On the road Quito - Guayaquil

The next part of our Ecuador adventure took us from Quito to Esmeraldas, and from there along the coast south, driving the Ruta del Sol, to Salinas and then to Guayaquil.

The drive took us a few days, and we stayed in three places along the way. The first was Tonsupa, the next Jama and the final one Puerto Lopez.

The route itself was sometimes along the beach, and sometimes up in mountains with various kinds of vegetation. The last day from Puerto Lopez to Salinas and Guayaquil we had rain, the road was full of mud, and the car ended up dirtier than any previous time on the road.

Some photos from Quito to Esmeraldas.

And some from Tonsupa,

Jama looked like this.

We stopped in Manta for a coffee. We didn't see much of the city but it is home for one of our new friends and it felt important to at least drive through it.

And Puerto Lopez was a surprise. We were desperate to find somewhere to stay and drove past this place. We even saw some whales in the bay, but of course they were far away so it was like seeing the tails when the whale came up for air and had a jump.

Salinas was the place with a proper beach in the city. It is called Salinas because it is a place where they harvest salt. At least that is what we believe.

The last leg to Guayaquil was quite barren, but the road was good. We had been very impressed with the Ecuadoran roads, until we got on to the not-so-well-maintained stretches where the surface was one hole after the other and it was a fight to drive.