We set off again after lunch but noticed the van was making considerably more noise than before.....uh oh...it sounded like the exhaust had gone.... Paul got out to inspect and found there was indeed a split in the pipe.
There wasn't much we could do other than keep driving. Most towns have mechanics on their outskirts though, so we looked up the Spanish for exhaust (escape) and kept our eyes peeled for a mechanic (taller) who fixed them. We found one about 20km away on the outskirts of Esmeraldas, and he was working on the van within 20 minutes.
He was able to weld it back together, while Paul went to buy a new rubber retaining ring to replace one that had broken, allowing the exhaust to rattle around and eventually break. Esmeraldas is one of the poorest and therefore most dangerous cities in Ecuador, so when the mechanic sent Paul off shopping, he told him to be careful and keep his wits about him. This is standard practice for tourists in South America so I wasn't particularly worried. That was until the mechanic's other customer, a truck driver, started getting agitated when Paul hadn't returned 15 minutes later. He actually went out to the street to see if he could see Paul, and stood there for ages looking out. After another 5 minutes, he had words with the mechanic who then urged me to call Paul to check he was ok. It was making me very nervous, but just as I pulled out my phone, Paul walked through the gate. PHEW! He'd been gone for so long because the first shop was closed and he'd had to look for another.
Eventually, after 45 minutes at the garage and $20 down, we were back on the road.
Our first stop on the beach tour of Ecuador was the party town Atacames. The guide book describes it as brash - I couldn't really picture what that meant....but brash is exactly the right word - it's a beach lined with bars pumping out really loud music, girls having their hair braided, men getting tattoos at all hours of the day and street vendors peddling ceviche, coconut milk and local sweets. It was quite an assault on the senses.
(View from restaurant balcony one evening. If only you could have heard the loud, pumping music!)
Our strategy for finding a camping venue was to drive along the beach, note down which accommodation we liked the look of, then drive round the back and find one with parking. We settled on Hotel Juan Sebastian, which had a brilliant-looking pool right opposite the beach, close to bars and food, and a large shaded car park. They let us camp for $15 a night.
We stayed two nights in Atacames, eating some delicious ceviche from one of the stalls on the beach, and making the most of being able to get up and go for a swim in the pool each morning. The sea was lovely and warm too, but it rained a bit while we were there so we didn't really get to enjoy the beach properly. Also didn't take any pictures as we usually left our valuables at the hotel.
In the hotel, we were camped under the shade of a mango tree and occasionally there'd be a dull thud followed by a car alarm going off whenever a fruit fell down! On the day we left, one of the staff saw Paul looking admiringly at some out-of-reach ripe mangoes, and went looking for a tool to help him reach them. He came back empty-handed but gave Paul the thumbs up for moving the van so he could climb up!
Paul managed to get a few good sized mangoes which we have been snacking on ever since!
