Blogs from West, Ecuador, South America

From Mancora in Peru James and I caught an overnight bus to Cuenca in Ecuador. At first I was a bit apprehensive as a lot of the posts I had read online had talked about the border check points being quite far apart from each other and buses that were meant to be going straight through just kicking you off and leaving you to your own devices. It turned out however that due to certain degrees of corruption and passport theft the two countries have recently come together and at three in the morning we passed through a unified border where we were stamped out of one country and immediately into the next. The only delay in the process was with some of the highly intelligent individuals on my bus having the inability to fill out ... read more

2nd round Guayaquil, Ecuador After surviving planes, taxis, a ferry, and buses we arrived in another section in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. We arranged a home stay for 2nights and did not know what to expect. This part of the city is rougher, away from the touristy areas, but no more dangerous than any big city. The home stay people were a lovely surprise, Patricia and Homero. They spoke little English, but are learning, just like we are learning Spanish. It's funny how home decor can reflect people's personas. This home was full of eclectic art, classic literature, and a sense of warmth. As we got to know our hosts over 2 days (with very funny broken intertwined languages) we discovered they were as kind and as warm as their surroundings. It's corny, but if ... read more

Walked the city of Guayaquil all day in 42cel heat! Lovely colours, buildings, and iguanas. In the midst of being drenched with sweat we got interviewed in Santa Ana for a Chinese TV station about our experiences there-funny. City is always busy and crossing the downtown streets a wild gamble. Our hostel (casa Romero) was nice and staff very helpful. Off to Galapolos now. Just got through the very efficient and helpful airport. Photos to follow. AdiOS!... read more

Well we made it! No thanks to seemingly unlimited numbers of cranky, rude, and unhappy air canada employees. It was a long day! Complete with 2 de-icings and 3 of 4 delayed flights(any guess which airline). Anyway, our last flight from Lima to Guayaquil was a pleasant surprise. We flew LAN, a South American airline and were surprised to see newer planes, prompt, friendly service, an an overall pleasant experience, our first of the day. We arrived in Guayaquil in time to check into our hostel and go grab some food/a walk. Our room is very large, with I nice balcony and very central. As we were leaving to go eat wfriends nice girl from Japan, Kay. She asked if she could come with us, and as it turned out she had booked the same last ... read more

The Star Princess officially entered the Southern Hemisphere at 0122 this morning, and we docked amidst a fleet of fishing and cargo vessels about 0800. Dave and Mary, American friends we have met, blew off for the Galapagos’ Islands at O’Dark thirty this morning, and we cannot wait until they re-board and tell us all about their adventures. Manta is about a four hour’s drive from Quito (Capitol of Ecuador), so we’re not sure why stopped here, as we sailed at 1800. There was one small town nearby that specializes in Panama hats (called so, because although “invented” and still made here, they were shipped by the thousands to the men building the Panama Canal in the early 1900’s. After our day in Costa Rican Rain forests and jungle rivers, this made a lot of sense. ... read more

Well what to say about Montanita? Would have been a much more pleasant stay if the weather had been a little bit nicer! Had some fantastic weather the first couple of days, was able to lay out in the sun, get my tan on :) but of course, me being me, got sun burnt the first day. I obviously suck at putting sun cream on.. Random patches of sunburn on my stomach and my knees. Made laying on my tummy to sleep quite painful! Spent the first 2 nights at a hostel in town, but too noisy so found a hostel down at surf point, about a km walk along the beach into town. So nice and peaceful, hardly anyone hangs out this end of the beach during the day, and you can fall asleep listening ... read more

So have finally made it! Arrived in Guayaquil after a massive 36 hrs, trip made very much longer by being stuck in the middle seat! First time though, that I have stayed awake the whole time and pretty much watched tv non stop.. 5 year engagement, the lucky one, what to expect when your expecting, friends with kids and get the gringo.. rom com anyone? Had the unexpected 8 hr stop over in Santiago (well unexpected to me anyway) which is not the most exciting airport in the wrold. Though it is pretty, surrounded by the snow capped andes. Tried to do the traveller doze across the airport seats, think I may have dozed a liuttle, but not enough for my poor body that was thinking it was night time.. Then the 5 hr flight to ... read more