Adventurous Ecuador - Olon, Equador August 2018

Luke blogging...

Our life in Olon continues to be full of activities and new adventures.  The boys have discovered the beach and the many possible things to do there.  Vander runs into the surf as soon as we arrive.

  Archie having a little less insulation plays in the sand and warms up in the sun before entering the water.  Arch has made much progress already though,  he will laugh and play in the waves now when before getting his feet wet was an ordeal.

Saturday nights seem to be the night to really party hard here.  They had music pumping until 3 am.  We are thinking of joining the fun this Saturday night after the boys go to bed.  Despite the raucous Saturdays Olon is normally  a sleepy beach town.  Full of great people and tourists alike.  One thing we've found in Equador is that you do not get taken advantage of as a tourist as often as in other countries. Cab drivers are honest, the same fare applies to everyone. The fare to get anywhere local is 1.50$.
There are busses that fly up and down the coastal highway.  The costs is 2.25$ and they will pretty much pick you up anywhere if you have your hand up as they are passing.  Jackie and I took the green bus to Puerto Lopez to go diving Monday.  Jackie's mom (Meme) was watching the kids so we had a day to ourselves. Fondo Azul http://www.fondoazul.com.ec was our dive company and they were great.  We saw dolphins, sea lions, and blue footed booby's on our way out to the dive site.

Visibility wasn't great and it was our coldest dive to date but it was great to be in the water and doing it again.  Fish, stingrays, octopus, lobsters, and sea turtles are abundant.  Alas we didn't see any manta rays that are the big attraction diving in these parts.  One cool thing was hearing humpback whales sing while diving.  Two days later we returned on the green bus to puerto Lopez and did a whale watching tour.

25$ gets you an afternoon on the boat and you are guaranteed to see whales or your money back.  We did see two adult humpbacks.  The size and majesty of these animals is incredible.  Very worth the tour and risk of sea sicknesses.

I've rented a surf board for the week here in Olon.  It has a great beginner beach break that is empty during the week and only slightly crowded during week ends.  I've managed to ride a few waves but mainly it's me floundering in the surf.  Either way a great way to burn some calories.

Speaking of calories who knew Equador was full of fantastic bakeries.  There seems to be one on every corner pumping out fresh pastries and empanadas.  They are all delicious and a very affordable snack.  Meme has made the local bakery rich in only the few days she has been here.

Every town has a fish market early in the morning.  This week we took advantage of the market and bought fresh fish for 5$/kg.  We made fish tacos with homemade poco de gallo and fresh local tortillas.  It was delicious.

 Normally we eat out since it is so cheap so tonight we are heading to Montanita to try a "fancy" Italian joint recommended by our Air bnb host.   Until next time.  Buenos noches