Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 13

Awoke to find boat already at anchor, in a beautiful bay on the east coast of Bartolome. This area is mainly lava fields and displayed many different geological features of volcanic eruptions over different episodes of eruption. After breakfast we took the Pange again to land at some steps cut into the lava rock and ascended to the top of the lava hill, observing the many volcanic spouts and formations around us. There was little fauna here on the barren landscape, but we did see Pelican, Lizards, iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs (which were virtually everywhere), lighting up the rocks with their brilliant red colours. Before lunch we snorkelled along the rocky cliff side and saw many white tip reef shark, starfish, sea cucumber, and thousands of highly coloured fish. The coral here tended to be ... read more

Well here we go! Dreamed of this trip for years and booked it over a year ago. Because of riots and Martial law, which settled only a week or so before we were due to depart, and GAdventures cancelling all Ecuador trips, we didn't know if we could go until only 3 days before our departure date. The indigenous population had invaded Quito in their thousands and blocked every road into, and within the city, and threatened to burn the parliament building, causing the entire parliament to flee to Guayancil. There were many injuries and a few fatalities due mainly to the heavy handedness of the police, following declaration of State of Emergency and imposition of curfews. They were protesting about austerity and specifically, the removal of fuel subsidies, brought about by the IMF insistence on ... read more

Bus journeys can be frustrating, and it is roundly established that the longer the bus journey, the greater the chance of delays and indeed hold-ups en route. Well, leaving the guest house in Montanita, the parting gesture of the owner was 'just wait outside', so in the relative security of local knowledge, the bus rolled towards the guesthouse, and indeed came to a halt when this traveller had seemingly created a temporary bus stop in the form of an outstretched arm. A little over 3 hours later, and we're in Manta, a coastal city which background reading served to suggest didn't have too many in the way of individual tourist sights. The background reading turned out to be accurate, and a visit to the central (free) museum, a walk along the beachside promenade and a drop-by ... read more

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.....(cue David Bowie!) If you recall from my last blog (I know, it was over 2 months ago!) we held a grand re-opening of the Fundación Arte del Mundo which houses the volunteer children's library where I've been volunteering for over a decade. Well, the biggest change is that the foundation has closed down. There are a number of reasons that the BIB's 11 year run has come to an end. The building we had been renting was crumbling around us...right after $500 worth of plumbing repairs, the walls literally started seeping moisture. There's a termite issue and some of the floorboards are getting "mushy". The popularity of "voluntourism" has skyrocketed in the past 5 years, as has the number of volunteer opportunities. We chose not to sign on with one of the volunteer placement agencies ... read more

Dear All Greetings from the Ecuadorian Andes! A small city called Riobamba, to be exact, where I am currently spending two nights before heading to the Ecuadorian capital of Quito tomorrow. I believe I last wrote having just reached the end of my amazing Galapagos adventure, I still feel so touched by these beautiful islands and their natural inhabitants, the spectacular wildlife. Indeed, I think my experience there will stay with me for a while. Since then, I spent one night in Guayaquil again, enjoying the luxuries of a four-star hotel, and in fact what was more welcome, the super-fast Internet connection. I was able to upload all of my photos from the Galapagos Islands (and there were many!) onto my OneDrive cloud, freeing up much-needed storage space again on my laptop for more photos. I ... read more