The Chicken Bus and the Coast

When my Mom was coming to visit, we thought that going to Macchu Picchu would be a great idea, so  we looked into the airfares and it was CRAZY expensive, we had only planned a three or four day trip, and the airfare made it way too expensive.  So we decided to take a trip to the coast and see the Pacific.

OUR JOURNEY TO PUERTO LOPEZ:

Michael and I had gone to the coast in  July, the bus we took was fabulous, A/C, large comfy seats, and movies on the  way.  Really nice. 

This time we were staying in a different town so we looked up the bus line that would take us to Puerto Lopez.  We made our reservations at Hosteria Mandala, the hotel we were going to stay at, then  booked our van trip through the Caja's to Guayaquil where we would connect up with our bus to Puerto Lopez.  We were set. 

Michael and I have done the white knuckle ride through the Caja 's before, it is pretty turny and twisty, but we have become accustomed to the trip , and we promptly fell asleep.  Better to sleep and hope for a good ending than watch the crazy drivers and be terrified, is our thought.

When I woke up, I turned around to see how my Mom was doing.   Her eyes were riveted to the back of the bus drivers head, so  I reached back and said "What's wrong"?  My Mom was kind of concerned that the driver was wearing sunglasses during the  foggy, rainy trip.   It turns out that my Mom had been steering the van, for the driver, from the last row of the van, in her mind, making sure we all made it safe and sound to Guayaquil.   Thanks Mom, sorry we left you to the driving duties while we dozed.

We got to the bus station in Guayaquil and found the bus line we were told to take to our coastal destination.  All of a sudden it was run, run, run, the bus was leaving in five minutes!!  We paid our $6.00 fare for the 4 hour ride and followed some guy, that we were hoping was taking us to the bus, Well, we got to the bus, and it was a CHICKEN BUS!!???   There aren't really any livestock, but from the looks of the vehicle you would think there were!!  We had seen these before, but never expected to be on one, we were not real happy with the situation.  Then, before we were allowed to get on the bus, the Policia decided that they needed to look at Michael's documentation.  ( You are given a Cedula once you become a resident of Ecuador, which is the equivalent of a National ID card, and are required to carry it at all times), so we dealt with that for a few minutes, then they wanted my Mom's documentation , Passport copy ,etc., and finally we were allowed to board the bus.

The Bus was an experience. No A/C, little weird window curtains. OMG, it stopped constantly to let on vendors selling everything from fruit, to pastries, soda and water and even coconut milk. The driver would pull over and all of a sudden there might be 3 to 4 guys trying to sell stuff. THIS WAS NOT THE COMFORTABLE  bus we had experienced before, and expected  for this journey.

We bumped and hurdled down the roads, every so often still picking up men, women, and children selling things. The bus developed an interesting smell along the way, not to mention the constant music playing over the loud bus speakers. All in all, this was not the bus ride I expected to share with my Mom to the coast. 

After we got off the Chicken bus in Puerto Lopez, this was our transport to our hotel.  The three of us piled into it, along  with our luggage and down the beach we went in our carriage.

 

Well, we got to our hotel, which was right on the beach, beautiful gardens, it was worth the trip.

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The hotel had little cabins set in a beautiful garden,  the owners had five dogs that would charge through the dining room in the morning alerting us to their arrival, and then they would settle down near the entrance to the Hosteria Mandala.

My mom was reading a book in the deck of the Hosteria, where we would usually eat breakfast.  Michael and I had grabbed a hammock to hang out at the beach,  I went back to the hotel  to ask my mom if she wanted to hang on the beach with us , I said "it fits three", and my Mom was really nice, but just said "No, I think I will read my book."

Duh, here is me saying it fits three, and I meant to say , the little Cabana would fit three hammocks,  my mom was being really nice not a wanting to hang in a hammock for the three of us, "who would be smashed in the middle", was her concern.   We got it figured out and spent two nights watching the sunset over the Pacific from those hammocks.  It was fantastic. 

We strolled into town and watched the fishermen bring in their catch.

Mom and I  strolling the beach in Puerto Lopez

Mom and Michael hanging out in the hammocks at Hosteria Mandala in Puerto Lopez. 

One evening at dinner, strolling musicians serenaded us at  our table, they  played a beautiful song,

 " Bonita Senorita"

One of the beautiful sunsets we saw from Hosteria Mandala in Puerto Lopez.

We decided that we were absolutely not going to take another Chicken Bus back to Guayaquil, so we took a taxi to a town called Olon, and we got the really nice comfy bus, they played  a movie called "A Dolphin's Tale", and we sailed along on a great new highway and arrived in Guayaquil earlier than we thought.

A pic of a chicken bus:

This is the type of bus we took to Puerto Lopez, hot, humid, curtains flying out the window as we went down the road.

This is the bus we took home, cool,  quiet and comfy.

You gotta laugh with the weird stuff here, but then appreciate the beauty.