Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Get Out of Town!

The weather here in Cuenca has been consistently lousy for weeks--cool, overcast, and rainy. So when friends invited us to join them on a 5-day getaway trip to the coast we jumped at the chance for a change of scenery.

Our destination was Punta Blanca, an area midway between Salinas and Montanita. None of us had ever been there, so we were thrilled that after an early morning departure we were ordering a seafood lunch right on the beach only a 4 1/2 hours later.

The condo we rented turned out to have a terrific view of the pool and ocean.


And the climate exceeded expectations--beautiful blue skies, perfect temps, and surprisingly low humidity. We got acquainted with our new "home" with a stroll along the lovely uncrowded beach.


After a supply run to a nearby grocery store we proceeded to do a whole lot of nothing for the next few days. Well, I guess beach walks, body surfing, eating, drinking, reading, and napping are something, but you get the idea-----.

We did venture up to Montanita on Saturday for lunch. Wow, what a difference! The place was absolutely packed.


Of course, that didn't stop us from a pit stop on "Cocktail Alley,"


strolling along the newly constructed walkway along the ocean,


or checking out all the trinkets for sale.


We said goodbye to Punta Blanca on Monday and headed back to this same dreary weather.


I'll keep this image in mind until sunny days return.