We travelled most of the day and passed through some gorgeous scenery, villages full of wooden houses on stilts, rolling green fields, and a more Asian looking countryside than anywhere in else in S.America.I had to ask the driver to slow down as I really scared, but he simply laughed and told me "esta bien" (its fine). Hmmmmm!We arrived in one piece and rushed out have a look at the town.On route we bumped into Janelle (who we`d met in Cuenca) and to Cristina and Carlos (Chile) & Ramy (originally from Turkey but has lived in Holland for 15yrs). We spent the evening drinking cocktails in the little hut bars that line the beach. One bar even had swing seats lining the bar!We danced in the sand to Samba and so the Team Canoa was formed.

The next 6 days were spent on the beach (often in tents that you hire to get shade). Being so close to the Equator the sun can get too intense and the sea is so warm that it hardly cools you down. Not that we were complaining, the guide book had described Canoa as a sleepy fishing village who laid back vibe gets people sucked into staying longer than they had planned.We were certainly falling victim to its spell. At 5pm every day we Team Canoa hung out in Hostel Bambu whose bar offered great sunset views along with amazing 241 cocktails & free popcorn! And so each day the mayhem would begin.After happy hour there we would go to happy hour at Babel who offered cocktails for a $1 and there was live music for us to sing and dance in the street to. Then we`d realize we needed to eat and we found an amazing fish restaurant that did delicious Ceviche and Encocado - a coconut milk sauce for $4-5. Yum-s crum!!Team Canoa soon became well known in the small village to the point where we were able to get happy hour drinks even after happy hour.

We stayed in a lovely hostel called Coco Loco with sea views from our room and an outside area with hammocks and tables and chairs. So each morning and lunch time we would sit there and eat whilst overlooking the beach. A really idealic spot!

On our final morning we were woken at 6:30 by the owner to be told that we were on Tsunami Alert.3 hours previously there had been an earthquake (8.8) 60km off the coast of Santiago in Chille.It was 20 miles under the sea so thankfully it was no way near as devastating as it could have been if it had been on land. Within hours 26 other earthquakes had occurred in surrounding areas and around the world. So, all the guests sat outside bleary eyed with our valuables packed listening to updates and waiting to see if we needed to move to higher ground. After a few hours we got the all clear and were able to go to the beach with peace of mind.It was a bit of a weird experience, but we didn't feel scared as we knew the chances we slim and we were prepared.

After a week of sun, fun, cocktails and amazing sunsets we felt we should drag ourselves away and carry on with our travels.