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Have you never read anything (or almost nothing) about sailing in Ecuador? Neither have we?and we figured out why!
First stop: Esmeraldas
We arrive at a river mouth and weave our way through tree trunks in water full of sediment. As mentioned in Jimmy Cornwell?s book, we check in on the VHF, and we?re told to wait a little while just outside?they?ll come out to guide us into the fishing harbor. Indeed, there?s a shoal to cross, and we have to wait for the tide to rise a bit.
An hour later, a boat from the harbor master?s office comes to pick us up, signals for us to follow it, and leads us into the fishing harbor. We were told to anchor among the fishing boats moored to dozens of small wooden docks. It was quite a pretty sight; the fishermen passing by waved to us, and we were happy to have arrived!
It doesn?t take long to realize that this isn?t going to be so simple! In Ecuador, the military runs the ports, and because of the war on drug trafficking and the country?s proximity to Colombia, security is extremely tight. No sooner had we anchored than a military boat pulled up alongside us. On board were about ten people wearing masks, three of whom were filming us. There was a doctor, two customs officials, and six or seven soldiers in fatigues. The doctor came aboard and asked us a few general questions about our health. We hadn?t really given the matter much thought, but at that very moment, the hantavirus was beginning to alarm health authorities?which, we imagine, explains their concern at seeing us arrive there unannounced. Once they were reassured that we were fine, the soldiers boarded and began inspecting the boat. Why are we here? What?s stopping us from sailing?
In Ecuador, all boats wishing to make a stopover must notify the government in advance. The rules that apply to the Galápagos now apply to the entire country, and therefore sailboats must pay several taxes, including a " "autograph" whose value ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. We managed to get through customs upon our arrival in the country as " and therefore not to pay that amount! Otherwise, we would have had to continue without a pilot!
In addition, all sailboats must have their entry and exit formalities handled by an agent or a Agencia Navigera , whose rates are tailored to yachts or cruise ships carrying hundreds of people?but not to a sailboat! In fact, we were lucky enough to go through an agent who charged us ?only? $250 for the entry formalities, but we later received quotes for over $1,000!
Since ports and maritime traffic are managed and monitored by the military, sailing vessels entering and leaving must be reported to the Costera (French Navy), and this can only be done through an agent. Even if you speak Spanish fluently and try to negotiate, there?s no other way!
After two days of following Roy, our agent, through the streets of Esmeraldas (he?s also a food delivery driver and manages a fleet of fishing boats), we finally managed to get all the paperwork confirming our official arrival in the country! It didn?t take long for us to realize that it would be best to leave fairly quickly after all. Listed as a ?red alert? on the embassy?s website, the city is plagued by numerous armed gangs, and the few people we spoke with advised us to get out of there fast! After scouring all the shipping options for our new display, we realized we?d have to wait at least 15 days, so we decided to head further south, to Bahia de Caraquez, to a place with the charming name of Puerto Amistad!
It takes 2 more days (and a few round trips by car with Roy) to get the national anthem , an official document that allows us to leave the port and head to Bahia de Caraquez! Adding up the agent?s fee ($200), a ?logistics? service ($30), the boat inspection ($150), the lighthouses and beacons ($39), and the zarpe ($8)?we're already at $427 in administrative fees, and apparently we're getting off easy!
Before we set sail, the soldiers returned for another inspection, this time with a Malinois, ready to turn the boat upside down at the slightest suspicious smell! While they were there, the tide began to go out. We try to negotiate leaving the next day instead, but the military personnel return to kick us out: if we don?t leave now, they?ll conduct another inspection the next day, check the hull, and we?ll have to go through the whole process all over again!
So we set off quickly?48 hours of sailing close-hauled?to reach our next port. We spent the first night on high alert: the military, while urging us to leave, warned us about pirates?fake fishing boats that were reportedly heading straight for us. Should we turn on our navigation lights? The AIS? We?re relieved to be leaving Esmeraldas but a little nervous about what to do next.
Bahia de Caraquez, the One-Way River
Ecuador?s main ports are Manta and Guayaquil, but the reports we?ve heard don?t really make us want to try our luck there, and closer to us, Bahia de Caraques seems like a good shelter. Located 150 minutes south of Esmeraldas, it?s a small seaside town situated at the mouth of a river. A marina opened there about fifteen years ago to accommodate sailboats looking to make a stopover between Panama and Polynesia. It?s a bar-restaurant overlooking the river, with a pontoon for dinghies and, officially, a few buoys. Puerto Amistad has showers, restrooms, and offers a laundry service.
When we arrive at the mouth of the river?as Gemme, the manager, had mentioned in our WhatsApp messages?we wait for our pilot. The river is wide, but there are many sandbars! This service costs $35 (one way), but it?s essential! Once in the river, we anchored in a spot sheltered from the wind and swell in front of the restaurant, in 3?4 meters of water, facing the outgoing current ($7/day). We?re warmly welcomed by the marina managers and staff?it?s been months since any boats have been here!! Recent regulatory changes have been more than enough of a deterrent! A few photos on display in the restaurant show about ten boats at anchor off Puerto Amistad! According to them, sailors used to come here before crossing the Pacific, leave their boats tied to a buoy while they went backpacking in South America for a few weeks, and then return to sail on to Polynesia. Some even left their boats there for several months!
As the only boat on the river, we were quickly spotted, and the very next day the military came to visit us for another inspection of the boat. This time, they checked all our safety equipment; we were glad we?d updated everything and hadn?t kept our expired flares!
Just two more days and we?ll be able to get the arrival paperwork?this time without an agent! Puerto Amistad is currently providing the necessary training so it can act as an agent, serving as an intermediary between the military and the sailboats, and thus allow the boats to return and anchor in the river. We hope for their sake that this will happen quickly, because in the meantime?despite the kindness and goodwill of the military personnel who welcome us?getting even the simplest paperwork is a real hassle, and everything is quite complicated! We spent countless hours at the harbor master?s office (which is more like a barracks) because of a box that wasn?t checked properly on an official website! And keep in mind, we speak Spanish on board!
Near Canoa, a famous surf spot, Bahia de Caraquez also offers good waves at certain times of the year. We were lucky enough to arrive when the swell was strong, and we spent 10 days surfing while waiting for the poster to arrive.
We decided to stick with a Garmin, but since our model was outdated, we?re upgrading from the GHC10 to the GHC50! We have to ship it from the U.S., clear customs, and have it delivered to Bahia de Caraques, so it takes a little while, but it finally arrives. The next day, we set it up, took it for a few spins on the river to calibrate it, and we?re ready to set sail again! That works out well?with our 2-meter draft, we can?t head out whenever we want, but the tidal coefficients are rising again, so we should be able to set sail at the next high tide with high coefficients!
Bahia de Caraquez is a great place to stock up on supplies; the covered market is open every day until 1:00 p.m. You can find every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable there (even strawberries from Ecuador!), as well as delicious local specialties that are incredibly inexpensive! The boat is ready, loaded with bunches of bananas and tropical fruits!
As we were about to tackle the final administrative steps (including the immigration process, whose offices are located in Manta, a 2-hour bus ride away), we checked the weather one last time. We might have guessed as much given how the last few surf sessions went, but there?s too much swell for us to make it out of the river. At high tide, 1.50m waves are crashing through the channel we?re supposed to take, leaving just 15cm of water under the keel, according to the water level forecasts. It?s too close for comfort, so we decide to wait for the swell to die down. That, combined with the tidal coefficients that are about to start dropping? we?re in for a wait of at least 15 days! The Pacific will have to wait a little longer?
Once we got over our initial disappointments and the boat was safely moored in Puerto Amistad, we decided to set out to explore the country. We packed our bags with our warmest clothes and headed for the Andes?the cities of Quito and Latacunga! We spent 10 days at high altitude, even climbing to the summit of Cotopaxi, at 5,897 meters! What a change of scenery after those months by the water!
On the way back, another refueling stop (the third for this long-awaited Pacific crossing), a few hours at the harbor master?s office, a round trip to Manta to get our passports stamped, and we?re all set! In the end, to leave the country, we paid another $200 to the agent (we managed to stick with the same one we used in Esmeraldas), $60 for immigration, and $30 for Zarpe Internacional. All in all, this stop cost us nearly $750, just in administrative fees for entry and exit.
Being fluent in Spanish allowed us to get by ?just fine,? but the agencies charge exorbitant prices. One agency in Manta quoted us $1,000 just to handle our departure formalities... It?s a shame because the Ecuadorian coast offers some great places to stay and is a fantastic starting point for exploring this country with its incredible diversity of landscapes (the ocean, the Andes, the Amazon, the rainforest?), or for visiting Latin America. We were welcomed with open arms in Bahía de Caraquez, and our encounters with the locals were numerous and enriching!
We're keeping our fingers crossed that Puerto Amistad will be able to act as a liaison and assist the sailboats; if that happens, there'll be no reason to hesitate about making a stop in Ecuador!
