A Unique tour of some coastal haciendas in Ecuador, Part three
February 18, 2012
The Province of Los Rios (meaning “the Rivers”) is the only landlocked province of Ecuador’s coastal Region. With no ocean in sight, this province, however, boasts one of the country’s biggest aquifers: a vast system of rivers and waterways, many of them cascading or rolling down from the Andean snows, which create a large maze of water bodies, crossing the province in all directions, thus its name… We are now riding one of the excellent highways of coastal Ecuador, from Babahoyo, the provincial capital, to the city of Vinces. The mid-sized town, set alongside the namesake river is a post card of its own… Having been the center of the cocoa boom in the mid 1900’s, the city and its surrounding estates became the hub a wealthy class, known locally as the “Grand Cocoas”… They travelled around the globe and furnished their splendid mansions with furniture, utensils and decoration, brought expressly from France and other European countries. Thus the city was promptly dubbed by the Ecuadorians as “Little Paris”…
As we reach Vinces, we admire several of these magnificent homes, now almost a hundred years old, their elaborate gates bearing French iron and an ambiance which combines nostalgia from bygone days of splendor with the beat of the 21st century, when a second cocoa boom seems to be on its way to a new peak, with Ecuador reputedly producing some of the world’s best fine aroma cocoa, used by many of the most famous chocolate producers… Of course, we get the “must” picture, next to the town’s own replica of the Eifel Tower, an element which had to be there, to live up to the city’s reputation as a rural, Ecuadorian, “Little Paris”….
After a brief tour of the small town, we head on west, over a secondary but quite good road, passing by colorful coastal pueblos and endless rows of banana and cocoa plantations. The Vinces River accompanies us at one side of the road and we can frequently see some small yet inviting riverside sandy beaches and even some small tourist complexes. Now we arrive to “The Lord of the Horses” farm and tourist complex… Gabriel, the owner, greets us cheerfully and shows Veronica, Elvis and me around the main part of the complex… This area hosts a nicely set complex of thatch-roofed but very comfortable, air conditioned bungalows with a local architectonic style and materials, which blend well with the natural surroundings. Living up to its name, the property, which owes its name to a wealthy local patriarch of the early 1900’s who took praise in having the area’s finest horses; now has its own select and beautiful horses, which are used for lovely horseback rides along well crafted trails and an arena for the extremely picturesque “Montubio Rodeos”. Montubios are most of the inhabitants of Ecuador’s inland coast, and the local “cowboys”.
Along with fresh orange juice and trays of the always tasty “patacones” (green plantain patties), we are invited to watch a special “Rodeo” demonstration…. The lively “montubios” expertly ride their beautiful horses while performing some amazing tricks, which include some lasso passes to capture running cattle. The show is completed with a typical rural band, playing merry tunes while pretty local girls, boasting beautiful white dresses, plated and embroidered with blue designs, dance and invite the guests to dance with them at a typical montubio party….
Back to the farm’s main installations, Gabriel shows us the swimming pool and the small lake where ducks, geese and some swans provide material for more pretty pictures. The lake is equipped with a small ramp and jetty, a small motor boat, plus dugout canoes and kayaks for the guests to explore the surrounding waterways. As the afternoon is coming to an end and we must make our one and a half hours’ ride back to Guayaquil, we sadly live this rural paradise, after a journey filled with some unique travel experiences in the little known yet fascinating plains of Ecuador’s coastal inland………
T H E E N D
