The Blue Planet For The Home Sweet Homers
Is the grass greener on the other side? I packed my bags and hit the road. Journal of a travelling Scuba Instructor.
Isla Grande finally holds everything we were expecting of the Caribbean’s! I still can’t believe we are here! The water is azure blue, warm, white sand, snorkelling from the beach, a lot of fishes and coral reefs, beach chairs, sunglasses all day, palm trees, etc. Heaven! Every morning we ran around the Island and finish with a swim in the Caribbean sea, as you can see, it’s simply Heaven!
Accommodation on the Isla Grande, Panama, After getting of the boat, take a right and ask for Pedro, take a room upstairs. A great terrace for yoga, with view of the ocean!
A little further on the left you can eat at the “tienda”, food store that sells vegetables, for reasonable prices.
Portobelo used to be the mid-point between Spain and Peru. The goods would come overland or by water from Lima to Portobelo.
The Spanish Galleons would sail to Spain transporting gold, silver, tobacco, chocolate, hides, etc. Afterwards they would return to the Americas with wine, oils, iron, wood items, furniture, etc. Such wealth awakened the interest of other world powers. As a counter measure, the Spanish surrounded the bay with fortifications.
Portobelo has become a peaceful city. The locals are a mixture of races from the Americas, Africa and Europe; many of them are descendents from slaves.
The national park offers extraordinary natural, land and marine abundance: virgin jungles, mangrove forests and coral reefs.
Portobelo has several nice beaches, that can only be reached by boat (8$pp go and back). This is honestly worth it! We ended up being the only ones there! Snorkelling on coral reefs, taking a nap in our hammocks, drinking Piña Colada! Azure blue water, white sand and the huge virgin forest behind us! Very impressive! We saw some toucans and other very coloured birds, average sized lizards, which were walking on their hind legs, huge ants and crabs in all shapes and forms!
Tip! Bring music, a cooler and barbecue gear!
Watch out! Portobelo has no ATM.
Accommodation in Portobelo, www.hostalportobelo.com, Dorms @ 10$ pp/night, kitchen, shared bathroom, satellite TV!!, Monkey called cheeky!
Ferry Panama Columbia or ferry Columbia Panama, The Canadian owner will soon organise boat trips between Columbia and Panama, Portobelo. It will be a 2 days trip, one night on the Isla San Blas (snorkelling etc.). It will cost around 200$, which is what our plane ticket cost us.
Touch and go in Cali. We spend a night in the Pelican Larry Hostal, www.pelicanlarrycali.com, for a 6 people dorm, he charges 9$ pp/night, kitchen, internet, WIFI.
Watch out! If you book a flight to Panama, you’ll need to buy a ticket out of Panama too. Do it at a bus office. Otherwise, like us, you’ll need to buy a plane ticket out off Panama before boarding your plane to Panama. The up side is that we won’t be taking busses for a few days! yaHOooOO!!
Touch and go in Quito. We arrived at 8 AM and left at 4 PM. We rented a room in the Blue House Hostel for a few hours. For a 6 people dorm, they charge you 9$ pp/night, kitchen, breakfast included, internet, WIFI. www.bluehousehostel.com
Puerto Lopez is a charming fishermen town. The bay is packed with blue fishing boats.
In the morning, we went for a run on the beach and came back with dinner. We bought a barracuda for one dollar! Afterwards we realised that they were selling lobsters, soles and many other fishes on the other side of the beach! The barracuda was delicious!
Puerto Lopez is the ideal start for a visit to “Parque National Machalilla”, Ecuadors only coastal national park.
In the water, we have observed blue tang surgeon fishes, green jacks, spotted surgeon fishes, yellow long nose butterfly fishes, king angel fishes, pacific spotted scorpion fish, striped fin ronquils, trigger fishes, Jordan snappers and earth-eating cichlids.
Unfortunately we didn’t see any horn sharks, which as you can see on the pictures looks like a particular animal.
The waters are supposed to hold sword fishes, barracudas, torpedo rays, soles, tuna, cods, lobsters and several sharks, since we see the fisherman come back with them every day.
Accommodation in Puerto Lopez, Sol Inn, Pool table, great bamboo huts, nice kitchen outside, great atmosphere. 5$ pp.
Source, Underwater pictures: http://www.oceanlight.com/ Philip Colla photography.
Guayaquil is Ecuador’s biggest city. Like every city it’s hot, noisy and chaotic. The city has transformed the waterfront of Rio Guayas, once crime’s rendezvous, into a 2,5km outdoor showpiece. We had a short walk along the river, it is impressive!
Accomodation in Guayaquil, Pacifico Hostelling INT., Air conditioning + fans, cable TV, WIFI, laundry. Good hotel @ 7$ pp. Escobedo 811 entre Junin y Luis Urdaneta, Tel. 04-2568093.
Restoration in Guayaquil, Gran Chifa China, Escobedo 916 y victor, Manuel rendon, 085897369. Good Chinese place across the street, 2$ pp.
Website, www. guayaquil.gov.ec
Mancora has everything a beach resort must have. Beautiful beaches with nice “white-ish” sand, warm water, nice waves, surfers, good restaurants and good night clubs, even some night clubs on the beach! It is one of Peru’s top tourism destinations; in 2005 340,000 tourists visited Mancora. Unfortunately there was no work for us in Mancora.
Accommodation in Mancora Peru, Sol y mar. 15 soles pp, on the beach, private bathroom (salty water), good location but unfriendly staff. Ask motor taxis, it’s a small town.
Restoration in Mancora Peru, Great restaurant across the Hotel Sol y Mar, the sign is a mermaid sitting in a cup, try the penne “langustino salsa blanca”, it is amazing! 20 soles pp.
Websites with information on Mancora: http://www.vivamancora.com/solymar/ingles.htm, http://www.vivamancora.com
The Blue Planet For The Home Sweet Homers 