘shithole with nothing going on’ (please excuse my French parents!), we stumbled upon our first real unplanned night, which obviously meant an argument over whether to eat (Forrest) or find accommodation (Bea) first. The lure of the food court in the bus station proved to be too great a temptation for Forrest, and although we had no bed for the night Forrest was happily content with his Big Mac. Eaten in silence might I add.
We eventually paid over the odds for a taxi to the nearest hostel reviewed in my Rough Guide, where Forrest desperately tried to find some sport to watch on the television and I researched bed bugs. All done in silence might I add.
We finally arrived in Montanita to bright sunshine, and any bad feelings from the previous evening were forgotten as we checked in to a beautiful hostel right on the beach.
6/10
Mancora: Excited to be heading to a new country we boarded the night bus that would take us over the Ecuador-Peru border to the promised land of Mancora. Having heard countless tales of amazingness from Semily Watcrock (Sam Crocker + Emily Watson = Semily Watcrock), even the lack of air conditioning and reclining seats for the thirteen hour journey couldn’t dampen our spirits. My excitement quickly turned to despair as the dreaded traveller tummy-gurgle set in and I realised that taking a cheaper bus meant that there was no toilet and I spent the next eight hours simultaneously shivering and sweating as the bus lurched towards Peru. My distress was not made any easier by the bus driver choosing to constantly drive on the opposite side of the road rather than have the hassle of overtaking any vehicle that may get in his way, only moving back on the correct side when something was approaching from the other direction.
Imagine my relief when the bus stopped at the border and I was able to get off. Again, in typical South-American disorganisation and disarray we were then informed that border control was closed and would not reopen until 3am at the earliest. With no toilet in sight (although I’m pretty sure the guy in the back office on Facebook probably had access to one), we waited outside immigration getting eaten alive by mosquitos as I tried to sleep in the intense heat whilst feeling like I was going to die. Three hours later, we eventually got over the border and back on the bus where we both somehow managed to sleep until we arrived in Mancora in the early hours of the morning.
1/10
Accommodation
Montanita: Our first night in Montanita was spent at Charo’s Hostel. A beautiful hostel with a pool, hot water, lovely food and amazing view of the beach from our bedroom window. Slightly spoiled by constant hammering and sawing directly overhead.
The next day we moved further down the beach towards the point to a beautiful hostel and surf camp right on the beach called Casa Del Sol. Much quieter away from “town”, the hostel had a very serene atmosphere and if it wasn’t for the slightly more expensive prices I could have happily stayed there for much longer. The beach bar, Casa Del Surf, served tasty maracuya (passionfruit) daiquiris and delectable fish tacos and burritos (although I have a sneaky suspicion that these were to be my stomach’s downfall).
7/10
Mancora: We were to learn a valuable lesson when choosing accommodation; always go for the place recommended by Emily’s Guide to South America, rather than following the Irish. Loki Del Mar in Mancora is more of a resort than a hostel, complete with its own swimming pool, bar and restaurant, eager staff organising activities such as beer pong and poker (Forrest was in heaven) and towels ‘reserving’ sunbeds at 6am.
Still suffering from my very serious illness, I had plenty of time to evaluate the quality of our 7-bed dorm for our first few days in Mancora (Forrest will be able to advise you more on the nightlife during this period of near-death) and although the proximity of the shared bathroom and ceiling fan above my bed were a welcome relief, the pounding music coming from all directions was not an ideal soundtrack to my sickness. Lou Bega’s Mambo No. 5 was a particular low point.
8/10
The Beach
Montanita: The terrible events in Japan that had threatened the Ecuadorian coast had luckily not affected Montanita, despite everyone being evacuated on the night of the earthquake in preparation for the tsunami. Speaking to people that had been there that night, I was extremely grateful that we were safely out of any harm’s way in Quito as I am not sure I would have handled being woken up in the middle of the night with people screaming “TSUNAMI” very well at all. And Forrest certainly wouldn’t have – you know how much he dislikes being woken up!
Montanita’s beach, although a little grubby, was a beautiful stretch of sand with warm water and perfect waves for surfing. We happily whiled away the hours sipping cocktails on luxury beach beds as we watched the experienced surfers ride waves at the point. The stunning pacific coast sunsets every evening didn’t hurt either.
8/10
Mancora: The sand in Mancora was much more to Forrest’s liking; less ‘dusty’ than Montanita’s beach and much cleaner, however the downside to having a pool at your hostel often means that the beach gets somewhat neglected. This is not to say that it went unappreciated however, as early morning yoga on a terrace overlooking the beautiful curved coastline was something to be rivalled.
7/10
Surf
Montanita: Having always thought of himself as a cool surfer dude, Forrest was keen to get into the water and see whether all those years of bodyboarding in Newquay had paid off. Our surf coach Roberto was the Chilean equivalent of Bodie from Point Break. After spending a good thirty minutes on the sand practicing the correct technique to getting up on your board and learning about the ethos of surf (whilst desperately trying to decipher Roberto’s heavy accent) it was time to hit the water. Or in our case, hit our heads with the board and hit our faces in the sand as we struggled over and over with each wave to keep hold of the board let alone anything remotely resembling surfing.
After two lessons with Roberto, I managed to get up on the board for approximately half a second a couple of times, but Forrest was still struggling to even manage to get on to his knees. Roberto explained that our problems were as follows; I was over-analysing the movement, aka too clever for my own good, and Forrest was simply too uncoordinated, aka CLUMSY!
4/10
Mancora: Although somewhat disheartened by our lack of surfing ability in Montanita, we pursued our dream of being surfers with Robby Munoz, an ex-pro surfer on the Californian circuit. Robby took us away from the laughing eyes of the crowded Mancora beach to the practically deserted and beautiful Los Organos twenty minutes down the coast. After a quick explanation as to the safety element of learning to surf, we entered the water and braced ourselves for more wiping out and swallowing water. What followed was somewhat short of a miracle. Aided by Robby, both of us were able to stand up and ride the waves after only a couple of falls, and by our second lesson we were even attempting to guide the board to follow the break of the wave and to ‘pump’ the board in order to go faster. I have a feeling that our success had more to do with Robby’s awesome coaching and help than our natural ability to surf, but nonetheless we were able to come away feeling as though we could ‘hang ten’ with the best of them (we can’t obviously – Robby was good but he can’t work miracles with Senor Clumsy himself!).
9/10
Food
Montanita: I have already mentioned the delish fish tacos and burritos served up by our hostel’s beach bar, accompanied by a spicy salsa and mango and ginger marinade they made the perfect cheap eat to watch the sunset with. Montanita also satisfied my cravings for pancakes, having had them savoury with cheese and ham for lunch and a late night snack with nutella and bananas, yummy. The highlight of our Montanitan culinary adventure however was our meal at Tiki Limbo which consisted of shrimp ceviche with plantain crisps to start, and then sesame-crusted tuna with garlic rice for me and a seafood stew for Forrest. All washed down with caipirinhas!
8.5/10
Mancora: As you can imagine, the thought of trying the Peruvian ceviche did not sit well with my poorly tummy, but Forrest informs me that the ceviche at Loki was nice although the taste was somewhat obliterated by an entire onion in each portion. Mancora is famed for its restaurants and after easing myself slowly back into the world of food with a falafel sandwich at Angela’s vegetarian café, we were able to enjoy a delicious Thai meal consisting of scallop wontons to start with an array of dips, and a chicken Pad Thai and a sweet and sour crispy pork, shrimp and peach dish (yes Mum – HOT FRUIT with savoury!) To Forrest’s delight, the Steak House served real steaks, not the thin pieces of carne posing as steaks served everywhere else in South America and he managed to find a bottle of red wine to his liking to accompany his 16oz fillet steak!
8.5/10
Nightlife
Montanita: The night doesn’t get going until late in Montanita, and mainly revolves around ‘Cocktail Alley’, where the cheap cocktails go down easily but the cheap alcohol hangover doesn’t dissolve quite so easily the next day. We had a fun night out with Jeff, our mate from Quito, replaying Kings in his hostel before hitting Cocktail Alley, however early morning surf lessons meant that we had to be careful with the amount of ‘Montanitas’ we consumed, although with hindsight perhaps some drunken confidence might not have been too terrible an idea!
7/10
Mancora: Loki’s evening entertainment of beer pong, karaoke, ‘pimps and hos’ fancy dress and drinking Olympics may not be to everyone’s taste but the crowd at Loki sure soaked them up, along with the very delicious slushy cocktails on offer. Forrest had a good night out with the Canadians from our dorm whilst I lay ill in bed, drinking at the hostel bar before heading to the infamous Charlie Browns to continue consuming endless amounts of booze. However, the curse of the traveller’s tummy forced us to have a pretty tame time in the party town of Mancora.
7.5/10
Sunsets
Montanita:
8.5/10
Mancora:
7/10
Final Score:
Montanita = 49/80
Mancora = 48/80
Forrest’s Final Thought…
And so it’s finally been settled, the age old conundrum that has spooked travellers for years has been put to bed, tudo bem Montanita! It was close call in the end, and if it wasn’t for a disastrous journey to Mancora which netted it a calamitous 1/10, we would be tudo beming Mancora instead! As it so happens I love both of the little beach resorts, and although very similar in many ways, each one had their own unique character.
And whilst we raise our glasses to Montanita, I would like to opine and put the record straight. Roberto, although you were a pretty cool dude, it would seem that your uncoordinated/clumsy/ungraceful/inept/awkward diagnosis was in the end, quite simply wrong. I cannot, and will not, be held responsible for poor surfboards which may give the impression of clumsiness.
And to those unbelievers, who still believe, incorrectly I might add, that I am clumsy, I present you with this photo…
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