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Ecuador: Holiday Weekend at the Beach: "
Editor’s Note: Viator traveler Anne posted Holiday Weekend at the beach in Canoa, Ecuador on Viator.com’s Ecuador Travel Recommendations page. We really enjoyed her post and asked her to expand the piece for the blog .
Early November in Ecuador means a holiday weekend! This year All Souls Day and Cuenca’s Independence fell on a Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, so the government decided to go ahead and give the country that Monday off as well. Eager to take advantage of the time off of work and get out of Quito to explore, some girlfriends and I started brainstorming ideas and quickly came to the decision to spend some time at the beach.
Picking up Trash at Canoa
We settled on Canoa in the province of Manabí, and started making phone calls to locate hotels with availability. It is common in Ecuador, especially on holiday weekends, for hotels/hostels to require a deposit. To reserve the room we had to deposit half the price into the hotel’s account at a local bank. It is easy to do as long as you have the account name and number, and hold on to the receipt.
Getting There
Heading to Canoa from Quito, we heeded the advice of an ex-pat who has lived here for years, and took the northern route through Mitad del Mundo and Mindo towards Santo Domingo. Apparently this route is safer because fewer cargo trucks are allowed on it, and the mountain roads are slightly better. We expected the trip to take four or five hours, but in the end, it was a little over six. The drive itself is a great way to see the varying terrain in Ecuador—high Andes, cloud forests, the coastal basin, etc, and so I highly recommend making the drive if you have the chance. Road maps are not the most reliable in Ecuador, so those weary of (essentially) maples adventure may want to hire a driver or join a tour, which can be done relatively inexpensively from Quito.
We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Bambu a little bit after dark. One can find a reasonably priced, clean hotel on the beach in Canoa. After the long drive we happily parked ourselves at the hotel restaurant, feet in the sand and ordered some Pilsners (no the beer selection isn’t great in Ecuador, but a cold beverage in hand after a long day was welcome). Among other topics of conversation during the car ride, was discussion of encocado, a shrimp dish typical to the coast. I was excited to see it on the menu and thrilled to give it a try– it was delicious in all its coconut glory. The food in Canoa was excellent, and we spent a fair amount of time sampling the different restaurants and cafes in town.
Encocado - Yum!
Exploring Canoa
For rent on Canoa
Waking up our first morning, we were all pleasantly surprised by the cliffs to the north of town. After breakfast with a view, we decided to go for a walk up the beach. Our hotel offers free cocktails for trash pick-up, so before leaving we picked up some bags. Much to our amusement and satisfaction, several groups along the way joined in on our trash pick-up. At the far end of the beach (to the north), there are tide pools to explore.
Between lounging in a hammock reading and the activities available, there is a lot to do in Canoa. Foot volleyball nets are set up along the beaches; there are several surf schools in town, and rental stores; cave kayaking; and, at low-tide crowds gather on the beach to watch a motorized para-glider take people for rides along the coast. We also spent on day touring some towns south of Canoa, San Vicente and Bahia.
A few pointers: Beach season in Canoa is December through July (we missed it by just a few weeks!) The weather was still relatively warm, and the ocean temperature is swimable. We also learned that the typically quiet beach town does become louder and busier during national holidays.
- Anne D
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