Blowing the budget after a mini debate.....

---

On arrival at our hostel there was some confusion as to our reservation so we ended up having to wait an hour in the lounge area till the owner arrived. Thankfully all was sorted and we were soon shown our beds. Our plan for Guayaquil was to make enquiries about going to the Galapagos Islands. The intention had always been that Sharon and I would go together and explore the islands and then Sharon would do a cruise as I always maintained it was out of my budget to do a cruise. Things quickly changed!!

Having slept for awhile Sharon and I got up and decided to head into the centre of Guayaquil. We went around the history museum which was interesting at the beginning however became a bit waring towards the end as it was the same all the way around - effectively they had a model and then there was a narration giving a full description of the specific period of time shown in the model. There was 16 of these models and by number 10 I was starting to get a glazed look across my face.

We then wandered along the promenade and into the central shopping area. We eventually found the Simon Bolivar park where there are a lot of large iguanas roaming the area and there is a large pond with turtles in it. Across from the park was the Cathedral and so we wandered around.

That evening I was sat reading my lonely planet and getting more info on the Galapagos Islands when the owner of the hostel tackled me for the second time about doing a cruise around the Galapagos. She tried to convince me that if I want to do the Galapagos then the best way to see it properly is by cruise. I really didn't know what to do in one respect I was thinking that I don't know when I will ever get out here again to do this sort of trip and whilst it would be on a budget I would still get to see the wildlife. What the owner said is that you can stay on the islands however you won't see half the wildlife as the islands you stay on are inhabited. Also you can do day trips from the islands however they are costly but its a 4 hour boat journey there and back and when you get there the wildlife has gone as they are usually around only at dawn or at night so if you are on a boat as you sleep on the boat you get to see these things. However on the other hand I was very conscious of my budget and the cruise blowing it out of the water!! After a debate with myself and speaking to Mum and Dad I decided to blow the budget and go on a cruise..... The plan was a 4 day 3 night cruise and then spending 5 days on Santa Cruz before I flew to Quito and Sharon stayed behind for an extra week to visit a couple of the islands we wouldn't see on the cruise.

Decision made and it all agreed with Sharon on the Monday we booked ourselves onto the next available cruise which was on the Friday so we had 5 days to kill. Having blown the budget to pieces it was decided we would stay in Guayaquil and attempt to save some money so the rest of the week was spent relaxing around the hostel reading my New Zealand Lonely Planet and making plans and enquiries for this next part of my adventure. Lots of ice-creams and doritos were also demolished in this time.

So next stop the Galapagos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

---