Oct 2007

Scheduled to set off on the eight o’clock bus for Guayaquil produced an early panic!! E-J was nervously worried, as the bus was 40 minutes late!! The words “calm down” were used excessively!! On our way E-J settled down into the terrible films on board the bus.

The border crossing into Ecuador caused another slight anxiety attack from E-J when she was concerned that we were the only two people without the relevant papers, needless to say we were handed the correct documents at the official check point, which was a good Kilometre from the Peruvian border!!

As we travelled up to Ecuador we noticed the change in the terrain from dusty, dry landscapes to lush, green fields and an abundance of Banana tree fields!

After a nine-hour journey we arrived in Ecuador’s biggest city Guayaquil as the light was fading. It dawned on Sam that it might have been an error not to book our accommodation in advance. E-J, after getting used to the Mancora vibe thought it would be ok. With an address of a guesthouse we set off with a local taxi driver believing that we were almost at our destination, sadly we were wrong! Firstly, the taxi driver didn’t even know where he was going and asked us to direct him! Secondly, on finally finding it we were confronted by a security guard at the gates. With no password and no reservation, the guard finally allowed us to call the guesthouse and in E-J´s limited Spanish, she asked if there was any room for two nights. Unable to understand the response, she finally said ‘Soy Inglesa’ to which the guesthouse host, responded with ‘it’s ok, It’s ok, you can come’. Relieved, we headed to the house located in the suburbs of Guayaquil.

A lovely girl called Andrea ran the Guesthouse; she was only 25 years old but seemed to have already done so much in her life. She lived with her father and staying there was like staying in a friendly, family, country home. E-J enjoyed chatting with Andrea, listening to all her stories and recommendations of places to go. In particular, she suggested that we should go to Cuenca to see what the traditional Ecuadorian architecture and the people were like. Andrea also helped us with lots of information, from buses, to ideas of what to do in Quayaquil and our Galapagos trip.

The next day was all about booking the Galapagos trip. The trip into town on the local buses took us an hour, however the first trip was double that time, due to a few mistakes!! After that, we mastered it and felt like proper travellers commuting with the locals. The local bus was driven like a go-cart, along with salesman offering anything from milk to sunglasses - this provided us with a colourful insight into local life.

On arriving at the tour company Galasam, we booked our Galapagos trip with a gold medallion wearing, greasy haired, overweight travel agent by the name of Mario. This and his wedding photo on display along with a matching cup disturbed Sam to the point where he couldn’t deal with him any longer and was convinced we were being ripped off!! Sadly the earliest trip was not until Saturday leaving us with three more days in Guayaquil.

The main high street is called 9th October. It is the London equivalent to Oxford Street, however there were a few differences. Firstly, most of the shops are electronic shops with massive widescreens TVs in the window or banks. Almost all the shops are guarded by security. The more expensive the stuff the more impressive the gun!! Imagine Dixons being guarded by a bloke wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a machine gun and you get the picture!!

We spent the next three days wandering up and down the riverfront called Malceron 2000, which was full of modern architecture and fast food joints. We noticed as a result, that most Ecuadorian women have a bit of a tummy.

The most impressive sight was from the church tower, which provided a panoramic view across the city.

Sam´s Comments: Guayaquil was a bit of a culture shock after Mancora. My bowels also felt the shock too and Imodium became a lifesaver!!

E-J´s Comments: The pace of life in Guayaquil is definitely a lot faster than that of anywhere we had been previously. I was amazed by all the fast food places and the excessive weight of everyone - for once I wasn’t feeling like the one who ate all the pies!

Having landed on our feet in Mancora, our hosts kindly looked after us with good food and some interesting conversations in a mixute of basic Spanish and English. We explored the beach, which went on for miles and miles and after two hours of walking we decided to turn back.

Our 4 days were like paradise, waking and falling asleep to the sounds of the sea, with a beautiful view every morning.

As a typical Brit abroad Sam got sun burnt.

Disaster struck when we lost one of the dice which brought a halt to our back gammon rivalry. This was down to Sam´s competitive throwing!!

We enjoyed all of the facilities provided in our accommodation, some of us enjoyed the pool more than others!!

Modes of transport here were interesting with the local taxis drivers taking to the roads like Lewis Hamilton. However the speed was slightly restricted with it being a three wheeled motorbike!

Although some drivers attempted the impossible pelting over the bumpy sandy tracks! one of us struggled to enjoy this.

The last night was spent eating a great meal with our hosts and enjoying a few beers and as the sun set we saw
whales swimming in the sea. A terrific experiance with great people, definitely a place we would recommend.

After saying goodbye to the hosts, we boarded a taxi with the drivers 3 children on their way to school, one on E-J´s lap, and the other two squashed between us!!

Sam Comments: Although our host thought I looked like the Chealsea striker Pizzaro, I had great fun. EJ in her bikinni in front of the local builders certainly provided them with a highlight!! Delighted to buy another pair of shorts, however lost the string for them within half an hour!!

E-J´s Comments: The four days were a perfect time to chill out and get a base tan before we headed up to Ecuador. The beach was idyllic. We really loved the people as they were all so friendly and layed back. There was only one moment when I felt we almost faced a near death experience as a night time taxi driver pelted down the dusty lanes almost causing me to fly out as we hit a pot hole - still, I´m learning to live with the more care free attitude to life...