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coastal erosion, Ecuador, i won't back down, let's talk about sand, olas bravas el matal, tom petty
“In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.” Rachael Carson El Matal Ecuador – June 6 – 11, 2015 The coastline along Playa El Matal continues to change daily. This post will show images taken on June 9th and 11th, 2015. Before seeing this week’s changes, let’s turn back time and take a peek at this beach as it was in June 2012. 
One of the prettiest posts painted in 2012 anchored the end of the road. near the Coco Beach entrance…
2012
Maestro painting the light post. June 2012
From 2012.. Coco Beach entrance ahead… (From post-painting competition)
Let’s move forward to images from this week; the image below shows the Coco Beach entrance at the end of the road:
Entrance to Coco Beach- June 8, 2015
Each week, the municipality hauls in more rocks as the aggressive waves strip away the previous week’s work…
Rains, quite abnormal for this time of the year, fell almost all day on Thursday and continued into the night. We normally receive this kind of weather in February.
There is little space left for the fishermen’s boats.
Where are the boat sheds, the trees, the road? Gone, but will the ocean change moods and rebuild the beaches?
Ka-BOOM! (Tuesday)
The sand bags proved their worth this past week, though the ocean claimed many.
When sections of the wall fall, the ocean advances.
Many people ask, “Why is the ocean advancing, advancing, advancing, without adding new injections of sand/beaches like it did in the past?’
The ocean did not reach a critical height this past weekend, yet the waves roared to life and thundered to shore. Some people say that the old rhythms are absent; the ocean no longer builds new beach areas. The sea continues to advance. Do you ever think about man’s consumption of sand? Take time to listen to “Let’s talk about sand.”
Some of the homeowners are replacing the damaged/lost bags with new ones, though there is little beach left to support those bags. With the new moon visiting soon, the property owners have a few days left to prepare for the next aguaje.
Those bags represent a better-night’s sleep vs sleeping with one eye open during high tides.
Uh-Oh.. Wave dynamics : one wave is moving forward and another is in reverse…
The power of waves…
The incoming will devour the outgoing one…and it makes a big splash: Ka-BOOM
A few unexpected angels have appeared, but those stories deserve their own posts. I’ll close with more images from Tuesday and Thursday of this week.
Don’t turn your back on the ocean!
Ka-Bam!
KA-boom!
Every so often the water finds a path to the homes.
An hour after high tide, the waves continued their assault…
Hang in there, those of you at the front line. Keep searching for options, and stand your ground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB8ZQI14jMQ Z
It’s hard to click “like” for this post, though the photographs are remarkable. But we know the oceans are rising due to melting ice and islands in the Pacific are disappearing. Very sad….
One can watch the waves slam into those rocks and immediately know that they amplify the power of the waves.. it’s sobering to watch.
Your photos are fantastic! This poor little community is getting trampled by the waves, so very sad. Prayers that it may one day return to normal.
You are right, they are getting trampled. I don’t see grand smiles from the locals when I appear, unlike in other years when they were always willing for a photo session. It would be so great if the sand returned.
Thanks so much for your feedback.
Again, sorry. Glad you are keeping us posted, though.
thanks — the waves take on the personality of a wild animal. posting images of the changes also help those who are not here to view what is happening… hopefully a few of the images find their way to the coastal specialists and authorities so they see the changes as well.
Such power in those waves, Lisa. It has taken ten years, but Ron and I have watched one beach return to one of our out islands damaged during a hurricane, 2004.
that is encouraging! is it returning via natural ways or were there methods used to coax the sand to return?
All natural.
That is SO encouraging! Thanks for sharing that info.
We lived on what used to be a very deep and wide stretch of beach in California. For @ 2 decades now that beach is preserved only because of huge tractors putting up a sand berm in the Fall and removing it in the Spring. It does save the homes along the beach there but your observation that the old seasonal ebb and flow of sand along that coast line is quite different than before.
One set of homeowners dug out the sand and placed huge boulders in a trench and then built what amounts to a giant boulder wall along their stretch of beach. The high tide closes out that beach and in big El Nino years the waves crashing against the boulders sends spectacular shooting sprays from waves 30 feet in the air…sometimes pitching cobble fast balls toward the homes in the biggest storms. I was told by a woman who lived along that stretch that formerly this beach was 1/4 mile wide.
Interestingly, this group of homeowners have been sued by the California Coastal Commission for their efforts.
oh goodness; than you so much for this story, and it’s scary about the commission suing them.
here they have been careful to ask for permission from the ‘navy/coast guard’ when they use the backhoe on the sand bag project.
it’s hard to put the rocks there b/c of the aesthetics, but something is better than nothing when the homes might be lost.
Z, I feel for the folks fighting so hard. Yet, without more resources, it Is truly an uphill battle. Unfortunately, this is the new normal which is continuing to advance inland. So, some very hard decisions are and will need to be made about moving further inland. Sadly, that may be where the time and energy needs to be spent. All the best to you and your compatriots. BTG
the owners of those beautiful homes don’t have that option.. they have large investments – but more at stake is the heart and soul they’ve put into those homes..
Z, I fully understand the heart, soul and money. On Bald Head Island on he southern tip of the Outer Banks, people built these beautiful homes too close to the water. They were cautioned not to do that. So, even before climate change started impacting the shore, the ocean claimed these houses. Now, the remaining homes cannot get insurance or if they can, it is for half the price. The climax to this story you and your friends are facing is not a good one even if a lot more money is spent, so they need to plan ahead. I wish I could say otherwise. It is painful monetarily and spiritually, BTG
All of your responders have spoken of the impacts, often personal, of our relentless drive to destroy our planet. A recent scientist we went to hear talk spoke of his not being concerned with the survival of earth; it will survive. Most likely, humans will not.
As evidenced by your little village, the earth is reacting to the abuses we’ve heaped upon it, and the old ways of it healing itself no longer work. As ice packs melt, oceans will rise. What part of this is so difficult for our world leaders to understand???
Thanks for sharing your community’s sad story.
thanks for your feedback; the video/talk about sand made a lot of sense as well .. the planet is being choked ‘back’ and we are taking more than she is producing.
yes, we are the only species that destroys its habitat.. in order to evolve, we lost our empathy and respect for our planet..
Its so sad to watch, at time, almost overwhelming.
yes it is..
One wonders why the beaches are not being rebuilt by the ocean. Is this global warming? I pray for you all down there, and I hope that something changes to correct what has been done… Be well chica! ^..^
the video (about sand) helped me understand a bit more.. i think the ‘world’ is taking more sand than the earth and ocean can produce. ha, ditto for the trees.. and the water.. and the …..
So true!
Wow, that video was fascinating – it’s surprising that there has not been a lot more press coverage of this issue! Thank you (I think) for sharing that – it’s more than a little disturbing.
Yes, I know; its hard to share info like that when one knows it’s like salt in wounds, but being informed is important.. especially when one needs to ‘strike at the root’ of the problem…
Thanks for your continued story and for your sensitivity to those of us who own homes there. Love the Rachel Carson quote. The video was a real eye-opener, too. From his talk, it sounds like we need to take all the Pilsner bottles in Ecuador and turn them into sand!
Yes yes, especially the non returnables which now, unfortunately, are sometimes tossed to the roadsides.
I guess things are pretty quiet in Manta unless there’s an aguaje? The waves at Playa Tarqui often slam that sea wall by the wooden boat repair area — at least during aguajes…
Yes, things are quiet here because there are rock and concrete walls that protect all the fishing villages like Piedra Larga and areas around us. It’s pretty well designed. I wish something like this could be done at CBV. We also have a rock jetty which helps. Of course there is no beach at high tide, but that is a small price to pay!
Heart breaking. It seems so relentless.
Alison
thanks.. yes, you are right, and that ocean’s not going to roll over and say, ‘oh well..’ we have an experiment and plan to put it to test over the next few days…
send strong energy!
z
I don’t really “like” this but I do appreciate the sensitivity of your posts about it.
yes, i know exactly what you mean.. we need an alternative button.. like ‘thanks for letting us know about this..’
I am so concerned for the damage the weather has been doing worldwide. I hope the vanishing sand is not a bigger problem not yet identified. Too bad the homeowners need to collect it to protect property. I hope all is well down there, it looks rather scary from your images. Beautiful captures though.
I join you in that concern… i was pleased to see more articles spotlighting the monarch butterfly problems/loss of habitat… i hope that the younger generation awakens and becomes involved, as they are our planet’s future.. what a horrid legacy we’re handing them…
Mother Nature is always altering, re-shaping and the weather around all of the world is altering as we see the various seasons merging into a mix-mash of rain, Hail and winds..
Even the shoreline of the UK is being eroded with cliff falls and homes tumbling into the sea.. My favourite coastal town of Whitby in North Yorkshire suffered this plight a couple of years ago when we had all the rain and floods throughout England and Wales..
I so enjoyed the story told through your photo’s, such a shame that so much is lost.. But I fear we have not seen the might of our weather patterns or the natural -restructuring of our planet..
We humans often think we are invincible until we come up again Mother Nature, and she soon teaches us our place within her world..
Many thanks for your lovely visit… It was a real pleasure to see you and I loved your comment which I will be answering shortly..
Have a wonderful Weekend, and I hope the waves become calmer to allow the flood defences time to be built..
Blessings
Sue ❤
every so often i see photos of the huge waves and blowing winds on your shoreline, and it’s very sobering to see.. even in small images… i cannot imagine what it looks like in real life.
thank you so much for comment and for your kind and gentle spirit.
When a gale blows and you are near the cost, it can be very un-nerving , but exhilarating at the same time.. I am always in ore at the power nature holds.. 🙂 Many thanks for your lovely reply x
Sue x
Thank you! We need all the help and support, we can get for the village
and the CBV community. We own one of those houses.
thank you for your comment and for your support.. standing by and doing nothing certainly won’t help the problem, so if taking photos and updating the info helps, i am glad to be here.
I was just reading in my High Country News about biologists who are trying to find genetic mutations in various plant species that appear to provide a greater ability to adapt to new climate conditions. They are trying to manipulate these changes in a lab for “assisted evolution.” It is all really madness. We are so filled with hubris that we think we will “save” Mother Nature? I believe she will have her way with us and our destructive ways. Our world will change. It’s been changing for eons. It will be up to US to adapt to the changing conditions. I don’t have a lot of hope. Your images are stunning.
yes, you are right.. once she bucks us from her back, she’ll mend well. thank you for your feedback! z
It’s so sad to read about what is happening at El Matal. It’s yet another disaster caused by a climate out of its natural balance. I clicked like as an encouragement. I wish you all the best.
Oh Lisa, how devastating. This post makes me want to cry. I don’t know if it is a good thing that you took photos in 2012 or not. It is a constant reminder of the relentlessness of mother nature. So frightening and powerful.
thank you.. your lovely island is equally fragile… and it is so unique.
which reminds me… geographis extended the ‘islands’ for another few days.. received a notice this morning.. z
What a monumental battle Lisa, and I hate to say it, but I think the ocean is winning.
It must be so distressing to watch this but I know that you are all doing what you can, Lisa. Hugs! 🙂