Parque Nacional Yasuní

As part of Stu’s research work we got invited to spend a couple of days at the Scientific Research Station at Yasuní National Park (Ecuador’s largest mainland park). It is a stunning location for scientists, Masters and PhD students to conduct field work and research the fauna and habitats (wetlands, swamps, marshes, lakes, rivers, tropical rainforest, etc). There were about four different buildings (some dorms and some individual rooms for staff, students and visitors), a communal dining area / Café, a laundry room, the labs and a herbarium. Meals are served at 7am, 1pm and 7pm and as there is no TV and a no alcohol / no smoking policy, the timetable seems to follow daylight. We got up around 6.00am and went to bed before 10pm.

Being in the middle of the jungle is quite a unique experience. The sky at night is very clear and the stars seem to shine brighter. There are lots of different funny noises (we were serenaded every night by some frogs that sounded just like ducks) and colours are really vivid. One cannot escape the attacks of bugs, especially mosquitos and sometimes it is kind of funny to see everyone walking around scratching arms and legs (just not funny when it is you who is eaten alive by those little buggers!!).

Omaca, the semi-domesticated
tapir who visits the research 
station regularly 

The sun decided to shine when we were in Yasuní, the sky was an amazing shade of blue and we took the opportunity to explore the river Tiputini and go up the observation tower near the research station. Our guide was a man from the local Huaorani community who spoke very little Spanish (his native language is Kiwchua), but made himself clear through noises and signs.  I found it rather difficult to walk in the mud, sometimes the depth was deceiving and you found yourself with mud up to nearly your knees – pulling the wellies back out was not an easy task! Despite the thick forest we managed to see some monkeys, a toucan, various types of frogs and many beautiful butterflies.

Back at the station we met the students and researches who were spending a few months there. The local staff was also full of knowledge and it was just very interesting to hear what everyone was working on. Even more fascinating I found the dynamics between the local tribes, the research station and the big petrol company stationed in the area (Repsol). It is very easy to make assumptions as to who is the “baddie” in the picture, but the challenges and solutions to all the different issues don’t have easy answers and it’s certainly food for thought….

Jungle Adventures

El Coca

El Oriente is the rainforest area of Ecuador, which is vast, green and humid. Imagine, slicing the country in three parts vertically with the slice further West being the Coast, the middle slice the Highlands / Andean region and the “fat” slice to the East the “Oriente”. And that is where we’ve been the past couple of days.

The Oriente is very green AND very humid. When we arrived in El Coca, also called Puerto Francisco de Orellana (one of the biggest towns in the area), the first thing we noticed was the sticky air. Coca sits on the river Napo (one of the Amazon tributaries) and it is a hub for petrol workers, scientists on their way to the rainforest and tourists who come to enjoy the wonders of the jungle. We spent two nights in Coca and it was fascinating to observe what a transient place it is. The city has grown a lot over the past decade mainly due to the oil and the tourist industries and the locals don’t seem to mind. There is work for everyone and money to be made, so a lot of people from other parts of the country come to live to this region.

Río Napo

On our second day we decided to leave the city (one day was long enough to be there!). We travelled to Pompeya on the river via “La Isla de los Monos” (the Monkey Island) and back. When we left Coca it was a rather pleasant day, cloudy, but dry. Within half an hour it was pouring down with rain and we could hardly see anything. Fairly scary when you are sitting in the middle of a fat river… We were glad that our companions, Jhon (that is the Ecuadorian spelling) and Jairo were used to this type of downpour.

Monkey Island is a sanctuary for nine species of monkeys.  We saw three different species and learnt a lot about the different uses of plants and fruits. I get the feeling that almost every plant in the forest has a medicinal use. Jhon’s grandfather was one of the first settlers in Coca who came from the Huaorani tribe, so he was full of wisdom and tricks when it came to jungle survival.

Tasty BBQ treats

Further down the river we arrived at Pompeya’s Saturday fair. For a moment I got the impression we were in Glastonbury, if it wasn’t for the fact that we were the only white people and on the BBQs there were live worms and unidentifiable pieces of what looked like chicken….  Jhon bought us a worm skewer and at that point I was glad I had made it clear (earlier in the day) that one thing I wouldn’t eat were worms (we’d been offered all sorts of jungle treats which we couldn’t refuse)… Stu had to put a brave face and eat one, though he was very quick to “share” his meal with the others. 

The journey back to Coca was very wet, but it was fun spotting the monkeys and birds that were along the riverbank. We got back to the city in time for dinner and sampling the local nightlife. Even though our hosts, Jhon and Jairo, invited us for a night out in town we chose to have a quiet one as the next day we were picked up early to go further into the rainforest: to the Scientific Research Station at Yasuní National Park. Exciting!

The Ring

Since arriving in Quito we've been on the lookout for cheap silver bands to temporarily replace our precious wedding bands which were left back in Europe to avoid losing them in the Pacific Ocean or during one of our snorkelling adventures. 

On our second day in Quito the shop front of a lovely jewellery shop caught my eye in Plaza San Francisco. Bad news was that the shop didn't particularly look "cheap", but the good news was that the jewellery pieces inside all looked stunning. Most of them were silver based and sported modern designs or nature or pre-Columbine inspired designs (with a modern twist).

A few weeks later, during one of my solo expeditions around Quito I went back to the shop. Good thing I did. After spending some time asking all about the pieces, the inspiration, the techniques, etc the lady invited me to go and spend a day at the little studio where all these lovely pieces are hand-crafted.

This is how I got to meet Byron and his lovely team of gold/silversmiths. It was fascinating to see how much patience (and attention to detail!) you have to have when creating such small works of art. On the other hand I was surprised to see how quick the team works. My ring was made in about three hours from beginning to end! There were so many processes and steps that by the third step I couldn't remember the first.

I felt really priviledged to have spent some time with such lovely talented people and if I could I would have bought half of the shop's stock. Have a look at the collection here:
http://www.ushinajewellery.com/index.html

And here is the final result!

A National Park, an Island and a Fishermen's Town

We’ve just returned from a short trip to the coast and I am already missing it…Stu had a few meetings there, so we flew out to Manta (Manabí province) early on Friday morning and returned last night.

Jipijapa

The coast of Ecuador has a completely different feel to the Highlands. Suddenly time slows down and everyone seems to take a relaxed approach to life. We flew into Manta airport and took a car to Puerto López, which is 1.5 hours’ drive south. The road takes you past some interesting places including Montecristi (the home of the Panama hat), Jipijapa (an important agricultural village with a massive corn statue at the entrance), Puerto Cayo (a coastal town), Los Frailes Beach (a beautiful sandy beach), etc… 

Puerto López itself is not that interesting, but what the village lacks in charm it more than compensates with the wildlife and nature that surrounds it. To the north and east you can go to “The Parque Nacional Machalilla”, a unique habitat with a dry and wet forest. Out in the sea there is the Isla de la Plata (Silver Island) and every year (between June and September) the humpback whales come to this little coastal town to mate and give birth.

Stu’s contacts organised for us to join the Park Guides for a four hour hike and horseback ride across the national park. Two Belgian girls (Community Work students) joined our little expedition where we saw some amazing trees, monkeys, orchids, etc…

Isla de la Plata

The next day we headed out to Isla de la Plata (Silver Island). During the previous days we got told that there had been whale sightings. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any, but we did see a fair amount of birdlife which reminded us of the Galápagos Islands. No wonder they call Isla de la Plata “the Galápagos of the poor”! We also did some snorkelling. Despite it being far less spectacular than that of the Galapagos, we saw beautiful fish and coral.

On our last day we went out with the guys from Equilibrio Azul, a charity which looks to protect and preserve the diverse marine ecosystem. The task was to capture turtles, so that they could tag them and create a census / database. The charity works with the help of volunteers (mainly foreign) who come to do some practical work during the summer break. It was very interesting to hear what they had to say and the challenges they face with the local fishermen (fishing and tourism are the main sources of income in the village).

Looking for turtles

The sun came out to say good-bye to us and at that point I really didn’t want to leave. Throughout the days we’d met some lovely people at the Hosteria Mandala (http://www.hosteriamandala.info/) and I felt that our time there had been cut short. There were more stories to be told and more tips to be exchanged. Some of our new friends headed to Baños, others to Guayaquil, others to Montañita (a surf village further south) whilst we returned to Quito.

One thing we did make the most of was the local fish-based cuisine: ceviche, “merluza”, “calamares”, etc… Yum!    

Tigua Painters

Tigua is a little village in the Quilotoa Loop. With a population of around 3000 (mostly indigenous families) it has become famous for its painters and art.

We first heard of this style when we stayed at Casa San Marcos (http://www.casasanmarcos.com) during our first couple of nights in Quito. Casa San Marcos itself is a little museum with antiques dating a few centuries back and paintings from influential Ecuadorian artists such as Oswaldo Guayasamín (http://www.guayasamin.org). It is a beautiful colonial house in the heart of the Centro Histórico whose host has a great interest in keeping the national heritage alive. She even showed us a book she’s written on the Tigua painters and explained their influences and history.

All the paintings are done on sheepskin, hence why dimensions are limited to the size of the sheepskin. This means that the majority are rather small. They are all very bright and colourful and the level of detail varies from painter to painter. Most depict scenes of everyday life: farming, harvesting, etc or they show local scenery and myths.

I, personally, loved them and wanted to buy a few, but Stu had to stop me. We walked out of the Galería Tigua with a little painting which had Cotopaxi, the condor and some indigenous people about to harvest the land. A great reminder of the time we spent in Tigua and the Central Highlands of Ecuador.

In da Hood...

I was a bit reluctant to live in the Mariscal Sucre initially, but as days go by I've come to appreciate our "barrio" (neighbourhood).

Plaza Foch or Quinde

Even though La Mariscal is a magnet for backpackers and tourists, it is also true that locals go there to enjoy the bars, restaurants and other forms of entertainment that the area offers. Locals refer to it as the "pink district", not too dissimilar to London's Soho.

During day time other types of business take more prominence. Hostels, hotels, English schools, tour agencies, souvenir shops, museums and even a handicraft market (el Centro Artesanal) are the reason why this part of town is considered the epicentre of Quito's tourist infrastructure.

We're located on the border between La Mariscal and another area called La Floresta. Despite the huge variety of entertainment that La Mariscal has to offer, some of our favourite places are in fact in La Floresta:

- Ocho y Medio - http://www.ochoymedio.net/ - this is a fab art-house cinema which also has a small café / restaurant attached called "Que Dios le pague". During this month they were about to start a "European Film Season", which we were a bit gutted about, but we did see an Ecuadorian production called "A tus espaldas" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN8kiZReubc, which we enjoyed. The acting was rather poor, but the subject covered (Quito's society and the difference between the poor and the rich) was quite well depicted in a funny sort of way.

- El Pobre Diablo - http://www.elpobrediablo.com/ - an excellent venue for live music (mainly jazz, blues, rhythm & blues, etc.).

- Naranjilla Mecánica - http://lanaranjillamecanica.blogspot.com/ - we found it during a walk with Grinet and we had a mini tour of the place (the staff is lovely). We've decided to go back to this restaurant / bar / gallery / event space. It looked fab and it's only a few minutes' walk from our place!

Four seasons in one day

Literally. Don't be tricked by the gorgeous mornings in Quito. It is more than likely that you will need a few layers of clothing throughout the day. Check out the photos...



Good Morning Sunshine!



  















Afternoon showers

Building my own little Empire

Yesterday was a competitive day and a day of victories. After having got up early-ish to watch the Roland Garros final (and seeing Rafa Nadal win his 6th French title), I felt inspired to play my own game. Though one not as exhausting as tennis, Monopoli.

Stu didn't know how competitive I can get at this particular game and he only realised once he was paying a lot of (Monopoli) money to stay in my "lovely houses" and "hotels"....

The fun bit was that it was an Ecuador version of the game, which I would love to buy if it wasn't for the fact that it's a bulky box to carry around.

Relaxing in Papallacta

If there is one thing I could take back with me from this country (apart from the Galapagos Islands) it would be the therapeutic waters of Papallacta. After climbing volcanoes in the snow, walking up and down the Andes and trekking in the cloud-forest, we thought a couple of days in Papallacta would do us some good. And we were right.

Papallacta is famous for its thermal waters which sooth sore muscles and relax the mind & body. Despite the chilly and cloudy weather (the village is at 3300m above sea level) we made the most out of the thermal pools. Weather temperature isn’t really an issue as once you are in the (very hot) water you feel as if you've got an electric blanket on top of you.   

Note the steam coming out of the
water!

We decided to treat ourselves and stay at "Termas de Papallacta" (http://www.termaspapallacta.com/ ), a hotel spa about 1.5 km from the village. It is a great place for relaxation at prices that in the UK would not even get you past the front door of a dodgy massage parlour on the Holloway Road.

There is also the opportunity to do some walking along the river and observe some of the local fauna, but we were too lazy to venture too far from the pools and spa. The highlight was the full body relaxation massage only comparable to the treatment I got at The Grove back in the UK.  

From the pools, on a clear day, you should be able to see the Volcán Antisana, but all we saw were clouds. It was surprising though that we did catch the sun and even got a tan. That reminded us how careful we have to be with the sun in this country!

Back to Uni

Student life... sometimes I have to admit I do miss it. Not the essays, exams and all the stresses that went with it, but the constant brain exercise and learning, the atmosphere and the social side to it. Today I had a trip back to memory lane.

Cumbayá is a "parish", as they call it here, in the Metropolitan District of Quito (located east of Quito, less than half an hour drive). It is mainly a resident area for the more affluent "quiteños" and a very nice place to live indeed. I visited it today for the first time and went to have a look at the university campus there.

Universidad San Francisco Quito (USFQ) is a private university with very high standards of education. I have to admit that I was somewhat jealous to see the facilities and the beauty of these buildings. I'm guessing this must be the Ecuadorian equivalent of going to Oxford or Cambridge.

Walking around the campus you can tell that students must come from quite comfortable backgrounds. Everyone had a BlackBerry or iPhone, the cars were all shiny and new, and rucksack brands were North Face or Jansport.... Not what I'm used to see in downtown Quito!

The coolest thing was that there was a beach volley-ball court. I sat down for a little while and watched a training session and a bit of a match. For a minute I thought I was in LA or Rio! "Just" like my days back at Middlesex Uni...

As term is coming to an end the place was somewhat empty and a lot of the teachers were offering advice sessions and consultations. As I wandered the corridors and read people's names on their doors I couldn't help but notice that the majority of the lecturers were foreign, I spotted quite a lot of German and English sounding names.

But the most surprising fact of all is that down the road from the uni, they are building a massive shopping centre, something similar to Westfield in London. This shopping centre, it turns out, is owned by the uni and will be open in 2012!

If I was a student again, I definitely wouldn't mind joining USFQ!

Introducing my new BFF in Quito

Her name is Grinet, she is Swedish and she's a very sweet lady. Her owners have gone to Europe for six months and so Stu and I have decided to take her out for walks and give her some attention (well, especially me...).

Conquering the Cotopaxi (well, almost)

The day we chose to climb up to the refuge at the base of the Cotopaxi volcano glacier was not the best one. It was very cloudy and rather cold, but the worse thing was that as soon as we started the ascend it started to snow (not to mention the strong winds). This time we were better equipped (apart from our trousers), so it wasn't too bad, but it was still freezing cold and wet.

The Cotopaxi volcano is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and the second highest summit in Ecuador (after Chimborazo). It is very popular with all sorts of climbers as you don't require any previous mountaineering experience to climb it. It only takes two days, one night to reach the top and there is an 80% chance you will make it to the summit without any previous training. As we had to get back to Quito on Sunday evening we decided not to do the climb to the summit, but we still  wanted to climb up to the small refuge (4810 m) where people going all the way to the top (5897 m) stay overnight.  

We left Latacunga with our mountain guide Cristian at 8.00am. Our first stop was at a museum right at the entrance of the "Parque Nacional Cotopaxi". There is a little botanical garden in front of the museum to show the type of flora present in the "páramo", which to me looks a bit like the Russian tundra. In terms of fauna there is the Andean cóndor, foxes, rabbits (we saw some), llamas (only domestic animals these days), horses (we saw some too), deer and the rare spectacled bear (we didn't see any). As we had stopped, we took the opportunity to have some coca leaf tea to help us cope with the altitude. Yum! Glad we drank it, as later on we saw some people who were dizzy or nauseous. We were both fine, just out of breath. 

Cotopaxi about to be covered by clouds

The second stop was by the Laguna Limpiopungo a shallow lake at the base of another volcano, the Rumiñahui. This was the only time we saw half of the summit of the Cotopaxi, after that it was too foggy to see anything past a few metres.

After enjoying the sight of some birds and a few rays of sunshine we drove to the parking lot from which we had to climb to the refuge. We decided to go the zig-zag way on the way up and the straight path when coming down. I'd say it took us one hour to climb up and not even 15 minutes (probably 10) to get back down!

It was a great feeling to reach the refuge and I can only imagine what it must feel like to reach the summit on a clear blue sky day. Glad we didn't attempt it though, all we would have seen would have been a mass of white clouds....

Andean heights

Even though we've already spent a couple of weeks in Quito, walking up the stairs or running uphill is still a massive struggle in the altitude. This weekend was all about going up as we headed to the Central Highlands.

We made the city of Latacunga our base for a couple of days. Latacunga doesn't have much to offer if it wasn't for its strategic location near the Quilotoa Loop and the Cotopaxi National Park. The city has been reconstructed a few times, the last time in 1877 when the Cotopaxi volcano erupted and covered it in lava.

Our first night was spent at a backpackers hostel (Café Hostal Tiana) - there is not a great choice of accommodation in this town and initially Tiana seemed like a good option. Even though t's a great place to meet people and fellow travellers, I was reminded why I'm not 20 y-o: no water AT ALL (not even cold), floorboards which were about to break and banging noises throughout the night... The craziest thing was that only round the corner we found the Hotel Central which was cheaper (18$ for a double room with bathroom), had a lovely lady host who always welcomed us with tea and coffee, and plenty of hot water (an important commodity in this country), so the second night we stayed there.

On Saturday we decided to head to the Laguna de Quilotoa, a stunning turquoise green volcanic-crater lake.  Along the way we made a couple of stops, first at Pujilí and then at the Saturday market of Zumbahua (where we could have bought anything from fresh veg, fruit, chickens and many other animals - alive not dead).
  

Zumbahua market

At this point you can start noticing the temperature dropping and the cold wind blowing on your face. Zumbahua is 3800m above sea level and the last town before arriving at the Quilotoa Lake. 

The lake itself is impressive, just the fact that it sits in the middle of a volcano crater is mind-blowing. Fit walkers can walk the perimeter of the crater in about six hours. We decided to follow the path which leads down to the lake instead. It took us about half an hour to reach the bottom, but nearly an hour and a half to climb back up. Had I known the effort it required, I might have been tempted to employ the services of one of the donkeys we got offered (5$ - 8$ depending on how good you are at bartering)!!


Laguna Quilotoa



Mallrats and a Spanish-speaking Johnny Depp

So yesterday I had my first mall experience here in Quito. There are three big shopping centres around "el parque de La Carolina" a fairly decent area in the centre / north of Quito. 

I would say that quiteños love their shopping and "going to the mall" and the quality of the shops you can find is quite decent. I saw almost all usual international brands: Hugo Boss, Kenneth Cole, Mango, Benetton, .. plus a lot of local designers and outdoor gear shops (North Face, Timberland...). What is surprising is the pricing. I could swear that prices in London are cheaper! At least of the imported brands...

After a few hours of window shopping (had to stop myself from buying anything due to the fact that I will have to carry my rucksack around and I will then regret it...), I met Stu for a cinema date. The chosen film was "Pirates of the Caribbean" - can't believe I have to pay to see a Disney film... Watching Johnny Depp speak with a latin accent put a different spin to the film, but despite the language distraction we did enjoy the film and especially the soundtrack!

Latin Lovers and Sugar Mamas

Some interesting lessons were learnt last weekend. Or should I say some theory came into reality?

Apart from all the interesting bird information we learnt, we also learnt about some other "bird" behaviour, that is the female of the humans... Our latin lover guide quite happily shared with us some insight into the dating behaviours that goes on in this country.

Firstly, there is a much higher number of solo female travellers in Ecuador than there is of men. A lot of them are volunteers that come over for a couple of months / year.   

Secondly, Ecuadorian men (and women) have a different concept of age: Stu and I almost chocked when our guide announced "I'm getting old, I'm 24 years old and I'm starting to notice age." Fair enough he thinks that way when you find out that his girlfriend is 17, an age at which some people start having kids...

Thirdly, it is unbelievable how many of these young guys establish relationships with "gringas" who are travelling around the country or volunteering. The "sugar mamas," as they call them, are not as old as we thought (we got told about a 30 year old Australian lady!!). But the most surprising fact of all is that these highly educated ladies keep sending thousands of $$ to these young men in the hope that they will join them in their countries or fulfil their "studies" dreams. Well, we saw the results of those investments in the shape of $200 walking boots and branded gear...

Hummm, either these ladies are hopeless romantics or they have lost all sense of reality... So there you go, ladies, remember the words "sugar mama" next time you are a solo traveller!

Mindo es lindo

Mindo is beautiful indeed. We left the city last weekend and headed to the cloud forest. After a two hour drive we arrived at El Monte Sustainable Lodge (http://www.ecuadorcloudforest.com/). The place is just stunning. We had our own cabin, which was huge just for the two of us, but I loved the high ceiling and the rustic look. If you dislike bugs, don't go there - but that is about the only downside I can think about. Then again you cannot expect not finding bugs in the forest!

After dropping our stuff in the cabin we decided to go for a hike. Hummm, not sure that after a 6.00am wake up call, I had enough energy, but it was well worth it. Our walking guide, admitted to having a "chuchaqui" (i.e. "resaca" or hangover) as last week's was Mindo's fiestas, but he still climbed the mountain in no time, whist Stu and I struggled behind. The cool stuff we saw along the way: toucans, butterflies, orchids, etc, made up for the exhaustion. The destination was a place to do canopying. Lots of fun! It was incredible to, literally, be sitting on top of the forest. Towards the end the clouds started to descend and it was only during the last descend that we really couldn't see anything.  

Back at the lodge we met a group of young Ecuadorians who were there for the weekend. They were all ecology graduates and a funny bunch. We shared quite a few meals with them, but they seemed to take it easy whilst Stu and I were mad enough to pack as many activities as we could ...

The next morning we woke up at 4.30am to go and see the display of the "cock of the rock" (the funny looking bird below for those of you who like me are not bird experts...). I was very tempted to stay in bed, but once we had climbed another hill and we were "sitting" in the hide, I was pleased to watch and listen how the male cock woes the female. Bird-watching... never thought I could give up my sleep for it!

Not sure how many kilos we lost last weekend, but all our clothes were soaking by the time we had to pack. We were sad to leave Mindo, and if it wasn't for the fact that there are so many other places we want to visit, we would be back there every weekend. Now, the mosquito bites were a souvenir I could have done without.... 

El Pichincha

That is the volcano located just East of Quito. José took us there one early evening and we went up the TeleferiQo (4100m) not realising how cold it was going to be up there. Brrr...

We want to go back there with better equipment and more time to attempt one of the hikes. The one we did was a fairly easy one which involved a mild climb towards the north of the city below.

La Mitad del Mundo (the Middle of the World)

It had to be done. We couldn't live in Quito and not go to one of the biggest attractions here: the equator.

A local taxi driver, José, who has become our travel adviser, took us there and we shared a fun afternoon with him and his family.

The "Middle of the World" is located north of the centre of Quito. Right next to the famous monument is the Intiñan Solar Museum which claims to be built to mark the true location of the equator. Our guide demonstrated a number of tricks to prove we were right on the equator, but not sure it was all a set up for us "gringos". Having said that it was quite amusing and our lovely guide made it even more enjoyable.

Now I know that the water flushes anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere....

"Observaciones Quiteñas"

Back in Quito we've been trying to get into a routine, but also make the most out of our time here and explore as much as we can.


View from our flat

Here is the view from our flat. We're located just on the edges of La Mariscal, which is the busy, international part of town where most foreigners stay and where most nightclubs, hostels and bars are (!). I really wanted to stay in the Old Town, but it was not convenient for Stu's office commute. This brings me to a couple of observations made during our walks in this city:

1. Traffic in Quito is awful: don't attempt to travel on wheels during rush hour - you will be stuck in traffic for a while.... In fact, they have a system called "Pico y Placa" which tries to regulate traffic by limiting the number of cars allowed during rush hour according to the last number of their number plate...


Woman selling dog outfits and
"perro quiteño" next to her
modelling one

2. "Perro quiteño" (dogs from Quito) - there seems to be a large number of dogs that look like white fluffy poodles - most of them are dressed up and even wear shoes - no joke.

3. Sweets - Ecuadorians seems to have a sweet tooth and we have come across numerous cake / cream / sweet street sellers. As I am paranoid about my "new" tooth I try to stay away from it all...

4. Fried food - a large number of food seems to be fried: fried bananas, fried corn, "fritada" (one of the main dishes), etc...

Fritada

5. Friendliness - apart from the lady managing the flat we've rented, everyone here seems to have a very friendly, happy attitude towards foreigners.

Following Darwin's Footsteps

What can I say about the Galapagos Islands? It is the most unique, surprising and wild place I have ever been to and I really hope it gets preserved for future generations to enjoy... 

We left Quito on the 7th of May with high expectations and butterflies in our tummies. We had booked an eight-day boat trip and, although spending our honeymoon on a boat with 14 other people did bother us for a split second, we really shouldn't have worried. Our fellow passengers were very interesting, intelligent, fun, and most importantly nice, genuine people. Stu and I were the youngest and we quickly established that the profile of the island visitor is most likely as follows:

- biologist or scientist

- retired with an interest in nature

- mainly American or from the American continent

Our boat was a bit of an exception as 13 of the 16 passengers were Brit nationals. As for our guide, Patricio, he was a very eloquent, funny Ecuadorian chap who made the trip very enjoyable, but also full of interesting facts.

We visited ten islands in total, including Española, Genovesa and Santa Cruz. They are all beautiful and unique. The wildlife that we came across was incredible – blue and red-footed boobies, marine and land iguanas, sea lions and fur seals, albatross, frigate birds, red-billed tropic birds, finches, mockingbirds, sting rays, spotted eagle rays, manta rays, green turtles, giant tortoises, white-tipped and Galapagos sharks to name but a few.



Gardner Bay, Española Island

One of the most amazing things is that animals are not scared of humans, so you can get close to them without them running / swimming / flying away. The National Park authority does a good job to ensure the islands are kept as wild as possible and that visitors make a minimal impact. We were not allowed to bring stuff with us on the island apart from sun cream, water and our cameras – all of which had to be brought back to the boat…. There were also certain rules which had to be followed e.g. no collection of souvenirs (sand, feathers, shells) and no touching animals. And this all makes sense when you can sit next to an albatross, swim alongside a turtle or photograph birds without the need of a mega-huge telephoto lens.

On the third night we got woken up at 12.30am and got told to pack our bags. The ship's engine had broken down and we had to abandon ship. At 2.00am we got rescued by a diving boat. Jumping off a rocky boat in the middle of the Pacific (in the darkness) was not part of the deal, but it added to the adventure and brought the group together. Plus it meant we all got an upgrade to a luxury boat and three new lovely passengers joined us. Can't complain!

Crossing the Equator line

Hola amigos!

After an amazing wedding and an idyllic honeymoon on the Galapagos Islands, Stu and I have now settled in a little studio apartment in Quito, which will be our home for the following weeks. I meant to start writing this blog weeks ago, but we've been doing so many things, taking so many photos and meeting so many lovely people that I simply haven't found the time. 

Thank you very much to all our AMAZING friends and family who came to Valencia to share what was for us a perfect day.  It was so much fun we didn't want the party to end and we were both very impressed that nearly everyone was still on the dance-floor at 6.00am!

We were both very sad to say good-bye to friends and family who had travelled from afar to share the day with us, but at the same time very excited about the adventure that was about to start.


On the 4th of May we boarded an Iberia flight (terrible customer service if I may add) bound for Quito. And so the story begins...