Ecuador beaches manabi Crucita beach life with a few friends

Ecuador beaches Manabi Crucita

Crucita is a beach just outside of Portoviejo and Manta, where just about the whole world and his wife floods to on a weekend, a long stretch of beach which has many restaurants and bars next to it, with a selection of water sports and para gliding.

You can either go there on a weekday when it is quiet and just chill out, catch some rays and have a canny swim, or on the weekend, meet up with friends like I did and have a few beers and a good old laugh! 

On Sundays you can watch the grafters of Crucita haul in the fish and get them cleaned up ready to sell. 

A few photos of the lads I met last year. We had a little reunion not long back, totally smashed it on the drink as you can tell, but it was a good day like always. It reminds me of my friends back home, always up for a laugh and good company to be around, but there is always that one guy who gets hammered too quick.

                                                                  

             

  

  















     

Quito North Zoo Ecuador

The zoo in Quito's north! 

It took a while to get there, driving from the south of Quito. After driving round in circles getting lost for a good 2 hours, we finally got there! 

The weather being hot all day, I was glad to get a helado (ice cream). The park had some exotic animals which I had never seen before, as well as your normal lions and tigers, but the animals were in great condition, fit and healthy,full of life!! Nonetheless, it was a fantastic day out, with plenty of photo opportunities and views that were out of this world, well worth the trip. I met a few Americans, Italians, and Germans who were snapping away like you! Plenty of snack bars around the complex, but we stopped off at the next town on the way back, had a bite to eat and a long-deserved beer, then off we went on the dreaded journey back to the south of Quito.

 

  

  

      

  

Quito sur market Ecuador

Saturday morning, at about 6 am, I went with my friend Carlos to the market! The food we bought from here today would last a family well over a month, but you have got to haggle on some items. I swear everything you could possibly want was right here; fresh fish,honey, platano, and exotic fruits. I have never heard of people offering you the fruit to taste before you decide to buy! I could walk around here all day. We filled up the car with fruit, fish, rice, and other vegetables and it was at a very reasonable price. For the money that was spent, you would be lucky to get half of this in the UK! which I still find hard to come to terms with. Here are some photos of the market to give you an idea of what is on offer!

Equator known as Mitad del Mundo Ecuador

The equator is quite an astonishing place to be  also known as Mitad del Mundo, just outside of the capital of Ecuador, known as Quito, a very large city indeed! 

Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 272,046 km2 (109,483 sq mi) in the middle of the world. 

The climate at Mitad del Mundo and Pululahua is mainly hot and dry, even if it is raining in nearby Quito. Make sure to take a hat and apply sunscreen. The complex sells various drinks, snacks, and meals,but Pululahua Crater has virtually no facilities, so if you're feeling parched, make sure to buy water from the complex prior to visiting the crater. 

The place is a tourist hot spot and many Americans take their tour here. Some guides speak English, and you can ask for one on arrival, but mainly native Spanish is spoken here. 

Plenty of photos to be taken as the views are just breathtaking. There are also various museums inside the complex concentrating on inca gold artwork, pottery etc  and a model of the mountains with the equator line going through the middle!

Ecuadorian dancing of the coast!

Ecuador's dancing of the coast is always nice to see and get involved in the culture.

Ecuador driving down the andes and los frailes beach

blog ecuador photos

Driving from Quito to Manabi through the Andes Mountains!

Some lovely views, although some of the roads are dangerous on the way down ,but the scenery compensates for it.

The journey to Los Frailles private beach, where the trees overlook the road and are a great spot for a quick photo.

Los Frailles is a private beach, government owned and hidden away in the heart of Manabi, with clear waters and very quiet some days. You can have the beach all to yourself. Pure paradise!

ecuador life expats first journey

Ecuador life expats first journey
Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog on ecuador south america for all you travellers and curious people! My first time in Ecuador
My story begins in september 2009, i was living in newcastle uk which is where i am from, working for a wine company, working crazy hours providing wine tasting to new and old customers, although i enjoyed meeting new people and the wine was great, i woke up one day and thought that is it ive had enough im gonna quit this job, take off and go!
bit of a mad decision to make but all has worked out well for me now!
Anyway once i quit my job i thought where should i go?not the land of oz because you find everyone ends up going there, i dont follow the sheep like to be different
Thailand? usa? southamerica? where?
i had spoken to a few people from all of these countries which i met on a popular social networking site, so my mind was all over the place, til a friend from south america known as marlon barcia basically pitched his story on why i should go there!
some reasons are
1 It is cheap brittish pound to the dollar is great!
2 Weather is hot all year round a little rain but beats England
3 Beautifull scenery beaches mountains galapogos islands and ofcourse not to mention the amazon rainforest!
So that was it straight on the internet found flights Newcastle-Amsterdam-Amsterdam to Guayaquil in Ecuador with a couple of stops one being panama!
when entering Ecuador you get quizzed on why you are here etc security being pretty tight!
you are initially allowed in the country for 3 months as a tourist  which is what i opted in for by filling out a simple form while on the plane, no bother at all! other visas vary if you research it!
Got to Guyaquil about 730 am after a long flight was shattered, i met mr barcia  who picked me up from the airport and drove me to his home down 3 hours away called Portoviejo which is in the Manabi district!

I have to admit when i got here, i thought to myself ¨Simon¨you are bloody mental coming here, not knowing anyone accept this man,
The first 10 minutes of driving was a bit of a culture shock, seeing poor neighbourhoods which i had only viewed before from watching the tv! keep an open mind i was told and that i did!

We got to Portoviejo quite a big place seems the size of Newcastle if not bigger, allot of people looking at me most probably because of me being white and all,but it didn´t phase me maybe they were just curious?

I got to a hotel that Marlon had sorted out for me, wasn´t 5 star but anything would do me as i needed a kip! i thanked him for doing all of that for me, and arranged to meet him the next day! the following day i was offered an appartment to rent was 100 dollars per month cant grumble from that like i tell ya, and in all honesty life became real for me then.
So went to the shops to fill up the cupboards etc straight away beer caught my eye  60p a bottle of beer and 1pound 20 for 20 cigarettes. ha ha what a belter! total score!!!!
there is so much to write on this blog the stories,prices conversations etc i could go on for ages.
I will add  photos and videos  for the duration i was there the first time round and go into much detail

Once my 3 months were up and had to fly back to the uk, i can honestly say i was crying, Why?
because i had fallen in love with the country made some great friends,including students at a university which i sat in on classes and helped people, and as for  the lifestyle it just knocked me for 6 relaxing beach life not a care in the world fresh fruit and fish on tap, a shop for everything not to mention the food and healthy living i encountered, i felt fresh strong and a new man!

Back home in january 2010 all doom and gloom back to the grind stone hating the thought that i was living it up in the sun just last week, but keeping my memories stored in my head from Ecuador kept me going, as i knew i would return, which is exactly what happened  i was back here in a flash October 2010 and i am now living here full time, bit of a whirl wind, but no regrets, i do miss my family and friends back home,it´s very hard at times, but this is my life here now best decision i have made!
I hope you enjoyed reading a little insider to my journey here, hopefully the longer i am here the more information i can give you, no doubt a few mistakes i make or general tips on living here, who knows?
feel free to comment if you have been here before or are just interested in what i get up to next
cheers guys speak soon
si kendrick