Ecuador - Whale Watching and other things Tonsupa - Esmeraldas Province.

So my family and I decided to take a last minute trip to Tonsupa for the weekend to get out of Quito.  It was just me, wifey, the little one, and my suegra.

The road trip took about 6 hours and featured a stop for delicious Almurzos in Puerto Quito at a small road side restaurant with a river running right by it.  My son and I went down to the River and spotted a few things photo worthy.

I bet this spot would make great for fly fishing

So many rocks

I am not sure what kind of bird this is but its super cool

Can you see the Trucha?  (Trout)

The river was a great unexpected diversion from the road trip and one day I hope to go back to explore Puerto Quito further.  Anyhow, this place served the yummiest breakfast.  I had a simple Continental Breakfast and it gave me the boost I needed to keep driving.

We arrived in Tonsupa around 12:00 and it was jam packed with locals from Quito and tourists from wherever.  We made the mistake of not securing reservations and had quite a hard time finding a hotel for 4.  We ended up in Hotel Tulipanes which is more of a hostel than anything.

Los Tulipanes Cabanas - That pool looks inviting. 

I was so happy to see this sign after 10 other hotels were already full.

Nice little waterfall rock thingy

Great place to kick back. 

  Our room was not so much photo worthy because it was simply two sets of bunk beds for the 4 of us.  Needless to say we weren't planning on hanging out in the room at all anyways.  Cost was $120 for all 4 of us.  We were about 4 blocks from the beach.  The owner was a great guy.

We hit the pool immediately and withing 30 minutes some drunk ass Ecuadorian college kids came plowing through the hotel towards their room.  They must have gotten an early start and one of them was flat out belligerent.  He could barely walk so I had a good laugh.  apparently he didn't like that too much.

When I got out the water and towards our room, the guy stumbled up to me and started saying something.  I never took a course in drunken Spanish so I didn't understand him but it had tough guy words in it.  Me, being with my family, I simply turned around, and my wife told his friends to collect his drunk ass before he got hurt.

The guy tried to grab me but he was so limp from drunkenness he had the grip of a jelly fish.   He must have weighed in at an even 120 pounds, I am pretty sure my son could have pummelled him, so instead of laying him out like a lawn chair, I just said "NO ME TOCAS!", and stepped back.  They he said something that sounded like "what did you say?" in Spanish, and I said "You heard me!".  Then his friends finally dragged him off.  That guy is lucky to have such good friends, I will leave it at that.

Anyhow, back to enjoying our time.  After the pool it was time to hit the beach!  I didn't take pics personally because I didn't want to risk getting my phone wet or sandy but here is a good shot of Playa Tonsupa I found on the net.  If you took this pic please let me know so I can give you credit.   

Playa Tonsupa Skyline

  I did however get quite a nice snapshot of the smooth road we walked in order to get to this beautiful beach.

This was one of the few roads in the beach area that wasn't just dirt rocks or sand.  Tonsupa is definitely in its earlier stages of development in comparison to places I have visited in the Sierra.

One of the highlights of this weekend getaway was having the opportunity to ride alongside of humpback whales!  I will let the photos do the talking here.

Seeing the Mommy and Baby whales frolic in the water made the whole trip worth it, and I highly recommend whale watching in Tonsupa.  If you'd ever like to take a journey like this don't forget to contact me on my company's official website www.themiddleoftheworld.com  and I will be happy to have it arranged.

I wish I could have highlighted a bit more of the NIGHTLIFE in Tonsupa but Mother in Law wouldn't babysit the little one for the night.  I guess it all works out however because I found out the week after the trip that my wifey is now Pregnant with number two!!  Life is grand and I am excited to have another one in my life.