Can it be real? Is the trip actually over? Yup. It is amazing how something that is so absorbing as a multi-month trip, just ends so suddenly. We are back in Simi Valley, now. In a few days we head down to San Diego to look for an apartment. For those of you who do not know, Ryan is going back to school to get his Master´s in Geography at San Diego State University. That is the reason that this trip came to fruition. We had to quit our jobs at some point, might as well be in March instead of [View Full Entry]

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After difficulty waking (Ana) up the next morning, we headed out to South Plaza Island. Ana (and Carlos, of course) napped on the bus and on the boat (good thing the boat had eight beds). Jorge was marginally easier to understand this time around as the group somehow convinced him to give explanations in Spanish at least part of the time. His behavior, though, was perplexing. Especially for a trained guide in the Galápagos National Park. Our group was enjoying the walk along South Plaza Island. The foliage formed a red carpet over much of the island. Cactus, land iguanas, and [View Full Entry]

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"Hello! Everybody ready?! It´s George, your guide. It´s time to go to Bartolomé! The bus is waiting!" boomed a man with an Ecuadorian accent. It was only 4:45 am. It was still dark out. We hadn´t even heard any roosters yet (they usually start crowing way too early in the morning). Though, our alarm had just gone off. No, we were not ready yet. We had been told that the bus would would pick us up at our hotel at 5:00 am. We had packed up our stuff the night before. All we had to do was get dressed, grab our [View Full Entry]

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New island, new attitude. We had breakfast at our new breakfast place, just a couple blocks from our hotel. As usual, the last one there was Carlos. The minibus picked us up at the hotel after breakfast. It was about an hour ride to the Ithabaca Channel on the other end of the island. Then a short boat ride to North Seymour Island. On North Seymour, we walked the loop trail. Our guide César (aka Cheche) was very knowledgeable. He also enjoyed all our questions. For example: Q-Why North Seymour and not just Seymour Island? A-Baltra used to be called South [View Full Entry]

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Day 4, a new, new beginning. We were excited about day 4, this was the day we got to leave San Cristobal Island and go to the town of Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz. Puerto Ayora is a slightly bigger town and very different than Puerto B. Moreno. It is the center of tourism on the islands and has a lot more options for day trips than San Cristobal Island. This was also the day that the Canadians and Frederique left and we got new tour-mates. Basically, it felt like a new beginning for us and we are happy to say, [View Full Entry]

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Day 3 started out with a whole new outlook. We had got reconciliation from the tour company and we were ready to enjoy the last 6 days of our land-based Galapagos tour. Unfortunately, we forgot to get the point across to our tour manager (who still was not fond of Ryan). We had a later start with breakfast at a cafe on land. Carlos, the Bolivian, had been out to the disco the night before and missed breakfast. Frederique, his roommate, tried unsuccessfully to wake him up. At least Carlos got an hour's sleep before the day's activities. After breakfast, our [View Full Entry]

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We were instructed to meet up at the pier at 5:30 am with everything we'd need for the day. Our boat was scheduled to leave the dock at 6am to start the 3+ hour drive to Espanola. Espanola is considered one of the best visitor sites in the Galapagos and we were looking forward to seeing more wildlife. We arrived at Punta Suarez at around 9:30 am. Before disembarking, we had breakfast on board the boat (jam and cheese sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, tea or coffee). This was fine since we were all hungry, but none of us could have eaten anything [View Full Entry]

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Yay! It´s finally here. Our cruise in the Galapagos. Or so we thought... We arrived at the airport in Quito at 7:20 am to pick up our plane tickets from the travel agent. We had arranged to meet her there when we visited the office the week before. We found her smiling at the entrance. She handed us the tickets. Then, the surprise. She pulled out an itinerary and said, "I´m sorry to have to tell you this. The boat is broken. There is no cruise." Was this just a bad dream? A joke? Nope. Neither. The Sarah Dayuma, our ship, [View Full Entry]

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We started this trip in Ushuaia at the end of the world. Now, after four months, we´ve finally reached the middle of the world. On the 13th, we visited the Mitad del Mundo monument north of Quito. It is a super-touristy "mini-city". But we went to take pictures on the equator. Yes, we took an hour long bus ride to take pictures of an imaginary line. Very cheesy, we know. But we figured, "When´s the next time we´re going to be this close to the equator?" The next day (a Thursday), we headed for Otavalo to beat the hoards of other [View Full Entry]

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Well we made it to Ecuador. We left Chiclayo on the 6th at 10pm on an overnight bus to Tumbes near the border with Ecuador. We arrived in far northern Perú at 5:30 am (before dawn). As soon as we left the bus agency, they closed the doors. We were the only gringos on board and the other passengers quickly dispersed. This meant that we were besieged by a dozen taxis, moto-taxis, and minibuses all offering to take us towards the border. No me gusta. We tried to fend them off, but they were very persistent. We knew we had to [View Full Entry]

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