9 things that AMAZED us about AYAMPE ECUADOR (were sci-fi geeks 😂)

• Hola Unconventionals, I’m Amelia. - And I’m JP. - And we’re sharing our unconventional life with you from Ecuador. - We took a break from work and went up to Ayampe. It’s only about 30 minutes north of Olón, but it felt like we were in a Sci-Fi movie on some exotic planet. - Yes, so in this video, we’re going to share some incredible nature scenes with you while we discuss the nine things that amazed us about Ayampe, Ecuador. (cheerful music) - Before we share the sights and wonders of Ayampe, Ecuador, if you’re new to our channel and you’re thinking about visiting or moving to Ecuador, hit the subscribe button and ring the bell because we show you what it’s really like to live in Ecuador.

00:42 - - Now let’s share with you the nine things that amazed us about Ayampe, Ecuador. And the first thing is that it is very rustic. - [JP] Yes, it is extremely rustic. None of the roads are paved. They’re all dirt and/or gravel roads. It’s definitely a lot more rural feeling than Olón. - Yeah, there’s no mercaditos like we have here in Olón. There’s just a couple small tiendas. It’s just, and it’s a really small town overall. - Yeah, and it’s not easy to find a cab.

01:06 - You’ll have to call one probably from Olón or someplace else. It is pretty easy to catch a bus though. Lots of buses stop at Ayampe. (gentle music) - The second thing that amazed us about Ayampe is that it’s super Bohemian. It’s got this incredibly chill, relaxed, hip vibe going on. - Yeah, and it’s popular for retreats as well. Yoga retreats, surfing retreats, probably Spanish language would be a great thing to learn there. - Oh yeah.

01:59 - (gentle guitar music) The third thing that amazed us about Ayampe is the wide variety of restaurants. - Yeah, for such a small town, there were a lot of restaurants and a lot of people eating at them. One of them that we really wanted to go to was completely full, so we went to another one. It was over by the beach and they had veggie tacos, but we would really call those burritos. They were wrapped in a really nice flour tortilla with some patacones, ahh, it was delicious.

02:52 - - It was delicious, the guacamole was great too, as was the delicious, refreshing juice, and the views of course, ‘cause we were able to sit out there and enjoy the ocean. (gentle guitar music) (cat meowing) Oh hi. (cat meowing) (gentle guitar music) - The fourth thing that amazed us about Ayampe is that it seemed to be popular with a younger expat crowd. We noticed a lot of people with families, young children, and it looks, I would guess a lot of them are from Europe. - Yeah, I would agree with that. It was a wide variety of people for, again, such a small place.

04:18 - (gentle guitar music) - The fifth thing that amazed us about Ayampe is that it’s even more tranquilo than Olón. - Yes, we didn’t see anyone renting the beach chairs and umbrellas like we do see here in Olón and in Montañita. There are some hammocks that are out, but we didn’t see any of the services that we’ve come to expect over in our stretch of beach. - Yeah, there are a lot of hammocks and those are free for anyone to use. They’re just kind of under these little, what do you call those, cabañas? - I think so. - Yeah. And you can just go lay in a hammock.

05:42 - There’s also no altavoces, which are loudspeakers, allowed. There’s a sign that says, “No loudspeakers.” So at the beach, it’s just a lot more quiet and tranquilo. (gentle guitar music) - The sixth thing that amazed us about Ayampe is that it is super popular with surfers. There’s also surfing camps available there. So if you’re a beginner surfer, it’s a good place to go as well. - Yeah, and the waves are quite a bit bigger than we’ve noticed here in Olón. So I’m guessing it might be popular with more advanced surfers. And also, we didn’t see a lifeguard on duty. There, it may have been because it was a Thursday afternoon.

06:44 - There weren’t very many people out on the beach and the tide was kind of out. So it wasn’t that good of a time to surf, but I’m not sure if they have lifeguards normally or not. - I think we’ll have to go back and investigate, JP. - Okay. (laughing) (gentle guitar music) (waves crashing) The seventh thing that amazed us about Ayampe is that the views are incredible. - They are unbelievably amazing, other-worldly. - Yeah, so let us know in the comments what the name of the island is. I looked it up online and it said it’s called Los Ahorcados, which means Island of the Hanged. But it also, I also found that it’s called Roca Piramidal de Desaparición Mágica, which is Pyramid Rock of Magical Disappearance. So I’m really curious, what is the official name of that island? (gentle guitar music) (waves crashing) - The eighth thing that amazed us about Ayampe is that the beach is very long, but it is rocky. - Yeah, it’s really long like the beach here in Olón.

08:45 - It’s about seven kilometers or four miles. You can walk all the way down to Puerto Rico, not the island, it’s the next town just north of Ayampe, or the next sizeable town. - Yeah, and the beach is gorgeous. But you definitely need to bring proper footwear if you want to go for a long walk ‘cause I think your feet would be hurting. - Yeah, there are a lot of river rocks, surprisingly, the rounded rocks, very colorful, rainbow-like rocks, but there’s also a lot of lava rocks, that kind of jagged, rough, black rocks along the beach. But man, it’s just so cool to walk out there with the amazing views on both sides, really. The ocean views and the inland views.

09:21 - (gentle guitar music) (waves crashing) - And the ninth thing that amazed us about Ayampe, Ecuador is that there is a lot to do. It was incredible because, as we’ve mentioned, it is very small and super peaceful and relaxing, but you can surf, you can take a Spanish class, do yoga. There’s lots to eat. - Yeah. Get a massage and you can hop on a bus and just go down to Puerto Lopez about 20, 30 minutes north of Ayampe. And then from there, you can go on whale-watching tours. You can go to Isla de la Plata, which is known as the Poor Man’s Galapagos, with the blue-footed boobies. (laughing) There is a ton to do.

10:21 - And on the eastern side of the road, the main highway that runs through Ayampe, is a jungle. And you can go birdwatching and there are dozens of different types of hummingbirds in that area. - Yeah, it is an incredibly diverse area. (gentle guitar music) - We loved Ayampe. We’re so glad that we went and spent the afternoon there. - Yes, I can’t wait to go back. It’s amazing how close it is to Olón, but it’s so different and so diverse. - Yeah, it’s a very relaxing place.

11:13 - We’re looking forward to going back, but they do also have high-speed internet. We were able, Amelia was able to work from the beach on her phone. - Yes, how awesome is that? Although you don’t have to, you can completely disconnect. (laughing) - All right guys, I think that’s all we have for this video. If you enjoyed it, leave us a thumbs up, please. As always, we appreciate that. And let us know in the comments if you know what the real name is for that Island. - Yes, we hope you have an unconventional day and we will see you all in our next video. - Chao. - Chao. .