Puerto Lopez is very compactly laid out. Most of the businesses are located "downtown" in a three or four block grid. For the most part, only the gas station, bus station and a couple of government offices are on the fringes of town.
Before talking about the ways to get around town, I want to mention different dining options (assuming that the lure of the market doesn't compel you to stay in and cook). Let me say that I am no expert on eating out in Puerto Lopez. Emily and I have pretty much found our favorite places and usually only eat out as a diversion from shopping or running errands.
That said, there are three options for eating around town, ranked from cheapest to nicest.
Street Vendors
There are both stationary and mobile vendors. These are good places for grabbing a quick snack: an empanada or chicken breast for 50 cents:
Almuerzo (lunch)
These restaurants, "comedors", are usually open just for lunch (noon to three or so). For $3.00, lunch includes soup, meat (fish or chicken, usually), salad, rice and a cup of juice. It's not very exciting as far as the food goes, but it's cheap and it's a complete meal. Our two favorites are Las Tejas on RDS at the south end of town (next to the plastic store), and this one, ("Patio de Lupita"), located next to Villao:
Serving an inexpensive meal does require cutting costs in other areas, however:
Higher-End Dining
There are three places that Emily and I like to eat when we're in the mood for something nicer. (We haven't been to Bellitalia or some of the other restaurants in that class, so I have no opinion on them, either good or bad.)
Dogzilla (on the beach just north of the current Malecon) has a very simple menu. Most days, Jerry and Carla have great bacon cheeseburgers and fish and chips; occasionally, they will also have pulled-pork sandwiches. The food is great and costs about $6.00. They are open either Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday, depending on anticipated weekly business. Food service starts between noon and 1:00p and continues until they run out of food. (Jerry does all of the shopping in the morning; everything is very fresh!)
The
Victor Hugo also has a variety of great food and the best Mexican menu in town that I've seen. The prices are a little higher (about $9-10 for an entree), but the breakfast is especially good. We watched the NFL playoff games here, and they had no problem hosting 40 or so people for the events.
Our favorite, however, is
Patacon Pisa'o. Located west of the stop light (yes, that's a singular noun) and just off the Malecon, Jaibel and Karol's place serves authentic Columbian food in huge portions. Prices range from $6.50 for a chicken sandwich (which we usually split) to $12.00 for a grilled shrimp kabob (my favorite, and I do not share!). They open at around 1:00p for lunch and dinner.
Full disclosure: part of our bias comes from getting to know Jaibel. He's been in Ecuador for nearly 20 years, is bilingual and has his ear to the ground regarding most of the people and goings-on around town. During our first trip to Ecuador in 2011, the Wifi at the Hotel Pacifico was pretty weak, so we started using his. When we returned on our second exploratory trip, the very first thing he said was the updated password for the Wifi; he hadn't seen us in six months but still recognized us! (I don't know; maybe I'm just "special" looking or something.) Emily and I stop in 2-3 times a week, even if it's just for a beer and a chat.
Patacon Pisa'o is also the only place that we can receive mail. Check out the address on this package we had delivered from the States. It's the name of the restaurant, the intersection where it's located and diagonal from the fire department:
Sorry for the diversion - back to our topic...
There are multiple ways of getting around Ecuador and getting to the neighboring countries; I want to focus on getting around inside of Puerto Lopez.
Taxis and Trucks
There are standard yellow taxicabs that operate in Lopez, but they are not very common. Usually, they are used for traveling to other towns along the coast (Ayampe, Solango, etc.). They are not that common because the buses are much cheaper; a taxi ride to Ayampe can cost $8.00; a bus ride only costs 50 cents.
More common are the white "
taxi-trucks":
These are helpful for moving appliances and other large items around town (not all of them have the camper shell in the back). They are also used for large grocery/errand runs to other cities in Manabi province. To use one around town is $2-3, depending on how far you need to go. For a day trip to Manta or Portoviejo, expect to pay $10/hour. (Manta is roughly two hours from Lopez, so a day trip is about seven hours, or $70.) I've ridden with Tito and his son Bryan on two separate occasions (Bryan also owns the ceviche restaurant across from the school), and they are both timely and cautious drivers (cautious by Ecuadorian standards, anyway).
More commonly used around town are the "
mototaxis" or "motocicletas". (Don't call them "tuk-tuks" like I first did; we're not in Thailand.) These are the old ones that are being phased out...
... and being replaced with newer ones:
If you need to pass a kidney stone, a ride in either one of these will do the trick. They are rough rides, but the price is hard to beat. A ride either into or (relatively closely) out of town is 25 cents per person per trip (minimum 50 cents). For example, a ride from Xavico's to our place is 50 cents, whether it's just one or both of us. A trip from the bus terminal (north of town) to our place is $1.00: 50 cents into town and 50 cents from town to our place. If we go into town to buy propane, water or beer, we'll usually pay $1.50: the trip into town, the return trip, and a little colitas (tip) for having them wait while we shop.
Our favorite method of getting around town, however, is
walking. We can walk across town, from our place to the pier, in about 25 minutes. We bring either backpacks or a cooler bag for anything that we're shopping for. Not only is the walking great exercise, but we've also had the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the locals. We've also become familiar with many of the dogs in town and have given them our own names ("Girl", "Pancake", "Soccer Dog", etc.). There's a story behind each of the names, but I won't bore you with them here.
Since we're walking, we can take shortcuts that the motorized vehicles can't A typical walk for us (something that we do nearly every day) goes something like this:
We leave our house and head towards the church at the bottom of the hill...
...diagonal across a soon-to-be soccer field...
...through the (currently) dry riverbed...
...past the market, towards the Municipal building...
...behind and around the school...
...before arriving on Ruta del Sol next to TIA:
A couple of notes about walking around town:
- Wear good shoes! Our personal preference is for Teva sandals; we each brought three pair when we came down here.
- Watch out for hazards. Many of the utility access lids are missing, and this would be a nasty step:
- Most of the streets west of RDS are paved asphalt while roads on the east side are packed dirt; these are easy to walk. The Malecon is not as easy. It's surface is a combination of rocks and packed dirt (you'll feel it in your feet at the end of the day)...
- ...although the sidewalks aren't always a much better option:
- Learn where the shade is! On sunny, 30+ degree days (about 87F), even the slightest relief is welcome:
(When we walked around town in Guayaquil, where the temperature can be 8-9 degrees higher than Lopez, we would follow the shadows of power poles just to keep our heads in the shade!)
I hope this gives a little insight into getting around town. If nothing else, just remember that there is an ice-cold, well-earned, 22-ounce trophy awaiting your return home!
