Montanita and the endless wave

Well, as promised, a posting about my weekend in Montanita on the west coast of Ecuador. I checked out of the hotel on friday afternoon and was collected by Gustavo, Claudia y 'le chicos' (kids) for a weekend by the sea. As I told you, Gustavo is the editor of the Ecuadorian surf magazine (Radical) and what he doesn't know about surf spots in the country are not worth knowing (people here make regular trips to the Galapagos to catch waves!!). So, Montanita is about 2.5 hours west of the city, with roads and habitations getting more basic as you head out.

Gustavo's mum owns a surfer guest house in the nearby village of Olon ('Wave') and this was to be our home for the next few days. A quick bite to eat down in Montanita proved the 'Rough Guide' pretty accurate '...where tanned, chilled out gringos lounge around in shorts and bikinis, and surfers stride up the main street with surfboards under their arms'. This is a place where people come to surf and I must say, by European standards, the size of the beach and the relative lack of surfers, raises the whole area to a legendary standard. Rob Enever you have to come here!!

Anyway, next morning it was down to business and I was to take a lesson from Gustavo. However, in the true spirit of someone who is really into his sport, he had to take his fix first and I proceded to watch him and a few other 'pro's' take to the main point break off Montanita headland. The point break is a great spot for the observer since you can stand right alongside the waves as the roll in to the spot where the surfers wait and can also get a true appreciation of the size and quality of the waves. Check out these pictures if you don't believe me!!


I know what you're thinking but no, this is not me.....(look at that wave!!)

For those who body board, this is how you do it!!...yes he is almost standing!!

The water here is 25 degrees celcius right now and the locals consider this the cold season. In 'summer' this exceeds 30 degrees and often surfers complain of the water being too warm! The wetsuit trade is not particularly buoyant here.


After the demonstration, we headed around to the slighty tamer 'improvers' spot in front of the village of Olon. A quick drink from a coconut and into the water. Suprisingly it feels slightly chilly when you go in (probably due to the high air tempuratures...around 32 on the coast) but after a few seconds you realise that it is just right for board shorts. After a little guidance I was soon catching a few waves and managing to get some pretty good rides to the beach though must admit, did not pull off any of the moves seen earlier in the morning at the point (but did survive the sharks!). Ok, a tiring day was finished by watching the pro's at in again at the point. By now the tide had come pretty much up to the shacks that line the beach and it was fun just watching the experts. Most of them are pretty young, spending most of the day in or around the ocean. Gustavo told me that several of them are world standard but with little money to travel and the remote nature of town, they lack the opportunity to compete in the big events.



No that is not a 'v' sign...this is the thing those surfer dudes at Montanita do!!



The point break at Montanita