Hang Gliding Truck Towing in Canoa Beach: Flying up to the Clouds

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To talk about Ecuador’s beaches is to talk about diversity. The beaches can be lonely or crowded; with white sands or dark sands; good for surfing, for swimming or for diving; virgin or touristic: there’s a beach in Ecuador for everyone’s taste.

In this occasion, we will talk about Canoa, a beach of natural beauty located in the province of Manabí, well-known for a sport commonly practiced there: the hang gliding truck towing, simply known as “towing”. As its name says, it is a hang glider pulled by an all-terrain vehicle fast enough to make it rise up to 700 meters (2,296ft) in the sky.

The real adventure starts when the guide lets the hang glider loose from the vehicle: that is the moment when complete freedom can be felt. You can observe everything from high above like bird while you feel the subtle caress of the clouds. You can see the endless, deep blue sea with its waves emerging and breaking into the white sands. The villages, the vegetation, the mountains and the forests expanding to the horizon can be seen all at once. You will have a personal image, a work of art painted in your memory that will always remind you of how small we really are in the immensity of this world.

Finally, you have felt part of the sky and the landscape surrounding you; you have forget your terrestrial condition and felt like a bird in its natural environment. Now, it is time to start the descent. Slowly and safely, like an Andean condor, you go down until you reach the beach with your feet… It is time to take this feeling of freedom down to earth.

Photo: freeform systems

Mompiche Beach: A Piece of Paradise in a Little Fishing Village

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Mompiche is located in Ecuador’s coastal region, just 8km (5 miles) south of Muisne, at the Esmeraldas province. When you arrive to the place, it feels like if it was a remote island far away from the modern world, where the perfect waves, the lovely landscapes, the sound of the local music and the smell of exquisite seafood get together to make a perfect day on the beach. Mompiche is considered as one of the region’s most beautiful beaches and it has certainly become the new vacation spot for national and international tourists.

Mompiche is a rustic village of around 150 wooden houses where horses trot around the streets next to the tourists. Half of its population does fishing, and the other half works in touristic services such as restaurants and hotels. Due to the village’s relaxed and informal atmosphere, it is common to watch people walking on the streets in their bathing suits, with no shirt and no shoes on, always ready to enjoy the beach.

Beach Holidays at the Galapagos

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The radiant sun warming up the crystalline waters; the beautiful natural landscape of red mangrove swamps and exotic beaches of thin, white sand; the sea lions, the colorful birds and the amazing aquatic life that appears as soon as you get underwater… everything you ever dreamed for a beach to be perfect is found at the Galapagos. Enjoy life to the full with the vacations you’ve always dreamed about, spending some days at the beach of your choice lying on the sand, listening to the sound of the waves, breathing the marine air and just enjoying your free time. If you’re having a hard time picking the beach that best suits you, here’s a rough guide to some of the Galapagos’s greatest holyday spots:

The Santa Cruz Island is considered the Galapago’s main destination for tourists. Among its most beautiful beaches are the Tortuga Bay –great for taking long walks–; the Garrapatero Beach, that thanks to its white, thin sand and turquoise waters is perfect for flamingo sighting and snorkeling; the Alemanes Beach, another splendid, sandy beach and a gate to the fascinating Grietas (cracks); and finally, the isolated beach of Conway Bay, home of a big colony of sea wolves, where only a few cruises dock, making the place specially quiet and peaceful.

Other islands, such as the Española, have wonderful beaches as well. The Gardner Beach, for example, is a fantastic location to spend your time and enjoy the best sunsets. It is also a perfect spot for those willing to enjoy underwater life without diving: it is enough to take a dip into the water to observe an amazing variety of tropical fish and sometimes even white-finned sharks.

At the beginning of the year temperature is generally high, which means the beach season at the Galapagos has started. Galapagos is a place where the image of a paradise-like beach gets enhanced by the enormous variety of species that inhabit the place. Undoubtedly, this is a main destination picked by travelers from around the world, an unforgettable place where responsible tourists are always welcomed.

Photo: lightmatter