Portete, Esmeraldas

While on the beach in Esmeraldas we became thirsty. It was an empty beach, known to the locals but not yet to the tourists. We were alone in our thirst until a boy on a horse rode by. We asked him where we could find coconut water. He told us to wait. Twenty minutes later he was back with three coconuts on a cart behind his horse. “¿Tienen un machete?” he asked us.

I didn’t know a machete was standard beach ware, but fortunate for us and for the boy, a couple of campers a few dozen meters away had one in their sack. The boy got 2 dollars and we got three fresh coconuts – drained and split, the milk and the meat. I’d never had fresh coconut before, let alone on the beach. It was the beginning of a love affair…