Puerto Lopez

When we made our plans for Ecuador, some choices were easy--birdwatching in the Amazon jungle and the Mindo highlands, the World Heritage Old Towns of Quito and Cuenca.  But a week on the coast--where to go?  Lonely Planet described Salinas in derogatory terms as another Miami Beach.  We like Miami Beach a lot--maybe Salinas would be good.  Other towns were described as  having "surfer" or "party" vibes.  Not for us!  We finally chose Puerto Lopez because of its access to Isla de la Plata.  Puerto Lopez is not a tourist or resort town at all--it's a fishing village with some places for tourists to stay.  Except for the companies that organize tours to the Isla or to the rest of Machalilla Nat'l Park, not much else is geared to tourists.  Very low-key and relaxing.  We stayed at Hosteria Mandala, the most upscale place in the village at $40 per night.  For that we got our own cabin set in a beautiful garden.  For entertainment we could relax in hammocks at the beachfront tiki huts, walk into the village and watch the fishermen unload the day's catch, or sit in the open-air restaurant and have a $1 beer and check our emails and Facebook updates (and see if anyone had commented on our blog).  A perfect beach week.

Puerto Lopez main drag--Not a busy place

Relaxing in the hammock

our cabin