Montañita is a very popular surf/bar town and I passed right through. No gracias. I am in Puerto Lopez, a small fishing village just north of Montañita. Eduardo drove me here for $4. He's taking me to Agua Blanca tomorrow. Hotel Mandala is the nicest place in town but they could clean common areas a little better. There are 5 Great Danes- as in dogs, not nice Danish people. My room is fine for $36. Service sucks. Manuel, Manuel!!! Una màs!
Paid $40 for a day trip to Isla PLata. Left at 9 back at 5. Boat trip 26 miles offshore. Swells  to 15 feet. Beautiful!. 16 of us on the boat. We had the largest, most comfie boat. 4 elder Mormons from Salt Lake. Mucho fun people. Nazca boobies, bloobies dancing, frigates by the thousands. and 2 red footed boobies. I don't think I ever expected to see RFB's. It was rough hiking with the guide up to 700 feet and 3 hours in the ocean air. Worth every minute. It's the poor-man's Galapagos. Sir Franny Drake left his silver balls here in 1590-? or so. Elizabeth I was not amused.
 I have no idea where I am going next. San Lorenzo maybe. 40 miles north. Keith and Marilyn went to Latacunga in the Sierra and it was raining-flooding-like hell so I am going to stay on the coast a few more weeks. They were telling me about the Hummingbird Pyramids discovered last November in Manà, Ecuador. 1,000 + years old. Very unique. Google them, but keep in mind there are space cadets everywhere.  These pyramids were carved out of a mountain. I think they are aligned with Mount Shasta in California. Hey guys, if were gonna build this thing let's line it up with something 2,000 miles away. Joe, take this string and run. Oh, never mind, here comes that space ship again. You'll see what I mean if you watch the YOUTUBE video. http://www.human-resonance.org/hummingbird_pyramid.html

The garbage truck in Salinas had writing on it and said something like " Cholos, picking up your trash to keep your city clean. Google didn't have a translation for cholo. I asked Marilyn yesterday. It is a derogatory word that means scumbag, lowlife, hillbilly. People don't get upset so easily as they do in USA. They aren't thenthitive. Even the cholo smiles a lot. I LOVE these people and I haven't ever seen the REAL Ecuadorians in the Sierra.
Anywho, what a fascinating day. Buenas noches!

I will stay in Ayampe until Monday, then off to Mandala Hosteria in Puerto Lopez. Made reservation today- well I told them I will be there and they are holding the Colibri suite for me. This is a fascinating community. They police themselves even though there is a small poplice station. I dont have a key to my room- you dont have to lock anything.
 I hired Rene to take me birdwatching this morning. He arrived at 6.30 am. I am up to 86 new species. The  Choco toucan lives only in this región. Got it, along with another toucan and 25 other small birds which I would have never found without Rene. Fantástico¡
  Had dinner at Xanadu. An 65 year old hippie who has a beautiful home-restaurant-bar. Jerry and I chatted for a couple hours. He makes a hibiscus drink which goes great with vodka¡ Incedibly delicious. At another beach front restaurant-hostel, a little 7 year old girl named Violeta always greats me with a thumbs-up. She has so much personality and makes a blender juice drink with loads of sugar and asks if I want some. I decline politely.
I am learning about the people of Ecuador.  Along the coast they are very courteous. They complain about nothing. They accept what life provides for them. They dont wake up bitching about another day. They are truely content. I cant explain it well enough. Que será, será.  Tranquilo.
My jokes go over well in spanish as well. It feels good to make someone laugh, in Spanish. Each afternoon the cat and  I take a nap after chasing birds all morning. Me in ahammock, he on my binoculars.
Email me if you cant see my Flickr page. I put photos there.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/84231798@N07/

Salinas has been a fantastic city. With the exception of the asshole Americans I have met the people are very accomodating. Big fight at the bar Smokin. Brian from Minnesota will drive me to Ayampe tomorrow to La Buena Vida hotel/hostal.
I eat seafood everyday. Mora, a delicious drink made from blackberries which is served everywhere and very popular in Ecuador, is good with vodka¡ Imagine that¡ (spanish keyboard).
Today I had the pleasure to go birdwatching with the director of the Museo de Ballenas (whale museum) Ben Hasse. He has written several books on sea birds and is well known in Ecuador. Enzo, a student at the marine lab, went with us. The end of the península is called Chocolateria and is part of the Naval Base. They let Ben right through. Waved albatross, sooty shearwater, spotted dolphins, south american sealions. And there are boobies everywhere. On the beach, in the water, in the sky. Bloobies ( blue-footed-boobies) by the hundreds. The Albatross was amazing. Then we went to Ecuasal which are pools of water which produce salt by the tons. Again, they let Ben through the gate. Wilson's phalaropes by the thousands. Chilean flamingos where my target and there were about 100. I have never seen Baird's sandpiper which nest up by Barrow Alaska, but I saw one here. I am at 46 new species.  I am very happy with how things are going. My hotel room has an 18 foot ceiling and old colonial doors to two balconies.
I dont know what Ayampe will be like. Remote, for sure. They say there is WIFI. Off for a walk on the beach. Hasta luego.

Playas, Ecuador

I arrived in Playas on yesterday and will be moving on to Salinas tomorrow. Eric has driven me everywhere and he will take me to Salinas also. This hostal has been wonderful. Ocean breeze at night and I need no AC. Very quiet here, which is why  I am moving a little  sooner than planned. I have seen all the birds this área offers . There are Peruvian pelicans about 25% larger than our little brown ones. Little brown ones, I sound like George Bush. 

  Eric took me on a tour of Posorja. I wanted to stroll the streets but he advised I not do that. It is a fishing village (shrimp) and  very poor. The frigate birds swoop down for morsels. Fascinating. People stared at me in the car.

 I met a doctor while walking the beach this morning. He asked about my hernia! He was very kind and friendly, as are all the folks I have met. The sky has been mostly cloudy but that is OK as it keeps the temp down. I could see the Andes far to the east this morning. Damn, Im going up there. 

This keyboard is set on spanish so I cant type english well. I write mostly in spanish lately.

I love this country. Ill write again in a few days. I think Ill have shrimp tonight. Adios.

I am dealing with a little Atahualpa's revenge. It's pouring rain right now (Thursday 7am) and I can't get to the pharmacia for pepto bismal. I would have thought the rum would kill what e.coli was in the ice. I am learning fast.
I hired a bird guide yesterday and we went to Cerro Blanco preserve just outside the city. Every location has a guard at the entrance. Car dealers, preserves, schools,  stores- everything. I will not go birding by myself. Eduardo cost $15 for 4 hours. I gave him $20. The taxi for a 40 mile round trip was also $15. A flat screen TV cost $2,000. Anywho, Eduardo did not carry binoculars so I just considered him a companion as I was able to identify birds faster than he could. I am a really fucking good birder. Crossing a small wood bridge my fat ass broke through one of the boards. I offered to pay to repair it but when I paid the entrance fee afterward they gave me $6 back on a ten. I have learned to walk on the nails of a wood bridge, not the middle of the board. Saw Laughing falcon, which I have seen in Costa Rica, and 12 other species. It is very difficult to see birds in the Bosque. You hear them but you don't see them. A HUGE tarantula crossed my path right at my feet. Saw one snake. Eduardo is 5 feet tall and slipped under the spider webs. I took them in the face. Big spiders. Argiope types. Fuck.
Rain letting up but I may send out for my pepto pills. Jhony is making me some toast.
 Had my first coffee yesterday and the cafe gave me instant coffee! Jhony makes real coffee. Strong and black, like my men.
 There are more copy shops around the University here than anywhere on Earth.  Shops lined up next to each other. How do you choose one with so many? I will try to get a picture. Printers must cost a lot.
Going to Playas tomorrow morning. May be off line for a few days. No worries. Adios.

It is 2pm and I have had quite a day. Began at 5:30 am with a walk along the malecon by the university. People were gathered along the bridge and along the canal bank staring in the water. I thought, oh a dolphin or something! Raised my binocs and saw a corpse floating face up!  A policia looked at me and I grunted and walked on to find birds (11 more today). Antonio says in 50 years he has never seen a body in the canal so I guess it was my lucky day!
I was told I could walk along 9 de Octubre (street) down the the river and it would take 40 minutes. I went the wrong direction for 3 miles. I turned around and walked to where I was supposed to go and ended up downtown. Had lunch at Hotel Oro Verde. Strolled along the river Guayas and tried my bank card in a ATM. It works fine. Beautiful downtown. Only saw one homeless person and 3 hippies in the park. The people are very clean here. Trash is prevalent but so are city workers picking it up. Traffic police ( vigilantes) are everywhere and help you cross the street. Everyone toots the horn and drives like a madman. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. Stupid people are thinned out of the population this way. I love it! The people all wear some type of cologne or perfume. It is hot here but they don't sweat like I do. Everywhere you look a young couple sits and kisses and cuddles. They kiss with such passion and are so sensual. Machismo at work. The girls love it.
 I hired a bird guide for tomorrow and we are taking a bus to Cerro Blanco preserve. The guide and bus should cost about $20. Friday I am moving to the coast and to Jardin de Playas.
http://www.eljardindeplayas.com.ec
They will pick me up here and drive me to Playas for $25. I saw gas is $1.67 a gallon today. I don't want to take buses yet for long journeys. The room will be $30 and included breakfast.  I'll be there for a few days...I think. Antonio's cousin owns it and he called and set my reservation. They are treating me very well. Buenas tardes.

Arrived at Miami at 1:30 am. No one there until 2:30. Breezed right through! It was dark but I could see the city lights  as we passed over the middle of Cuba.  My friends Kathy Kelley and Steve Lamb were down there in Havana, sleeping I assume. As the sun rose we were over the Caribbean. Then I could see Cartegena and we started to descend into Bogota. Beautiful Andes and a snow-capped volcano. Had to walk the tarmac to my next gate. Ran out of breath with my heavy bags at 8,400 FT. Cool at 56 degrees also. Bogota is a huge city in a Central Valley.  Boarded the plane for Guayaquil and it was cloudy most the way. Rain when I landed.
 Customs had several questions as to why I was staying 84 days . The he said 'welcome to Ecuador' and I smiled and moved on. Jhony Martinez met me at the exit and put me in a taxi. Yes, his name is Jhony. Handsome. My spanish is getting better but I am so tired that I can't think.  Strolled the Malecon along the river and birded a bit. Hard to distinguish birds in cloudy weather.  Saw 5 new species that I COULD identify. (564). The University is right next to me and  I feel safe among students. Security is everywhere.
They have dollar coins here that are different then in USA. People don't like to break a $20 so I carry coinage. Had a steak (bistek) dinner and sangria for $8. A small girl cam to my table and held out candy. I just said 'no gracias' and now I feel bad. Maybe I will see her again and give her a coin. $1 is a lot of money here.  Can't give it away all the time and I know they select me. Hell, I'm the tallest person I have seen all day!
This room is a little less than expected. I am here until Friday.  I have to make arrangements tomorrow.  Buenas noches.