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Los Frailes – Ecuador’s most beautiful beach
Los Frailes Beach is often referred to as Ecuador’s most beautiful beach for good reason. With pristine sand on a gently sloping beach surrounded by cliffs on either end of a crescent shaped bay, Los Frailes Beach provides an environment perfect for relaxation. Located a few minutes north of Puerto Lopez, Los Frailes Beach is inside Machalilla National Park and often free of people. Rare July blue sky On an unusual sunny day in July, the beach is as full as I have seen it since February’s Carnaval holiday. Typically, the Ecuador coast has sun during the rainy season (explanation here) and clouds during the dry season. By “clouds,” I…
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WildAid Working to End Sea Turtle Trade in China #WATWB
In Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, we are blessed. Four of the seven sea turtle species in the world live and breed here. The four species that live here are endangered (I wrote about them here) so breeding is critical.
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Visitor Center, Machalilla National Park, Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
Machalilla National Park surrounds Puerto Lopez, Ecuador. Two monkey species and more than 270 bird species, including the endangered Waved Albatross live in the park. Whales mate and birth just off the coast and turtles hatch on the beaches. If you like active outdoor vacations, this is the place for you! Activities in Machalilla National Park Hike, bike and horseback ride Dry forests – from sea level to midway up the hills, the dry desert-like flora is brown for about half the year, waiting for water Cloud forests – always green hills where monkeys, orchids and a wide variety of birds live Hike beaches – Playa Los Frailes is often referred…
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Palo Santo products made in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
For centuries, Palo Santo has been used for it’s healing and cleansing properties. The tree grows in coastal areas of South America, is in the citrus family, and smells of pine, mint and lemon. It is a relative of Frankincense, Myrrh and Copal. Palo Santo translates to “Holy Wood” or “Sacred Wood” in English. Dante Bolcato (top photo, lower left) makes products sold on his website, El Artesan, in Puerto Lopez. While walking along the malecon, you can find his store by following your nose – there is always Palo Santo wood smoking on the front sidewalk. In fact, in the evenings, you will smell Palo Santo smoking in many Puerto Lopez…
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Dolphins – Puerto Lopez #AtoZChallenge
Dolphin pods sometimes play in Puerto Lopez bay. They swim too quickly for me to photograph. This immobile Hosteria Mandala sculpture includes a real dolphin skeleton. _________________________________________ Around Puerto Lopez in 26 words. A look back Last year, I wrote Digging up Manteño History
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Agua Blanca – Living History
Ecotourism: Tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife. — Oxford Living Dictionaries Agua Blanca Community Agua Blanca is a friendly historic community five minutes northeast of Puerto Lopez. Some residents are direct descendants of the Manteño civilization, who lived here between 800 and 1532 A.D. Community members keep their history alive with their lifestyle. They enjoy sharing their history with the public via tourism and a full time archaeology project in which anyone can participate. I wrote about my digging day here. The small community has several hundred residents and several thousand goats. The goats wander around everywhere except crop fields,…
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Underwater Endangered Testudines (a.k.a. Sea Turtles) #AtoZChallenge
The beach is in our blood. Everyone in our family returns to the beach instinctively, just like the sea turtles. — Sandy Archibald Four sea turtles species live off the coast of Ecuador. Green Turtles, Leatherbacks, and Olive-Ridley are endangered and Hawksbills are critically endangered. People are working to improve their numbers and chances of species survival. Sea Turtle Isla de la Plata, Manabí, Ecuador Sea turtles live the majority of their lives in the ocean but are born on beaches. Female sea turtles return to the beach where they were born to lay eggs. Each egg nest is marked to prevent human damage. Each nest is marked with caution…
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Quick stories – Rare Frog, Heated Toilet, Happy Snake #AtoZChallenge
“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” ― Mark Twain Rare Frog We saw a cool frog in Puerto Lopez. Took some photos. Figured we’d see more like him over time. Did some research. It is a rare Ceratophrys stolzmanni (Pacific horned frog) found only in Ecuador and Peru. Haven’t seen one since. Ceratophrys stolzmanni (Pacific horned frog) Heated Toilet Our friends rented an apartment. The owner assured them that there was hot water (many homes in Ecuador have only cold water). Turns out he had installed a hot water heater for the building’s only incoming water pipe. There was no cold water. Happy Snake Some…
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Humpback Whales #AtoZChallenge
June through September is Humpback Whale season in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador. They migrate from Antarctica, 16,000 kilometers (almost 10,000 miles) away. While in the warm equatorial waters, the whales fast, focused on mating and birthing. Whales are seen breaching in the distance from shore. For a closer view, take a whale watching boat from Puerto Lopez. A whale might breach near your boat. Breaching Humpback Whale Puerto Lopez, Ecuador Most likely, you will see some tail slapping. Tail about to slap the water, creating a big splash Puerto Lopez, Ecuador It is incredible to watch a 16 meter (52 foot) whale swim under your boat. I am completely in awe…
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Digging up Manteño history #AtoZChallenge
An archaeology dig guaranteeing every participant would find something from the Manteño civilization? When I saw the offer by Archaeology Vacations, I could not pass up a chance to dig up history. I became an archaeologist for a day! You can be an archaeologist for a day Canadian Luke Dalla Bona is leading an archaeological dig in the indigenous community of Agua Blanca. He lives in the community, 10 minutes north of Puerto Lopez. He is training the next generation of archaeologists right in their own backyard. Before Luke joined them, the community identified some areas where ancient structures once stood. They built a roof over one of the homes…
