Soup, Sun and Boobies (not that kind; jeez); loving Puerto Lopez.

Puerto Lopez is beginning to feel very comfortable, friendly people, great sunny days and our Villa has that "home-like" atmosphere that allows you to enjoy everything about this special place. I finally got up early enough to take Paul up on his offer of going to town for breakfast (bed is too damn comfortable!) Encebollado is a must-have breakfast dish if you ever travel here. Encebollado is a fish stew made with tuna and served with boiled yucca and pickled red onions. Everyone seems to have their special way of "doctoring up" this dish; from freshly squeezed lime juice, oil, crushed plantains, or hot sauce. It is considered the national dish of Ecuador; mostly popular in the country's coastal regions. A cold beer and a large bowl of encebollado is the perfect way to start your day! 

Villa Bella Vista not only has great private apartments with superior comforts and views; it also has its own art studio on the property (an outdoor gym is also on site and equipped to use if you were so inclined). Sha and I scheduled a painting session with Susan to do the Puerto Lopez bay and sunset. We had a blast painting them...and they didn't turn out too bad...I think. Susan's an excellent and patient instructor.

Each long term guest at VBV is also invited to create a design for a stepping stone that a local craftsman completes; which will then be placed on one of the walking paths around the Villa property. Susan walked us through the size and shape for the stones, and showed us how to use the cutting/snipping tools to customize the tiles and other materials made available for us to use in our creations. My design of a sunset (I might be a bit obsessed with the setting sun!) going into the ocean, may need a bit of interpretation by the viewer...but Sha's Flower in grass with owls turned out fantastic! I was very impressed with the way she snipped all those tiles into the shapes for her design!

 In addition to the cool activities that Susan and Paul had for us on the property; they also made us feel like family by inviting us to local events and to meet their friends from different nearby communities. One such occasion was the Art Show in Puerto Cayo, a short drive south from Puerto Lopez. The day started by arriving at Gord and Kathy's house, where we met several friends and then walked the 2 blocks to a restaurant on the beach for brunch. Puerto Cayo is a similar but smaller version of Puerto Lopez; although not nearly as active a place. We almost felt like the town was "asleep" with many empty houses; exampled by the 1st pic with trees and cactus growing on that house's roof. The art show exhibited wonderful local artists' paintings, carvings and jewelry available for purchase. The day's heat was oppressive, despite the overcast skies and after a short stay, we all were ready to go back to Gord and Kathy's for a visit and drink. We added more friends to our list we met at the house during the afternoon; including a "local legend", Carlos, who is an octogenarian and pictured with Paul and myself at the bottom of this group.

We also organized a "martini nite" that was coordinated with the availability of a nearby neighbor Chris and Luke; an archeologist who is heading up a dig in northern Ecuador. The Garden apartment became the drink preparation station, including blue cheese stuffed olives thanks to Susan's hard work. Warm and interesting conversations ensued during the afternoon that was "balanced" by some great appetizers including Sha's prosciutto wrapped asparagus! (slideshow, yada yada)

Friday nights at VBV are designated as Pizza Night. It is always a masterpiece of a variety of pies (usually 5 different ones-one night we had 6!) made with Susan's homemade masa she prepared that morning. The outdoor pizza oven was where Paul masterfully cooked Susan's creations and the communal table area by the pool was where we got to enjoy the fantastic pizzas. Chris joined us for our last pizza night prior to our departure.

Since the first day we arrived, I have (and I'm sure Sha has too) marveled at the thought and detail that went into designing and building this piece of paradise on Lomas de Canadienes (Canadian hills; or hill of the Canadians). Paul and I had numerous conversations about the thoughts and processes that has resulted in this fabulous property. During one of those conversations, Paul talked about digging during construction of a new addition to the property and finding artifacts and tools from extinct indigenous people living here long ago. Paul was unsure as to their exact age; but guesses them to be several thousand years old. It is hard to imagine how the details in some pieces was done that long ago. We were grateful and amazed the afternoon he shared them with us. (slideshow y, y)

NGG the explorer, really liked VBV's location halfway up the hills surrounding Puerto Lopez's bay because we could venture up the roads of the hills around the area. We always felt safe enough to say on our morning walks; "Let's see where this road goes." We somehow saved the steepest and highest hill for our last climb, a week before we left. Not sure if the pictures will impart the steep incline or the beautiful views we saw on reaching the top. Our legs were questioning the sanity of the climb when we got home.

During the last pizza night conversations with Chris, we all successfully invited ourselves to his birthday party on the 30th. Chris lives about 10 minutes to the north of Susan and Paul just around the point outside Puerto Lopez. Chris also had his Ecuadorian neighbors that helped him build his house there for the celebration as well. We both enjoyed meeting the extended family of his neighbors. It was a wonderful afternoon party with burgers and hotdogs and a great cake (Paul didn't have any fun either!).

The four "amigos of VBV" planned out a Surf and Turf menu for Easter Sunday dinner, so Paul and I went to town early that morning to get the 'surf" (the turf was already purchased and on a two-day marinade). We of course, started the day with encebollado and a beer prior to hitting the fish market on the beach. Ever the masterful negotiator, Paul worked a deal for us to get 2.5 kilos (~5 1/2 pounds) of large shrimp for $15! I seriously wondered what the price of all that shrimp would have been in Chi town.

We then went up to the next level of the market to get them shelled and cleaned. These three ladies worked on our pile for about 10 minutes, chatting and laughing while expertly cleaning each shrimp in a matter of seconds. That process cost three dollars, including a $1 tip; and then we were on our way home in a $1 Tuk Tuk to Lomas de Canadienes.

All hands helped in the afternoon preparations producing a table fit for kings and queens that included glazed carrots, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes, a perfectly cooked beef tenderloin, along with spicy shrimp and cheesy shrimp. It was quite difficult to put down my fork!

I was lucky enough to take some leftovers to our apartment after that incredible meal...the beef and shrimp burrito I made on Tuesday was the best burrito I've ever had!

​Usually, traveling to Ecuador involves a discussion about visiting the Galapagos Islands; until you actually check closely and realize it's not as easy as you would think and much more expensive than makes it a must see. Especially after we researched our stay in Puerto Lopez and found that this is the only place you can get to Isla de la Plata; a.k.a. the "poor man's Galapagos." We knew we couldn't leave here without visiting. Susan helped us schedule the tour to the island the Monday after Easter. We Tuk Tuk'd into town and met our guide and walked with a couple of other tour mates and walked through the south half of town to the pier and our boat. There was ten of us "tourists" that boarded the boat with the guide and boat crew as we set off to Isla de la Plata. 

Twin 150 HP engines had us cruising at a good clip over the waves as we headed NW to the island on our 60+ minute ride. As the mainland was beginning to shrink and everyone was getting used to the ebbs and flows of riding over the waves, we reduced speed and slowed down to an almost halt. Before I could complete the thought that we had run out of gas; excitement spread through the boat as dolphins were sighted breaching the surface near the boat! After watching in amazement for a bit, I realized I needed to document--get the camera BB!!!!

We saw a great deal more dolphins than my video captured; sorry I was gawking prior to grabbing the camera. As we reengaged the warp drive engines continuing on and finally were approaching the island, we noticed a single structure on the island. We also noticed the lone camouflaged military person with an AR-15 rifle monitoring our approach.

We found out from our guide that in "the beginning" this structure had been the only hotel on the island and only available to the very wealthy Ecuadorians during the turn of the last century. Now, it houses park rangers and researchers that come for a week's stay rotation. The armed military personnel presence is to enforce the 2 mile no-fishing zone around the island for commercial fishing ships (Chinese ships violating this policy were mentioned as having been a problem in the past). 

After we all had a chance to clean the sand off our feet from the beach landing, put shoes back on and use the baños, we met up at the head of the trail for the initial briefing of do's and don'ts on our visit from our guide. Basically, the only thing you should/can bring and leave on the island are your footprints on the trail.  Human residents during the turn of the century introduced rats and other invasive creatures that were a problem for the local bird populations and are currently still being dealt with as park rangers and researchers have developed rat-specific poisons to control their population. Clouds had been prevalent in the skies up to this point; and as we headed up the trail, they seemed to suddenly disappear like they knew we began climbing.

At first, the trail had a manageable slope that wasn't too bad to climb; then came the stairs! I won't bore you with the grisly details of my struggles up the mountain; but it kicked my butt! At the summit, and the divergence of several trails, we had a palapa with seating for a break. This is where we got our first close up view of the blue-footed boobies, who are the main inhabitants of the island. We watched a romantic encounter with several males trying to impress a lone female with their "moves" and blue feet.

Vibrant blue feet are a result of a good "fisher-bird" catching plenty of sardines, therefore absorbing the blue dye in the sardines and showing the female he is a good provider for offspring.

After resting and regaining some strength, we started on the downward slope to the opposite side of the island. NGG, being her inquisitive self, found out that the nests of the BFBs have a ring of poop around them to protect the featherless new borns from rats, ants and other insects who could harm the chicks. (6 pic slideshow; y,y)

Our guide was so informative and had us enthralled with his narrative until it was time to return. I forgot that we had to climb back up the hill to get back to the boat--damn! Long story short; I was sweating like a dog, even after many, many breaks to resupply my lungs with oxygen. Burning thighs were my reward for making it up and back down the mountain. I felt a little bit better when I realized we had walked across the island and back to get to the boat. We loaded back onto the boat and left the shore when...

We floated a short distance from shore watching (I think 3) turtles eat the lettuce offered from the boat. The captain moved us a little farther out and floated while our guide tossed small pieces of bread in the water. 

BB was the first one in the water when the snorkeling gear came out. As I was looking around, I noticed a wriggling orange string floating below me, then got caught up in the fish swarming around me. All the while feeling little stinging sensations on my arms and legs.

As the fish finished the bread and moved, the stinging sensations increased and became an increasing problem. Several other people had entered the water by now and when I heard "jellyfish", I headed for the boat. Exiting the water we found out we were in a cloud of string jellyfish and then headed back to the mainland. Damn, those stings hurt for awhile as we headed back. We stopped in a different place before we returned to the pier to do some (safer) snorkeling.

We were super glad we did this tour; but glad to get back to the Villa at the end of the day. The following day, we did not move from our apartment due to the resistance our legs professed to unnecessary movement.

We did emerge the next day for our last full day before we had to leave. Susan, as always came up with the perfect set of nibblers as we talked about our great month in Puerto Lopez.

I will leave you with our last Puerto Lopez (minimalized) sunset.

We were very sad to leave VBV and our new friends Susan and Paul, and look forward to our return visit to Puerto Lopez.

We will check in soon from our new location in Salinas off the southern coast of Ecuador.

Ciao for now mi amigos!

Loving life.

​Pura Vida!