El Matal, Jama, Manabi, Ecuador
El Matal-Manabi Province- Ecuador
Once upon a time, a friend of mine gave me some advice that I carry with me every day. He said, “Lisa, remember to be on the offensive, so that you never find yourself in the defensive mode.” That advice from my Episcopalian priest-friend has been some of the best advice I’ve ever received.
I have watched my friends take a proactive role after Mother Ocean took her first big bites from El Matal 18 months ago. They researched, brought in engineers and specialists and selected the sand-bag approach based on the advice they were given.
From 2014: One line of bags below ground level and a second half in and half out…
“The sand bags will buy you time to put a more long-term solution in place,” Engineer Daniel Santana suggested at a public meeting in March 2014.
A summary of those meetings and work done on the bags can be found HERE.
How well I remember the beauty of this beach. Look at the image taken in June of 2012 during the post-painting competition…
From 2012.. Coco Beach entrance ahead… (From post-painting competition)
Mother Ocean played a sadistic card this past weekend, and the people of El Matal do not appreciate her sense of humor. The critical window during the high tides passed, and when everyone assumed there would be two weeks of relief, she played her trump card. Most of the following images were taken at the same spot as the image above.
Looking ‘down’ the beach…
The “Entrance” to Coco Beach Village…
Uh-oh, the last of the palm trees is gone, as are the gates…
One hour after high tide, the waves were still biting…
This last surge took out more sand bags….
One or more hours after high tide, and looking back at central El Matal all but made me cry.
After 18 months of work, the offensive squad is tired, so it’s time to call in the defense — but where is the backup squad?
The sand bags held much longer than the rocks did on the other end; The municipality continues to replace the large boulders that sink into the sand and break apart. There will be another meeting with the mayor, hopefully as I am working on this post. More soon…
Sections of the sandbags remain as the homeowners wonder, ‘What will tonight’s tides bring?”
Taking a time out to discuss the next options for defense.
Z
That poor battered town! I hope that the Mayor of El Matal find a remedy. Feeling better? Hugs chica… ^..^
Thanks for your support Lisa. Beautifully written article with pictures that capture the story so well.
Your continued coverage and support is deeply appreciated Lisa – you are “one of a kind” Thank you!
Your photos tell the story.Mother Nature has been reeking havoc all over the world…I recall visiting Wasaga Beach in Ontario a few years back. Hal of the beach had disappeared under water and parts of the parking lot were covered in Sand Dunes. I wasn’t aware that large rocks would break up under water so easily..
You are right, and many factors are playing a hand in the health of our planet.. or I should probably say, ‘sickness’ of our planet.
The specialist said that these are the wrong kind of rocks, which are the only type available in this area.. The bags worked well and definitely did what they were supposed to do. Now it’s time for a new game plan, and the options are few…
The climate is changing, contrary to what the politicians tell us, and we are all having to live with the consequences of their bone-headedness. Good luck to your little town.
Thank you, and yes, the people on the front line are definitely seeing what many choose to ignore. What’s happening on the Pacific Coast up there where you are? I know Baja was bracing for Blanca, and Central America’s had some strong weather, but I’ve not seen what’s happening in the USA along the coast…
No rain, excessive temps, forest fires, severe drought, likely lack of water within one year. Not good, but our Governor still loves tracking and agriculture.
The fires are always scary, especially when the landscape is so parched and barren. I hope that the El Nino weather will bring rain, but not torrential rains, to those who need it most.
Lisa, keep fighting (and planning). Moving some key infrastructures further inland would be an offensive and defensive move. Best wishes, amiga. BTG
those wave shots are amazing!
si; and i did not walk much b/c i am still recovering. that was the first place i stopped where the waves were slamming those rocks. i’m sure they were really dramatic beyond that point. we’re hoping that this little temper tantrum is finished, and mother ocean will get quiet again.
As we all know this sort of thing was predicted years ago by the scientific community. It has been ignored and we will see more and more of this. Very sad. Sorry you have to live through it.
It’s very hard to watch, no matter if I know those affected or not. It’s sobering just to witness the body english. When I left the area today, I gazed down each little road to the beach, and there would be a line of people, shoulder to shoulder just gazing at the ocean… It’s heart wrenching. Thanks, Hugh.
Thank you, dear Lisa–some stunning and stunningly sad images to ponder–let’s hope for a better day! We are all pretty discouraged, especially those of us trying to sell our homes at CBV. . . In the meantime, we are lucky to have an ace photo-journalist on the spot 🙂
Ha, Patricia… thanks for the kind words, though photo-journalist is quite a crown — I see myself as the artist w/compassion for others.. I cannot sit back and rely on the play-by-play via the local grapevine!… I want to be there and see what’s happening, and if nothing is happening, then ask, ‘porque no?’
Here on the river, I can usually ”hear’ the big waves, but last night I didn’t. The news surprised me as much as the ocean surprised El Matal…
I don’t know how we make this better. It’s very sad. Do any of the older ones remember a similar time?
TThis is vivid and sad. Wising you all the best. 🙂
Mother Ocean is a force to be reckoned with. Hurricane Blanca added swells that, thankfully, did not do any serious damage to the little town I stay in (if you don’t count the pier that was just repaired following last year’s hurricane).
Climate change will get us all, one way or another.
Lisa, I posted this on my FB page. Should have asked first. I’ll delete it if you’d like, so let me know.
She just doesn’t let up – wow, what brute force. Hope they begin to get serious to work out a solution.
There is so little shoreline left. Much is at stake and long term solutions take time and money. Moving inland for some looks like a necessity. So sad to see. The wait and see what happens approach is happening.
Nature has such beauty and such destructive power! Great pictures! Great sadness!
You got some great photos, but I cannot imagine having a furious ocean so close. It really does a lot of damage.
Holy crap! That is horrible devastation. I don’t know how the locals keep their spirits up. I’m sure it has to do with lack of attachment to “stuff.” Repeatedly during this tumultuous weather season around the Americas, I marvel that I happened to land in a spot that is, so far, quite isolated from the super weather patterns that appear to be the new globally warmed norm. We have our droughts, our wildland fires, and an occasional microburst, but so far, nothing on par with what so many other places are faced with.
That is so sad to see all the devastation after so much back breaking work to shore the beach with sand bags. What will the solution be. Is there one? Maybe nature will win this time. I feel so sorry for the people living on, what was once, a beautiful beach and now maybe will have to move at huge expense. Hope the powers that be will assist them.
heartbreaking to see, we’re losing more and sand from our beaches. The high waves this past weekend did some damage, more so in San Jacinto, where little by little it’s eating away the street along the beach
This may have been discussed here, but I’m suddenly wondering if changes up or down the coast are affecting the strength and direction of the waves in El Matal. Along the Texas coast, where cuts have been made through the barrier islands, or jetties have been built, sand erodes or builds in new ways, and sometimes quite a distance from the change. Just a thought. But thinking is a luxury when faced with such a situation.
I see another post in my mailbox — perhaps there’s news. Sending best wishes to you , and to all the people there.
i always appreciate and respect your feedback concerning the coastal problems.. and the weather..
very atypical for this time of year, we are receiving a lot of rain.. yesterday and last night very much.. today sunny and now tonight, the soft rains have returned… i suspect the warming pacific waters are contributing to the rains, and perhaps the waves?
believe it or not, after our terrible years of drought, the entire state of Texas is now officially drought free. Some places could have done with a little less rain, but the lakes are full or filling, and people are smiling.
that is so wonderful that everything is healing.. the trees were surely suffering…
yes, and it’s so hard to gather information like that, especially with the slow modem i use for internet. ( i am in town tonight…)
There isn’t much we can do against the force of nature. Hope you are OK.