Two Years in Ecuador
There seems to be a growing interest in cruisers coming to Ecuador. HAWKEYE has been based in Ecuador for two years now and we have really enjoyed being here. The two places to choose from are Bahia de Caraquez and La Libertad/Salinas. Bahia is further north, within half a degree of the Equator and the anchorage is in the estuary of the Rio Chone. A pilot is required to enter the estuary. Cruisers and Puerto Amistad both monitor VHF channel 69.
Tripp and Maye Martin developed Puerto Amistad. They were cruising on their Island Packet 30 WALKABOUT two years ago and fell in love with Bahia upon arrival. Prior to their arrival, Gary Swenson, a retired jet-car jockey, had already placed a few moorings in the estuary. Gary had sold his cruising boat QUARTER SPLASH, and was building a beautiful home outside the beach town of Canoa about 10 miles north of Bahia where he now resides with his wife, Merci, a Bahia native.
Tripp and Maye spent a year plus going through all
the paperwork to have Puerto Amistad built. Their gorgeous facility caters to both cruisers and locals. They can deliver water, gasoline and diesel to the moored boats, as well as pick up and deliver laundry. The current price for a mooring is $150 per month. They have hot showers and Maye’s open-air restaurant serves wonderful meals and drinks at a reasonable price (large Pilsner beers for $1.) Built over the bay on an old Navy dock, this is not only a hangout for the cruisers’; it is a place to mix with the locals. It is the new “hot-spot” in town and a favorite of visitors from Quito and Guayaquil. The facilities can be used during the daytime to work on sewing projects and 
classes and has an extensive book exchange. There is no haul out facility at the present time.Bahia is a small town but has a number of high rises that are mostly vacant. It is a beach resort for people from Quito to visit during their holidays and can get a little crowded; the rest of the year it is a quiet town. There are no large grocery stores but most things can be purchased at one tienda or another and there is a wonderful Mercado for fresh fruits, veggies, and meats as well as freshly ground peanut butter and beautiful bouquets of flowers for $1 - and wonderful white pineapples 3 for $1!
Transportation around town is by “eco-taxi”, or tricicleta, which is a bicycle with 2 front tires and a bench in between them with a little awning over for shade and room under the seat for groceries. A ride from the Mercado to the dinghy dock is 50 cents. Bahia has an extensive Malecon and a beautiful beach where people have found incredible shells, ancient pottery shards and petrified shark and whale teeth.Bahia, well south of the hurricane belt, is a great place to leave your boat and travel inland. There is an air-conditioned bus to Quito 7-8 hrs for about $9 and to Guyaquil for $7 that takes 5 hrs.
La Libertad is further south along the coast. Puerto Lucia Yacht Club has a wonderful facility with a 50-ton travel lift, electricity and water at each site. The dry storage and work area is located on a breakwater with a beautiful view of the ocean and is well ventilated with a cooling sea breeze most days. George Stewart, a former Canadian cruiser, runs the yard and his men can do as much or as little work for you as you want. He is knowledgeable and very helpful. His prices 
approach those in the states, but his work is of the highest quality. There are bathrooms close by, and a cruiser “get together” area with tables and chairs under a canopy. For a 40 foot boat, the first month costs about $400 whether on the hard or Med-tied in the harbor. Haul out and back in adds about $350 to this charge. The monthly rate is reduced 10% each month until the 7th month. The yard has room for 20 boats. The Yacht Club has a nice restaurant and wonderful pool as well as tennis courts in a guarded beautiful compound. If you don’t want to stay on your boat while working on it, they have facilities and there are also inexpensive hotels near by. El Paseo shopping center is within walking distance and has boutiques, a supermarket, movie theaters and a food court.Guayaquil is a 2- 2-½ hr bus ride away where there is an international airport and is the
gateway to several inland travel sites. Travel is inexpensive by frequent bus service that goes just about everywhere and hotels are quite reasonable.Which marina to visit? They are so completely different and depending on what your preferences are, they both offer unique experiences. Why not visit them both?
Teri from s/v ISHI and I did an inland trip for 2 weeks while John and Gary were doing those jobs on the boat that require tearing the boat completely apart for a long period time and requires the first mate to either sit at one spot or leave the boat. We decided
we would try to 
limit our expenses to $25 per day and we were pleasantly surprised that it was not difficult to do this. We stayed in adequate hostels and had wonderful meals. The scenery was spectacular, the people friendly. Ecuador offers beautiful beaches, colonial towns, mountain vistas, waterfalls, primary rainforest jungles, pre Inca ruins and many other things. Come and enjoy this wonderful country and its’ people.
We are now getting ready to head back to the South Pacific and new adventures. Linda Keigher & John Kelly, S/V HAWKEYE, Sirena 38
