El Pajonal, Chirije, Bahia de Caraquez and Isla del Corazon - another great day

In an effort to introduce my folks and cousin to more coastal towns and the to-do's along the province of Manabi's coastline, last week we headed northward on an excellent daytrip with Eduardo. First we buzzed by our properties in San Jacinto... plenty of photos of those on our website. Then we drove further north toward Bahia. The road is in great shape and about halfway there we spun off toward the coast... through a valley call the Pajonal and onto a gorgeous untouched coastline!

Here we are with Eduardo. We had the whole place to ourselves.

Then we travelled on to Bahia de Caraquez and went up to the "Cruz", a huge cross that you can climb to the top of for excellent views up and down the coast and over Bahia's bay that is full of sailboats.

Next we crossed the bay on a small ferry boat that leaves about every 5 minutes (30 cents) and grabbed a cab to catch the Isla del Corazon boat tour.

The tour consists of an intro video and guided tour through the mangrove ecosystems that keep the bay alive and act as it nursery for fish and bird species.

My mom got a photo op with the local legend, the dwarf of the Isla del Corazon... watchout ladies...

We also saw a ton of frigate birds (with their huge red neck pouches puffed out for mating season). Then it was back to the mainland for a quick trip to Canoa and northern coast.