Day 4 of my trip to Ecuador was relatively low key... aside from the paragliding.
Montanita
We started our morning with delicious acai bowls for breakfast at our hotel. During breakfast, we roughly planned the rest of our week.
This was supposed to be our last morning in Montanita before heading north to Puerto Lopez for scuba diving. However, Sierra's Spanish instructor suggested we stay in Montanita and take day-trips to Puerto Lopez. She felt Montanita was safer and more interesting.
Our hotel, Montanablu, was practically empty so we had no problem booking our room for an additional 5 nights at only $50/night. I say "only" but Sierra, being used to paying hostel prices, thought it's a fortune!
After breakfast we enjoyed a long walk on the beach from Montanita to Manglaralto. We might have walked farther but we had afternoon plans to fly off a cliff.
Paragliding
Sierra and I tried to go paragliding, for the first time, during a trip to New Zealand almost four years ago. Unfortunately it was cancelled at the last minute because of weather and neither of us has had the opportunity since then. Until now!
We arrived at Parapente Playa Bruja around 12:30 and our pilots didn't waste any time getting us ready. After a few minutes of instruction, they strapped each of into a harness. They let us choose if we wanted to fly at the same time or one after the other. We chose to fly at the same time which made the adventure even more fun. Sierra's pilot strapped her in and off they went. My pilot and I were just a minute behind them. This felt about as close to flying, without actually flapping wings, as I could imagine.
At first I was scared. Not because it was scary, but because I expected it to be scary... like bungee jumping. But it really wasn't. Unlike bungee jumping, I didn't have to make myself jump off a perfectly good bridge. Instead, I was strapped to my pilot. He made all the decisions. And, we didn't really jump. My pilot and his crew raised the wing and the wind gently carried us off the mountain.
We soared soared up and down over the beach and the cliffs. Our pilots circled around each other so Sierra and I could enjoy each other's flight as well as our own. It was beautiful and peaceful and we would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I think Sierra added Paragliding Pilot to her list of career goals. I'd be happy just being her passenger.
Sunset Dinner
I enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at our hotel while Sierra studied for her master diving certification. She had to finish the online coursework before her pool and ocean training the following day.
She took a break from studying to join me for a walk along the beach in search of food. We sat down at a fantastic Mexican restaurant, Nopal, just in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the Pacific.
Slideshow
Here are pictures from Day 4 of our trip to Ecuador.
Expenses
I'm doing my best to track expenses in this spreadsheet for anyone that's interested in a similar, relatively low- budget trip.
Ecuador Fun Fact
United States one dollar bills are legal currency in Ecuador and people are happy to accept them. However, you are unlikely to receive one dollar bills as change for your larger bills. Instead, US dollar coins are the most frequently used currency in Ecuador.
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