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Published: August 2nd 2014
On flying into the Ecuadorian capital of Quito from Lima in Peru, we were immediately struck by how green and lush the landscape looked and we realised we hadn't seen such greenness for quite some time. So we were pretty chuffed to be in Ecuador. However, our euphoria only lasted until we realised that the new airport in Quito is actually miles away from the city (think London Stanstead) with no sensible public transport link to the centre of town (something the locals are pretty narked about too). This naturally means an extortionately expensive taxi ride into the city. Still, this was probably better than flying into the old airport in the city, which was apparently incredibly dangerous due to the proximity of some very large mountains and buildings.
Once we eventually found our hostel in Quito (the taxi driver got lost and would not listen to subtle directions from us in the back with a map, much to our amusement) we got lucky and were given the best room in the hostel, a huge room with a balcony (euphoria restored). We enjoyed a couple of days in Quito wandering around the beautiful old colonial centre, keeping an eye out
for the geriatric pickpocketers we had been warned about and even watching Ecuador win one of their world cup football matches on TV (very happy Ecuadorians).
Whilst we enjoyed Quito, we were really itching to get to our next destination. So an early start found us back at the airport and boarding a plane heading some six hundred miles from the mainland over the Pacific to the Galapagos Islands.
More or less everything you read about visiting the Galapagos indicates that the only option is to book a cruise for the duration of your visit and even the cheapest cruises were way beyond our backpacker's budget. However, from our conversations with fellow travelers over the past months, we had gathered that it was possible to travel around the archipelago independently and on a budget. So we landed on the island of San Cristobal, walked into the small town and had no problem finding reasonably priced accommodation. A cheap place to stay sorted, we wandered down to the sea and were greeted by the sight, sound and smell of the many sea lions that happily share their beach with the tourists. One crafty sea lion had even found an
unguarded beach towel to sleep on, much to the bemusement of the owner of the towel, who didn't really know how to go about moving the happily snoozing fellow.
Having walked along the coast a little way, we found a promising looking cove for a good swim. So the following morning we hired some snorkeling gear and walked back to the cove. We could not believe the number of weird and wonderful fish of all sizes, shapes and colours that lurked in the waters. After a little while a large shape emerged from the depths, which turned out to be a big turtle. We were able to swim along with the turtle for ages, who fortunately it didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
Not long after the turtle glided back into deeper water, a couple of young sea lions decided we needed further investigation. The pair swam right up to us, playfully whizzed all around us and hung upside down in order to have a good look at us, a fantastic experience.
Eventually, the slightly cool Pacific water meant we had to get out and take a walk in the hot sun. So we walked a
few kilometres to another beach we had been told would be good for snorkeling at low tide in the afternoon. The snorkelling here was great too with more turtles, colourful fish and of course many playful sea lions. All in all, a great start to our time on the islands and no better place to celebrate Liz's birthday.
After a day or two on San Cristobal, we decided it was time to explore another island, so we headed down to the pier early in the morning and, after watching a couple of young sea lions playing in the harbour with a broom head they had found, we boarded the ferry for the two and a half hour crossing over to Santa Cruz Island. Well, the locals call the boats ferries, but in reality they are small motor cruisers/speed boats and, true to the form of all passenger transportation in South America, there is only one setting for the throttle, flat out. Bearing in mind that this was way out in the Pacific Ocean, the sea was pretty rough, so the little boat repeatedly took off and crashed back down into the water. Fortunately, we both found this pretty exhilarating
and enjoyed the ride. For some of our fellow passengers, however, this was two and a half hours of sheer hell as we watched them turn from pale to green and beyond.
Santa Cruz Island is home to the largest town on the Galapagos, Puerto Ayora, which is not the prettiest port but has all you need for a stay. We spent a day or two exploring some nearby beaches and taking a water taxi over the bay to find more pretty bays, such as one very relaxed spot where we watched a couple of enterprising frigate birds swoop down and steal a fish right from the back of someone's house, just after the chap had cleaned it ready for cooking.
Another "ferry" ride, this time even rougher than the previous one, took us to Island Isabella and the small, one horse town of Puerto Villamil, a very laid back, end of the world sort of place right on the beach. We found a great hostel so close to the beach that the sea nearly came right up to the back door, where we shared all the outdoor space, including the stairs and the beach bar, with a
comical army of black marine iguanas.
Isabela Island had to be the ultimate chill out destination. We lazed on the beach, surfed some good waves, watched flocks of blue footed boobies dive for fish, snorkeled with more playful sea lions, another turtle and some tiny penguins. Also a highlight was walking inland and bumping into many giant tortoises along the paths. Most evenings were rounded off with cocktails on the beach before dinner. It's fair to say that if we hadn't booked our flight off the islands in advance, we could very easily still be there.
But eventually we did have to take a boat back to Santa Cruz, where we spent a great final day in a rented kayak, seeing some rays and flat fish in the shallows and even a small shark (hands inside the boat time), before flying back to the mainland and the southern Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil.
We only spent one night in the busy city of Guayaquil and, despite its slightly dubious reputation, we found it to be quite pleasant and the people very friendly. One friendly local stopped to give us directions when we were studying our street map without
us even asking for help. Five minutes later he reappeared further along the street, having come to find us to tell us he had accidentally sent us the wrong way and pointed us back in the right direction.
From humid and low lying Guayaquil, we headed back up into the mountains to the cooler, pretty colonial town of Cuenca, where we spent a few days wandering around the old town and along the river. We also used our time here to plan ahead a little by joining a volunteering website, with the aim of doing something a little different for a week or two somewhere down the line. We sent a couple of emails out to one or two projects and were amazed when one came back to us offering us a last minute placement in a weeks time in the north of Ecuador, perfect.
So after a brief stop off on our way north in the adrenalin sports centre of Baños, where we plumped for the not so adrenalin fuelled activity of hiring a couple of bikes and pedalling (well gliding mostly downhill) to some very impressive waterfalls and catching a lift back up to town in
the back of a truck, we headed to the lush forested sides of the Intag valley to begin two weeks helping out on an organic farm.
The two weeks on the farm flew by and, whilst the work was fairly demanding, we really enjoyed getting stuck into a variety of tasks including harvesting lemons and coffee, tending the vegetable gardens, helping with some house construction work and learning to cook some tasty vegetarian meals with our friendly hosts. This stay was also just what our travel budget needed after giving it a fair pasting on the Galapagos.
So feeling thoroughly healthy and refreshed, we continued on our way to the very pleasant city of Ibarra. Here we pigged out on pizza and beer, a sort of ying to the yang of our healthy two weeks, before making our final journey in Ecuador to the Colombian border and to our next adventure.
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Jeremyaroundtheworld
non-member comment
Living THE life!
Thank for sharing! Good post and pics! I hope to make it to the Galapagos some day soon... I'm glad to hear it's possible to go on your own there.