Beach Bum Ninjas

Remember this?

That trip happened in August of last year.  I didn't plan on returning to Esmeraldas province, which is on the northern coast of Ecuador and a bit of a hike from Guayaquil.  But as fate and sugar-fried coconut would have it, I found myself back there just last week.  Because what better way to unwind after COS conference than treating yourself to the spa-quality facilities at the Peace Corps office (see previous post) and a trip to the beach with your PCV buddy Angela?  (Answer: none.)

We agreed that our favorite spot was Mompiche, a small beach town sitting peacefully on its piece of as yet undeveloped shoreline.

Perhaps one reason Mompiche's not so highrise-y as the rest of the beach towns in the area is that it doesn't quite line up along the same coastline; it takes another bus or two through dense jungle foliage to get there.  But once you do, it's worth the extra effort (and haggling over bus fare).  It's the beachlover's ideal getaway, as long as you're one of the beachlovers who likes to lie around and read, and then eat, reapply sunscreen, and lie around some more before eating dinner and going to bed soon after the sun goes down.  This is exactly the kind of beachlovers we were, so it was perfect.

A little ways on foot from the town is this place:

La Playa Negra.  The Black Beach.  So named because the sand is...

...black.  And also pretty heavy.  Legend (and the mining industry, which had set up camp just down the beach) has it that this is due to there being a high concentration of titanium in the area. 

Titanium or not, we saw this as our one opportunity to truly blend in with our Ecuadorian surroundings.  No longer would we stick out as gringa foreigners.  No longer would we feel singled out as we struggled to make our way in an unfamiliar place. 

We became one with the land.

Below, I have marked our heads so you may see where we are.

It was a magical moment, when we realized our newfound ability to melt into the landscape and...

...disappear.