The Spondylus route is characterized by its large number of well-known beaches and other very little visited, although the best known is Montañita due to the crowded by its waves and the nightlife that exists, there are other beaches that must be visited by the beauty of its landscape. To get to the Spondylus Route we can take two routes, the first one that connects us directly from the Guayaquil – Salinas road or also known as Via a la Costa, here there is a deviation near Baños de San Vicente which will end in the village of San Pablo, in this place we can find a lot of restaurants in the seashore where we can taste seafood and other gastronomic specialties typical of the place.
By this route we can arrive at Montañita from Guayaquil directly, in the terminal of Guayaquil we can take the bus that will take us, I will speak later about Montañita.
Another way to get there is from Santa Elena, in the terminal you take a bus which will take the route along the coastal road and pass through all the villages until you reach the Manabí Province.
In my case, I am going to take the Manglaralto bus that takes us to Manta in the province of Manabí doing several stopovers.
As the first beach, we will find Playa Rosada, which is found between the villages of Palmar and Ayangue. This beautiful beach owes its name due to the color of its sand that gives that pink color that originates to the mixture of the sand with the corals that have arrived until the edge of the sea.
It is a beautiful place that to arrive we must take a bus from the terminal of Santa Elena, and in 30 minutes we are arriving at Playa Rosada a place that must be visited and enjoy this fantastic beach.
Ayangue
Ayangue Is located a few minutes from Playa Rosada, the cost of the bus ticket is $ 1.25. We stayed at the entrance of Ayangue and we took the taxis that are parked to take us to the center of the town at $ 0.50 cents that we leave a few meters from the beach.
Ayangue has been a fishing village, but the tranquility of its waters in a horseshoe-shaped bay has made this resemble a large swimming pool, this is one of the reasons why this place is very visited by tourists, who can enjoy the tranquility of the sea. Ayangue is characterized by having food places at the seashore where you can buy all kinds of seafood and they are taken as far as one can find without having to go to the restaurant. One of the specialties that we can find is the ceviches that are elaborated instantly with a value of $ 7 the ceviche of Oyster and $ 8 the mixed ceviche, a delight that you should not stop to try.
Here you can do tours through the bay for a cost of $ 5 per person or $ 3 if you go in groups, the route reaches Playa Rosada.
Manglaralto
Manglaralto is located 55 minutes from Santa Elena on the same Spondylus route, a few minutes from Montañita, Manglaralto is characterized by being a fishing village but its wide beach allows us to enjoy the tranquility that any tourist seeks, when I was in Manglaralto there were only 8 people for this immense beach, a place where you just need to go, enjoy and rest without being full of tourists that give us little peace of mind. Manglaralto is the ideal place to rest you can find hotels and places where you can get, all very close to the beach.
From here we can go to the forest of Dos Mangas where we can observe beautiful waterfalls that in the near future I will have to visit.
After Manglaralto is Montañita, I think I should post only for this place so it is always visited by all kinds of tourists.
Olón
There are no words to describe this beach, I had years of not visiting Olón and I find one of the largest beaches in the province of Santa Elena. Olón is near Montañita only 5 minutes by bus and if you are tired of the hustle and bustle of Montañita, Olón is the place to rest, with a lot of hostels and places to sleep, Olón is characterized by its tranquility, wide beaches, and food. There are a lot of foreigners living in this place, who have put their workplaces that help the economic growth of this tourist sector, I was impressed by this town for the cleanliness of its beaches and because when I arrived and there was a championship of bodyboarding.
Olón is located an hour and ten minutes from the Santa Elena Terminal the value of the ticket is $ 1.80, but if you are in Montañita the cost between these towns that are nearby is 0.50 cents per person.
In Olón we find the Blanca Estrella del Mar Sanctuary, which is built on a cliff, and the main attraction of this place is its shape, similar to a boat. In this sanctuary, you find the image of a Virgin that weeps blood, according to the studies realized is of human blood, through the scientific analyzes indicated that the image had not been manipulated.
From this Sanctuary we can have one of the most beautiful views of Olón, its cliff makes us have a perfect view of its immense beach.
More Advice
If you want to travel further north from Olón to Puerto Lopez, the value of the ticket is $ 2.50 a beach that needs to be visited too.
A fish fillet with rice and patacones is worth $ 5.
Lunch is worth $ 3, which consists of soup, rice, and a glass of juice.
In the season from December to May you have to wear comfortable clothes, a swimsuit (obviously) sunscreen and suntan lotion.
