Joffre's Wild Ride 2.0

After we left the cascada (waterfall-see how easy Spanish is?) we drove North for about 10 minutes and arrived at a hotel. Joffre had said we would look over a high cliff and see all the surrounding area, he really wanted us to see this, even tho he turned out to be afraid of heights.

We finally got the door to open and were invited onto the property, and wow! A really amazing place, that we were happy to get to experience. A lighthouse, swimming pool (empty), several observation decks, party rooms, game rooms, restaurant/dining room, and nicely landscaped property.

Joffre pretending he's not afraid of this height, but then the view from his perch...

The grounds have some antiquities nestled in the foliage, and a glass bottle art piece, that got our wheels turning...

The place was built years ago, and some of it has an "adult motel" feel, but not in a bad way...

Naked ladies in the mural, and this room had a stage complete with stripper pole, Bachelor party anyone? We didn't get to see any of the private rooms, but I'm sure they were comfy.

It was a long way down, and Joffre (and Mike for that matter) wanted nothing to do with it.

They had guests in these two common areas when we were touring, so I didn't get pictures, but these are from their website, Restaurant dining room with of course more fantastic views. For more info go to their website PuntaPrieta.com  Rooms started at $30 a night or so a sign outside the gate said...

We all enjoyed this stop on the tour, but by this time we were starving, so he got our driver to take us down to the small town of El Matal on the water for lunch.

The Malecon is very short here, maybe a mile of businesses, the rest was beach and boat parking. 

We said goodbye to our driver, paid him $25 for the time we'd spent with him, (probably close to 4 hrs) and went for lunch. We all had almuerzo, $3 got us potato and tuna ensalada, it was cool and refreshing, and came with wonderful fresh orange juice.

By this time we were dead tired, had had a big day and were ready for naps on the bus ride home, but where were we?! And HOW were we getting to the bus? We'd let our driver go, and this seemed a very sleepy area...but never fear, Joffre was on the scene. He spoke to people waiting on the side of the road, found out a truck would come by and for .50 cents a person would drive you into the town center. We found some shade, and waited, sure enough about 20 minutes later a truck came by, and we all squeezed in, Mom and Alan in front, and Mike, Joffre and I in the back.

El Centro was buzzing, being Sunday afternoon there was a market set up including flower vendors, and numerous food carts. Glad we got to see that, but no pictures, sorry. Another welcome sight, was the air conditioned bus, ahhh to sit and relax. Didn't quite nap, but got to sit and reflect on the days adventure, and boy was it! We did end up spending almost $100, with bus fare for 5, driver, and lunch, but what a day!

So, there you have it, our super fantastic, wonderfully exciting, amazing day with our favorite Ecuador tour guide and número uno amigo, Joffre!  Stay tuned, the adventure continues...