After crossing the border from Peru, we were stopped about 4 times at police/army checkpoints on our way to Guayaquil. This was the day before the election and there was heightened security everywhere, after the recent assassination of a presidential candidate. All the police were very pleasant and just asked to see our paperwork and then let us go. We were nervous arriving in Guayaquil as it doesn't have the best reputation, especially lately, with a gang leader still running a lot of activity from behind bars in Guayaquil. They had just moved him the day before with the help of thousands of troops! However, as we drove through the very busy city, it wasn't as bad as we'd expected. We arrived at the camp spot we had planned to stay at, which was the car park of a big guarded city park. News articles had made it seem like people were fearing leaving their homes, people are getting shot left right and centre, and establishments are boarded up. But, everyone was just getting on with their lives, arriving to play sport and walk their dogs in the evening. This was a pleasant surprise and we felt quite safe sleeping there for the night. Everyone left by 10pm and the gates were locked so we even slept with the van door open as it was so hot. 

From Guayaquil, we drove straight to the coast, first to Montanita, where we stayed just outside a hostel on the beach, but could use their hammocks, bathroom, and hot shower for $5. The sunset that night was incredible and whales were breaching on the horizon! We were about a 10 minute walk along the beach to the town and we stayed there for a couple of days. With the upcoming elections, the town was very quiet. Tourists had largely been put off visiting Ecuador, Montanita was a ghost town, and unfortunately, the restaurants and bars were suffering.

Next up was Salango, where we were planning to stay in a campsite right on the top of a cliff, overlooking the bay. We arrived and the owners of the campsite were away. Their German friend let us in and after driving up and down hill on dirt roads, we reached the camp spot. At it was technically closed, we had the whole place to ourselves. We followed a trail down to the beach and had a wander, but there wasn't much to see. The whole place smelled of fish from a huge fish factory on the beach! 

A little further up the coast, we stopped at Canoa, another small fishing village. We found a lovely hostel which let us park in the gated car park, and use their outdoor shower, outdoor gym (complete with concrete and wooden dumbbells), pool, and table tennis! The hostel was quite fancy and cost about $70 to stay in one of the cabins...we were paying $5! It was right on the beach again, and it had a bar and restaurant, and friendly staff. 

Our last destination on the coast was Mompiche. The town had been hit with heavy rains so the many potholes in the roads were flooded. We found a campsite but it was very rundown and there was even a crab in the shower! We stayed there one night, but it was 30 degrees C overnight, so one night was enough! We moved over the road to a cheap hostel with a fan and a comfy bed. 

The beach was lovely, with very little development, and the coast was lined with mangroves. There was a huge mangrove tree perched on top of a rock, waiting for the tide to come in for a drink! We walked along the beach and down a muddy path to Playa Negra, a black sand beach. The sand was beautiful, dark and glittery from the silicone. 

While we were in Mompiche, our friends, Cally and Jack, caught up with us so we had a few nice beach days with them and went out for dinners. 

On our last day, we caught a Tuk-tuk and then a water taxi to Isla Portete, a gorgeous white sandy island with warm shallow water, where we relaxed on beach chairs with a few beers. 

Approaching Quito felt like an accomplishment. This was to be the last place Pedro would take us before we sell him. However, on our way into the city, on a small road with no phone signal, we got stopped at a police checkpoint. We are well used to these by now and usually pass through with no issues. We were however aware of the frequency of corrupt police along the roads in South America from our iOverlander app. We felt very lucky to have never been bribed by them for the past 11 months. Today was different. We were stopped and asked for our paperwork and licences which were all in order. The policeman then proceeded to inspect our tyres and tried to fine us $450 for having a slightly low tread on one tyre. Unfortunately, we had just been to a cash point but claimed to not have much cash in order to get out of the hefty fine. He clearly wasn't actually bothered about safety, as we offered to change it for our spare tyre, and he refused. Justin expertly haggled him down to $40 and we were on our way. 

We had a few nights on the outskirts of Quito, in Pifo and Tambuco. We first stayed at a campsite which had 15 cats! The lady had a pizza restaurant, so we asked for directions and drove there on our first night to get a pizza. Just up the road was a nature reserve we had had our eye on for a while. We went there for a guided tour by the owner, which cost $60 each. It was a few hours and he walked us very slowly round the grounds showing us all the birds. They had lots of feeders set up, attracting tonnes of hummingbirds, all different species which were amazing and so close. We watched them feeding and fighting for a while. 

On our way back to the campsite, we noticed a huge plume of smoke. This ended up being a wildfire right next to our campsite. We quickly gathered our things and left! From the road, we could see the smoke getting blacker and bigger throughout the afternoon, but the lady who owned the campsite never left. We have no idea why anyone would choose to stay there and inhale that much smoke! 

We moved to a different campsite on the other side of Tambuco. From there, there were another 3 wildfires rising out of the canyons that surrounded the city. The guy we were staying with was called Fernando and he was saying this would be a daily occurrence in summer, but this was spring and therefore very unusual. It was just so hot and dry that the ground was bursting into flames! They had 3 very lovely dogs and we spent a few days there. 

Then, having driven nearly 20,000 miles over the last 11 months, with very few mechanical issues, Pedro decided to die. Ironically, we were on our way to a Ford garage (a 10-minute drive away) just to have the coolant system cleaned out, with the buyer arriving in Quito in a matter of days. This was when Pedro started making a terrible noise. Upon arriving at the garage and describing the noise, all the mechanics swarmed around him. They decided to order a tow truck to take him to another Ford specialist on the other side of Quito. They diagnosed him with rod knock and explained that we needed to have the engine removed, disassembled, lots of parts ordered, and the whole thing rebuilt. Great. This landed us with a big headache and a big bill, but luckily the mechanic was really helpful in finding us parts in other cities in Ecuador, shipping them over, and keeping us updated on the work. Perfect timing for our buyer to arrive and see Pedro, engineless in the garage! 

We made the most of our time in Quito, visiting the botanical gardens, and going on a free walking tour of the city. This was excellent and completely changed our opinion of Quito. The guide took us to various free museums, explaining the different tribes that still exist in Ecuador. We also went to cultural centres, had an impromptu salsa lesson, tasted exploding alcoholic sweets, empanadas, juices, and did a chocolate tasting where we tried 100% Ecuadorian cocoa. 

He also explained the current situation political and economic situation in Ecuador. After a period of 10 years where the previous president improved education, healthcare, and other social services, with no money to back it up, the country found itself in massive debt. It turns out the government had secured a deal with China whereby if the debt wasn't repaid, China would take ownership of some of the Galapagos islands! This meant that all public services, hospitals, the post office etc. were shut down and still haven't reopened. The guide told us that his mother had been waiting for a doctor's appointment for 3 years, and during Covid the public hospitals were all closed! He said the running joke is that there are no medical supplies (other than for tourists) and the doctors give you paracetamol for everything. He also explained that the last elections were a complete farse - the only candidates being TikTok stars, singers and some guy who went on national television promising everyone who voted for him $1,000! The only half-sensible candidate was a convicted fraudster and previous bank manager. He ended up getting into power, however had stolen a lot of taxpayer money. He was then indicted on criminal charges, dissolved parliament and called for a snap election (which they've just had, during which several political candidates were assassinated!). So all a bit of a mess! 

Our favourite part of the tour was a stop opposite a traditional Catholic church where we were told an indigenous sculptor was employed to carve figures of angels on the balconies of the building opposite. However, when the church refused to pay him, he proceeded to carve huge penises onto the angels, so whenever they were praying inside their church, they were always faced with a phallic reminder of their maliciousness.