Sam and E-J's Adventure

Having landed in Guayaquil at 3:45pm after our flight from The Galapagos, we raced to the bus terminal, determined to catch the 4.00pm bus to Cuenca - well, at least Sam was sure we had a chance of catching it. With a lot of running, dragging of bags and E-J losing her temper with the lack of communication between the guards at the bus gate and ourselves, we eventually boarded the bus and were on our way!

The journey was interesting, climbing and descending mountains, precariously missing the edge of the cliff each time we turned a bend. With our ears popping due to being 2000m above sea level we eventually arrived four hours later. After a few circles round the block from our lost taxi driver, we found our hostal. It was basic, but did the job.

On arriving we bumped into this lovely couple, called Tobias and Louise. They had also been on the same bus as us. We decided to head out together for a meal.

The next morning we headed to Cuenca's bus terminal to take another two hour bus ride up to Ingapirca to see some Inca ruins. The ruins were interesting, but not worth four hours in a bus, after a local tried to sell us a ceramic pot, we headed back. Compared to what we are hoping to see in Machu Picchu, we wouldn't really recommend it.

Cuenca is the third biggest city in Ecuador, but didn't have roads until 1964. We became very fond of it, with its slow pace of life and friendly locals. The cobblestone streets and old colonial architeture is very beautiful, which we felt looked very European.

We wandered around for the rest of the afternoon, stopping in a recommended coffee house called Cafe Austria for a decent cup of coffee. That evening, knowing that we were going to be on the road for the next couple of days we decided to return to the same restaurant called Eucalyptus. We enjoyed a couple of cocktails, vodka tonics and beers along with a great meal, all on the special deal of ladies night!

The next day after a good cup of coffee at a great Italian coffee shop called Bajo Cero we said our goodbyes to Tobias and Louise. As we sat ready to leave for Guayaquil, a legless beggar was lifted into the bus and proceeded to move about asking passangers for money.

Sam's Comments: A relaxed city, well worth seeing, however after accidentally breaking the hostal loo I knew it was time to leave!

E-J's Comments: I found Cuenca a very chilled out place. I just need to learn to keep calm and not have a trantrum, when we come across slight hiccups or confusions along the way.

Saturday finally arrived and before we knew it we were on the plane to the Galapagos. The flight was pretty smooth, only lasting 2 hours. On arriving in the Galapagos we were greeted by our tour guide, Victor, who spoke English as though he was speaking Spanish at a very fast pace and throwing in sayings, which made no sense or coming out with an answer which beared no relation to the question being asked. "Friends, it´s possible". We met up with two others from our group and were told we would have to wait for another hour for the other flight to arrive with the rest of the group. After sunburning for an hour our group finally arrived and there was a total of 12 of us. A mixture of English, Australian, Finnish and a token American who could be heard at all times.

The next part of the day was getting to our boat, which was the other side of the island, from where we had landed and this consisted of a bus ride, followed by a boat ride and then another bus ride (by a dude with an amazing handle bar moustache - much to Sam´s amusement!). We finally reached a water taxi, which took us to our boat called "Free Enterprise". The boat was an 110 foot sailing boat (although the we only motored the whole time as the sails had been removed), with 12 cabins which slept 20 people, a bar, a seating area and an eating area. With only 12 people staying on this boat, it was sheer luxury!

After dropping our bags on the boat we headed to the Darwin Plantation to see the giant Tortoises. They were truly mesmerising.

The Tortoises age ranged from 40 to 80 years old and they were incredibly docile and allowed you to get very close to them. Occasionally they would let out a sort of sighing sound, before burrowing their heads inside their shells.

We also came accross a rather extordinary turtle, known as "The Turtle´s Head":

After this we finsihed the day with a brief walk around Santa Cruz harbour, before heading back to the boat for an early night.

The next morning after traveling during the night, we started at Rabida Island. This island had the most intense landscape colours which made you feel as though you were in another world.

After a brief stroll around the island, E-J ended up in her element, surronded by Sea lions, which were so tame and allowed you to get very close to them. In particular the pups would chase you up the beach hoping that you would feed them. As tempting as it was you weren´t allowed to touch them.

We snorkelled off this beach, in the freezing water. After taking a good 10 minutes for us both to work out how to snorkel we took in the coral and raced back on board for lunch, with EJ losing circulation in her hands.

After lunch we headed to Santiago Island. Dragging EJ away from more sea lions we went for another snorkel. This time we shared the water with Giant Sea Turtles. We really felt that we were allowed into their world.

We then took another breathtaking walk, and found ourseleves surrounded by Marine Iguanas. E-J was slightly intimadated by the quantity.

Like any normal Sunday we finished off by chilling out with the sea lions!

Sam compared who had the better beard!

The evening was spent looking up at the stars listening to music enjoying a few drinks with a few of the group.

We woke in the morning to an early six o´clock start on Bartolome Island. This involved a trek up a reasonably steep dormont volcano. On this island we were also able to see small reef sharks. Much to E-J´s delight we were not allowed to snorkel with them. On the other side of the island we were able to snorkel and during this time both Sam and E-J had a shock when a sea lion bounded down the beach and decided to swim very closely underneath us!

After another three course lunch we headed to Sulivan Bay, which was an island covered in volcanic lavar as far as the eye could see. After a short walk and E-J stumbling over most of the terrain we headed to the sandy beach for our final snorkel. The idyllic setting could be like something out of a film.

During this snorkel we came across a solo penguin and an impressive array of fish.

Once on board the Free Enterprise we headed to our last destination, North Seymour Island, which was a 3 hour journey. The trip didn´t agree with E-J and she spent most of the time with another member of the group sitting at the back of the boat contemplating sickness. Whilst Sam played cards with the crew. However, we were able to experience one more highlight, which involved a sting ray doing, what looked like a circus act of somersaults out of the water!

The next day beginning again at six o´clock, we headed onto North Seymour Island to view the different birds. E-J turned into Bill Oddy for the next hour! Sam on the other hand, for the first time in his life lost interest in the birds and would have prefered an extra hour in bed!

Much to E-J´s delight, we were able to experience the mating call of the Frigate Bird, which involved the male showing off to the female. No change there then.

We were also able to see plenty of the infamous blue footed boobies and for the first time E-J can remember, Sam showed no interest in boobies!

After this walk, we boarded the boat, said our goodbyes and headed back to reality and back to the airport.

Sam´s Comments: Apart from being chased up the beach by a large, male sea lion, this place was always breath taking. Swimming with Sea Turtles with EJ by my side was a memory that will never fade.

E-J´s Comments: This is a place that will stay with us forever. We feel so honoured to have been so close to all the wild life which is so accepting of humans. My real highlights were the sea lions and at one point I did contemplate smuggling one home - Sam wasn´t too pleased by the idea as they did seem to pong! I informed him that at this point in our trip they smelt better than he did! It´s been a truly magical experience and I am so pleased we did it and shared the experience with such a lovely group in what seemed such desolate islands, due to the lack of people at this time and our guides clever planning.

Scheduled to set off on the eight o´clock bus for Guayaquil produced an early panick!! E-J was nervously worried as the bus was 40 minutes late!! The words "calm down" was used excessively!! On 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 where the only two people without the relevant papers, needless to say we where handed the correct documents at the offical check point, which was a good KM from the Peru 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 9 hour journey we arrived in Ecuadors biggest city Guayaquil as the light was fading. It dawned on Sam that it may have been an error not to have booked our accommadation in advance. E-J, after getting used to the Mancora vibe thought it would be ok. With an address of a guest house 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 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 guest house and in E-J´s limited Spanish, she asked if there was any room for two nights. Unable to understand the responce, she finally said ´Soy Inglesa´to which the guest house host, responded with´ït´s ok, It´s ok you can come¨. Relieved, we headed to the house located in the suburbs of Guayaquil.

The Guest house is run by this lovely girl called Andrea who is only 25 years old, but seems to have done so much in her life already. She lives with her father and staying there is like staying in a friendly, family country home. E-J enjoyed chatting with Andrea and 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 architeture and the people. 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 is driven like a go-cart , along with salesman offering anything from milk to sunglasses and 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 equivalant of Oxford street. However a few differences. Firstly, most of the shops are electronic shops with massive widescreens 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 whearing a bulletproof vest and holding a machine gun and you get the picture!!

We spent the next three days wandering up and down the river front 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 life saver!!

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!