You’ve probably never heard of Puerto Cayo.
Don’t feel bad, most people haven’t. Puerto Cayo is a sleepy fishing village on the Pacific coast that doesn’t have much more to offer than long stretches of sandy beach spotted with seashells and colourful pebbles. Yet, it’s where we chose to settle down for the largest chunk of our 4 month stay in Ecuador earlier this year. We loved our calm beach life and even though there was absolutely nothing going on, we were sad to leave. . Living in Puerto Cayo was a unique experience. It was life at it’s simplest.
So what is it like to live in an Ecuadorian beach village as a digital nomad?
As usual, we rented in a furnished house – Pasatiempo del Sur. This time, it was a beautiful apartment by the beach with a pool, a garden and a killer view over the sun setting in the ocean.
A typical day would look like this:
WAKE UP SLOW – coffee and breakfast on the terrace
What I love and miss most about living in the tropics, is how early the days start. Your biorhythm adjusts to the sun, which rises and sets at approximately the same hour every day. There was no need for an alarm, we’d just wake up naturally around 7AM every morning as the sun brightened the sky. I would get out of bed with enough energy to make a fruit salad for breakfast to accompany our morning coffee/tea.
WORK-WORK-WORK
As the mornings are the coolest time of the day in Ecuador, we’d try to get as much work done as possible before temperatures would rise to their maximums.
LUNCH BREAK + SIESTA
By 11 AM the sun would burn so intensely, it was impossible to get anything done. The entire village would be deserted. Not just for lunch breaks but to escape the heat of the equatorial sun. We’d have a simple lunch at home or take a motor taxi to one of the many restaurants -if I can call them that- on the beach. But truthfully only a mad dog would be out and about around noon.
After lunch comes… siesta time! We would not actually sleep (although that happened a few times) but unwind, digest and escape the burning heat outside.
BACK TO WORK + BEACH BREAK
By 3PM, it’s still steaming hot outside but more tolerable already. We’d stay inside and get some more work done. Once it started to cool down around 4 or 5 PM, we’d take a break to go for a splash in the ocean. How could you not, when you have a beach all to yourself?! We’d paddle in the waves and swim for about half an hour before returning to our work day.
After our swim, we would work outside; Douglas on his laptop and I cleaning the pool, watering the plants or doing some housework.
APERO WHILE WATCHING THE SUNSET
We’d end our work day by pouring ourselves an “apero” (a drink before dinner) at sunset. Time to sit back and relax. The fact that there was nothing else to do, helped us appreciate nature’s spectacle. Whether we’d be home or in one of the fish shacks on the beach, we never missed the show!
DINNER
Sometimes we’d cook our own dinner, other times we would go to one of the few restaurants in town. Options on their menus were limited to fish, fish, seafood or fish. Meat is a scarce commodity in Puerto Cayo.
During the weekends we would laze around the pool, take long strolls on the beach, play with the dogs, go out for brunch or visit a neighbouring town. We learned to be content with uneventful weekends and enjoyed the low-keyed weeks as they drifted by.
Living in Puerto Cayo was a perfect way to get lots of work done and to save some money, as there were no distractions. We took it easy and truly lived in the moment which was a marvellous experience. We laughed and played like unconstrained children. We created our own joy and excitement. We let go of our worries and returned home with renewed energy and a new sense of serenity. In a way, living in Puerto Cayo was like going on one of those “find yourself” retreats. Another enrichment in our lives.
Could you see yourself living in a tiny town where there is nothing to do? Do you think you could find happiness in a place like Puerto Cayo?
The post “what it’s like to live in Puerto Cayo, Ecuador” first appeared on Travel Cake.
Comments
7 responses to “What it’s like to live in Puerto Cayo, Ecuador”
Nothing to do but luckily we had fast and reliable internet 😉 Not bad for a place that was 1 hour away from the nearest supermarket!
Long live the internet! I seriously don’t know if I could live without… 😉
Oh man! We spent a few easy living, slow-paced days in nearby Puerto Lopez last week and we loved it. Life there is exactly as you describe it in Puerto Cayo. We spent the majority of our time on the porch on the hammock at our AirBnB and occasionally went to the beach, strolled the malecon, and ate good seafood soup. Take me back!
Ah, yes, Puerto Lopez! We visited a few times! At least they had some good restaurants there, did you try the fancy Italian place? 🙂 I hope it was whale season when you were there, we missed it unfortunately…
What I love about living in Puerto Cayo…. QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been here for almost 4 years. I still walk the beach and am the only person in sight. I wouldn’t say that there is nothing to do though, because there is plenty to do. We have a pool hall, beach parties in town as well as in the communities up and down the beach, a five star resort, pizza joint, Booby’s Bar & Grill where just last night there was a murder mystery dinner, the ocean, beach, hotels, work aways who bring us new faces, food, and experiences, and the list goes on and on. You get mani/pedi in your home, massages in your home, facials in town, lots of artists live in Puerto Cayo also. The supermarket is almost an hour away, but it does not have anything that you can not find in town. We have a liquor store that sells even on a Sunday. The El Dorado is a beach hut place on the malecon and he makes the best chicken in all of Ecuador. If you are a bird person, there is a ton of birds that can be seen. We are only 20 minutes from Pacoche where the Howler Monkeys live. Just a 20 minute drive and you are in the cloud forest. If one hikes, we have Machilla just down the road and the beaches of Machilla. There is so much to do, but it is in terms of outdoor instead of movies theaters, restaurants, night clubs, etc. I enjoyed your blog. I never got to meet you, but I am sure Ron and Janet treated you kindly!