Vilcabamba? No, how about Montanita...

We had plans to go to Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador this weekend, but since it was the holiday, everyone wanted to leave Quito. Buses everywhere were full so we decided to go to the beach, to a town called Montanita. It was 8 hours to Guayquil where we bought indirect bus tickets to montanita, so it was 11 hours total. the line for the coast in Guayaquil was insane and everyone was pushing, but I survived the chaos. So, Montanita was 11 hours in bus one way. When we got there it was raining and my first step off of the bus was into mud. Much of the weekend was spent walking barefoot through montanita because when i wore sandals, my shoes would get stuck and i would have to carry them anyway. Despite the weather, the trip was very good. It was a very hippie/surf town and there was a lot of fun jewelry and clothes there. I bought a necklace and bracelet there. The beach was also really nice too, I love the ocean. I didn't really go swimming, just up to my butt. I wasn't in the mood to be cold all day. Montanita is a lot more expensive than other places in Ecuador. You are all probably going to think I'm crazy but I was dissapointed when the hostels were $10. We stayed in a 10 the first night and a $5 with damp beds the next night. The restaraunts were also expensive, $3 for breakfast (tea, eggs, juice, bread, fruit)--usually you can get this for $1.80-2, and dinner about $5 (usually you can find a good $3.50-4. Montanita is definitely not the place to sleep. Music is blasting at all hours, literally until 6 am and stops until 9 am. On sat. night we "went to bed" at 1:30 and woke up at 4:15 to leave town and the music was still going.
My skin is disgustingly dry by the way. It's been dry the whole time I've been here, but now it's really at it's top point. My eyes are extremely dry and my family and friends always ask if i'm sick or tired because of it. I also have had a runny nose the whole time I've been here. i think it's because of the pollution.
I finished 100 years of Solitude and it was awesome!! Now I'm going to start Cuidad y los Perros ( a time of the hero). I have a lot of projects to do this month that i really need to finish before my mom comes.