Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Get Out of Town!

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The weather here in Cuenca has been consistently lousy for weeks--cool, overcast, and rainy. So when friends invited us to join them on a 5-day getaway trip to the coast we jumped at the chance for a change of scenery.

Our destination was Punta Blanca, an area midway between Salinas and Montanita. None of us had ever been there, so we were thrilled that after an early morning departure we were ordering a seafood lunch right on the beach only a 4 1/2 hours later.

The condo we rented turned out to have a terrific view of the pool and ocean.


And the climate exceeded expectations--beautiful blue skies, perfect temps, and surprisingly low humidity. We got acquainted with our new "home" with a stroll along the lovely uncrowded beach.


After a supply run to a nearby grocery store we proceeded to do a whole lot of nothing for the next few days. Well, I guess beach walks, body surfing, eating, drinking, reading, and napping are something, but you get the idea-----.

We did venture up to Montanita on Saturday for lunch. Wow, what a difference! The place was absolutely packed.


Of course, that didn't stop us from a pit stop on "Cocktail Alley,"


strolling along the newly constructed walkway along the ocean,


or checking out all the trinkets for sale.


We said goodbye to Punta Blanca on Monday and headed back to this same dreary weather.


I'll keep this image in mind until sunny days return.




4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Ed,

We just got back home to Montana & yes, the entire two weeks was indeed overcast & cool! But, we loved Cuenca hugely & will probably move there within the year. So nice to know that warm weather & water is only 4+ hours away. Wonder how much a condo on the water, on average, would cost as we would definitely want to do that ! thanks so much, Elizabeth

Edd Staton said...

That depends entirely on where it is. Condos will range from $90K in a remote area to $250K in a highly desirable one. I'd rather rent one for $35/night/couple like we did.

The sun's out this morning so hopefully this dismal spell is passing.

Unknown said...

Hi Edd, Can you suggest the best mode of transportation to get from Cuenca to Punta Blanca? We will be making our first trip to Cuenca in November and we only have two weeks, so I don't mind spending a bit more to reduce travel time. Thank you, Debbie (a long time blog reader)

Edd Staton said...

Hi, Debbie, here's the thing about Punta Blanca--it's not only about the best way to GET there, it's also about getting around once you ARE there. The location is truly beautiful but somewhat isolated, so you need personal transportation to get around.

I can highly recommend Cuenca Car Share (http://www.cuencacarshare.com/) based on our recent experience. The Gran Vitara we rented was in excellent condition and equipped with GPS that made navigating even busy Guayaquil a breeze. This new company is expat-owned and far cheaper than standard rental car places.

From Punta Blanca, Salinas is 1/2 hour's drive south and Montanita the same distance north. Added bonus--a mall with modern grocery store is close by.