Usually on the bus rides I take 10-30 photos and choose 5 to show you. This trip was only 6 hours, but provided what I think is some quality pictures to give a good idea of the typical towns in betweeen the major cities.
This is the inside of the Guayaquil main bus terminal followed by the outside as we take off for the coast.
The complimentary program starts off with North American wrestling (not olympic, but the men in makeup and tights kind) voiced over in Spanish. This is being competed with the Latin music blaring from the drivers seat, not to mention the woman on the phone behind me that seems extremely determined to get her point across.
Please keep in mind, all of these “bus” photos were taken through a dirty window while flying through windy roads. Instead of choosing only the quality photos, I’m going with the quality content instead. You get the drift.
In the exact order they were taken, here is 6 hours wrapped up in a photo tour.
Just Ignore my finger in this one, as I moved quickly when the priceless donkey standing on the side of the building caught my eye. Do you see him?
The little mobile cart is the primary source of taxi rides around the smaller villages.
Take notice to the non motorized cycle with cart that’s to the right of the motorized taxi buggie. This little getup is used to move just about anything that you would typically put in a wheel barrow. So far, I’ve mostly seen bulk of fruit and veggies or construction supplies.
The cylce carts also fill in for the vendors as their booth. I think it’s brilliant! You load up, ride to where you want to work, park and open up for business. Obviously today was next to a truck full of eggs…a lot of them!
More random shots along the way in the order they were taken.
As I’ve mentioned before, when the bus stops (for a whole 3 seconds) to pick up or drop off new passengers it usually adopts a salesman with food, drink or a “special promotion” for a random item.
Today has been vitamins, bread, gum, ice-cream and this lovely girl. Apparently everything she was saying was hilarious because the once sober sounding passengers are now laughing after every punch line she drops.
She passed out these necklaces that was in support of the local school. I accepted the offer for a whopping $1, knowing that I could gift it to an unexpecting little girl along my journey. Win-win!
More photos as we near the location of my first week in Ecuador.
I wonder if he gets better cell reception on the top deck.
Another stop fills the empty seat next to me with a new friend that lives in the city where Ill be volunteering in a few weeks! She only speaks Spanish so the hour conversation was quality practice for me. She was also a helpful comfort when telling me to get off the bus, “¡su parada está aquí!”. Muchas gracias Rocio!
Im finally here in the beach town of Conoa. I get the keys to my room just in time to unpack and grab a quick bite before the sunset. Check out details of Hotel Macondo here. It’s amazing what I get for $9 a day. The second photo is of my balcony with a hammock… After the bus ride, that just encourages a deep breath and a smile!
Her Happy Trails 
Hello there! Just wondering how easy it was to get a bus to Canoa from Guayaquil? Do they go frequently? I will arrive from Peru at 6pm and would like to head straight there but it may not be possible? Do you also know if it is possible to travel from Canoa to Montanita easily?
Happy travels!
It depends on what you classify as “easy”. There are busses, but nothing straight through. A couple transfers that aren’t too tricky and you’ll be there in no time! To my memory that went twice a day, a morning bus and early noon. Canoa to Montanita is also very possible, just plan for it to be an entire day knowing their system is unpredictable! Good luck and cheers to the open road! Ps, make sure and say hi to the owners of Macondo hotel (https://herhappytrails.com/2013/04/05/the-hidden-gem-of-macondo-hotel-in-canoa/)and try his fresh ceviche… Scrumptious!
How cool is that? A room with a balcony and a hammock for $9!