Playa Escondita, Ecuador

 

Got my first volunteer gig of the travels at Playa Escondita.  You can take a taxi there, however I opted to hitchhike to save a little money.  Met this thug gangster in the back of the truck.

 Playa Escondita is a wonderful eco lodge that has been owned by a Canadian for 20 years.  She has built some amazing accomodations and kitchens.  It is definitely one of the nicest and most beautiful spots on the Ecuadorian coast.  The most tranquil spot for sure and the most delicious lobster I have had in my life.  Judith, the Canadian Expàt originally from Vancouver, has all sorts of accomodations to stay in.  I stayed in a tent and volunteered but there was definitely a type of accomodation for everyone, from the budget backpacker to the person looking for a rustic cabina or ritzy house.  I even met another Canadian that had bought a lot off of here and moved to Ecuador to start a new life and build a house.

Check out the link if you are interested:  www.playa-escondida.com/

 Near the main beach is this cave.  I was able to even grab a faint internet signal in this cave.  Cave-Fi!!!

The beaches here are so tranquil and if you go looking you can find great surf spots too.  The towns nearby are very typical ecuadorian and not touristy at all.  but a spot like this gives you acess to them.  Some of these towns are Playa Escondita, Galera and Cabo San Francisco.

One day I got so lucky.  the yellow leaves started to fall and I was camping in a bed of beautiful yellow flowers.  A true paradise!  I asked the lot staff and they said this only happens once a year.

A few days of volunteering and back on the road south.  Want to make it to Peru for Xmas, taking the Pacific Coast all the way to Guayaquil.

Day 1

Well I finally arrived. Everyone kept asking me before I left, "has it set in?" or "are you excited?". To be honest it never really did. I got here having very little sleep on the eighteen hour flight, and I took some time to walk around the city and check it out on a Sunday. Many of the stores were closed today, and I stuck mainly to my hostel and the area around it, followed by a beautiful window I walk by on the way to my hostel room. All in all my private room for the month, with a good exchange rate cost me less than 500 US in downtown Buenos Äires which is very good I think My hostel is on the fourth floor of a very nice building. When you get to the fourth floor you have to walkup this set of stairs.

The Obelisco is a National monument in Buenos Aires. It is one of the most recognized symbols of the city, similar to the Calgary Tower. This is literally just steps from my hostel. When I walked by it later in the afternoon there was huge congregations of people just sitting by this enormous monument that is situated in a park in the middle of about 8 lanes of traffic.

Went to the grocery store. Took some pictures of the beer prices. It seems in Argentina when people drink beer they have 1 liters, what we in Canada call "forties". Argentinians are not big drinkers but their prices are so cheap. These 1 liter Stella Artois go for about 2 bucks Canadian prices (depending on which exchange rate you use which I will be covering in tomorows post).

This is just a shot of Corrientes Avenue. Walking down it I found most of the street corners to be lively however many of the stores were closed. Walking down the main drags in Buenos Aires is extremely safe. There is so many people everywhere, of all ages, and so many street vendors selling newspapers and magazines (literally sometimes 4 in a block I counted).

Besides the graffiti, which I am sure I will get to in future posts, there is lots of legitimate city installed art installations. These ones are very realistic and depict businessmen. I am not sure if they are being ironic and being anti-capitalistic by portraying corporate fat-cats, or this happens to be a businessy part of town.

Now back to the hostel for some billiards and even the comfort of a bar.

All in all it was a great first day in Buenos Aires. Can not wait for all the adventures to be had while I am down here in America de la Sur.