Canoa Farm Tour 11-13th-Jan 13 2018

Not a lot to report ......other than doing poorly in my Spanish 1 on 1....not the fault of my tutor but of the student....lol ....maybe...lento pero seguro .....o...poco a poco......espero......

 

  

 

 

 

 The above pictures taken in the early evening before sunset with the exeption of the 2 above taken in the morning with the tide out ...... the 3rd and 4th show the beach towards San Vicente and to Canoa....17 kilometers of  peaceful enjoyment.

Don, a permanent resident here from California, invited Tom and I to join him on a tour of a local eco farm and micro brewery about 7 k outside of Canoa this morning. First was a stop at noon in the village..... a beach side bar and eatery known as Charlies.

 Tom and Don next to Charlie's Bar

 

 waiting to be  fed

 fishermen hauling their boats and catch

 the view from my table..

 For me....shrimp, fried plantain and rice in a tequila sauce....wow  ...tasty 

Next we taxied ti Finca Verde the Eco Farm owned by Barry Reid.....who quit the rat rice of  the corporate world to pursue an Eco sustainable existence thousands of miles from home.

 do any of my Muskoka Ontario Canada followers recognize Barry.....his Dad is Paul Reid, brother was a lawyer Tom Reid......all are from Huntsville a town 24 miles from my home town of Bracebridge......can the world get any smaller...

 The pictures do not capture the grade....here it is about 30 degrees looking downhill....Barry's entire 5 acres is on a  side of a hill and he has planted  fruit trees,, including many banana, chocolate, corn, pineapple, mango etc and within 3 years these plants are mature and starting to produce.....I did not know that the banana tree only yields one crop...then is cut down for a new plant to mature and repeat the process.

 Barry was a corporate recruiter in down town Toronto before turning his back on that life....his means of travel...a horse and bicycle....the farm is on a dirt path 7 k from Canoa....a long way from the brick and motor and glitz of Toronto....  

 

 The horse lapping up molasses...a daily treat.

 shards of Inca pottery found on the farm and common to the area..... 

 

   

    

Canoa-Jan 7/10-2018

Some have asked what is it like near the beach........the above pic shows the map of the area. The distance from Canoa to San Vincente is 17 kilometers...all beach. I read that it is the longest beach in Ecuador. The few pics that I post from my balcony show what most of that distance looks like...hardly anyone on the beach....it is paradise without the crowds one experiences in Central America.

 

A bus to San Vincente is  $0.50...a taxi $8.00.......we are about 2 k from Canoa bus is $0.50 and taxi $2.00

Last evening Tom and I went to Canoa ....walked the beach with a couple stops for cerveza, one at the Surf Shack another or 2 at the Baloo restaurant where we had a fresh fish and chip dinner which was excellent. This restaurant/hostel is owned by an Englishman who has been here 46 years. Here we met an Irishman holidaying who appeared to be from the hippy era, likely my age and Ross and Joan who recently built a beautiful home down the beach from us. Joan retired from teaching in the USA and Ross who I didn't press for his prior employment fell in love with the area after a brief holiday and decided to retire here.........you can easily live here for $1000 a month......with fresh year round vegetables/fruit and wonderful people and weather ....why not. 

Very laid back atmosphere........relaxing/calming....except if your struggling with the spoken language as I am....no fault of my instructor who has so far been very patient with me.........

 

      A few pics of home in Ontario Canada with temps for the past 3 weeks of -25 c to -35 c.....not hard to think of moving down to Ecuador..... 

Canoa-January 5/6-2018

Canoa is basically a small fishing village with a beach town/hippy vibe for surfers. A number of hostels and eateries which are for the most part beach side stands and bars......nothing fancy except for a couple hotels in the town ......a few upscale hotels are on the outside of the village.

Last evening,  my new friend Tom who hails from Colorado and I took a bus into town....cost for 2k ride $0.50 each......we had dinner at The Bambu Hotel then walked the beach back to our residence....as the tide was in....the walking in the sand was a work of labor.....

Tom arrived a day after me and is here to take Spanish Lessons as well. Tom is also a widower, having lost his spouse a year ago....he is 62. I have met 3 other Americans staying here....Don, who has been at the Sundown for 5 years, Susie, who has her home rented up the beach, and is here....she has been in Canoa for 16 years....then their is Jeff, here for the winter from Texas to surf....he is likely about 30 ....says he takes a few months off each year to surf....last year it was Mexico.

Alexandra, introduced me to her mom, cousin and brother last evening, as I was waiting for Tom to go into Canoa....very welcoming family.......

Fell asleep on my balcony laying in the hammock to a gentle breeze off the ocean.........

O...forgot to mention, earlier about 2:30 pm I experience my first earth Quake....it was a tremor that last about 5 seconds.....initially thought it was my imagination but later Alexandra asked if I noticed the quake.......in the big one April 2016 her place only suffered a few cracks..all prepared and she says an Engineer inspected with no structural damage....many other buildings nearby were not so fortunate.

Now a few pics of the damaged parts to my moto.........which were replaced in Portoviejo....

 As many of you following my blog were interested in learning from my experience from last year's Ontario Horizon Meeting....wherein I mentioned that I was flying to Huanuco, buying a moto from Around the Block Tours as opposed to shipping at great cost my own to SA......I can say that I have been treated well by Toby and his crew who fixed my earlier problem in the oil leak at the top head........I am concerned now if the O ring they say was missing from a tube which ran from the lower unit to the top was either not suppose to be there or if it is restricting oil to the cam which may have overheated causing the bearings to fail. I am not mechanically inclined......definitely worried for the balance of my trip which is still 3 months...do not want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere.....I was just lucky to have had the failure where I did......have written Toby but I know he is on Tour for The Dakar and don't expect a reply until he returns....in the meantime using the bike for short runs to town.

I like to thank my audience which has grown to included followers from Russia, Europe and Australia and Thailand.....welcome.... 

       

Canoa-January 4-2018

 Just a short ride for groceries at the mall and more $ for my stay and Spanish lessons which begin Monday 56 hours plus my stay.....for 43 days...$1201.60....$60.00 0f that is the use  of kitchen plus bottled water.....

 The owner.......Alexandra

Pictures taken at 7 am of my residence for 6 weeks......

 Made dinner tonight ...spaghetti in a meat sauce with onion and mushrooms plus a touch of HOT Sauce. chased down with a quart of Pilsener....Banana for dessert..... 

Portoviejo to Canoa-Jan 03-2018

Made it arrived about 3.45 pm.......Thanks to the young mechanic in Portoviejo and his friends who were supportive to the no hablo espanol gringo......you are amazing to go out of your way to help a stranded Canadian as I noted you had other jobs on the go.....Gracias Amigos.

I did get a scare just outside the city when the bike quit as before in 5th gear at 80k........pulled to the side and prayed....it started turn of the key........this happened about 20 minutes later again in 5th gear. I decided that I would run in 4th gear at 5000rpm and 74 k per hour........no further problem.....so what is it with that, I am nervous as I have a great distance to cover between here and Huanuco Peru next month,,,,,,,,maybe I will drop back into Portoviejo on my return to get the bike serviced.

 Apart a second time to replace the hard seal and Piston which is scored..... 

 the bridge to San Vincente from Bahia de Caraquez  

 Am I in Dover....scene across from my resort.

 Finally I am at the Sundown Resort Hostel 

 My room for the next month or so

 The view from the balcony...

Alexandra the owner is a widow for the past 6 years....was married  to a Canadian from BC....spent 1 1/2 years in BC ,,,,has a boy and girl both married no grand kids.....her son is an insurance agent in Kelowna and Daughter lives in Phoenix Arizona,,,,,Alysen, who I have been dealing with...she helps her mother with the on line bookings etc

I would guess Alexandra is mid to late 50's and attractive Ecuadorian....speaks some English and has had her brother helping her run the place since loosing her husband.........She tells me I will have the best instructor for my Spanish which starts next week........

Tonight I went down to Greg's Hotel for dinner and met a lad on a solo journey with Freedom.......though he is currently with an automotive company in Detroit...home is India.