La Libertad

We were stuck at La Libertad at the Puerto St Lucia Yacht Club Marina, such as it is, with murky water and frequent oil slicks surrounding the boats for about a week.  Other than WARC yachts, the locals mostly have power boats which belch diesel exhaust when run. Boat boys discharge the waste tanks before owners arrive for their weekends on the water.  There is soot in the air and rain brings no comfort as it only acts to deposit black particulates on the deck.  Water quality at the docks is suspect and we were warned by WARC that it may not be potable.  We were in a water conservation mode as we did not want to contaminate our tank with the municipal supply.

The nearby town is Salinas - third worldly and not very attractive.  Facilities are limited and the mall El Paseo, is our provisioning stop. The supermarket is adequate.  It is a short 5 minute bicycle ride from the marina.  Meals at the Yacht Club bar are simple.  We tried the restauramt at the Hotel Valdevia which is run by a French couple.  Food was so so but Ed and Francois found the house special - a rum based concoction much to their satisfaction.  They each had 2 of the mixture at US$4.50 a pop, which by Ecuadoran standards must have been a fortune.

We did a day tour of Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and commercial center.  It was a long bus trip to and from, starting at 9 am and returning to the marina only at 9 pm.  Guayaquil has some historic sections with monuments celebrating the struggle for independence from Spain, a large gothic style cathedral and statue of Simon Bolivar (on horse back of course).  Bolivar is much honoured in Ecuador for his helpfulness in the fight against the Spanish.  A tour of a eco park was also included, complete with swarming mosquitos and wildlife, not dissimilar to that we find in the Malaysian rainforest -- Tapirs, ocelots, crocodiles.