Beer on the Beach

March 20, 2015

Olón is normally a mellow town; the locals are affable and relaxed.

The atmosphere is generally tranquillo, even with the influx of tourists that visit our beach on weekends and holidays during high season (now).

About the most raucous events that happen in our town are occasional pueblo parties in the park.

But last week an incident happened that caused quite a commotion around here.

A group of Colombian sports fans were in Guayaquil for a futbol event, and decided to come to the coast for a day or so before the game.  According to later newspaper articles, around 600 young men arrived in Montanita in 18 buses.

Evidently, some of them caused enough problems there (aggressive begging, large groups of Colombian diners stiffing the restaurant owners, some fighting reported) which led them to be chased out of there.

As a result, around 350 of these turistas ended up busing over to Olón later that night.

As soon as they arrived here in Olón, word went out over the town speakers “to be careful – extra vigilant – many  strangers/extraños are in town tonight.”

The locals were on guard.

While here, a number of them camped on the beach (not encouraged – in fact, I’m not sure it is even permitted, though I occasionally see tents on the sand) and they essentially overwhelmed the town. 
Unfortunately, there was a contingent of troublemakers amongst them who were causing fights, trashing the beach, harassing people for money, and there were reports of thievery and damage to some of our cabaña restaurants.

My friend, Mary Beckman (South of Zero) was visiting from Cuenca, and we wandered out the next afternoon to check out the situation.

Just as we got to the park, we witnessed the town folk of Olón (en mass) and police escorting the Colombians back onto their buses, and out of town.

It was quite an event to watch our locals walk these unwelcome visitors out of town, done forcefully, but calmly. 
I didn’t witness any fighting during this occurrence.  In fact, the Colombians seemed pretty placid as they were herded back onto their waiting buses.

I am so proud of mis vecinos y amigos aquí.

Viva Olón!

This isn’t a disparagement of Colombians.  Many wonderful Colombians live here, and visit our area. 

No doubt, that many testosterone-driven young men gathered in one place (and they could be from anywhere) can be a recipe for problems.

Meanwhile, in other news from around here…

A previously approved ordinance of the City Council of Santa Elena province that prohibits “the sale, promotion and consumption of alcohol on the beaches, plazas, cars, roads and other public areas of jurisdiction for recreation and tourism” was put into effect this week.

This includes most of towns along the Ruta del Sol (Spondylus), including Olón and Montanita.  Salinas is – for some reason – exempt.

The wording of the Spanish language news article is somewhat ambiguous and confusing, so many of us are curious to see how this will be implemented and enforced.

It’s a stretch of the imagination to think that beer on the beach would be prohibited around our neck of the coast.

I think that more than likely the muscle of the law is meant to prevent unlicensed vendors from selling alcohol, and may also be aimed at visitors who bring their own packed ice chests, and don’t contribute to the local economy by purchasing beverages and food from our licensed merchants.

For the record, as I write this today, the Olón cabañas are selling beer, the beach cocktail stands are open, and I observed folks strolling down Montanita's main street while hoisting Pilseners.  

Sunset on the Olón playa tonight
(Spring Equinox)
A group of dolphins were playing and jumping
just beyond the break, but my camera
wasn't quick enough to capture a photo of them.