the coast, mas

as i was saying in my last blog, i went to the coast. for the ecua-unsavvy, the country is generally divided into 4 geographic regions. where i live - the jungly oriente (east) - the andes-mountainy sierra that runs through the middle, the hot & humid coast, and the galapagos 600 miles off the coast. i had been to the 3 other regions - the galapagos most recently in december when my fam visited. so i was anxious to get to the coast, the only part i didnt know. i feel now that ive seen much of ecuador (even if most of it's been looking out from a bus). of course, going to the beach was a good enuf motivation in itself.

so we hung out at andrea's house for a couple days, going for a hike in the forest reserve se works with, and visiting her neighbors. her community is afro-ecuadorian and small (~200 ppl), and like most small communities , visiting neighbors is about the only thing they do as a pasttime (besides futbol). the afro part comes from centuries ago when spanish settlers brought with them slaves to do grunt work like mine gold that was supposed to be in the region. the slaves escaped and were liberated , and now manyoftheir ancestors live on the coast, especially in and around the northwest province of esmeraldas (which i hope to visit someday). taking a bus south to jama, we could see huge football field-sized shrimp ponds that dwarf the tilapia ponds at my project (~300 m2). once in jama, we bought 2 bottles of ' rom pom pom', that is, directly quoting andrea, "the best spanglish rum-flavored alcohol with essence of coco in the world". we proceded to kill one bottle on the bus ride to canoa, between 5 people (andrea's ecua boyfriend from nearby came, too). it's actually really good, especially for just $1.25 a bottle. too bad they don't sell it in tena.

arriving in canoa, there were far fewer people than i expected. hey, more beach for us. had we gone the following week im sure thered be more people for spring break. it looked like your typical small beach town, except for maybe more loose dogs and smaller shops. we found a $5pp hostal a block from the beach, bought a jaba (12 pack of pilsener beers), and finished that and the other bottle of rom pom pom. ah, the beach life. with nice buzzes, we went down to the water, which was theperfect temperature. the sand was perfectly textured. the waves were even the perfect height, about 5-6 ft. there were surfers, but not many. after an hour of frolicking, we went tothe bar for happy hour & watched a beautiful sunset. the bar seemed to be the place for gringos, being maybe 1 ecuadorian for every 10 gringos. after a few drinks there we got another jaba and went back to the hostal. we killed those beers, and i subsequently puked. most of the night is pretty hazy. ah, the beach life.

if there's anything better than drinking in canoa, and the beach in canoa, it's the food in canoa. there's several small restaurants serving mariscos like ceviche, calamari, fish, and crab, of course with the abundant verde (platano) chips. and street vendors sell empanadas, fresh fruit juices, and one of my favorites, corviche - an empanada made with verde and filled with fish. 4 could fill me, and they only cost 25 cents. that's another thing about canoa - the food is cheaper. i dont really know why, but tena is just more expensive. with all this goin on, it kinda makes me wish i was living out on the coast. but then i realize it probably wouldnt be as cool if i actually lived there. i might think tena is a great site if i lived in canoa. nonetheless, i must return to canoa before i leave.