Carnival weekend in Ecuador is a time when most people take advantage of the Friday, Monday and Tuesday off to go to travel, relax, and usually go to one of the countless beaches on the Ecuadorian coast. I have the unfortunate taste of loving the beach, but hating other people. I try to go on vacation when others don't have free time, and with my strange work schedule, this is usually possible. However, Carnival is one break I have that coincides with the rest of the country's. David and I were in desperate need of a vacation, but were short on funds and really didn't want to deal with the crowds, vendors, bad music on full blast, drunken teenagers, trash everywhere, and upped prices that come with beaching during national holidays. Despite being in our twenties, sometimes our preferences make us seem like old grumpy hermits. We were resigned to our usual resort of holing ourselves up in our apartment with good food, good movies, good music, good books, and the occasional pizza delivery for the long weekend.
A few days before we closed off our doors to the outside world, we got a serendipitous message from Leo, a friend and coworker: "Diana, do you and David want to come with me to the coast to visit a friend of mine? She lives on a completely remote beach near Esmeraldas, and would only charge $12 a night for a bed and 3 meals. If you're interested, make sure to bring flashlights; they don't have electricity or running water."
It sounded too good to be true! An isolated paradise, a chance to be completely disconnected from the rest of the world for a few days, and completely affordable! I immediately called to David to ask if he'd be up for the adventure, which of course he accepted immediately. We gathered up the flashlights, bathing suits, the guitar, some toilet paper, and other such necessities in preparation for an amazing trip.
Thursday night I got out of work at 9 pm and David was waiting for me at the entrance of the institute where I work with our bags all packed and ready to go. Leo had his stuff ready too, so we got in a taxi and headed to the bus station. We had an overnight bus trip, so we would arrive at the beach in the morning. I spent the first few hours of the trip reading, and then before forcing myself into the restless sleep of travel, I wondered about the possibility of beach sex. I didn't know what the place was going to be like, nor if we'd have our own room or even our own bed, but I was determined to at least sneak off and romp on the moonlit shores with David to try out one of my fantasies.
We arrived at a little town where we bought a gallon of water and some beer each. There, our host, Maryanne, picked us up to bring us to our final destination. We went down a little dirt road, which became a sandy path, which became the beach. She told us that they could only get in and out by car during low tide because a lot of the trip we were just driving right on the shore. We saw a couple of fishermen fishing in canoes right off the shore, but other than that there weren't any other people around.
We arrived at a little wooden house on stilts on a hill overlooking the expansive ocean. Behind the house there was a grove full of coconut trees, mango trees, banana stalks, lemon trees, aloe plants, lemon grass, oregano, and so much more. Maryanne's boyfriend, Archimedes, grabbed his machete, sliced down a few green coconuts, chopped off the tops, and handed them to us. The sweetest, freshest, most thirst-quenching coconut water coated our throats and introduced us to this incredible paradise.
The house was an open museum full of artifacts; there were ancient sculptures made by indigenous civilizations, most of them referring to or resembling alien creatures. I don't know how genuine these artifacts were, but they were quite interesting to search through. The "bedrooms" were part of this same room. David and I chose the biggest bed, which had its own canopy mosquito net and a huge window overlooking the ocean. Leo's bed was right next to ours, but was separated into its own area by a chest-high wooden barrier going all the way around. Maryanne and Archimedes, of course, had their own private room with a door.
After the grand tour, David and I slathered on some sunscreen and went out to explore the virgin beach. We walked for almost an entire hour along the shore, picking up shells and chasing crabs across the sand, without seeing a single human being. After walking a distance from the house, I spotted an interesting looking irregularity in the shore. The high cliffs that lined the beach went inland a bit, away from the ocean and into a neat little area that went up into a grassy hill. Nestled between the cliffs, we could only see the ocean directly in front of us. I ran out to see if there was anyone coming in either direction. The pristine beach was completely deserted.