Sandy beach rimmed in the distance by rocky crags and mountains, the water is dark and brown near the shore but farther out it turns to a deep blue. Sun darkened children running and laughing, people walking along the shore, young men (and Haley and Jordan) shouting encouragement and taunts in an intense game of volleyball. All around music is blasting, half Spanish half american pop.
This is Canoa.
The town itself is small, everybody seems to know everybody, but at the moment there is an influx of visitors both from other countries and from Ecuador (they are in their three months of school vacation right now). Things are pretty expensive here, they have been ever since the earthquake, but the trade off is that the currency is USD which makes it easy for us Americans.
The people are kind and friendly and open (the men a little too much so…), but in their eyes you can see a sadness. The earthquake two years ago took so much from them.
The weather is humid and very hot. Like, if you go barefoot on the sandy road around noon then you’ll get second degree burns on your feet kind of hot, (…yes, I am speaking from experience). At night it cools down a little, but without a fan it is still difficult to sleep. You break a sweat just by laying down and the mosquito net blocks even the chance of a slight breeze (you really don’t want to go without that though, the lack of screens for windows and the three inch gap between the wall and the ceiling ensures that there will always be a plethera of thirsty mosquitoes searching for their next victim.)
Come morning it is cooler due to the heavy downpours that generally clear up around eight or nine, so the seven o-clock run to the bakery is at least cooler if not drier than otherwise. Few people are up at that hour, a handful of men and women headed to the bakery and a couple dozen more getting ready to head to work.
The rest of the town doesn’t seem to wake until much later… Half the restaurants don’t even open until 2 p.m. Many Canoans (especially the young men) elect to stay up far into the night and sleep in the next day. Some work, many don’t until they need to. As one such man told us, they don’t need much, the ocean provides food, and housing doesn’t cost much, so they can easily go four months without working (as long as they don’t have a family to support). Their favourite phrase is “Tranquila” (relax/chill out/calm down).
On the other end of the spectrum (though far fewer) are men like the owner of the hostel we stayed at. When he isn’t working at the hostel, Carlos is building a second hostel which he will open and start working at as soon as it is finished. He works all day, seven days a week, two jobs, to provide for his wife and most especially his daughter Carla. Carla was born premature and her twin brother died from complications when they were born. Due to the prematurity the muscles in one of Carla’s eyes never developed sufficiently and she is all but blind in that eye. The surgery she will need to correct it is expensive but her daddy is determined to make sure she has every chance. Carlos’ marriage isn’t perfect and he and his wife struggle, but the man would die for his daughter.
The women of Canoa are open and sweet, but they seem sad too. They’ve watched their men chase after foreigners for too long. Many struggle with their self image and identity. Most are hard working, the care and provision of the family falls on them and their children in a city where most men see work as unnecessary.
Unlike their predecessors, the kids are motivated and hard working. They want more than what they’ve got, they aren’t satisfied with staying where they are, and they’re bound to change it.
The younger kids have the light that all children have. They laugh and play and learn and live life with enviable vigor. They had my heart the moment I arrived here, and I have many new little friends that I hope to visit again someday.
Canoa also has a growing foreign community. Many rich retired Americans buy condos nearby and happily and blindly live “the life” in the midst of all the poverty. Not all foreigners do the same though. Allen is the owner of the surf shack, a popular tourist and local restaurant, he came here five years ago with a dream that was disinigrated when the earthquake destroyed almost everything he had and severely injured him and his wife. Now the restaurant is all he has left, his wife is still recovering physically and mentally, and he carries the guilt of having pushed his family to come in the first place. Through it all he remains kind and open, even in his brokenness he reaches out to others. He truly stands out as a caring member of the community. Another example is the Hanna’s, they make it a point to befriend the locals and when there is a need they fill it gladly. They are known by the whole town as “momma” and “poppa”. People like these are the ones who change the way Canoans see Americans.
During the day Canoa is a bright bustling happy tourist town. People are friendly and love to talk to the tourists.
…Most of the single men are a little too friendly…within moments of meeting a foreign women they will express their love. This happened a few times to us, but eventually it was established that we were missionaries and thus unlikely to be won over. ( Especially since the Catholic version of missionary is a nun… So ya, they all thought we were nuns for the first couple days, lol.)
Other than the unsolicited attention, it’s great during the day. After dark though it is too dangerous to be on the beach, even the Canoans avoid it. On the streets it is safer but (as we learned from experience) it is better to stay indoors after 10. Whether to avoid the drunken affections of the young men, or the violent fights that break out sometimes, or the predatory spirit that seems to run free after this time, it just seems safer to go to bed a little early.
So that’s Canoa, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most people who live here prefer it (even those who have travelled the world), and despite the spiritual struggles that envelope it, there is a peace there. It is so evident that God is at work. He was there before us, He was there while we were there, and He will be there long after we leave.
This is His city and He is taking it. The enemy doesn’t stand a chance.
