Back to Montanita where I will get stuck for 2 weeks. I use the word stuck because it is literally what is happening to the people who are going to Montanita, for the following reasons:
You will meet a lot of people: Montanita is a very social place, thanks to the hundreds of hostels and backpackers who will arrive everyday to enjoy the beach. While staying there, I have switched hostels once. First I was staying at Hidden House, because it was confortable, they had a nice open area with hammocks and the staff was super friendly. However the friends I have made there were all gone or moved to My Little House, another hostel known for its parties. If you want a chill place where you can relax, Hidden House is perfect. If you want to meet people, other travelers and have a lot of fun and parties in Montanita, My little house is the place to go to. And it is own by a French guy called Nico.
You will party a lot: Montanita is known for two things, the surf and the parties. As I told you in one of my previous article about Montanita, when the sun goes down, the speakers goes loud and people go crazy. You have different bars and clubs. I mainly went to 3 of them: The lost beach club, most famous one, where you have an outside area with DJ set and electronic music until 2 am, past this time, they open « the cave » on indoor nightclub, which is as wild as the outdoor dance floor. You can chill on big pillows, next to fountains. Everything is made for you to have a fun night. The main parties are Saturday and Monday. For more diverse music and reaggaton, there is the Cana Grill restaurant, which becomes a nightclub on Wednesday evenings. You can dance barefoot in the sand in the middle of the club. It is mainly crowded as everybody gathered there. The last club I have been to is the Poco Loco, a night club in front of the Beach with a (fontaine de mousse). It has two floors from where you can admire the sunrise.
Despite the clubs, you have also the open bars in the hostels, in which you pay $5 or $6 for all you can drink during 5 hours. My little House has two open bars a week, Saturday and Monday, for $6 from 8pm to 12am and Hidden House has one on Wednesday for $5 from 9pm to 1am. These events are usually crowded and you get to meet a lot of people.
It is cheap: Montanita is not an expensive city, but you can easily spend a lot of money, in alcohol, but also shopping. The food however is not too expensive. My favorite places are the following;
- The Empanada Guy: if you stay in Montanita you will see him. It is a dude, with tattoos, on his bike and a cooling box. He will offer you to try his empanadas, which he is selling $1 each: pizza, cheese, chicken or meat.
- The Hamburger shops in the streets: best place to get a complete hamburger for $2,50
- The ceviche's street: Make sure that you go there for lunch if you want to try a really good ceviche. from 10:30am to 5pm, the street is full of yellow shops waiting for you to have a seat at their table. From $5 to $7 you can eat any type of ceviche, freshly made.
Going to Colombia next ?
Montanita is the place that made me change my minds about my travel and my future. When you are in Montanita you have plenty of time to meet people from all over the world and listen to their stories. A lot of them told me that Colombia was an amazing place and that I should go there.
Ryan, my friend from Philadelphia, told me earlier in the week he really wanted to go there after Ecuador, and asked me if I would be interested in traveling with him .... Guess where I am going next. (spoiler alert)
In the last three days in Montanita, we've made friends with other people and told them about our idea of travelling to Colombia. We will finally be 6 to travel to Colombia. It is going to be fun.
Ryan and I left Montanita on Wednesday, the 5th of June, finally ! We took a late bus to Guayaquil in order to jump into the last overnight bus to Quito. The trip was long, but pretty confortable, until the driver decided to put the music super loud in his cabin. Impossible for me to sleep, when Ryan just passed out next to me. I arrived in Quito, wasted
