wanderingwelshie2 travels

Going to Galapagos 🐧🐢🦈

20/1/23

Today was the day! I’m was going to Galapagos! 🥳🥳🥳 I had an early flight and got to the airport extra early because apparently going to Galapagos is quite the process with many forms to be fill, bags to be thoroughly checked and money to be paid. I was pleased to have made it through the first round of paperwork before I headed to check in my bag. Surprisingly, the check in was simple with no need to show proof of leaving Ecuador, which was a blessing since I have no flight booked!

Once through security, I went to the same airport cafe as I had before when I flew into Quito. I ordered in slightly better Spanish than two weeks prior, and even managed to ask for a bag to take away for my remaining toastie. What a win!

The flight to Baltra Island, Galapagos was about a third full, maybe even less, so I managed to move to a window seat. Of course, the view wasn’t bad! When we arrived, we walked off the plane and were allowed to walked to the terminal, only to be greeted by roaming iguanas. Wow!

Once we paid our national park fee and passed security, we had to wait for an adorable sniffer dog to search all our bags for illegal food items (various things are banned to be brought into Galapagos for fear of messing with its specialist ecosystem). The dog looked very happy scrambling over the top of all our bags and eventually, we were waved through to collect our bags.

I got the bus, which I thought would take me to the main port in Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora, but oh no, that would’ve been too simple! Despite the face that everyone was going to the same one port town, the journey was broken down into three separate transactions, each with waiting, baggage reloading and much confusion! We got the bus to a channel, then unloaded the bus, loaded it onto a boat, crossed the channel, got off the boat, waited for the baggage to be unloaded. While we were now on Santa Cruz, we had to find another bus/taxi to Puerto Ayora. I paid for a bus and then waited a fair while for it to be completely full before we left.

On arrival to the town, I navigated my way through the busy streets to my hostel. I checked in, ditched the bags, and headed out. It was 1pm ish (an hour earlier than I expected because Galapagos is one hour earlier than main land Ecuador – nice!). First I headed in search of a ferry ticket for two days time. I got one for $30 and then figured I had enough time for an iced coffee before my tourosting began – it had been a very hot sweaty walk with my big rucksack to the hostel, so I felt I had earnt it! The lady in the coffee shop was very friendly and we chatted a little with my broken Spanish before I headed off. Next I needed a bike!

After doing a few walks up and down the road, I went back to a man who would give me a bike for rent for $8. I signed my life away and then headed off up the road. I was meant to get the bus to the next town, with the bike hooked on the back, before cycling to Los Gemelos, a lava rock formation. Unfortunately, I tried to get on one bus, but the driver waved me towards another. As I went to try and reach the other bus, it pulled past. I wasn’t pleased! I didn’t have a lot of time to waste (especially after my iced coffee!).

Luckily for me, a nice taxi driver pulled over and asked if I was okay. He said he would take me to where the bus would for the same price as he was going that way anyway for an airport run. Perfect! He lifted my bike in the back of the pick up, and I hopped in. Juan was a lovely guy who was trying to learn English, and also used duolingo! We had a great chat on the way, teaching each other various words before he dropped me all the way to Los Gemelos, I paid my dollar and he carried on.

Los Gemelos was apparently formed when the volcanic activity under Santa Cruz slowed and the lava cooled, causing the land on top of the lava to drop down. It was quite dramatic looking and was also the place that Darwin discovered his finches. It felt pretty wild to be in the same place that Darwin had been, not gonna lie! There was a Spanish speaking tour group there at the same time and a young boy was watching me read the English information sign. He asked me to read in English, which I did and then we had a little chat before his group left. How cute!

After Los Gemelos, I was on my own with the bike. I cycled back to the next town, and headed off into the countryside towards the turtle farms. The road was fairly sketchy, as in, it was sandy, bumpy and steep in places, so it took me a fair while to make it the 5km down the road to the farm. This frustration was lessened by the fact that I saw multiple turtles just chilling either on the road, or in the ‘fields’ on either side of the road. Wow!! Some of them were huge! I paid my entrance fee at a hut at a random point on the lane and then eventually made it down to the farm where a tour guide, Tia, was waiting for me.

We began the tour and then were joined by a Spanish speaking family and then a couple. We saw many turtles and learnt that it wasn’t exactly a farm, more just a place where turtles came to live after they had been supported through their toddler hood safely, without being preyed on. After the tour, I went to see the lava tunnels. I didn’t get a full explanation on how they were formed but I presume it was something similar to Los Gemelos. Anyway, I found my way in and along to the end. It was a little creepy since it was quiet and I was alone and of course claustrophobic, so I sang to entertain myself (and to calm my nerves – bit of Calon Lan is always a good thing, right?!). I was pleased to reach the end, particularly because one bit, I had had to crouch on the floor and wobble through on flat feet to clear the small gap.

Sadly, I needed to go back the same way as my bike was waiting for me at the entrance, not the exit so I headed back into a claustrophobic world. About halfway along, the lights cut out. It suddenly became very hot and the tunnel became much deeper and darker! I tried to remember if there was a door to the tunnel – could I be locked in?! Oh lord! It wasn’t cold luckily as I only had a light shirt with me.. My phone was on 8% and while I did have a battery pack somewhere, I didn’t want to faff with that now, incase doors were being closed imminently. Instead, I hunted for my new head torch, which I had received for Christmas. On it went and things were better. I scurried through and made it out into the air just as someone else was coming to investigate the tunnels. I warned him fo the lack of light but he didn’t seem that fussed.

Then began the long cycle back! It was around 15kn and the turtle farm had long closed and the sun was already setting. Meanwhile, the roads were still sketchy but I didn’t have the luxury of time to be too fussy (wimpy). I began, jumping off at times to negotiate sand or too many small bumps together, but never taking a break. I was very sweaty as it was all up hill! Eventually, I made it back to the nearest town, where I was able to quickly drink some water before cycling as fast as I could for the remainder of the light. As night fell, I once again reached for the head torch, now trusty and out it on. Who needs bike lights when you have a head torch?! The only problem was that it seemed to cause bugs to fly towards the light and then directly into my eyes – owww! I adjusted the light a little and continued onwards.

I reached a junction and got my phone out to check the way, only for it to die, so I had to ask a man the direction, the old school way. I continued on, asked another guy and continued on. It was quite a distance and I decided I probably should have given the taxi driver Juan more than the $1 he offered to do it for! I made it back to the town, brimming with people for a pre-election event (read party) eventually around 7.15pm, absolutely starving!! I dropped the bike back and asked for food recommendations.

Before food though, I needed to enquire about tours for the morning. I went round five operators before going back to the original woman who had given me a good pitch. I booked in then headed for food, on her recommendation to the $5 menu del dia street. It ordered a menu del dia and was surprised when beef arrived. I was hungry, so I ate it and it was tasty but since we were on an island, I was rather expecting fish! My starter didn’t arrive so I had to request it after the main and the drink which had been quickly brought to my table was not included. I was annoyed, as I had been lied to, but at least I was not hungry! I headed back to the hostel to sleep!

I could hear live music in the port back at the hostel, so instead of heading straight to bed, after my shower, I went out and sat in the square. Many people were there and some people (party members for a specific candidate I think) were on the stage singing and dancing – it was fun, but odd. After a few songs, I headed back to bed!

21/1/23

Today was my first big tour! I was going to Isla Pinzon. I had a quick breakfast of ‘free to a good home’ toast with butter and a cup of tea before heading to the tour agent’s shop. When I got there, the lady who had sold me the tour look confused. I asked where everyone was as I wasn’t early and she said I was an hour early! My phone clock was still on Ecuador mainland time and the Galapagos is an hour back! I went back to the hostal to lie in a hammock for a hour and spoke to Clare on the phone! After the hour, I headed back to the shop, and met the group, an Ecuadorian family of five, two Israeli guys, two Korean girls and me, making a full boat.

We got a small taxi boat to the main boat and then headed out into the ocean. We stopped at a bay along from Puerto Ayora on the way to Pinzon to snorkel and saw giant turtles, sharks and lots of different fish. It felt very exciting to be so close to a swimming turtle! We also went ashore to look at the iguanas resting sites. Then we swam back to the boat, had a snack and a tea and headed on to Pinzon. We all napped on the way and needed to be pushed (gently) to get back on the snorkelling post nap!

Snorkelling around Pinzon was good. We saw more fish, more sharks, black and white tip ones and excitingly we swam really close to sealions, some of which were swimming and some pups were playing in the shallows – it was super adorable to watch and really exciting to be so close! Towards the end, we saw another turtle too! Afterwards, we warmed back up on the boat and had a lunch of fresh fish with rice – it was delicious! I chatted with the Israelis who had been travelling for a few months already and who had not known each other prior to agreeing to travel together – wild! Back at the harbour, we all went our separate ways after exchanging details to share underwater snaps and to make drinks plans for the evening.

I went back to the hostel to shower and nap and before heading out for a sunset read with a coffee and cake. I had had a cafe recommendation but sadly I couldn’t find the pace so ended up in a bar with coffee and chocolate cake (good enough for me!) and sat right at the front, looking out of the top floor at the street below. I finished my Alexander McCall Smith book while enjoying my cappuccino (with a much required extra shot) and my cake. After the sun had gone down, I headed back to the hostel after a walk along the pier, to do a little Spanish before heading back out for drinks.

I joined up with Israeli Roy and his friend, two British gals and a Canadian guy, who were already drinking at TJs bar. We chatted for awhile, before the gals left to prepare for an early flight and with them the boys bar Roy, who stayed to have a game of pool. Two locals suggested we did doubles so we did. After assuming we would lose horrifically, we won two out of three games! Ayyyyy! 🥳🥳🥳 (I’m sure we lost the last game because one of the two locals danced salsa with me at the crucial moment, so I wasn’t able to play the winning shot!) 😂😂😂. Afterwards, we headed homewards, and waved bye to Roy as he carried on up the road. Sleeeeeep! I was exhausted!

Long ass buses and long ass beaches

17/1/23

Today was a longggg bus ride day. I got the 06.30 bus from Mompiche, after grabbing breakfast from the bakery cafe, and remained on the bus until around 17.00. I was very impressed with my nurse bladder which managed not to need to wee the entire journey. Perks of being a nurse, ayyyy?!

The bus ride was very pretty and we travelled through lots of jungle in small roads, picking up and dropping off school kids on route. At various points, the bus would stop long enough for various vendors to come on and sell their wares on the bus. At one point, we pulled into a bus station and I was told we had fifteen minutes break before leaving. I went to grab some pizza but when I turned around, the bus had gone. I went to ask someone about my bus, and then thankfully found my bus! The ticket vendor was also looking for me, which was nice! We headed on and made it to Puerto Lopez in time for sunset on the beach.

By the time I arrived in the hostel in Puerto Lopez, I felt drained but pushed myself to go out for sunset. I bought a can and some chocolate from the supermarket and walked along the beach to enjoy sunset over the ocean. Afterwards, I came back and chilled in a hammock a bit before going to bed early – I was knackered!

18/1/23

A fresh day. Today, I hoped to go to Los Frailes, the best beach in all of Ecuador recommended to me by the esteemed S Amercian traveller Kevin, who I had met in Laos years before. After a very cute breakfast overlooking the sea, I went to get the bus to Los Frailes. When I got there I was shown a map of the area and what there was to do there before being told that it was closed due to ‘fuerte’. ‘Fuerte’ means strong, so I understood it was due to strong waves/currents in the sea. I was pretty gutted but caught a local bus halfway back to Puerto Lopez to a place called Agua Blanco, which a Canadian guy I had been talking to that morning had mentioned.

I paid the entry fee of $5 before getting a mototaxi (hold on to your hats folks!), to the museum. I wandered through the museum showcasing old pots, pans and jewellery as well as seemingly pickled anals such as snakes and lizards, before heading along a footpath past some goats into a woods. The woods were bursting with activity, with loads of birds singing in the trees. I made it to some archaeological site, at which there was no information nor indication of what it was. I continued onwards to eventually find the sulphurous spring.

There were a few people there and a man came to give me some special mud which looked the same as the mud in the Dead Sea. I put it on my face and waited a while. Then I went for a swim in the dark waters before chilling on a sunbed with my book. A thirty year old man came to talk to me, whose name I have already forgotten. He was Ecuadorian and called himself fat. After awhile, I returned to my book and he went to wash the mud off his face.

I went for a final swim and then showered before heading to the viewpoint, which looked down over the national park. It was pretty beautiful, although reminded me slightly of Somaliland due to the river having dried up. Afterwards, I began the long walk back – it was only 5km,but on that hot black tarmac, it felt like a lot longer. I saw goats, pigs (and piglets) and only two barking dogs, for which I had a stick to keep them at bay. Afterwards, my legs were shaking for awhile but luckily there were no other ferocious fogs after that. A couple on a moped stopped to give me a mango before waving and setting off again. How cute!

When I finally reached the entrance, I got a taxi back to Puerto Lopez for $0.50 – not bad! I went back to the hostel, read a bit and then sat in the pool. Afterwards, I showered and got ready for the evening. I went for my sunset walk as per and got hungry along the way so went in search of food. I found a very wholesome looking kitchen with only two local people sitting there eating and decided to go for it. The meal was moderately expensive at $8, but I was hungry and prepared to risk it. I ordered a fillet of fish in some sort of coconut milk sauce with plantains and rice. It took nearly an hour to prepare and I was brought a complimentary appetiser as I waited. It was pretty good, but the fish blew my mind. It was soooo delicious in its sweet coconutty sauce with fresh tomato and peppers – mmm! I told the owner it was ‘muy rico’ and the best meal I had had in Ecuador, thanked him, paid and left.

On my way back down the beach, the Canadian guy from the hostel spotted me and waved so I figured I’d go over. He had invited me for drinks with his diving buddies earlier but I had gone out and figured maybe I’d see them later. And here we were. I joined them (seven of them – three Canadians, two Swedish and two Chilean) for a drink. I made a slightly questionable and very strong margarita and we chatted for a couple of hours. The Canadian guy had been travelling for a few months, and the Swedish couple were doing a belated post uni long trip and the rest were on a vacation. They were a nice bunch and I had a good evening. We walked back around 22.30, by which time the streets were empty!

19/1/23

Another travel day! I woke up fairly early and lay in a haock for a bit before sorting my life out and packing. Then I went for breakfast at my spot from the previous day and ordered glorious tortillas de papa, which consisted of a potato’s based cheesy pancake. It came with the usual scrambled egg, fresh juice, plate of fruit and a coffee. Afterwards, I got a tuktuk to the hostel to get my bags and head to the bus station – I didn’t feel like rushing around and it was only $0.50 to get a tuktuk. Back at the hostal, Angel, the owner, loaded my bags into the tuktuk, and off I went.

I arrived at the bus station pretty early and got my ticket for the 12.00 bus to Guayaquil. When 12 noon came by I climbed onto the bus, only to realise that I’d left my chocolate (Hotel Chocolate, a local bar and my nougat) in the hostel – nooooo! 😭😭 It was too late to do anything, so I messaged Angel to enjoy it.

Supposedly the bus to Guayaquil was only four hours, so hopefully I would have time to buy food supplies and snacks before flying to Galapagos, where everything was apparently very expensive! I bought a corviche (fish in a potato pancake) on the bus which was pretty nice. Surprisingly, the journey wasn’t far off four hours and I arrived to a massive bus station in Guayaquil. I looked up buses out of Guayaquil for when I returned from Galapagos and then got a taxi (Cabify) to my hostel. On arrival, I was greeted by a happy Venezuelan who showed me around before offering to take me to the mall as I had asked where I could buy shorts, since I had left my fave hiking shorts in Mompiche (😭😭😭). He took me to a nearby mall, and it felt like Cyprus again when I was looking for wedding shoes with a Russian/Ukrainian bloke. I enjoyed the experience and eventually got some skin tight (it’s the Latin way, I was told!) cycle shorts (all the way from Colombia). Then we headed back and I chilled a bit before heading back out solo to do a food shop for Galapagos.

Pleased to see that the Christmas Dec’s are finally coming down on the 19th! (Only two weeks late!)

On returning to the hostel, I ordered falafel from the cafe next door and then read my book in a hammock in a very nice chill area with pastel de chocolate (fancy dark chocolate cakes) and chamomile tea. The owner Michael came to chat to me and another guy Jake and then Jake and I got chatting. Jake was another Canadian who was escaping winter for a bit, hoping to do a few workaway to make the money go further. We watched a lizard skillfully catch and eat a dragonfly almost the same size as it and watched a frog leap about in the rain. Then, I went to bed as I had an early morning and was already feeling stressed with the thought of paperwork and the airport looming.

Mompiche – pooches, pals, plankton and a very angry Brazilian

14/1/23

From Esmeraldas, we had a surprisingly long but very pretty bus ride to Mompiche. We passed through lots of jungle, passed by many a bamboo house, and saw a kid walking across the fields to school in uniform and shiny yellow Wellington boots. What a world 💛

When we arrived in Mompiche, it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. It was literally one dusty road with lots of smaller dirt tracks off to the side. Adam (the Manc guy) and I got breakfast at the local bakery/cafe before heading to our separate hostels to check in, change and chill. After showering, I chilled on a yoga platform with hammocks surrounding it and got talking to some surfers and yogis.

In the afternoon I planned to walk to an island nearby with Adam. A few of the surf/yogi squad joined and we became five – 3 strong on the Brits – me, Adam and a (real, not Guildford 🤣) Londonder Nadia, Sharon, an Aussie/Israeli and Sana a Dutch girl who was visiting her friends, the owners of our hostel. We set off in the blazing heat, with the workaway volunteer thinking we were crazy!

It was nice to have a bit of a squad for the day. We set off along the first beach past a few fishing boats resting on the sand, having a quick swim before heading away from the beach. We went along a lane, past a herd of chilled cows, up a road, past an animal rescue centre until we reached a sign to Playa Negra, the black beach.

It was beautiful with glittering sands sparkling in the sunlight. We swam, and left, keen to continue our walk. We headed up the scorching tarmac until we reach a turn for Isla Teretere. We made it down to the shore before we had to take a thirty second boat ride to be shuttled across the deep tidal river. We chilled and chatted at the beach, before taking a swim. Sharon got stung by a jellyfish and went to get first aid (some salon I think!), from the lifeguard before we headed on in search of turtles. Sadly, there were none there, although the signs and protected parts of the beach were still there. After walking the length of the beach on a turtle hunt, we turned around and got another shuttle boat off the island, towards an all inclusive hotel. A boat owner was happy to drive us there, so we assumed it was allowed.

We crossed onto another beautiful beach with white sands and at least three arches in the rock cliffs. We walked along the beach towards Mompiche where we were staying, but the beach suddenly stopped, with some tumbling down concrete steps up onto the cliff top as the other option. Since the tide was coming in, and we didn’t want to go back and pay for two more boats byo go back the way we came, we carried on, hopping the wall at the top of the forgotten steps just as a woman in a ballgown passed by! We walked through the hotel and found the road out. Unfortunately, we had to walk past security who stopped us to ask how we’d got in without our VIP pink wristbands. Nadia, who had been travelling S. America for the last nine months had the best Spanish and took the lead. Bizarrely, although we were on our way out, the security guard called for his senior who came to speak to us. He drove to us and after a day of walking, we were all secretly hoping that he would escort us off the premises in his truck – save us the walk! Sadly he didn’t, instead he just drove slowly behind us most of the way! How bizarre.

We quickly returned to the sign for Playa Negra and were pleased to find it was in fact a short cut. We continued back to Mompiche’s beach, stopping in a beach cafe just neetled above the beach. I ordered fish with a kind of lime and garlic sauce, which came with rice and fried plantains. It was glorious. I also got a fresh pineapple juice after trying Sharon’s. Mmm. A fine meal, with fine folk and a fine view!

After food, Sana and Sharon headed back and us Brits carried on up to a viewpoint overlooking the bay. It was only a five minute walk but it was pretty good. Afterwards we walked home and I stopped to enquire about surf lessons on the way. I booked in for the next day at 12 noon when the tide would be best (whatever that means!).

After a quick (and cold) shower back at the hostel, it was time for happy hour. I got a caipirnha which was pretty good! We chatted awhile and then me, Adam and Sharon played jenga. Afterwards, I went to bed. Although it was Saturday night, I’d been on a night bus all the previous night so the thought of an actual bed to sleep in sounded pretty bloody good!

15/1/23

Since there was no pressure to do anything until my surf lesson at 12 noon, I had a nice long lie in til around 10.30 before going on a ‘good coffee’ hunt. I headed to a supposedly recommended coffee place only to be served with a cup of frothy almost imperceptibly brown milk. This was very sad but, I left it because the breakfast that came with it was glorious. I chatted to a Chilean guy called Tom who had travelled loads of S America and had done two years work in Oz. After breakfast, I headed to my lesson.

I met my teacher Figo again and then waited for Adam to turn up as he had booked onto my surf class last minute. Then we got our boards and carried them to the beach (not that I needed to carry one on the way – winning! 👸🏻🤣). We had a quick theory lesson and then got on with the surf. I managed to stand up on every wave to start which I was very chuffed with and caught my second wave pretty far in. Sadly this skill/luck didn’t last and as I became more tired and the waves became more fierce, I became a little more fearful and less good. Figo was pushing us onto the waves, but at least I was glad to have caught back up to where I was the year before. Sharon was swimming with her Brazilian friend and cheered me when she saw me surf past her! ✌️

After the lesson, Figo made us coffee and we chatted for a fair while in broken Spanish/English. It was pretty good listening practice for me, which was nice! Then I headed back to chill. I showered and read my book in a hammock some more. I was meant to be meeting Adam at 17.30 to go and watch the sunset on Playa Negra. I spritzed up with mosquito repellent and headed off, but Adam was nowhere to be seen. I waited 5-10 minutes and then decided to head off. I re-bumped into breakfast Tom who was tempted with the walk, but said he better not because he was recovering from a chest infection..

I started along the beach. I didn’t have a lot of faith in the sunset as the sky was really cloudy but I went up the usual lane. I decided I was going to try and find the secret beach (a mini Playa Negra) that the workawayer had mentioned before. I found the hole in the barbed wire just before the animal rescue centre and slipped through. After a short walk, I stumbled across some other fine tourists. They assured me that the beach was close. After finding the beach, I headed up to the to of the cliff to look down at the sea from above. From the to, there was a glorious view of the real Playa Negra but absolutely no sun. I headed down to raucous jungle noise, one of the locals told me it could be monkeys I could hear.

Back on the main road, I bumped into Adam. He had stayed at the hostel to help someone else check in and then had gone to my hostel to get me, stopping for a beer after realising I wasn’t there – classic! We turned around and chatted the way back. We stopped for empanadas on the way before heading straight to happy hour. We got a couple of caipirinhas each, and chatted with Sharon and an American guy who thought all drugs including heroin should be legalised! I sat in a swingy hammock seat for a bit before saying goodbye to Adam and heading to bed.

16/1/23

Today was meant to be the day I road-tripped with Sharon and her friend, and Sharon had woken me up because we were leaving earlier than planned. I packed quickly and went to use the ATM before leaving. Sadly, the ATM didn’t work with either of my cards. I headed back and the Sharon’s friend a Brazilian lady arrived. She didn’t seem so happy to see me and clearly kept saying she wasn’t a collectivo (shared taxi) and that she wasn’t a nice woman. She told me that she was a seventy year old with five grand children. I didn’t understand why any of that was relevant but despite Sharon’s attempt at calming her down, she was still very angry. She told me it would be $20 because she wasn’t a collectivo and I could get the bus otherwise. The bus had already gone, so that wasn’t an option til the next day anyway. $20 was expensive for only a three hour ride but I was prepared to pay more when I thought it’d be a gals road-trip. The final straw was when she told me that I needed something to put under my dirty feet (which weren’t even dirty!). I pulled out my bag, told the angry Brazilian that I didn’t come to fight, said goodbye to Sharon, and walked down the road purposely with no plan, no place to go and barely any money.

I bumped into Edwin/Figo, my surf instructor who asked how I was and once realising I was upset, invited me for coffee. We chatted in my broken Spanish and he made me breakfast. Then he said if I needed money, he could give me $20, no problem. I looked up hostels on booking.com and found one with a tent for only $4 a night, which would give me around $10 for food for the day. Perfect! I booked it, thanked Edwin and left. When I rocked up to the hostel, Sin Fronteras, Martin, the owner, showed me around and offered me surf lessons. I explained that I didn’t have money for a lesson and he said he had PayPal – perfect! I booked a lesson for that afternoon and did a little Spanish and read my book on a flying mattress ( a mattress suspended in the air) until then.

We set out for my surf lesson and went through the basics again on the sand. Then we went in and I was still able to get up and stand on the board. After a bit, Martin told me to try alone, without a push from him, only with me paddling. I managed for a bit before the waves became too big and the current too strong. We battled on for a bit before we have up and headed back. We dropped the board back at Figo’s before I returned to chill in a hammock. Martin came to chat with me awhile before we went for lunch. He took me somewhere with good ceviche, an Ecuadorian specialty, a cold soup with raw fish (or lightly cooked shellfish). I had prawns (camaron) and squid (calamares) in soup with rice and fried plantain on the side and it was yummy! We looked out at the ocean as we ate. After lunch, we went in search of coffee, as I had told my sad tale of bad coffee the previous day. Since it was half 3ish, a few places were closed so we got coffee from the bakery cafe and cake from the pastelleria and then we were going to sit by the beach. Martin suggested we sit in his bar, Plankton which overlooked the sea. It was entirely made of bamboo and was very cute. We chatted there for ages and headed back after watching the sunset from hammocks.

We headed back to the hostal to see the dogs, which needed feeding, one of which was only a few weeks old and was extremely cute. Then we headed back out a little later to eat empanadas. Martin had told me that there were phosphorus plankton in Mompiche and since it was one of THE coolest things I’ve ever done, I was v keen to see them again! We walked to the far side of the beach and went for a swim in the dark. Afterwards, we negotiated the rocks along the beach in the dark and went for margaritas in the bar on the beach. All in all, my day finished a lot better than it started! Perhaps a day with no plans, is a day full of potential!

Walking the roads of Quito

11/1/23

A third day of lessons. Kai and I flagged our usual bus down immediately after leaving the hostel which gave us time for a more leisurely breakfast. Then we headed to class. I felt tired and my brain slow. We made it to break time eventually! Sadly, the weather was nasty – cold and rainy on/off so we stayed inside for break. After the second lot of class, we decided we would walk down to the old town at the bottom of the valley as we were told the previous day that it had a nice square.

After walking down many a steep hill, past the Spanish embassy and passing a small girl with a barking, but very cute and fluffy puppy, we made it to the square with the church. The church was huge and pretty, but the square was empty. Inside the church grounds, there was a university, but the church itself was closed. We headed back up 850 steps to go back to the main part of Quito city. David, one of the owners of the hostel had invited us for lunch with some friends, so we walked another hour to a new part of town. It was the fancy part of town with loads of tall tower blocks, so me of them very flashy! We passed many a nice cafe until we eventually made it to the Central Park of Quito. Just a we got there, it started raining torrential, the kind where it bounces back up to your ankles after hitting the pavement. We got a bus along the park to the end we were meant to be meeting before realising that the place we were meeting was a takeaway chip shop, with nowhere to shelter. Soggy chips are the worst!!

We went to the huge mall opposite to shelter and gave a gander around. It had all the usual shops, H&M, Zara, Bershka and more, with a few Ecuadorian chains too! After a while, we still hadn’t heard from David and it was nearly 3pm so we headed in search of food. We went to a Digbeth Dining (a selection of street food stalls in a nice setting) style place and ate Colombian food. It was big and tasty. We met Davide afterwards and since it was still raining, we skipped the park and got a taxi back to the hostel.

I took a nap and then we chilled and chatted with various hostel folk and then a few of us went for empanadas – Kai, Adam, Carlos and me. Afterwards we played the dice game ‘Jessy’ and drank tea.

12/1/23

The penultimate day of class. Today I got my usual breakfast of tamales with coffee and then we headed to class. Towards the end of class, Sylvia, my teacher taught me some Spanish songs. Apparently, we were meant to sing them the following day in the break. After class, we went for Vietnamese food in a surprisingly fancy restaurant – everyone was dressed up. I got a banh mi with fries and a spiced margarita. Afterwards, we walked back to our side of town, via a park with miny houses for homeless dogs – soo cuteeee!

There are Christmas decorations all over Quito and I’m not sure why!!

We got back around 4/5pm and chilled a little. Then we went back to the empanada place with the same crew as before plus Yushi (a new girl) and me. Afterwards, we played charades, maybe eight of us, before we went back to playing Jessy. Davide prepared mojitos for us. Once the game had finished, I went out with Davide and a Dutch guy, whose name I’ve forgotten, in search of nightlife. The streets were dead, but we headed across the pretty old town anyway. The bar Davide hoped to go to so we went to one next door which had only two couples in it. We got a beer and chatted for a bit before braving the dance floor for some salsa. One of the couples joined in so that was a success! We headed back along the abandoned streets, through a beautiful square, with only the bin men for company!

13/1/23

My final day of class! Today we flagged down the bus and got to La Floresta early again. Today I tried the quimbolitos (a steamed sweet sponge, that would’ve been great with custard) with a hot chocolate, because why not, it’s Friday!

Class was okay. In the break, we headed to the rooftop terrace for songs. I thought it would be awkward, but it was actually really nice. There was coffee, cookies and fresh pineapple and miraculously there was sun! Sooo wild! A guy, Eduardo, played guitar and pan pipes and we all sang – one student played sheep’s toes, which were a kind of shaker and I played maracas. Then after three Spanish songs, my teacher Sylvia asked me to play. I played Stereophonics Dakota and everyone clapped.

Then we returned to class for an hour or so before escaping. It was boiling and we went to the pizza place downstairs, which Matteo, another of the teachers said was the best in town. Since Quito is normally cold and wet, the plastic roofed restaurant well covered with plastic clear walls to keep the elements out. Sadly, in the heat and combined with the pizza oven, this acted as a greenhouse. After one order mix up, we ate our pizzas, absolutely sweating in a glass box. The pizza was delicious though! Afterwards, we walked back in the blazing sun! For sure I was gonna burn my lips! On the way, we stopped to buy another 1.5 litres of wine – it was my turn to buy and since we had no plans, we (Kai) figured we may as well.

We got back, we chilled a bit, I read on the roof in the last of the sunshine before having tea and then switching to vino. The squad were around. I drank with Kai and Carlos and then Yushi and another cool new girl from Japan arrived. We all drank and chatted and then headed out for empanadas at the usual spot – I got the beef one, my favourite. Adam, the Manc man was nowhere to be seen when we returned, and I wasn’t sure if I needed to brace myself for a solo night bus to sketchy Esmeraldas. Awhile later, after some blogging, Adam rocked up. He said he was coming on the night bus, which was reassuring. We chain drank tea until it was time to leave and I collected goodbye hugs from the main squad – Kai, Carlos and of course, Davide.

We set off on foot from the hostal to a local bus station to get the bus to the Quitumbe terminal, the big bus station that would take us to Esmeraldas, the sketchy town on the coast, apparently a drug smuggling hub (information which I’m glad I found out after being there)! 🤣🤣 We eventually found the ticket stand for Esmeraldas, only to be told that there were no more tickets! Noooo! A night on the bus station floor was ahead..

After a short pause, the woman on the ticket stand pointed us to the stand next door which was selling the final tickets to Esmeraldas with another bus company. We got the last couple, before heading to get food for Adam and a hot choc for me. We found the terminal afterwards and I shamelessly sat on the bus station floor waiting for our bus. When the bus came, I put my big backpack under the bus, hoping the horror stories weren’t true and that I would see it again! Then we climbed on the bus and eventually, and with assistance from the bus man, everyone made it to the allocated seats. The seat were pretty comfy and despite being right next to the toilet, I slept as well as its possible to on a bus!

We arrived at the Esmeraldas terminal at 05.40 and realised that we had arrived just as the bus had pulled off to leave the station I just assumed that Esmeraldas would be the final stop, but perhaps Esmeraldas town and not the bus station was. Thankfully the bus pulled over and we got out in the station – the town of Esmeraldas is meant to be more notorious than the bus station! Of course, my bag was handed to me in one piece with no drama and we headed into the terminal to book our next ticket. We booked our tickets and waited around an hour before getting our second bus. Adam gave some snacks to a homeless boy in school uniform, sleeping in the station, so he would have something to eat when he woke up! Then we headed off, with my backpack slung under the bus once more.

Scaling rocks with maximal assistance 🤦🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️

8/1/23

Today, I got up early to go hiking with Kai and Evan, a guy from the US. We set off after a small breakfast and got a taxi straight to the teleferico. We got a cable car up from around 2900 to 3900 metres, after the woman in the ticket office warned us of rain and snow. We were then planning to hike to 4600 metres to reach the summit.

We shared the cable cable with two Americans and there guide. They each had helmets along with water proof trousers as well as the obvious waterprro coat and walking boots. Their guide warned us that there can be falling rocks so helmets are advisable, but there were many other people hiking without so we decided it would be fine without. When we arrived at the top of the cable car, there was no snow, but it was very cloudy, pretty chilly and mildly rainy. We put on extra layers and coats. Then we hit the hills!

Periodically, on the way up, there were signs announcing ‘Miradors’ or viewpoints which was funny since you could barely see ten metres in front of you. The altitude was noticeable for sure! I had to stop a good few times to breathe (the post Christmas lack of fitness definitely didn’t help!), and sadly there was no excuse of stopping to look at the view. We had a few stops for snacks and otherwise continued onwards. There were a couple of pinch points – the worst one was when we needed to climb up and across a cliff face with a steep drop on one side. There were only small handholds and minimal footholds and I wasn’t a big fan of it to say the least. My legs were shaking and in the end, I had Evan in front of me, Kai holding one foot on a small foothold and a nice Ecuadorian man holding my other foot and advising me where to go. Later we saw him with a nina (a young girl) attached to him with a guide rope – what a responsibility!! I scaled that rock and one more rock successfully, before the sky finally cleared and the glorious panoramic views opened out over the valley. We stopped for lunch before reaching the summit and heading back.

I successfully scaled one further rock before we arrived back to find a bustling tourist town a few hundred metres away from the top of the teleferiQo. I was pleased to see that there was another person having a minor meltdown on the mad rocks too – it was somehow comforting! 🤣 Back at the ranch, there were lots of horses, a few alpacas and an outdoor restaurant. We decided to wait and have food in the cafe with comfy chairs. We got coffee and relaxed on a sofa with a view of the valley beneath. The cafe was nice but the ordering system was chaos. It took twenty minutes to get one coffee, but it was worth it! We shared a cable car with a French couple, one of which had gone to England as a kid to learn English. There was also an old American guy who just went up to the tourist area, not for the full hike. He had travelled a lot though and the six of us had a good conversation on the way down.

At the bottom, we negotiated for a taxi back, I got a cake from the panaderia and we chilled for a few hours before having snacks. I replaced dinner with snacks since I had smacked all day and wasn’t super hungry. We drank tea, played uno and chilled. I went to bed early ish ready for my first Spanish class in the morning.

9/1/23

Today was the first day of class. I had to be there for 08.15 in the opposite side of town. Kai was going to come because he also wanted some Spanish lessons. We left at 07.30 and found the right bus to go to La Floresta, the area where the school was. Despite there being one road blocked off by police, we made it with enough time to stop for breakfast. We got humitas (a corn based steamed dish) with a fried egg and coffee. Then we headed to class.

For the first two of my four hours of lessons, I was paired with an 18 year old German girl, Lima who had travelled halfway across the world, alone, to learn Spanish – I was impressed! Afterwards, we had a break with coffee and bread on the roof, with views of the mountains before I had two hours solo.

After class had finished, Kai and I headed for lunch at a moderately fancy fish restaurant. It was pretty good! I had fish soup, with some kind of brownish fish and Kai had seafood soup. They gave us a bowl of plantains chips and popcorn to add to our soup along with some chilli salsa. It was yummmmy! 😋😋 After lunch we headed back, walking from north Quito to central, trying to dodge the rain. We went via a couple of parks, and stopped to buy a huge 1.5 litre bottle if Chilean red wine for $10. Once we were close to the hostel, I stopped by the panaderia for cake and then we went to chill in the hostel.

I had a very productive afternoon planning the rest of my Ecuador trip so I could figure out where to go to after my Spanish classes finish. I also messaged some couch surfing hosts in Spanish, which was testing! 🤣

Around 6pm, we regathered for wine and snacks. I wasn’t so hungry after the big and delicious lunch, so we decided to get instant noodles and have them with a fried egg each. We ate our noodles and played a dice game with Carlos, a Mexican trucker who lives in California. Later, a guy in a Beatles top rocked up. Of course, he ended up being northern, from Manchester. We chatted awhile before I went to bed.

10/1/23

The second day of class! We got the bus again, after leaving the hostel at 07.30. We got off in La Floresta and headed straight to the same breakfast place as the day before. Today, I tried the tamale, which is another carby steamed dish, wrapped in banana leaves but served with vegetables instead, some of the first vegetables I’ve had since being in Ecuador! Again, I had a fried egg on the side and a coffee.

Today, all my class was one-on-one and we made a start. After two intensive hours, we had a coffee break on the roof. The view of the mountains was clearer today. I chatted with a Dutch guy who had an Airbnb in Amsterdam. After break, we powered through another hour and a half and by the end, I had really had enough!! We headed for lunch, three people from class (one English guy, one Swiss gal and the Dutch guy) and Kai and I and had the menu of the day in a vegetarian restaurant with Hindu gods pictured on the walls.

Afterwards, Kai and I were going to go to the Mirador del Guapulo, and the English guy, who is from Newquay and has been living here since August joined us. The walk took us off the main road, down a quiet street with a big taxi rank and then along the side of a hill to the viewpoint. You could see the old town of Guapulo at the bottom of the valley with a big and beautiful church and many pretty houses.

Afterwards, we parted ways with our English pal and headed for the artisan market. They sold many beautiful things including alpaca wool jumpers and scarves, jewellery (both silver and beaded), natural soaps, chocolate and coffee. Kai got an alpaca jumper and I got an unpractical but beautiful beaded waist belt/jewellery which I’m excited to wear at the beach! We also tried some amazing te de cacao (chocolate tea), which I definitely should have bought because I can’t stop thinking about it!

It rained pretty much the whole time we were in the market and once we finished, we decided to try and wait out the rain in a nearby cafe. We headed to one that looked shiny on Google maps, Gracia Cafe. The waitress was super friendly and spoke Spanish to us while also clarifying things in English. We chilled there awhile and I did my Spanish homework before we continued our walk home.

It was basically 5pm by the time we arrived back at the hostel and we rested a little and chatted with newbies before heading out for empanadas (Spanish/Latin pasties). Kai, Carlos and I were joined by northerner Adam. I had a mince pasty which was super tasty with a spicy salsa. After, we headed back for wine and to play a dice game. I ended up staying up pretty late because after the dice game, we went to drink tea on the roof, with a view over Quito. So beautiful!

Hola chicos, I’m backkk!

5/1/23

A longggg day. My mum was kind enough to get up at 3am to drop me to the airport for my first of four flights I was due to take in the coming two days. First, Cardiff to Amsterdam, a short flights followed by a four hour stopover. When I arrived in Amsterdam, I was thrilled to see comfy leather loungers to nap in. I claimed one near the grand piano as a guy began to play. I napped intermittently for a solid 2.5 hours, in which the guy played classic tunes consistently well the entire time. What a perk. I grabbed a coffee and boarded my next flight, Amsterdam to Lima in Peru, a ‘short’ 12.5 hour flight. Ewww. I watched five films which only took up 8/12 hours. It was a long longgg flight, even with pretty decent food and snacks, and eventually I had to commit to the ‘give me strength’ bottle of wine.

I arrived in Lima Airport approximately 21 hours after I had left Cardiff and was absolutely, utterly knackered. I downloaded an Uber type app, linked it to my bank and ordered a cab so the fee would be regulated and the cab tracked. Sadly the cabs kept cancelling and eventually the roar of the taxi drivers/hawkers overrode my previous decision. I agreed the same price as the Uber style taxi, which was 25 S and we left. We spoke broken English/Spanish until we arrived at the hostel, with the taxi man telling me that everywhere was very dangerous for me, filled with drugs and alcohol. I asked if the protests had made it worse and he said it had always been bad. We stopped by a petrol station along the way which seemed the same as any other petrol station. There were pretty much as many women as men around and about so who knows how ‘dangerous’ it was. At the hostel, I got out my 100 Sol that the ATM had given me and the taxi driver was outraged. He told me it was $25 and 200 Sol, an incorrect exchange rate but he didn’t care about that. I was exhausted and frustrated at being massively ripped off by the first (and one of the only) Peruvian people I would meet. He threatened me with the tourist police so I paid him the 100 Sol, which was all I had and left. The ten minute ride had cost me £30 with the ATM fee as well. Better luck next time!!

I was greeted in an empty hostel by a friendly old man, who showed me to an empty room. I went to shower to discover the water was turned off. Of course then, the man was nowhere to be found so I knocked on another apartment in the block and a lady kindly helped me after I explained in bad Spanish that there was no water. Turns out the mains water tap is on the street so anyone can turn it off any time. I showered (in pretty icy water), changed and slept. Bed was glorious!

6/1/23

Another day, another two more flights! I got up earlyish, having slept a solid ten hours, due to the time difference and went in search of another ATM so I could pay up for my hostel. I walked along a main road which the taxi driver had told me was ‘dangerous’, but the hostel man seemed chilled about and hoped for the best. I was the only tourist about for sure. I got my USD, and stopped at a street food stall on the way back for a bowl of noodle soup, which looked good when I saw another man eating it. I ordered one bowl and a tea and paid $1, which was all I had (as I had no local currency), but I figured since it was overpaying the lady wouldn’t mind. The lady wore traditional clothes with a colourful stripey scarf/blanket tied around her shoulders and neck, which attached her young baby to her back. The meat was pretty tough, but the broth was really tasty with the noodles and the tea, which was chamomile and honey was super good. I thanked her, left, paid the hostel and got a taxi with the assistance of the hostel man to the airport for the extortionate sum of just under $2. Not a bad morning.

Flight one of the day was from Lima to Guayaquil, Ecuador where I stopped, recollected my bag, rechecked in and then had some food. I had Tigrillo, which is apparently a traditional Ecuadorian food consisting of mashed green plantains with cheese mixed in, with a side of fried eggs and in this case, anaemic, over processed sausages. It wasn’t bad!

Flight two was Guayaquil to Quito, my final destination – thank god! It was less than an hour flight and then I was freeeee! Hallelujah! I got my bags and headed to find the bus. I waited for the bus with some German backpackers before chatting to an American-Chinese woman the whole way to the in town bus station. She had travelled loads and had some great tips for Colombia. At the central station, I haggled for a taxi and got one for the price that the hostel told me to ask for – nailed it. I arrived at the hostel around 7pm,chatted to a few folk, before heading to bed early. Another exhausting day!

7/1/23

My first real day of travelling (basically a day filled with things other than physically travelling by plane/bus/taxi) – ayyyy! 🥳🥳🥳

I had planned to go up a nearby church spire with a few hostel folk I had been talking to the day before, with a tentative plan to then go to an art gallery and then maybe climb up a supposedly sketchy hill to a huge statue on top. When I got up for breakfast, only one of the two people I had agreed to go with were there.

After breakfast, we, Kai and I, headed out. First we went to the Basilica, climbed up some super steep and very anti health and safety stairs to reach the top of one of the church spires. It had some great views of much of Quito city, the capital of Ecuador. After making it down the thin metal stairs in one piece, we went to a different tower where we discovered a bar selling large glass skulls filled with alcohol as well as liquor shots. Kai suggested we should get some, and why not?! We had shots overlooking the statue on the hill, with some laundry drying and brunches being enjoyed amidst the burnt orange tin roofs of the city. We passed by a huge, beautiful stained glass window before heading to the contemporary art museum.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect since I was going with Kai, who had got a scholarship to become a master of fine arts, but we went and it was pretty good! A few pieces I particularly liked for various reasons!

We headed back towards the hostel, stopping by the Mercado Central to have a market mooch and grab some early lunch. Then we had a brief hostel chill before pushing ourselves up to do the ‘sketchy’ walk up the hill to the statue. To be fair, the other guy we were meant to meet in the morning Evan had been and come back from the route and said it was no drama. I left all my belongings besides a $20 note in the hostel and we set off.

We walked down a bustling street, through a beautiful square and onwards through a wash of churches and street vendors, through a park and out until the streets quietened. Then we began a steep climb up 1000 steps. We past signs warning off tourists, and carried on. We past an elderly Ecuadorian lady walking down the steps slowly. We continued on, up past a derelict hut with chickens in the dirt yard and past a silent playground. Then the steps started to crumble. We carried up, up through a narrow stepped alley between two lots of houses. We passed a couple of sleeping dogs before turning a corner to find a dog sat bolt upright, at the top of a set of steps, at eye level, on guard. No bark, he was just watching. We assessed the situation and Kai tried to pass. He stared down Kai and didn’t make a sound. We turned back, unnerved at this behaviour, the same behaviour as the dogs in Nepal.

We took a different lane, which eventually met the road and followed the road for the rest of the way up passing a few rural looking houses and a lady, her sheep and her sheepdogs. We made it to the top and tried some sweet orange, cinnamon and clove tea, which was super sweet but super good. Then we wandered around the top, looked at the view before heading down again. We headed back to the hostel, picked up my belongings and headed in search of a sim card. I got one eventually and we got hike snacks ready for a walk the following day.

We went back to the hostel, chilled a little before recruiting Evan to come for pizza with us. Absolutely shameless – day two of Ecuador and I’m already ordering pizza! YOLO! 🤣🤣🤣 The pizza was glorious and we had wine/mojito before heading back to the hostel. We chilled and chatted with other hostellers awhile and then Kai and Evan went to bed and I was persuaded to go to the roof for salsa and a fire – how could I resist. Salsa turned more into merengue and bachata (my fave 🙄🤣) and we all danced around the fire in pairs. then a guitar, uke and drums came out and people sang, mainly in Spanish, but a few in English too. The statue on the hill was lit and the view was beautiful.