A Week In The Life Of The Zeebra!

Tags

Hostel Ciragan, Hotel Ciragan, Museo Jama, Travel in Manabi, Where to stay in Jama Ecuador, Where to stay near the malecon in Guayaquil

Two food-stealing grackels sneaked into the house then struggled to find their way out!

(Ecuador)

Slow internet prompts me to switch tasks, and when I am not painting or drawing, I am usually wading through photos and savoring the memories of life in Latin America.     Many of you provided amazing encouragement and praise as Barbara and I stitched memories into that Magic Carpet on the bodega floor!  Thank you!  Barb is now traveling in Costa Rica with a cluster of good friends who were eager for their own adventures with the Hummingbird!

Here’s a pictorial of several more memories shared while Hummingbird was here:

Hotel la Fontana – Guayaquil – Almost finished with renovations, this hostal provides well-appointed rooms in a convenient location near the malecon.

Where to stay – Guayaquil Malecon Area – La Fontana – Remodeling in progress!

While photographing the workers in the hostal window, I looked up and captured this fleeting glance.

Four or five blocks from the Fontana Hotel is a unique art museum!  Hank, Marie and I stumbled upon it when they visited in November!  The second visit was like dropping in on family, and this time Manuel allowed photos!

Manuel Ugarte – Artist/Guayaquil, Ecuador

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(Psst! Happy Birthday/Cumpleanos Feliz!) Visit his site HERE http://museougarte.wordpress.com/

Manta Express runs seven days a week between Hotel Oro Verde in Guayaquil and the office beside the Central Bank Museum in Manta. This image captures the landmark of  Montecristi, about twenty minutes from Manta.

In contrast to the mini bus, our transportation in Jama was much slower! A three-dollar mototaxi ride certainly shoulders the fatigue from walking to town!

Always-smiling Carlos remembered Barbara from her visit in 2007.

In Jama, Hostal Ciragan is conveniently located near the center of town.

Conveniently located, Hostel Ciragan has squeaky clean rooms, hot water and air conditioning.

Ciragan always feels like home sweet home!

West of Ciragan is the ‘Casa Blanca’ where the Museum and Library are located on the ground floor.

Casa Blanca. Museum and Library are on the left

From Ciragan walk half a block up, one block to the left (past the ceibo tree!) then one block to the right, and you’re at the bus stop, the cyber cafe, the early-morning street coffee shop and the park!

Between Ciragan and the main town square, a tall ceibo tree hosts a canopy of iguanas.   One should always look up and try to count how many are sunning.

The ceibo tree – viewed from the Municipality Building.

One can get an early morning cup of (instant) coffee from the street cafe, conveniently located between the Coactur Bus stop and the cyber cafe!

From the cybercafe: early-morning cafe and the local coactur bus rolling into town!

One block back from the park and bus stop is the municipality building.   I attended a presentation this past week regarding a proposed real estate project, Punta Ballena.   The project looks very nice with great eye appeal.  Running a road directly behind Coco Beach Village seems a bit insensitive to the homeowners there, and I hope – with my limited Spanish –  that I misunderstood the explanation.   The second road seems like a great plan that would have little impact on the quiet village or on wildlife.  I find myself wondering why two roads are necessary if eliminating one would assure peace in the neighborhood! Hopefully more information will shed a bit more light on the plan, as for now, i assume that’s what it is – the first step.

Down the street from Casa Blanca is Marcelo’s office for internet.   As sluggish as my service is during the hours when most people are awake, I am still grateful that I can get internet at home on the river!   To my delight, a young friend was quietly waiting on his father, and he extended a warm greeting!

Friends for Life! I remember when he was a little babe sleeping in his grandmother’s hammock!

A new mural caught my eye, and as I photographed it, my friend Arturo wheeled by on his bike!

Plans are underway for a new post-painting concurso/competition, tentatively set for June. This will surely be another win-win painting session, and the town will smile with new explosions of color!

How’s this for jump-off-the-shelves color?! I bought lemons, onions, green peppers, broccoli — but photographed the squash!

With time running out on Barb’s visit, we took a ten-minute bus ride up the coastal highway and bailed out at the gates to Punta Prieta, a quiet hostal and restaurant with a jaw-dropping view.  Lovingly designed by Alonzo, it continues to evolve and is a feast for the senses!

After a tour of the gardens, cabanas, and lighthouse, we enjoyed a sunset dinner.

Seashell accent lighting

Always the gentleman, Alonzo drove us to Hostal Ciragan in Jama, as we had an early-morning bus to catch!

The pre-dawn awakenings entertained us as Barb awaited her first cup of coffee!

Never Fear! He’s the nightwatchman for the park area!

Just as he fired up the coffee water, the bus arrived!

Poor Barb! She elected to wait for coffee until the next stop!

Earlier in the week we traveled to Bahia to purchase material for the Hummingbird painting.   We stopped by the museum to say hello to my friends, and Carlos, the guide said, ‘Lisa!  There’s a new exhibit, and your painting is included!’   Barb and I wasted no time in going two floors higher to ‘piso uno.’   (How can the third floor be the first floor?!!!)

How fun it was to see Mano Swirl in the new exhibit upstairs!

Barb and I enjoyed a 30-minute detour through the exhibit!

After a final afternoon and evening in Guayaquil, Barb soared out of Ecuador airspace and touched down in Costa Rica for the next chapter in her travels!

Although she’s now in the northern hemisphere, her spirit will linger in the southern –  on the last bend of the river!

Sunset Rio Jama

Z