A Day In The Life… In (and around) Ayampe!

We have been in Ayampe over a month now. Life has settled into a regular rhythm for us here. It’s a pretty chill little place. We have a great little house, plenty of food around (with lots of fresh mango, passionfruit, papaya, and bananas), and it generally only ever rains at night.

The days are pretty idyllic.

This is what an average day in and around Ayampe looks like…

A least some combination of some or all of these things:

The day usually (okay, always) starts with a walk down to the beach to check the surf. I always have to walk by a couple dozen dogs along the way. Some of them are a bit chunky and well fed, and others have some funny hair issues. All the dogs in Ayampe are super fun, playful, and run around on the beach in groups chasing and playing with each other in the surf. I still haven’t found a single unfriendly dog here. They are always good for a scratch and a snuggle or a game of fetch on the beach.

Some days the surf is mellow and fun…

And some days it gets pretty heavy out there (as this guy would agree).

Then it is time for coffee at home.

After I am suitably charged up, and I have rolled Tam out of bed, fed her, and convinced her that we need to get out, we may go for a walk down to the lagoon so she can play out her dream of being one of those weird “birders”.

Birdwatchers are really weird people. I like to pretend that I am bored, but sometimes I enjoy looking at the birds.

Pelicans are definitely my favorite: so ungainly and ridiculous looking, but the most graceful fliers out there. Every session I surf here in Ayampe I have the pleasure of watching small groups of pelicans gracefully gliding millimeters above the water, riding updrafts on the face of the wave and pulling up just in time to fly over my head.

They are definitely more graceful in flight than I am at surfing.

A little ways North up the coast is Machalilla National Park. It is really remote, and basically uncrowded once you get away from the main beach. There are a few miles of hiking trails along the shore, but nobody seems to go out there. It is a nice excursion to explore the rugged coastline, the scrub desert, and some beautiful little islets and hidden beaches.

We usually find some silly, vaguely heart-shaped rocks and act like nerds. At least nobody is out here to see us!

And there are turtles out here. At least maybe the night before we go…

Around here, in the dry, desert-like Western part of ecuador, are Ceiba trees (Silk Cotton trees). They are related to Baobab trees, and store water in their fat trunks in a similar fashion. The trees drop all their leaves in the dry season, and the trunks become green, infused with chlorophyll to allow them to maintain photosynthesis without their leaves. Most are completely bare this time of year, but some are recovering leaves as the rainy season returns. They are just the most interesting trees, hollow in places, gnarled, and kind of spooky looking.

Tam said they look just like the Whomping Willows from the Harry Potter movies, but she is kind of a nerd.

After a long morning of hiking, we would need to find some lunch, so the next thing to do would be to head into the town of Machalilla.

We usually try to find some weird little place to eat, somewhere like the Mundo Marisco, unless it happens to be closed.

You gotta feel a little bad for the crab… someone took both of his claws.

So, instead, we would eat lunch at some little place on the Malecón overlooking the fishing fleet and the beach.

After lunch we might even do a little bicycle shopping.

So, then it’s time to get back to Ayampe and check the surf again…

And if it looks good, we go!

No pictures, obviously, I was out surfing…

After surfing for two to three hours we would likely jump in the jacuzzi for a quick soak, then shower and head out to dinner.

This restaurant is directly across the street from our place, and we walk by it every day. We still haven’t eaten there. I am not sure why, other than the dog is always out there, and he looks a bit shifty.

Instead, we may end up here. We eat here quite often. You can get a big plate of a whole grilled fish, patacones (fried plantains), a bowl of really yummy lentils, and a salad (and a fresh passionfruit and mango smoothie) for six bucks.

The proprietor is a really nice guy, and will light a bucket of Palo Santo wood to ward off the mosquitos (as you can see here, Tam is not in any danger of being attacked by mosquitos).

Almost every night is concluded with a walk down the beach to watch the sunset. Sometimes we get to watch the fishermen unload, empty, and reorganize all of their nets.

So peaceful here as we wander aimlessly into the gloaming.

Every once in a while you get the perfect moment: a beautiful girl centered under a full rainbow on the sunset-painted sand of a quiet beach.

A day in the life in Ayampe.