With the organisation Ecotrackers I spent two weeks in the Esmeraldas region (north coast) of ecuador. I was able to stay in two communities, Bunche and La Tolita. I also spent time in Muisne, Esmeraldas, La Tola, Bourbon and Las Peñas. The following includes a story of my travels and some practical information for transport etc.

Primarily I spent one night (27/2/04) in Muisne and a day at the lovely beach there. There is some good hostels there on the beach for -5 per night, also a small spanish school.

The next day (28/2/04) I headed to Bunche where I stayed for 6 days. I stayed with Clemente and his family. There was always plenty of kids about and while initally I was called ´gringa´ by the end they all knew me as Lorena.

While I was there I taught a bit of english in the school, helped out in the day care centre for children (1-5 yrs) and worked in the garden growing cocoa plants for sale. This enabled me to meet the locales and learn about how there community operates.

I also went to the beach nearby, swam in a waterfall and visited another nearby village San Fransico. I got to eat really fresh seafood including fish, conchas, and crabs as well as much rice and plantain.

My time in Esmeraldas

For the weekend I relaxed in the beach of esmeraldas. Esmeraldas is one of the larger cities in the northern coast of Ecuador. I swam in the beach, and went one of the many discotecas on the beach. I was fortunate enough to meet some locals who showed me round and even prepared cerviche de camarone (prawns) for me! Thanks Jose and his sister Paola!

 My time in La Tolita

I arrived in La Tolita via Bourbon. It is only possible to get to La Tolita by boat. La Tolita is an interesting area because it houses many artefacts for the prehispanics gold ornaments (inc the Banco Central Museo´s famous golden mask), and many ceramics. In La Tolita I visited the museum, and the beach where you will see many pieces of ceramics.

I also walked with my guide Antonio (owner of the museum in La Tolita) to the places where some of the artefacts were found – and was able to see lots of different fruits in the farmland as well. I also walked through two nature reserves with Antonio, the manglares of La Tolita and the La Selva. Both places were magnificent and adventurous because I needed gum boots to get through the mud!

I also had time to venture out in the canoe and paddled around an island nearby and visited a small community (a couple of houses) called Cacawual, here they farm crabs which they keep in small hut like structures. There was also a couple of turtles in the huts.

Overall, I enjoyed swimming in the river and watching the sunsets – eating fresh seafood, and drinking a lot of coconut water. I attempted to learn the type of salsa they dance there, but it was difficult for me (well at least it was entertaining for the locals!). I also learnt about the La Tolita culture (there is a great book in the museum).

From La Tolita I went to La Tola and met a guide who showed me through the reserve of Majagual where the tallest mangroves in the world are found. This involved a section with a boardwalk and a more adventurous trek through the mud and mangroves. After this walk I went for a refreshing swim in the beach at Las Peñas, which is a nice clean touristy beach with many hotels and restaurants.