Ayampe
Getting In
The bus from Montañita to Ayampe was only about 40 minutes long and didn’t require any advanced booking, I just had to wait on the main road for it to arrive. While I was waiting, I ran into 3 girls from my school: Lena, Sofia and Silvia. They happened to be doing an afternoon trip to Ayampe so I spent the day with them. We did a short, flat hike in the countryside and then got some coconuts and hung out on the beach before grabbing lunch. Lena and Sofia were doing Quilatoa Loop the following Monday so I tentatively planned to do it with them. I was just going to have to go slow in my travels, which I had no problem doing. This was one of those interesting moments you look back on after the fact where if I had just left Montañita a little earlier or later and not been on the same bus as Lena and Sofia, then my whole experience the following week would have been completely different. We ended up spending over a week together doing the Quilatoa Loop and Baños.
The City
I had never even heard of Ayampe until a few weeks before. I was doing some research on best Ecuadorian coastal towns and it appeared on a few lists. My Ecuadorian family reassured me about how nice of a place it is. They said it was what Montañita was like 25 years ago before it blew up with tourism where it’s got very laid back vibes with stray dogs and chickens in the street and highly undeveloped infrastructure. It’s known to be a surfer and yoga hippy town so it seemed like the perfect place for me to chill a few nights after the non stop activities of 2 weeks of Spanish school, surf lessons, and living with my host family.
The “Main Street” of town is lined with cafes that sell kambucha and organic products and the “outskirts” of town was much more green than Montañita. It was a quiet and beautiful little coastal town that was great for relaxing. However things here are quite expensive by Ecuadorian standards. A guy I talked to at the cafe said they do that intentionally so that tourism stays to a minimum and to prevent the town from becoming like Montañita. The locals like their quiet beach town. And as always there’s cheaper food options if you look for it outside the main area of town.
The Lodging
I stayed at Spondylus Lodge for 3 nights which was a nice little retreat style accommodation. The building was tucked away between luscious green trees and had a nice outdoor space with colorful plants and a hot tub. The vibe of the lodge matched the tranquil vibe of the city. Everything in Ayampe is very relaxed and moves slow. I felt a sense of inner peace and tranquility staying here. This was one of those places I would have never visited on a stricter schedule but since I had 7 weeks in mainland Ecuador, I was going nowhere fast. And I’m so glad that was the case because these 3 days were just what I needed after school.
The Food
Since I only had a few more days by the coast in Ecuador before heading inland, I had to eat as much seafood as possible while I was here. I probably wouldn’t eat much more until Chile. The food options in town were limited but I made the most of what I had. For lunch one day I had an incredible octopus lunch with purple potatoes and corn slaw. I also ate a mahi mahi wrap, shrimp quesadillas, and pescado frito. The pescado frito was from a hole in the wall spot outside the main area of town so it had the nice $3 menú del día price for a bunch of food. The grandma running it reminded me a lot of my host mom Yolanda. While I was eating my meal, all her grandkids came home to eat their home cooked lunch.
The Experience
Even though Ayampe is a surfer and yoga town, I didn’t actually participate in either of these activities. My rib was still hurting too much to surf and the yoga classes were at 9am, which turned out to be too early for me. After 2 weeks of Spanish classes at 8am, I really just wanted to allow myself to sleep so I didn’t set an alarm. I figured if I was up early enough than I would go to yoga but if not then so be it. My first day I did that short hike with the girls from my school as I mentioned earlier. And the other 2 days I just lied out on Ayampe Beach, which was a 5 minute walk from my lodge and soaked in the sun.
Puerto López
I also made a day trip to Puerto López because I didn’t realize Ayampe had no ATMs so I had to take the bus to Puerto López just to pull out money. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I did want to check out Puerto López while doing my research so I was glad to see the beach town. Plus it was only a 25 minute bus ride for $1.
While the town itself wasn’t anything too special, Puerto López Beach had really nice sand and it was a beautiful bluebird sky day. It’s just a small port fishing town but looks like Miami compared to Ayampe. The boardwalk is lined with cabanas and open air restaurants underneath canopies. It’s also a place known for whale watching but since I had no desire to do that since I had already done that activity in Mancora, Peru. There’s also Isla de Plata, another island known as the “Poor Man Galapagos” but I also did a version of that in Peru outside of Paracas.
There was way more food options than Ayampe so I was able to get a massive lunch for $3. It came with a fish soup that was absolutely loaded with fish; an entree with meat, rice and beets; and a juice.
Reiki Massage
While I was sitting at the cafe one day, I started chatting with the guy working, who was your typical yogi surfer with dreads to his ankles, and he recommended his friend for a really nice reiki massage.
Reiki is an energy healing technique that promotes relaxation, reduces stress, and anxiety through gentle touch. Reiki practitioners use their hands to deliver energy to your body, improving the flow and balance of your energy to support healing.
I figured what better place than Ayampe to try this type of massage. And I’m so glad I did as it turned out to be an incredible experience and unlike any other massage I have gotten. It was pretty hippy dippy but I really got into it. She focused on putting pressure on the different chakras and I truly felt the energy she was putting into it. I was even having some closed eye visuals during the massage. It was very powerful. She also used hot stones and vibrational therapy. Throughout the massage she would lightly whisper various things in Spanish into my ear to harness her energy into mine. Afterwards she gave me a rundown of the energy she absorbed from me. I didn’t catch all of it since she only spoke Spanish, but I did understand a lot and I could see the truths behind what she said. Overall very cool experience beyond just a massage that felt fitting for Ayampe. I left with my both my body and my energy feeling rejuvenated.
Machalilla
Getting In
The weather was too nice and sunny to not stay another day on the coast. Especially when the mountains were cold and rainy. I wouldn’t be back by the water until Chile and I really wasn’t in any rush. I had the rest of the month to continue exploring Ecuador. Plus if I wanted to do the Quilatoa Loop with Lena and Sofia then I still had time to kill. So I continued working my way up the coast with a 40 minute bus ride to Machalilla to spend a night there.
The City
There’s really nothing too exciting about the town of Machalilla. The main reason that I came was that it is walking distance from Parque Nacional Machalilla, which has some a coastal hike to Playa de Los Frailes (one of the most highly regarded beaches in Ecuador).
The Lodging
I had booked a room in Guest House Machalilla and I had no idea what to expect from staying at a guest house, but I was greeted with a beer by the two guys who were also staying there: Alec from Belgium and Pablo from Spain. It turns out the owner lives in one of the rooms and just rents out the other two. He also lives there with his 6 rescue dogs. That night we had a bonfire and we sat around chatting, drinking, listening to music, petting the dogs, and playing games. We had to walk around the yard to collect firewood, and I forgot how much I missed this aspect of camping: the search to find the perfect wood to burn. We bought hot dogs from the grocery store and cooked them over the fire. It was a really fun evening and I got to know a lot about Alec and Pablo. The owner came back around 9 and he was very drunk which was quite funny.
Hike to Playa Dr Los Frailes (2.8 miles, 564 feet elevation gain, point to point)
Alec and Pablo were just going to take a tuk tuk to Los Frailes so I did the hike there without them and figured we might run into each other. The trail was pretty flat with some small ups and downs but it was nice to be “hiking” a bit again. Unfortunately this time of year, the vegetation surrounding the trail is just dead brush but I imagine it’s beautiful in the right season. About 0.5 miles in there was a nice mirador with views of Machalilla and the surrounding coastline.
After another mile I had reached the first beach on the trail which was called Playa Prieta. The manager at my hostel in Ayampe told me there’s usually no one at this beach and it’s the perfect place to skinny dip. As advertised, I was the only one there so I figured why not? It was very refreshing to have the little beach to myself and swim sin ropa. Can’t beat swimming naked on a warm day in the cool Pacific Ocean water.
Then I continued along to Playa Tortugita which had a few people but was also sparsely traveled. The landscape reminded me a lot of the coastline in Oregon or Washington with cliffs and giant rocks in the water. The trail started going uphill toward a beautiful mirador with views of Playa de Los Frailes on one side and Playa Tortugita on the other side. I took a snack break here admiring the giant sea cliffs and beautiful beaches.
After 10 more minutes I had made it to Playa de Los Frailes and I ran into Alec and Pablo. Everything worked out perfectly. We sat on the beach for about an hour but then they actually start kicking people off the beach at 4pm to close the park. We took a tuk tuk back to town and grabbed a beer.
Reflection on the Ecuadorian Coast
Before my trip, I didn’t even necessarily plan to be on the Ecuadorian coast and I ended up spending nearly 3 weeks along the coast. I had no set itinerary of course, but I hadn’t done any research on that part of the country. But then I heard a lot of good things about Montañita Spanish and surf school from other backpackers while I was in Colombia and Peru so it was high on my radar. And after my 2 weeks of school, the weather on the coast was just so much nicer than in the mountains that it led to an additional 4 days exploring other beach towns; and I’m so glad that it did. This experience was exactly why long term travel is so amazing. I got to discover new places that I would have never gone to otherwise. Luckily my schedule was flexible and my travel speed was slow so I had all the time in the world. There was a few more little beach towns that I could have continued to explore, but I was so ready to be back in the mountains and start hiking again.