A Whale of a Time

The ash from Tungurahua continued to follow us all the way on our descent to the westcoast. When we weren´t hiding from the ash the view outside the bus window was pretty spectacular.

Lots of coastal fog makes this the worst time of year to get out your togs and sunscreen on the Ecuadorian coast - brrrrrrrrrr! But we were in pursuit of Panama hats not tans this time. You could easily be fooled into believing that the PANAMA hat originated in the country of Panama - a common misconception. It was actually the clever weaving fingers of the people of Montecristi in Ecuador who came up with this little beauty - so fine you can roll it up tightly enough to fit through a man´s ring. Well not quite! We tried. The french bought these hats to protect their delicate skin while attempting to build the Panama Canal - hence the deceiving name.

Arriving in Montecristi from the non-descript Manta you know you´re in the right place as straw hats, cushions, dolls, rocking chairs etc. etc. drip from every second shop front. The real trick was to hunt out the Montecristi Fino - the finest hat from the finest straw and the authentic thing. After a hot uphill hike we finally found the home of Jose Chavez Franco hidden behind the church. A bit embarrassed we tried on their best hats with sweat running down our faces and backs and after a few snaps with his exhuberant wife we settled on our purchase. Tick ;-) Who is that dashing man - quick, give him a cigar.

Our second motive for heading to the coast out of beach season was to glimpse migrating Baleen whales. The meeting of warm and cold currents off the coast turns Peurto Lopez into THE love motel for these Antarctic whales between June and August. Curly haired and cheerful Cherry took us out in his bathtub to bob around with these amazing creatures. Three hours flew as the entire boat strained necks and popped eyes out of sockets to spot the pods and ooohed and aaahed as they rolled about, slapped their fins and performed one spectacular leap fully out of the water.

Unfortunately we were not quick enough with the camera and only caught the splash on this one. Cherry regularly called his mates on his mobile to find the whale hotspots and sped us there. We left the boat with watermelon juice down our fronts and feeling like we had definitely had our money´s worth on this trip.

Love Kaz and Stu xxx

Sight of the week: has anyone mentioned occupational health and safety to these Ecuadorian painters?