23/12/2011 - 26/12/2011

Ahhhh, Montañita, what can i say about Montañita? The party capital of the the coast of Ecuador filled with pretty much everything a backpacker is looking for, an easy way out of the normal road of jumping from place to place, it's understandable why people stay here for as long as they do, it's not only cheap but also warm with a lengthy beach making this place very comforting.
In total I spent 5 days here staying in a variety of accommodations with only one worthy of mentioning in a dorm room on the beach front only costing $4 a night, the room was open to the sea breeze making the 20 or so dorm beds slightly moldy and attracted a variety of insects and that attracted bats. You get what you pay for I guess. I was only able to withstand two nights here but not from the state of the accommodation but the guy who I slept In the bed next to mine, he in all the years I have travelled for and in all the hostels I have slept in was by far and away the worst snorer I have ever come across. Even with the heaviest of metal that I often use to sleep I still could not drown out the racket expelled from this guys mouth.
Although Montañita is a great place to party I did t do much partying, I was spending my time here just chilling waiting for my ear to heal, during my diving trip on Galapagos I must have equalized too much or too powerful leaving my left ear feeling clogged, this made me feel very disorientated and even after 6 days it hasn't got any better.
Despite the lack of drinking and partying I still met and ran into a bunch of people I had met in other places around Ecuador including Jessica whom I drank with back in Quito. She (French but brought up in Mexico) invited me to meet her Argentinean friends in a small town near Montañita where I got to know them very well and where I offered to cook Christmas dinner for them all. I treated them to a home cooked Xmas dinner that they loved, leaving nothing remaining on the table - always a good sign.
Tomorrow I leave to Guayaquil to meet with Jessica again to travel with her to Peru - the next chapter in my travels.