My guidebooks said it was a 3-5 day hike up Reventador and only the most adventorous should attempt it. They also said it iwas very rare that Reventador is not covered in clouds or rain. So after I had become accustomed to the relaxed, sunny and warm life at the coast and on Galapagos I found it really hard to motivate myself to leave for Reventador. In the morning of the day I finally really needed to leave, Patricio, my landlord in Quito and renowned mountaineer, called around some of his friends to find a local guide. Finally we identified Victor [View Full Entry]

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San Cristobál is another pleasant island in the archipelago. Baquerizo Moreno, its main town, is relaxed and sleepy and there are a number of options for trips on and around the island. As I had only two days here I went only for the walk to Las Tijeretas, a beautiful little bay with good snorkelling and to the hill above, and then inland to the El Junco lagoon. This is the only freshwater lagoon on all of Galapagos! I was very reluctant to go to the airport to catch my flight back to Quito, as Galapagos is such a lovely place, [View Full Entry]

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The big event on Isabela obviously was the unexpected eruption of Volcano Cerro Azul. It was all completely safe as Puerto Villamil, the only village on the island and where I stayed, is 50 km away from the volcano. Some reports said that neither the giant tortoises nor humans were in danger - note the order, giant tortoises first! JoAnnie (a girl from Quebec with whom I spent most of the time on Isabela) and I sat for hours on my balcony watching the eruption. Not that it changed so much over time, but we just couldn't take our eyes off. [View Full Entry]

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Santa Cruz is where most people fly to on the Galapagos islands. With a population of over 15.000 Puerto Ayora, the main town on Santa Cruz, it is by far the largest place on the islands and has a good infrastructure. As a side note, it also has the best bikes for rent that I have found so far in Ecuador! Although most people leave for a cruise from here, there is quite a few things to do on the island itself. I enjoyed the 1.5 hour walk to tortuga bay and back, with its candelabra and opuntia cacti, iguanas, and [View Full Entry]

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After my somewhat unpleasant first visit to the Manglares Churute reserve I thought I should give it another try. Especially since Isabelle and Simon of the hostal had invited them to their finca which is on the other side of the reserve. So I went by bus from Guayaquil to the ‘Tres Cerritos’ where I was picked up by motorbike by José, who takes care of the finca. We went on a hike up to the hill behind the finca. During the whole hike we could hear the very strange whining of the ‘monos aulladores’, the howler monkeys. I had heard [View Full Entry]

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Cerro del Muerto was one of the recommendations that Isabelle of the Dreamkapture hostal in Guayaquil had made. I was not too sure if this was any good hike, as people in Playas seamed to be somewhat hesitant about it and said it could better be viewed from a mirador in the distance rather than going hiking on the hill itself. I was not too sure what this was all about. Cerro del Muerto, Mountain of the dead person, is called so because from the distance it looks like a huge dead body lying on the ground (and which indeed can [View Full Entry]

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Ayampe is another paradise in Ecuador. I.e. if you like it quiet. Really quiet. There is no internet and the handful of tiny tiendas (stores) are run by some oldies who frequently can't sell to you, as they forgot what the price of the goodie is that you want to buy. So rather than selling it for a few centavos too much or a few too less they prefer not to make a mistake and so not sell it at all. But there is always the hostal restaurant, and if you really miss something you can always go for the half [View Full Entry]

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Today I went on a boat trip to Isla de la Plata. The 'silver island' got its name from Sir Francis Drake and his suppossedly buried silver treasure there. About 1.5 hours on speed boat from Puerto Lopez, it is known as the 'Galapagos of the poor man', since it is home to some of the wildlife seen on the Galapagos islands, such as the blue footed booby, the waved albatros, frigate birds, sea lions etc. The place is also famous for the whales that visit it between mid-June and August to mate. The island was for a long time in [View Full Entry]

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Not sure why I spent more than half a year in Ecuador´s sierra (mountains). Sure, I love mountains and hiking happens mostly in mountains. However, when arriving in Puerto Lopez just for sunset by the beach I must admit I jumped in the air for joy, and wondered why it had never occurred to me to travel to the beach earlier. It is heaven here. Blue skies and sun, sun, sun. It is hot, but not too hot. And the place is a real laid-back fishing town and as it is off season now, there are maybe a maximum of 50 [View Full Entry]

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Guayaquil, with 2.4 million inhabitants Ecuador´s largest city, was always on my backburner of things to see in Ecuador. I imagined it largely as an industrial city with little interest to me. Overall, my visit to this Perla del Pacifico confirmed this impression. However, I found a number of interesting places that are well worth visiting: 1) The Malecon The restoration of this 2,5 km long boardwalk along the river Guayas has been completed only a few years ago and offers to the visitors a number of restaurants, museums, tropical gardens and historical monuments and is a really nice place to [View Full Entry]

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