The beachfront strip in Atacames — a row of open-sided thatched bars running for several hundred metres — is really the heart of the town's social life. By day it doubles as a restaurant row; by evening it transforms into a string of competing sound systems playing cumbia, reggaeton, and salsa at volumes that make conversation inadvisable.
The bars serve the same drinks everywhere: cold Pilsener beer, cocktails in half-litre plastic cups (coco loco — rum, coconut water, and lime — is the local favourite), and freshly blended fruit juices. Prices are low. The strip is family-friendly until around 10pm and progressively louder after that. On weekends during school holidays the noise level reaches the extraordinary. On quiet weekdays it is a genuinely pleasant place to sit, watch the waves, and eat a plate of ceviche.