La Ramada de Noé – Jambeli Machala – Paradise in Ecuador

Machala is the coastal city nearest to Loja. It takes about 6 hours by bus to get there with the Loja Internacional. Then a short taxi drive ($3) to the port (Puerto Bolivar) and the real fun begins.A small but comfortable boat will take you from the mooring to the island. It only takes about 20 minutes but you’d want it to take more because the scenery is stunning.

After 5 minutes in the harbor the boat enters the Jambeli mangrove and from there on you are in a quiet protected space where you can observe quite a bit of wildlife (especially birds) right from the boat.

Upon arrival to the island, it only takes a very short stroll on a lovely paved street bordered by hotels and restaurants …

…to hit the sand !

For those who are on a tight budget and are not too demanding in terms of comfort and luxury, we recommend “La Ramada de Noe”. It is a basic but clean hostel and they only charge a modest $10 a head. It is located on the main street on the left facing the beach.

The owners, Luis Eras and his wife Norma, welcomed us with a delicious 100% natural “granizado de coco”, their specialty.

We chatted with them and also with some tourists from Mexico, Belgium and Finland. All were very happy with the easy going atmosphere of the island. Contrary to Montañita for example, Jambeli is predominantly visited by Ecuadorians being from Machala, Guayaquil, Cuenca or Loja. International tourists are present but still a minority which is an advantage for those who seek authenticity.

This man from Mexico was staying at the hostel for a few nights and his dearest wish was to do nothing, have a good rest and find great food. He was praising the place and the warm welcome that he had received from the owners.

For $10 a head you get simple but clean rooms. They do have cable TV and also WIFI internet. Some rooms have air conditioning, some others have a fan.

The beds are good. The tap and shower water is quite salty. This is a problem in Jambeli. They pump the water out of a deep well on the island itself. La Ramada de Noe buys containers of potable water that they boil and use for cooking. For drinking it is best to buy bottled water.

We asked for hot water to make a coffee at 5:30 AM the next morning because we had to catch an early bus back to Loja. At the dot of 5:30, Luis was up and ready with two cups of water, hot but not boiling. They only drink instant coffee on the coast but we like to brew our own and for this the water has to be boiling. We would prefer to have a place where we could heat up some water ourselves to make a good filtered coffee. Luis was listening to the suggestion. We will see next time.

Conclusion

For the modest price of only $10 per person, La Ramada de Noe is a winner. We wish Luis and Norma all the best and it will be our pleasure to visit them some time again in the future.

Contacts

Machala -> Puerto Bolivar -> Jambeli

In addition, we were also given the number 0999 507 667

They do have a Facebook page

April 2016
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