Finally, we get to Montanita…!!

We left Naranjal later than we intended, but knowing that we only had 300 odd km to ride and no borders to cross, we could afford to take it easy…

Tom and Fabio lead Jamie on the way to Guayaquill... Jamie seemed to have got a second wind today, and rode up near the front, matching our speeds, although he would later confirm that his fuel usage increased dramatically...

The ride north to Guayaquill was uneventful, except for the fact that just south of Ecuador’s second largest city, we became separated… I was riding at the back with Nigel and when we got to a major traffic circle, our GPS’s told us to turn west towards the coast… Fabio, Tom and Jamie, who had been riding together, and had gone straight on to the north…

We were amazed to see this gaucho herding his cattle alongside a major three-laned highway...!!

We waited for them for a while and then rode on, assuming we would see them later that evening in Montanita… We had a common destination and Montanita could not be too big to find each other again in…

Road signs like this made us a little peckish, after our light breakfast in Naranjal...!!

Nigel and I stopped to have a light lunch and received a sms from Jamie to say that they had looped north of Guayaquill, and were back on the same highway that Nigel and I were on… A few minutes later they arrived and we rode on towards the coast together…

Once we reached Santa Elena close to the ocean, the road swung north and took us along the sea-shore...

Sensing we were close to our destination, we all began riding a lot quicker than we had that morning, winding our way through small fishing villages as we headed for Manglaralto and the resort towns that lay beyond it…

It was hard to believe that it had taken us two days to do what I normally would have easily done in one...!!

We rode into Montanita on a bit of a high, looking forward to spending the afternoon on the beach and the next day resting… We parked the bikes in a narrow street leading to the beach and then after a double shot of vodka, I was ready to join the hunt for accommodation…!!

The little drinks stand that we had a welcome drink at...

This was to be our base for the next two days...

While the rest of us set out on foot to recce the immediate area, Fabio hopped on his bike and rode back to the main street to suss out the situation there…

He returned a few minutes later to inform us that he had found a great spot further down the beach, but still within walking distance of the little town centre…

We followed him to a little dirt track that led down to the entrance of a neat little hostal, situated right on the beach… Our bikes were parked in an open area behind a gate and we were more than satisfied with Fabio’s choice…

It did not take us too long to establish ourselves in our rooms, and take over the few tables and chairs on the open balcony facing the sea, from where we could pick up a reasonable internet signal, and watching the comings and going on the beach below…

Our bikes stood out in the drizzle, getting the dirt from our recent rides washed off them...

View from our balcony... Although the weather wasn't as good as it could be, we were none the less pleased to be off the bikes and enjoying the beach... Fabio is seen returning from a swim, and seemingly happy to be in Montanita...!!

Hostal Sole Mare seen from the beach.... Not too shabby to spend a few days in...!!

Our hostal was near the end of a small bay, close to other similar small hotels...

My corner of the room I shared with Fabio and Tom... The upper bunk was soon littered with my gear, which was better than having it on the floor...!!

We all went for a dip in the sea and then had a late lunch at the little restaurant right next door…Surfers come from far and wide to ride the waves that break in a large arc onto the beach, and we saw many young folk who seemed to have taken up semi-permanent residence here…

There was a Frenchman who seemed to be the resident surf instructor, and an American girl who gave yoga and fitness lessons in a small gym behind the hostal…

We walked along the beach and into town, checking out the many little kiosks that sold touristy stuff.. We were apparently on the edge of the busy season, and as a result, the narrow lanes between the stores were not as crowded as they usually are…

The guys chose a restaurant to have dinner in later that night, and I chose not to join them, but rather reply to the dozens of emails still waiting in my inbox, instead…

Before I settled down to write, I sat watching the sunset, which in this part of the world, always seems to be spectacular… The balcony was soon bustling with other guests eager to take their own photographs…

The last rays of today's sun glint off the water.... Sunset here is a daily event that attracts people down to the beach to sit quietly and stare out over the Pacific...

And a good thing I did that…!! Nigel and Jamie stumbled back home at about 4.00 am, six sheets to the wind and talking loudly enough to wake the entire hotel…!! While Jamie fell into bed and only emerged later that afternoon, Nigel seemed to have gotten a second wind, and spent the morning telling us all about the mischief they had got up to the previous evening…!!

He had apparently taken over a bar somewhere and was serving something called a “Zombie” to all who were foolish enough to try one…!! The cocktail consists of five different types of Rum, with little else apart from a few shards of ice…!!

"Ronnie....!! Mama Mia, why you breaka your things...!!" An exasperated Fabio assists with more running repairs, after my right hand pannier broke off the bike and went skittering down the road... He has also reset my shock absorbers "so I don't ride like on a trampolina"....!!

I had to empty the pannier and remove it from its sub-frame so we could repair it... Fabio shook his head at the amount of tools and other hardware that emerged from the pannier...!! "You hava da workshop in your bike...!!"

Then Fabio and I got down to making running repairs to my pannier which had broken off the day before, and was now only attached to the frame of the Big Fella by a tie-down strap…!!

We had to send one of the hotel cleaners in to town to find a rivet gun… I had the rivets which I had bought in Malaysia, the last time I repaired the self-same pannier…

With Fabio’s help, we had the lock riveted back in position in no time, and then he re-set my rear shock and even adjusted the front one which he deemed to be too hard…

“The bike will be a different story tomorrow… You will see…!!”

And he was proved right the following day…!! Not only was the ride more comfortable, but I was able to ride over the speed bumps a lot faster than I used too, following Fabio’s lead of almost “jumping” his bike over them…!!

Both Fabio and Tom then made minor adjustments to their own bikes, and then went back to the balcony to continue downloading emails and skype with their very understanding wives…!!

When Jamie finally emerged from his room, we sat down to discuss our plans for the coming days… He and Nigel wanted to ride up into the mountains to Riobemba, and ride the train that zig-zagged up steep mountain faces and took tourists on a round trip ride through the higher reaches of the Andes, and back to Riobemba…

Fabio and Tom wanted to get to Bogota as quickly as possible, to fly their bikes to Miami… Fabio had to be back in Italy by mid-May to supervise the new business venture he had launched… He was constantly being pestered by emails from all over the world to get samples of the BMW Kits he had developed…

The big white “tank” on his bike, is not a tank at all, but merely a cover that clips over the identical tank to the one on the Big Fella… The front headlight and windshield is also his own design, and makes the BMW look like the older and very popular models from the 70’s and 80’s… The front forks of the bike that h is riding are one of a kind, and made by Fabio himself…

They make the bike slightly longer than normal, and give a more comfortable ride…

I took my trusty camera into the sea to get a sea view shot of the beach and our hostal... This was one place that I could easily have spent a week resting in...!! Montanita goes onto the list of places I want to visit again...!!

Tom and I took what I thought would be my final swim in the Pacific, just as the sun was setting... He had me up and in the water again at 6.00 am the next morning...!!

I had been in touch with a biker in Quito, whose name was passed on to me in Cuzco by Adrian, the Colombian rider I helped out with the tyre…

Ramiro lived on the northern edge of the city, and was happy to have all three of us stay at his home on our way through the city…

Our minds made, up, we advised Nigel and Jamie that we were heading for Quito, and would meet them there on the weekend…

Montanita, Ecuador, to Bogota, Colombia... This was the route I planned to get us to Bogota, and Fabio and Tom were happy to follow suit...!!

After a very early morning swim, we were ready for the long ride to Quito… The weather was not in our favour, and a light drizzle was falling as we packed up and then went to see about breakfast…

Fabio takes a long last look at the sea and the beach before we hit the road....

After a quick breakfast, we were surprised to see Nigel and Jamie come out of their room to say goodbye to us…!! At 7.00 am in the morning, they were usually still in dreamland…!!

Nigel and Jamie come out to say goodbye... This was to be the last we would see of them, although we had hoped to meet up with them again in Quito or Colombia... Thanks for the rides guys... It was great meeting you...!!

We rode up the muddy track leading to the main road, and then set off to tackle the road and the mountains to take us to Quito…

©GBWT 2012