Meandering Mukluks: Welcome to Ecuador

Much has happened since we have updated you last. We left Lily, continuing north to Pacasmayo and Mancora. We had our first car malfunction in some time--a gas leak. But, without too much trouble it was fixed with a little bit of handy work from Iain’s end of things. We were told that the best restaurant in all of South America was located in Mancora (according to friends and South American adventurers Naomi and Paul) but it was closed when we were there. We spent the night in little Zorritos in a Hospedaje with the aim to reach the Ecuadorian border early in the morning. The Aguas Verdes and Huaquillas border has the reputation of being the worst border crossing in all of South America (according to Lonely Planet and other various internet sites, blogs, and forums). We decided this was all a bunch of bologna after we passed through, but other travelers have confirmed negative reports since we crossed over. Thankfully for us, this was one instance that proved to be very helpful in having our own vehicle. The shadiness seems to arise out of the need to take taxis and exchange money. One strange thing however was the trying to find customs (or Aduana in Spanish) to get everything sorted with the truck. After passing through immigration we had to drive about 4 km into Ecuador into a different town to get our official documents allowing us to drive in the country. It took us awhile to get there, thinking, “No this can’t be right…we’re driving in Ecuador…we must have passed it…this doesn’t make sense.” Literally this place was in the middle of nowhere, and not at all near the actual immigration office. Once we finally got there, we had to make a few trips into a nearby town to get new insurance and try and find a notary. After a few frustrating hours we had got everything sorted and were back on the road headed for Guayaquil.

The first things we noticed about Ecuador was: 1) the high humidity resulting in a constant state of perfuse sweating 2) bananas 3) plants and green things everywhere! We boogied along all day and made it into Guayaquil hassle free and found a nice room at Hostal Suites Madrid. The next day we got down to business trying to sort out options for getting to the Galapagos Islands. Our car trade idea was shut down pretty quickly, so we decided we better just splurge and spend the money to get there. There are tour offices in Quito and Guayaquil selling all-inclusive cruise packages over to the islands, but we decided to fly to Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz and try and find a cheaper last-minute boat ourselves. That way, we were free to explore on our own and run around as we wished. It was all very easy: we booked our flights independently with TAME airlines and flew out the next day. We searched around for a few hours looking at different cruise options and itineraries in Santa Cruz and decided on a 5 night trip to the northwest area. We think we got a good deal, but will have to experience it all before making the final judgment call. There are many, many different boats ranging from ‘tourist’ class to ‘luxury’ and we opted for ‘first-class tourist.’ We definitely think we could have got a luxury boat on a different itinerary for the same price, but our selected route was a little harder to find. This particular route was our number one pick because it will take us to islands we are unable to do by day-trip and we will visit Fernandina which hosts the most species on one island.

Baby tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Center

While we’ve been waiting to hit the deck we have visited the Charles Darwin Research Centre to give the very famous Lonesome George a visit. George is the last remaining turtle of his species. The poor old fellow has been living on the island since 1972 and researchers have been attempting to breed George for 39 years. In 2000 the females he shares his pen with finally got pregnant but sadly the eggs were not viable. Another day we visited Rancho Permiso to see more tortoises in their natural land living large. They were amazing gigantic creatures and a cool sight to witness up close and personal. After finishing your visit we explored some nearby lava tubes which are underground tunnels. Walking through them was a fantastically refreshing break from the scorching sun.

Locals at the fish market in Puerto Ayora

Marine Iguanas on Isla Santa Cruz

Megan spying on a lazy beast

These tortoises can live up to 120 years!

Megan waiting to say hello.

Lava tunnels

Tight squeeze

We also decided to go diving at one of the popular spots in the area called Gordon Rocks (also recommended by Naomi). We didn’t think that I would be able to go since I had never gone diving before, but our tour company was able to take me and one other new diver on a ‘discovery dive’ while the other experienced divers were taking a break. Iain saw some awesome marine life: manta rays, eagle rays, white-tipped reef sharks, tropical fish, lots of turtles, and the most impressive…a group of hammer head sharks! I on the other hand, saw fish and one turtle! Both myself and my Canadian new-be partner had equalizing problems and only got down to 10 m without the other person going up. We were a pair of yo-yos bobbing up and down. This must have been a bit frustrating for the dive instructor who was trying to keep us at an equal depth. Overall I had a good time when I wasn’t throwing up over the side of boat (99% of the time). I also went to the doctor today to give the ol’ ears a check-up (I was feeling a familiar discomfort), and it turns out I have another ear infection. This news was actually was a bit of a relief since hopefully next time I try diving it will be a bit easier on the ears once the infection is gone.