Monday 7 July 2014

Montañita, sun, sea and party

So in my last post I mentioned that Montanita was a middle class, hippy version of Magaluf, and it's true, there is no other way to describe it. During my time in Ecuador I have immersed myself in local culture, living with an Ecuadorean family, working exclusively with Ecuadoreans and going to places off the traveller trail. Montanita is somewhat different but an equally amazing place. It is renowned by Ecuadoreans for being a place of debauchery, known for its all night beach parties, streets of nightclubs and bars, cheap hostels and all day sunbathing/hangover curing. I'm not sure why the Ecuadoreans frown upon this so much, to me it sounded IDEAL.

In Ecuador Montanita does have a reputation for being dangerous, and they are a very wary people, however I think us Europeans are made of something slightly more daring, weighing up any potential dangers against potential levels of fun and experience. In the end it all went smoothly and neither I, or anyone I met had encountered any problems. My personal view is don't make too many problems for yourself and you find have any problems. 

This post is coming in as rather a muddle as during my trip down the Route of the Sun I went to Montanita but without partying. I then ventured a second time for the party scene later on, after a trip to the Galapagos Islands which I will write about later.

My second time in Montanita I was lucky enough to be accompanied by my beautiful friend Rosie. Getting there was even easier that I thought. There are no trains in Ecuador but there are buses to every possible location. We flew in to Guayaquil (Ecuador's second city) from Galapagos, and caught a taxi over to the coach station, which is the unmissable next door building from the airport. You then simply browse the kiosks selling coach tickets until you see a sign for your desired location (although there are loads of friendly people there willing to point out where that might be), buy a ticket, head to your departure gate and jump on the bus! 3 hours later you arrive in Montanita!

I'd booked beds in a Hostel beforehand using Hostelworld, they are a great site, it is quite easy to get beds when you arrive but i'm always worried about that kind of thing so I used hostelworld and found cheap beds ($8, literally the price of a large Starbucks in the UK) but with good reviews. From the website description I knew that the beds were in a room of 10, well an open air terrace with a roof and mosquito nets. Sounded like the back to basics I needed! When we arrived (after a helpful local pointed us in the right direction, luckily Montanita is very small and easy to navigate) it was just that. 10 low beds, mosquito nets, found by navigating a steep, creaky, wooden staircase through the hostel and covered by a banana leaf roof. I was in tropical paradise, Rosie on the other hand is much fonder of her home comforts and the idea of shared bathrooms and the basic set up didn't sit well with her. She did eventually come round though!




Downstairs in the hostel was a small kitchen area for guests to use, with a large covered terrace out the back with stools, cushioned benches and hammock chairs. The owner said we could smoke in any communal areas but this outside space was the only one where we could 'smoke anything else' (not that i'm in to that kind of thing!) We arrived about 7.30 in the evening and the hostel was pretty quiet but by 8 o'clock all the terrace was full as all the guests wandered down from the rooms after their pre going out naps! The thing I love about this sort of place is that you're not necessarily meeting locals, but there were people from all over the world there. America, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Turkey and so on and so on. The great thing about the travelling crowd is that they are all so friendly and are looking for a good time with any new people they encounter, your'e always guaranteed a good time when you'e on the traveller trail!


On our first night we heard about a street party so Rosie and I left the hostel to go and check it out, with another English guy. Boy did we make a good decision! It happened to be the yearly 'Festiva de Montanita', kind of carnival. The square, outside the church and slightly away from the main club strips were jam packed with locals. There was music and a giant pyre covered in coloured papers and wheels. I'm gutted I didn't take my phone to take photos! As festivities kicked off we got a cold beer from a corner shop and watched as fireworks were set off in the street and catherine wheels splayed sparks from the pyre! The best part was men with big paper-mache cow costumes on their backs ran in and out of the crowds and fireworks sprayed jets of sparks from them! It was a hilarious, terrifying spectacle and it was so funny watching groups of kids run towards the sparks, testing their daring. Following the street party we headed to a bar for a couple of cocktails and then met up with some others from our hostel in a nightclub, where we danced until the early hours.

The days in Montanita are mainly spent lying on deck chairs under parasols on the beach, nursing hangovers with a fresh coconuts and pizza slices. One great thing about the beach here is there there are scores of vendors wandering up and down the beach. You literally do not need to move from your deck chair (unless you need a wee). Beer? Food? Cigarettes? Hash brownies? Not a problem (Rosie made the brownie mistake, unawares and craving a normal browny she ended up in a mildly awkward situation after sprinting up the beach trying to buy one).



The second night took a chilled out start and Rosie and I went out for some early evening banancoladas. There were amazing and $5 (about £3) for 2. There is one street in particular known as 'Cocktail Alley', where there are tens of street vendors offering cocktails, blasting out all different kinds of music and offering plastic garden furniture to complete the lost boho feel. Following this we headed back to the hostel to play drinking games with the rest of the guests. We did a massive beer pong match, I feel like our american friends had one up on us and the rest of the Europeans looked as baffled as I did, i've only ever seen this on TV, but with a bit of beginners luck I made it to final! Playing with our host, a party boy Chilean, and Rosie played with a dashing Danish guy.



We carried on the night in good spirits dancing to a band and dance music in a nightclub by the beach with a sand dance floor, and we finished it chatting on the beach with new friends, and some beers and burritos bought from one of the many food vendors that line the streets at night.

Our last day in Montanita was spent lounging on the beach again nursing hangovers before taking our evening coach back to Guayaquil then back to Quito.

For me if your'e in Ecuador, Montanita is a must do. It may not be the most cultural, original experience on earth, but sure as hell you'll remember it. You'll get drunk, get a tan, eat all day and night, make new friends and not care about the outside world for the whole time your'e there.

If you're interesting we stayed in Iguana Backpackers. Basic, but a great price and a great time. Night security and lockers provided (you will need to take a padlock but that's a travelling must anyway).

Thanks to Rosie for some of these Photos!






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