Bahia de Caraquez is a sweet little city.

Bahia de Caraquez. Left is the mouth of the Chone. Right is the Pacific Ocean

We took a three day vacation to Bahia de Caraquez (Bahia for short). We needed to get away from our demanding life in Manta ;-) or as we put it, we took a vacation from our vacation.

Sunset on the beach

 Bahia is a small city on the Pacific coast about 55 miles north of Manta (according to Google maps). It sits on a point between the Chone River and the Pacific. Unlike Manta, it is a small, clean, charming, walkable Eco-city. The locals take pride in the fact that Bahia is the first Eco-city in Ecuador. They pick up and recycle the trash every day (maybe not on Sunday but I'm not sure).

We stayed at a small beachside hotel called La Piedra. The hotel has two floors and all of the rooms face the ocean, so you can see and hear the pounding surf from almost anywhere in the hotel. Our hotel room was large, clean and bright. The ceiling fan in our room made us laugh because it looked like it should be in a dollhouse. The air conditioner was an older model and sounded like a jet engine before take-off, but it kept the room cool. It was mounted in a framed hole in the wall that let in light on three of the four sides, just another one of those quirky things. Our least favorite thing about the hotel was that the wireless internet was only available in the lobby. Those of you that know us realize how annoying that was...

We ate breakfast at the hotel several times. They had standard breakfast selections, one of which featured seafood. It seems they often eat fish for breakfast here, at least on the coast. Not something I think I'll ever get used to. The American breakfast wasn't what you'd expect. It consisted of sunny side up eggs and two very small pieces of thick, chewy tocino (bacon). It's not the bacon my mamma fed me that's for sure, and leaves something - fatty, smoky, yummy goodness - to be desired.

Corviche

Ronnie ordered corviche de pescado, camarones, y queso (fish, shrimp, and cheese) he’s a braver soul than I am! The one they brought him was overcooked to the point of being burnt, so I sent it back. By the look on the waiter’s face I don’t think many people refuse to pay for inedible food. 




Rather than take our chances ordering another corviche we ordered ceviche, which is fish and veggies in a citrus and tomato based broth. We’ve ordered ceviche more than once and it seems each restaurant have their own variation, all of which are tasty.

Ceviche

Dusty

We spent time with a lovely family from Canada while we were in Bahia. They showed us the town and their favorite places to eat. We went to the central market to buy fresh veggies and corn for their horse Dusty. Their 9 year old fraternal twins were well behaved and engaging. The time we spent with them was the highlight of our trip!