Third visit to Ecuador. This time with a text blog as well as videos. The video site had been removed due to lack of interest. All pages have at least one photo. If you don't see them you may have an ad blocker on or need a cache purge. (Firefox Win)
For brunch today we went to Common Grounds. It is a popular hangout with locals and gringos. They speak English and Spanish so you won't get lost here. Free wifi and soccer on the TV make it techno friendly.
Had a few of these cappaccino frapps
I had the cafe frappuccino and the breakfast cheese burger. Shaved and
deep fried potatoes topped with a fried egg and large slab of bacon. The
other half was a very good tasting burger mixed with onions and slopped
with HP sauce. Still too much salt though. And add a large piece of
nearly cheddar cheese.
After the noon hour we got a taxi and headed for Ballenita and the Farallon Dillon. This is a residence, hotel, entertainment center, and restaurant. And museum. The captain used to actually sail the oceans but since retirement has built a location where his life surrounds him. He and his wife have even built a museum with their purchases and finds collected over many years. All related to the nautical theme.
Here is a video I made with video and photos I shot during my visit to Farallon Dillon in 2013.
Rental bedroom is only on the first floor with the stairs access. The others you only get to by a ladder on the side of the building. One of the workers lives in the second floor bedroom.
The pool is almost a true infinity pool but it's big point of interest is the nautical figurehead mermaid soaring over the pool.
After check in I had to head for the beach and do some quick exploring. A foul smell led me to a recently died turtle of over two feet in length. The head was gone but the rest intact but swarming with flies. The death reminded me of the previous week where I rescued newly hatched turtles that would not have made it to the water. The circle of life.
Likely the second day on the beach after washing up dead.
Sunset. Just could not resist. I seem to be posting them often. This shot is from my balcony in the tower overlooking the pool. In the distance is Salinas.
View south from my bedroom perch in the tower at the Farallon Dillon
Sunset was 6:35 so supper is after that. For supper I had fried shrimp with vegetables. The shrimp were fresh and the veggies perfectly cooked. What's with the salt? Are the shrimp packed in salt brine and absorb the salt. Only when you bite them do you get a mouthful of salt.
Today extreme low tide was at 11am. So I was walking the beach then to be able to walk out in the tide pools. I also had the GoPro as the only camera this time. It's hard to go swimming if you have an iPhone or regular video camera in your hand.
The Salinas beach at low tide
underwater with the GoPro
I did some swimming - well, floating on the San Lorenzo beach. It's clearer if you get out past where the waves are churning up the silt and sand.
San Lorenzo beach
In the afternoon we went to Common Grounds for a cappuccino coffee milkshake and cinnamon bun. Both were great. Free wifi here too with the password posted right on the wall. Big screen TV to watch futbol as we were there in the middle of the FIFA preliminaries.
At the end of the day these fishermen were beaching their boat for the night. It took five of them to move the heavy wooden boat far away from the ocean tide levels.
Then for supper it was homemade burgers and raw veggies. Another relaxing day done and gone.
It was another typical lazy morning of sleeping in and coffee at a local hangout. The place is called Common Grounds.
In the afternoon we took a taxi to Farallon Dillon in Ballenita. We walked down the 3 million steps to the beach and I ran up because it made for a smoother video.
We also toured the museum with a guide that spoke great English so it helped us understand the origin of a lot of what we were looking at.
We had a meal of BBQ chicken and BBQ ribs. The meal was served with Texas beans, a couple of small baked potatoes smothered in butter, and some mixed vegetables. One of the chicken quarters was too raw to eat so it had to be sent back for rectification.
The evening entertainment was a live music group called Trio Sandoval. Of course they were in spanish And they were obviously a cover band as the patrons seemed to be able to sing along. And there were some that made use of the dance floor.
It seems the trio brought some more family members to perform with them this night. I'm guessing the extra harmony singer and the percussionist.
I used to have a video here but I guess I removed it from YT.
