Carnaval: This four day holiday (essentially an extended Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday) in Ecuador is celebrated in different ways around the country from parades to water throwing (or spraying with water guns) to spraying foam to throwing eggs and flour. Overall, it is a time when people relax, spend time with friends and family, and there is a general aura of joy and happiness – no stress allowed. Lots of people living in the Quito/Sierra region head to the beach, which is exactly what my friends and I decided to do.
I am excited to announce that I have now officially spent time in two of Ecuador’s three main geographical regions, the Sierra region (where Quito is located) and the Coast. This post is all about my Carnaval celebration in Canoa, Ecuador this past weekend!
Nightbus: we (my four friends and I) left Quito at night and in the morning woke up and we had arrived at the beach! Stepping off of the bus we knew we were not in Quito anymore when we breathed thick air, felt warm air, didn’t hear planes and car alarms, and heard the ocean.
Beach: we observed the beach in many different states over the four days that we were in Canoa. When we arrived Friday morning (at 6am) we noticed lots of debris on the beach which apparently came from a storm the night before. We were disappointed that we did not see the beautiful, pristine beach for which we were hoping but soon enough; a community clean-up effort began. Bulldozers emerged as well as shovels and rakes as if to say “the people are coming for Carnaval, we need to clean up!” Sure enough we were soon able to see the beautiful beach and people began to arrive, more and more on Saturday and Sunday. Overall, I would explain the beach as ALIVE (in contrast to US beaches where everyone seeks their own personal space in which to sunbathe, read, picnic, or maybe throw a Frisbee). The sun is very strong because we are so close to the Equator, so most beaches (Canoa included) have several tents available to rent for the day which is exactly what we did each day (and I am proud to say that I survived the weekend without any sunburn! Some of my friends unfortunately cannot say the same…). These tents share walls so we literally have neighbors on either wall – most Ecuadorians are very comfortable with little personal space, unlike many Americans! There are many vendors walking around selling drinks, jewelry/art, ice cream, hats and sunglasses. There is loud, energizing music (especially the popular Portugese song “Mosa Mosa Asi Voce Me Mata”) playing from the speakers of the nearby cabanas that also sell drinks and food. There are lots of kids running around and this weekend, there was lots of foam spraying (a Carnaval tradition-see the picture above). There are many rocks, a few very beautiful shells, several snails in these beautiful shells, and some unidentified fruits in the sand. There are lots of surfers. Interesting to us was the enjoyment Ecuadorians found in burying each other and playing in sand – it seemed that everyone walking or sitting on the beach was covered in sand! Overall, I really loved the energy of the beach and was also pleased to observe that the water of the Pacific was warmer and less salty than that of NC beaches!
Dogs: There were lots (this is not uncommon in Ecuador). However, these dogs were smart. Somehow, they knew that my friends and I like dogs so it was not uncommon that one or two (or three) dogs would join us in our tent on the beach to steal our shade (without helping to chip in the daily $8).
Sky: I have reached the conclusion that for some reason, the sky in Ecuador is more beautiful than in at least, North Carolina if not the entire US. The sky in Canoa proved to be just as beautiful and interesting. We were very lucky in seeing beautiful sunsets three out of four nights (and the sun set directly over the ocean-something I rarely see at NC beaches). Also, in one day we saw THREE rainbows! The first two we saw together and one actually made a complete RING around the sun (and was accompanied by an upside down rainbow to form a double-rainbow).
Food: Days after returning to Quito, I cannot stop thinking about the delicious seafood that we ate every day in Canoa. I would not even consider myself a fan of seafood but the ways in which shrimp and fish were prepared were DELICIOUS. Let me try to describe my favorite dishes to you: a) Encocado de camarones (shrimp in a coconut milk sauce) with lots of rice and patacones (salted and quickly fried plantains – even though fried they were not greasy) and b) Pescado al ajillo (fish in a similar but more spicy sauce) with lots of rice and patacones and c) Ceviche, essentially cold soup served with various seafood (I typically chose shrimp) with onion, lime, tomatoes, cilantro, and served cold/room temperature. We frequented one restaurant, Saboreame, the majority of the time we were in Canoa. Overall, we ate extremely well and the food definitely lived up to the expectation that there is wonderful seafood on the Ecuadorian coast!
Overall, aside from some periods of extreme heat, lots of crowds on the beach, and one of my friend’s sickness, it was a terrific weekend and I cannot wait to go back to the coast – although I was relieved to return to Quito’s more temperate climate and lack of mosquitos.
Hope you are well!
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