- The Galapagos is AWESOME and totally worth the trip (splurge and get the 8 day boat tour- there is just so much to see and do!)
- Ecuador is modern, fun and full of incredibly nice people
- Don't check a bag on Tame airlines! If you do, get insurance!
Walli and I had a wonderful time exploring the Ecuadorian coast from Guayaquil up to Los Frailes National Park. In addition, we did the quick and dirty Galapagos tour, spending three glorious days in the Galapagos islands. We booked our hotels and Galapagos day trips through imagineecuador.com and were very pleased with the places we stayed and the tours we got. In Guayaquil, we stayed at the RE Bed and Breakfast. There, the staff was so helpful in my efforts to recover my bag from Tame Airlines (which took six whole days, despite all of our combined efforts). In the Galapagos, we stayed in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in Hotel Ninfa, which was also lovely with great staff (and food!)
Walli and I spent our first day in Guayaquil exploring some of the highlights that were suggested to us by our cab driver who took us to our B and B from the airport the previous evening. First, we checked out the zoo and historical park there. It was FABULOUS. There were a ton of animals in really spacious, well-kept enclosures. Along with the zoo was a beautifully constructed replica of the Guayaquil Malecon (boardwalk) from the early 20th century. The grounds and buildings were lovely, and we enjoyed strolling through all the exhibits. That afternoon, we checked out the Malecon circa 2014, which was a mile long and ran along the large Guayas river that created the edge of the city. The river eventually fed in to the pacific, which was why it only took us an hours drive the next day to reach the pacific coast.
On our way to the park, we had met another lovely cab driver named Christopher who, for a reasonable fee, offered to take us up and down the coast, seeing various beaches for the day. We thought that was a stellar idea so on Monday at 6am we took off with Christopher to explore the Ecuadorian coastline. In one short hour we had reached the coast and drove along through coastal pueblos for about an hour more until we reached Montanita. Montanita is a random expat haven surrounded by normal South American pueblos. It comes out of no where along the main road- large, well-built posadas, Western-styled restaurants, street vendors selling cocktails and ceviche and lots and lots of white people in their 20's.
We arrived early, so there were not many people out. We walked along the streets, seeing the havoc of the night before. Montanita is famous for it's love and legality of marijuana and late night partying, but in the morning, it was quite pleasant and quiet. We spent some time shopping, as I still was bagless and needed at least a bathing suit, sunscreen and underwear. After acquiring the needed items, the three of us sat at a little restaurant along the malecon and enjoyed a delicious Ecuadorian breakfast, complete with a batida (fruit milkshake that is acceptable to drink any time of the day). We left Montanita and continued down the coast, where we stopped at a delicious hole-in-the-wall pie shop and I had a passion fruit merange. It was AMAZING. Our journey ended at Los Frailes National Park, a beautiful, secluded park with a wonderful beach. We stayed for a few hours walking, swimming, reading and generally enjoying our afternoon. On the way back to Guayaquil, we stopped again at the pie shop so I could get another pie, and then again in Montanita so I could get Cheviche. This set the trend of the trip, where all decisions were based on my food interests:).
The next day, still without bag, we flew the 1.75 hours from Guayaquil to the Galapagos. We flew into Baltra airport, which was interestingly an old American base in World War II. From Baltra, you can take a quick ferry over to Isla Santa Cruz, where you drive 42 kilometers to the main port, Porta Ayora. It's such a pleasant little coastal town, with shops and restaurants, parks, and a volleyball court and skate park right on the water. The animals abound, even in the town. Pelicans and sea lions were everywhere along the dock, and land iguanas were plentiful as you walked towards the Charles Darwin center, which is on the edge of town. On the way to Puerto Ayora, we stopped in to a turtle reserve and hiked through a 400 meter long lava tunnel! What a way to start our adventure! That evening, Walli's foot was bothering her, so I set off alone to find the infamous "street of food vendors", which I quickly found about four blocks up from the waterfront. There were about 15 or so vendors lining each side of the street, with tables taking up the whole street in between. I settled on one that had a display of what looked like shrimp cream of wheat, which turned out to be called shrimp souffle. It was AMAZING and I washed it down with a batida.
The next two days we took day trips to two other islands- Fernandina and Isabela. Each day, we would load onto a speed boat and spend a solid two hours making our way to and from the island. It was always worth it to get there, but next time I come to the Galapagos (with my Mom!) we are going to stay on a big boat and travel at night while we are asleep:). Fernandina was my favorite- we got to visit old pirate caves, see the homestead of the first inhabitants of the islands, visit a tortoise reserve with a TON of big tortoises (and saw some tortoise hookie!), then we had a delicious fish lunch and I got to snorkel along the beach, where I saw a huge green sea turtle and some really huge, bright parrot fish! We also met some friendly sea lions at the dock and a happy penguin who followed our boat as we departed. Isabela was great too- we got to go to a lookout and see the whole island, including it's five volcanoes. I got to do a little snorkeling as well, but there were so many kicking kids in the water I didn't get to see much. After Isabela, when we came home, I went to go eat at the dock, where they literally brought in the fish and cooked them right there. While the ladies cut the fish, there were pelican and sea lions begging for food, just like dogs or cats back home! I sat and watched the sunset and ate my delicious fresh fish and felt so happy.
Then it was all over too soon! We were back in Guayaquil for our last day and a half- finally with my bag! We visited the artisan market where I perfected haggling in Spanish, saw the small but nice art museum along the malecon AND walked up the 444 steps through the historical barrio, La Pena, to the top where we got to see the whole city from the famous lighthouse.
The best part was of course the hole in the wall restaurant we found in the barrio where for $6 we feasted while overlooking the Guaya and basking in the glow of a vacation well spent. Walli was the best travel partner I could have asked for; we are both flexible, adventurous and can deal with foot and bag problems like pros! It was such a great trip- and so exciting to see another country! We arrived back ready to face the next eight weeks in Caracas before our much deserved summer vacation back in the US of A. :)
