Agua Blanca & Los Frailes

We actually wanted to lie on the beach today and do NOTHING! But things always turn out differently. Our night was an absolute nightmare. We knew that a travel group was supposed to arrive at our hotel yesterday. I suspected travelers over 70 or something similar. But again, to err is human. Two buses with teenagers were accommodated in the hotel. They arrived around 7:00 PM and actually occupied the rooms next to and above us. The noise level from that point on was incredible. They completely left the hotel towards the harbor party around 9:00 PM. The occasion for the party was the beginning of whale season. Now most tourists come to the coast to observe the whales.

We went to sleep around 10:30 PM and at 12:30 AM, the horror began. The group had a party in the rooms with music and you could hear the laughter of two very stupid girls. Luckily, Daniela had earplugs. With those things in my ears, I actually couldn't hear anything, but it didn't work as well for Daniela. I then slept until 7:15 AM. However, Daniela must have struggled through the night. Accordingly, she was quiet during breakfast. Then she rushed to the reception and started talking in Spanish. She wasn't shouting or anything. She said something very assertive. All I understood from the hotel woman was - 'perdonne' and 'si, si!'

Daniela told her that we can't have another night like this. The group can have fun or listen to music, but only in the lobby! Well, we're curious to see what happens.

Now we were supposed to take a nap on the beach, but the weather didn't cooperate. It was completely cloudy. AND NOW? We looked through the travel guide and quickly realized that we would visit the Machalilla National Park in our region today. Not too hot, no rain, so ideal.

We took the bus to the national park, which was about 10 minutes away. On the bus, we met Dominik from Bonn. Together with him, we rented bicycles at the entrance of the park and rode to the first point in the park. It was a small museum and a Spanish-speaking guide was already waiting for us at the entrance. Daniela translated for us wonderfully. Honestly, Dominik and I wouldn't have understood a word otherwise. After the museum, we walked through a village with the guide. Here, we could see how the people live there. One woman was washing her laundry in the river. At the end of the path, a lagoon awaited us. Here, you could cover your body with mud and then swim in the sulfur-rich water. I was excited, but then realized with regret that I didn't have a bikini on. Daniela was better prepared and could enjoy the mud program. What a bummer, I had to watch over all the clothes and got attacked by mosquitoes.

After bathing in the lagoon, we returned to the museum where our bikes were. We used them to return to the exit. Despite the cloudy sky, we still wanted to go further to the DREAM BEACH LOS FRAILES. For this, we stood at the edge of the highway and waited for a bus. After 5 minutes, a Jipijapa bus arrived. We waved at it and it stopped at the side of the road. This time, it was us who brought a tourist bus to a stop, grinning. The 5 km also only cost 0.50 cents.

The Los Frailes Beach is also located in the national park and at the entrance, you have to hand in your ID. They register every person who goes to the beach. It looked very beautiful and we had to leave the beach at 4:00 PM. That's when it closes.

Dominik accompanied us back to Puerto Lopez in a taxi and then we said goodbye. When we got out of the taxi, it actually started to drizzle. It was warm rain and it felt good. Just not on my glasses!

Tomorrow we have a full-day excursion. We will go out on a boat to watch whales and snorkeling is also on the program. I'm curious if we'll see any whales.

Good night and greetings, Anke and Daniela