The Beach-ay at Mompiche

Last weekend ended up being a three day weekend, as the President decided to move a national holiday (Guayaquil’s Independence Day) from the 9th (Thursday) to the 10th (Friday). Regardless of the source of this three-day weekend, it allowed me and few others from my exchange program to ditch the mountains for something a little sandier and saltier, namely Mompiche in the province of Esmeraldas (pronounced mohm-PEE-chay, which is why the title might be funny).

The view from the the top of our hostel

Despite everyone in Quito and their dog leaving the city this weekend, Mompiche was not overly crowded. However, the sun was not a strong presence. But at least the water was pretty warm! We arrived at Mompiche shortly after a spring tide, which the water covered the beach came over the wall in that previous picture a few times and soaked a few unsuspecting beach-goers.

There were a few birds at Mompiche, none of which I was terribly successful at photographing due to leaving my nice camera in Quito for safekeeping (which was a good idea, because the humid, salty air managed to kill my “waterproof” camera). Anyway, here are some birds (all of which I will get better photos of in the Galapagos)!

Brown pelicans

Magnificent frigatebirds, named for their habit of stealing fish from other birds. There were also pelicans in the trees, which I did not manage to photograph.

Blue-footed boobies. Contrary to popular belief, they are not only found in the Galapagos and range from Baja California to Peru along the Pacific coast. Occasionally, tropical storms force them inland to places such as Arizona.

There were also a few cool things washed up on the beach.

A not-so-puffed-up pufferfish

Mangrove seedling

One of the larger hermit crabs I’ve seen

However, the coolest part of Mompiche was definitely its tide pools, which were in a rocky part of the beach near the boobies.

Sea anemones

Sea urchin

Elysia crispata, a lettuce nudibranch (or sea slug)

A chiton, a strange, armor plated mollusk

Another attraction at Mompiche is the Playa Negra (black beach), which we visited at sunset, when the tide was covering the sand… However, the sunset was nice, even if we did nearly walk back to the town in the dark.

If you look hard enough, you can see the black sand in the crashing waves.

Cows attempting to block our twilight passage back to the town

Starting tomorrow, my oceanic adventures continue in the Galapagos Islands. Expect another post in the next 1-3 weeks!