Pic: Michnus Olivier
stopped in Pelileo, a town with a great
view of the volcano. Fortunately for
us the skies were clear, and we were
able to see the volcano clearly, which
was great. This was our last day with
Steve as he was heading South to Peru
to meet his girlfriend and we were
heading to the Pacific for a taste of the
coast, which we’d been missing.
We said our farewells and headed
off. I’d decided to take a cross-coun-
try route instead of going on the big
roads via Guyaquil. What a great deci-
sion. It was a combination of tarmac
and dirt road, with some beautiful
scenery and nice water crossings. We
were travelling into the early evening
and came across a town called Olme-
do. We asked in a local shop if there
was a hostel near by and they instruct-
ed us to go to a place about 1km out
of town. On finding our lodgings for
the night we were truly amazed. Be-
hind the building was a big swimming
pool, and once out there the owner
was keen to put on all the lights and
the fountains for us. We really enjoyed
it and it was a great way too cool down
after a very long day. After, on discov-
ering my exhaust bolt was loose, the
owner came along armed with an Al-
len key and promptly tightened it up
for me, then gave me the Allen key as
a gift in case of future loosening! How
nice is that!
We were glad to be getting nearer
to the coast. We had missed the sea
and not seen it since we’d left North
Colombia about six to seven months
previously. We could smell the ocean
as we approached a small town of
Puerto Cayo, with huge long beach-
es and plenty of Tsumami warning
signs…I’d forgotten about that! It felt
so good to watch the waves crashing,
and we followed the coastal road as
far South as Puerto Perez, the access
point to ‘Poor Man’s Galapagos’ or Isla
de la Plata, part of the stunning Mach-
alilla National Park. Knowing there
was no way we could afford the real
thing, we took the opportunity of a
boat ride out to the island where we
were greeted by dozens of blue-footed
Boobies (yes, birds)! For me the best
part was snorkeling off the boat and
swimming close to majestic turtles,
brightly coloured fish with manta rays
TRAVERSE 98
below. It was heaven!
We returned to shore and found
a little beach hut on the sand selling
yummy cocktails. We had to indulge,
it’d be rude not to in such a beauti-
ful place after such an amazing day,
plus over the past six weeks or so we’d
seen much of what Ecuador had to of-
fer, from the Amazon, to magnificent
volcanos, to the warm Pacific Ocean,
with our first earthquake experience
thrown in for good measure! What an
amazing, diverse country! SB
Suzie, and her partner Kelvin, are a couple
from Bristol, England and are currently ex-
ploring South America.
They belive that 'life is an adventure' and
something to be shared. Along with Cyril (the
sloth) they're happy to pass on what they
have experienced.
Checkout their website for more adven-
tures - www.avvida.co.uk - or their YouTube
channel for amazing videos of the adventures.
Subscribe, it's worth it.