Ruta del Spondylus: Salinas to Puerto Lopez

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Salinas

   Salinas is where the Ecuadorian coast runs out of land. The town sits on the tip of the Santa Elena peninsula, on a dry, scrubby headland that sticks out into the Pacific west of Guayaquil, and it is the most polished beach resort in the country, with a curving seafront boulevard, a row of tall apartment blocks, a yacht club and a busy fishing harbour. It lies side by side with La Libertad and Santa Elena, which are bigger and much rougher, and the three towns blur into one built-up strip. For a rider this is the start of the Ruta del Spondylus, and the town makes a good place to prepare for the miles ahead.

   Read the complete Salinas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Salinas is where the day begins. Next is Montanita.

2. 2. Montañita

   Montañita is the surf village of Ecuador's Pacific coast, a small place of sand streets, bamboo bars and beach shacks where the main sounds are waves and music. It lies on the Ruta del Spondylus, the coastal highway that runs from the south of Ecuador's coast to its northern shores, named for the spiny oyster shell that pre-Columbian peoples valued above gold. Traders carried Spondylus shells from here all the way to the Andes and Mexico, where they were used in rituals and offerings, and the shell has given the road its name.

   Read the complete Montanita write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Montañita comes up about 69 km into the recorded legs. Next is Puerto Lopez.

3. 3. Puerto López

   Puerto López is a fishing town on a wide bay, with a long beach, a pier and brightly painted boats pulled up on the sand, and the sort of slow, cheerful atmosphere that settles over a place whose business is the sea. The town sits on the Ruta del Spondylus and is the main base for visiting the Machalilla National Park, which protects a stretch of dry coastal forest, beaches and the offshore Isla de la Plata. From here, small boats take visitors out to the island, which is sometimes called the poor man's Galápagos for its blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds and nesting albatrosses.

   Read the complete Puerto Lopez write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 113 km.