Sunset at Puerto Lopez beach
The small fishing village of Puerto Lopez, Ecuador offers relaxing entertainment: exploring Isla de la Plata, ocean kyaking, whale watching, cloud forest with birds and monkeys, or simply relaxing on Playa los Frailes (Ecudor’s most beautiful beach).
Tours
Isla de la Plata:
Blue Footed Boobys at Isla de la Plata
The legend is that Sir Francis Drake buried treasure on this island. But, after visiting it, I doubt Sir Francis picked the island to dump silver. However, there is treasure here but in the form of birds, turtles and sea lions. During the months of June through September, the humpback whales mate and migrate north from Chile to North America. On our trip, we spotted at least twenty of these gentle giants break the water.
Blue Footed Booby Chick
Tour groups are plentiful. They all charge approximately the same, $41.00/each (USD). The groups are typically small, boats carry about 15-22 people. A guide will collect you at your hostel at 9:30 a.m. The boats are moored at the new pier west of the harbor. You will be issued a life vest and remove your shoes (to keep them dry). The captain will head SE to the island. It’s between 1 to 1-1/2 hour ride. Along the way, if the Captain spots some whales, he will “chase” them so the passengers can try to get photos. Good photos are difficult because the boat rocks and the whales don’t pose but a split second. I probably clicked that camera shutter two dozen times and only got one good shot.
The fin of a Humpback Whale migrating north.
El Pital (cloud forest, monkeys and birds) in the Machalilla National Park:
Our guide, Sandra Maria Plua Alban
If you want a change of scenery from beach to forest, this is the tour for you. The cloud forest is about 35 minutes by car from Puerto Lopez. Spondylus Tours is the tour agency to contact. John and I had a bi-lingual guide, Sandra Maria Plua Alban, an authority on birds. You begin by putting on rubber boots. You can choose to walk or go via horseback. Because of the distance and terrain, I recommend horseback.
Hummingbird at Las Campecinitas Meriendas
We saw many beautiful birds, but we didn’t see monkeys. We came close and their cries were near, but we couldn’t catch a glimpse of them. Lunch is included. Alex will design your tour around your interests.
Woodpecker just inside Machalilla National Park
Chocolates Pacha:
Pacha sign in front of chocolate factory.
Lopez locals, Angel Zurita and Veronica Alvarez, own this artesenial chocolate factory, Chocolates Pacha. They perform the entire process from bean to bar. I took their tour which includes a trip to the smaller of their two cocoa tree groves. Angel cut open one of the beans. We ate the white membrane off the seeds(it’s sweet) as he explained the fermenting and drying process.
Angel splits open the pod to reveal the white membrane covered cocoa seeds.
Back at the factory (located on the main highway), we watched how the beans are roasted, followed by the husk being removed. The beans are crushed and the liquid refined in a mixer with dual granite wheels (36 hours). The smooth liquid is tempered and put into bar form. I never realized the extensive process a chocolate bean must travel in order to make really good chocolate.
Granite wheels make the cocoa smooth and silky.
Tour cost: $25.00 USD. Great value.
Playa Los Frailes
The beach at Los Frailes is possibly the most beautiful in Ecuador. The sand is a perfect consistency. The curvature of the cove is exquisite allowing for sand and wave smoothed rocks. Frailes (which means The Friars Beach) is part of Machalilla National Park. Here are the steps to get to and from the beach (very inexpensive):
- Take a tuk-tuk to the bus station ($2)
- Take the green bus, let the driver know to let you off at Los Frailes ($0.50)
- Sign in at the entrance shack – no charge
- Take a tuk-tuk to the beach ($3.00)
Total cost $5.50 You can’t beat a deal like this! Rent an umbrella before entering the beach at one of the vendors for $4.00.
Playa Los Frailes, possibly the most beautiful beach in Ecuador
Food
Capuccino
The food selection on PL is a delightful surprise. Instead of a series of Pizza joints, tourists have choices of excellent Italian food at Capuccino.The owner is from Venice and knows his Italian.
Patacon Pisa’o
Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten at the Columbian cafe, Patacon Pisa’o. Be sure to have desert. The owners, Jaibel Obando and Karol Betancourte, makes some of the best ice-cream I’ve ever eaten.
Great ice-cream at Patacon Pisa’O
Carmita’s
Traditional Ecuadorian seafood at Carmita’s. Her reputation is known throughout the area and the restaurant is always full.
Delicious fish and chips at Carmita’s
Green Tents
The green tents that line the malecon offer alcoholic beverages, fruit smoothies and bar snacks. This is the epicenter of Puerto Lopez night life. Loud music, Salsa dancing, and alcohol. The party begins at sunset.
Green tents: the epicenter of Puerto Lopez night life.
Places to Stay
Hostels are plentiful; however, not all hostels are alike. The Hosteria Mandala is the most up-scale hotel, but it is far east of the town center. I find it to be too far to enjoy the cacophony of the area. Other possible choices are Hosteria Cabanas Itapoa and Hotel Pacifica. John and I stayed at the lower-end hostels and found them to be adequate. Prices in this category run about $25.00/night.
Warning: the center of town is noisy…dogs, people, cars. If you object to the noise, you need to find a place further from town.
Getting Around
The tuk-tuk’s are convenient, cheap and plentiful. The bus station is a 10 minute tuk-tuk ride from town and will set you back $2.00. Any trip in town is just a buck. Even with the current construction, the tuk-tuk’s will deliver you to your hostel door. A great value and fun to ride in.
Tuk-tuk, the easy way to get around Puerto Lopez
Earthquake and construction
On April 16, 2016, a 7.6 M earthquake hit this area of Ecuador. Puerto Lopez had little damage, but the media depicted the damage to be much more extensive. For the past three months, tourists have searched for other vacation venues. Only in the last month have the tourists returned to Puerto Lopez.
Rebuilding the malecon
Construction along the malecon continues. Puerto Lopez is upgrading which means bricks, machinery, noise, workers and inconvenience to visitors. It’s easy to complain. But, improving the area requires a period of time for new construction. Congratulations to Puerto Lopez for making these improvements.
Fishermen on the beach where they sell their catch.
About the Author:
Annie Coburn currently lives in Santiago, Chile and travels throughout South America. She created Fab Placez in 2010, but the name never really defined her target audience – mature travelers. In 2014, she changed the name to FAB Senior Travel, and with the help of some very talented people, redesigned the website. She publishes travel articles from other writers to provide diversity of locations to match the breadth of our travel interests.
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Annie on Playa los Frailes near Puerto Lopez, Ecuador
