January 30th- February 4th 2015
Las Tunas is a tiny little fishing village nestled on Ecuadorians southern coast half an hour north of the Gringo drug filled mayhem of Montanita and twenty minutes south of Puerto Lopez a bustling fishing port and gateway to Isla De Plata otherwise known as poor man’s galapagos. It’s also been my home for the last six days at Viajamar surf hostel.
The hostel is run by a chilean man and is a great place to stay with comfortable beds, a good breakfast included, a nice pool, tons of hammocks and of course the most important part, the beach just out front. (All this for about 16.50 USD)
This can’t really be written as a story, because I didn’t really do anything here in Las Tunas. A couple of day trips but those will be covered in the coming posts, instead it was a sanctuary to relax, to write, and to adore the ocean.
Every morning started with stumbling from my dorm out into the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean. If there’s a better way to wake up, I haven’t found it. The waves are meant for surfing and often knock you off your feet pulling you down into the sandy wet madness underneath. It felt like being brought back to my childhood in Nova Scotia, braving the waves at lawrencetown and martinique. Not a day passed that I wasn’t in the ocean at least twice, and usually it was a lot more than that.
The beach is almost always empty here, at most maybe 20 or 3 people on a stretch of beach at least a kilometer long, for this reason it’s serene and peaceful to just stroll along the beach, the slaty caress of the ocean lapping up against your calves.
Las Tunas doesn’t have a lot a few almost convenient stores and one restaurant that’s usually open called Restaurant de Jimmy. Lucky for me it’s really good food and run by a friendly family who make eating there fun. But when you can get a big plate of fresh calamari rice and patacones for 6 dollars I’m a happy man service or no service. The view from the restaurant is stunning, especially for dinner at sunset.
In fact sunsets in general here are some of the best I’ve seen and a photographer’s dream for sure. Each night I’d stroll down the beach to Jimmy’s as the sun set enjoying the quiet blissful serenity followed by delicious food and a moonlit walk along the beach back to the hostel.
Some great people hung out at the hostel and my days there passed all too fast. There re also some incredibly friendly dogs including two puppies who look like mixes of a German Shepard and a husky who never stop playing with each other. I’ll put a video up here as soon as youtube cooperates.
Ether way, if you’re looking for a quiet slice of paradise on Ecuador’s Ruta de Sol look no farther than here. It’s beautiful, tranquil and the perfect escape from civilization. Lots of day trips nearby and if you ever feel like partying head to Montanita for some drug and alcohol fuelled mayhem and a slightly more crowded beach.
To get to Las Tunas take any bus to Montanita or Puerto Lopez and then hop on a bus between the two telling the driver you want to stop at las tunas. Viajamar is on the northern outskirts of the town, a pleasant 10 minute walk up the beach or road from the sparse center.
