The big trip is on and its Saturday the 11th September. Bill and I are on our way to Quito in Ecuador. Bill is a good friend and neighbour from Middleton who was on the Kili trip with us in 2005. Coincidentally he was planning a solo trip to South America at the same time I was going so we decided to go together.
After a short flight from Leeds Bradford to Amsterdam (flight 1 of 11) we had a four hour wait for our connection to Quito. The flight left at 2355hrs and was due in to Quito at 0810hrs on Sunday morning. The flight, apart from being long went very well. It had 2 stops on the way, 1 at a Dutch Caribbean Island I didn’t know existed – Bonaire, just off the coast of Venezuela and then at Ecuador’s second but largest city Guayquil. KLM looked after us well with plenty of grub and drinks to keep us all quiet. I even managed to get a few hours sleep, which is always a bonus on night flights.
On arrival at Quito where the airport is in the middle of the city and at 10000 feet we had the usual immigration fiasco and battle with the taxi touts before we got to our hotel in the business district of town. Nice hotel – Radisson Royal – not too far from the old town and other attractions.
With all day to try to stay awake to get onto Ecuadorian time we decided to walk out to the old town. We asked at reception for a suitable route and were told not to be back after 1730hrs. The obvious question was what happens after 1730hrs? Not safe to be out on the streets after this time was the reply. Off we went obviously planning to be back for 1730hrs.
We had a good wander round the old town, which was very impressive and there was also some sort of carnival going on in town with stalls, bands, music and bicycles everywhere. Most entertaining. We also had a good tour of the cathedral and got up to the top of the clock tower. With eyelids weighing in at 5 kilos each due to lack of sleep, it was shut eye early at about 8ish.
The next day (Monday) we were back up to Quito airport for our flight to Baltra in the Galapagos via Guayquil (Flight 3 of 11.) We had to check in and go through biosecurity and get a transit card. Then it was good old airport security where some plank left his wallet in the scanner tray!! I didn’t notice until I ordered some breakfast then it was panic stations. After asking questions at everywhere I had been I heard my name over the tannoy but didn’t know where to go as they were speaking in Spanish. I eventually was guided back to security where I was luckily reunited with my wallet. With breakfast now going cold I wolfed it down as it was almost time to go.
It was a good flight and all went to time, then as we approached Baltra airport it was announced that in line with Galapagos procedures the aircraft had to fumigated before arrival. So all the overhead locker doors were opened and the crew walked down the plane spraying into the lockers and cabin!! The airport in Baltra was pretty much a hut with no walls and there was no baggage handling gear. It was all placed all over the floor and you were sent in a few at a time to find your luggage and match it to your luggage tickets on the way out.
We then found our guide for the week – Katie – who was a local girl from Santa Cruz who was rounding us all up and getting us on the right bus to the ferry to Santa Cruz then another bus to the port on the island. At the port we were taken to the launch to get rid of our bags and have lunch. We were then briefed on the days activities and off we went back to Santa Cruz. We were heading for the Charles Darwin research centre.
On the way to the centre we saw pelicans, frigates and some iguanas, not bad for the walk to the centre. At the centre we saw too many birds to mention, iguanas, young giant tortoises, many species of adult giant tortoise and the star attraction – Lonesome George. Now, Old George is sadly the last male in his species of giant tortoise. He shares his lodgings with several ladies with whom he has no interest in whatsoever. So here you have a guy who is approx 135 years old with many ladies at his feet and almost every tortoise scientist on the planet trying to get the guy to mate but there is nothing doing. All quite sad really.
After the research centre which was very interesting and well presented by Katie, we had free time in Santa Cruz before we headed back to the boat. Santa Cruz not being a very big place we ambled back through the streets and a sign outside a bar advertising crazy hour caught our eye so we went for a drink. Funnily enough there were a few others from the boat in there too. A drink followed and it was back to the boat.
Now the general run of things seemed to be travel by night to the next island with the boat moored in the bay by day whiles we did landings and snorkelling. The boat crew were excellent, the guide was too and we were with a right mixed bag of folks. Aside from Bill and myself, there were 2 other Brits who were out on holiday, a couple from Holland on a 6 month South America tour, a Swiss couple out on holiday, a German guy on a 12 month gap year, an American couple from LA (originally from Hawaii,) another American couple from San Francisco (originally from Hong Kong,) with their friends who were a couple from Hong Kong.
The first night at sea was a choppy one with the boat pitching and tossing all over the place. We awoke in the calm waters of a sheltered Bay off the Island of Santa Fe. Here we snorkelled for the first time and were thrilled by Galapagos sea lions dashing around us, green turtles swimming under us and white tipped sharks passing us by. A wonderful sighting on our first snorkel.
All this went on all week with more seals, more turtles and more sharks. We were also lucky enough to see many sting rays in large groups, manta rays, puffer fish, barracuda, too many other fish to name and the icing on the cake was a large pod of dolphins with which we snorkelled twice, it was fantastic.
On the land side of the trip we saw the famous blue footed boobies and their chicks, nasca boobies, waved albatross and their chicks, hooded mockingbirds, Galapagos hawks, swallow tailed gulls, cactus finches and many more. We also saw marine iguanas, land iguanas, dozens of seals, sting rays coming up to the waters edge to feed on crabs buried in the sand and the best viewing on land goes to the female green turtle just leaving her nest and heading back to the sea.
I have to say that all in all it was a wonderful experience and it was superb how none of the land animals or birds feared any of us. They just sat there as we strode over them, gazed at them and took many many pictures of them. I guess in an ideal world this is how it should be. The ships crew looked after us all really well, the food was great and varied and our guide Katie was very knowledgeable and helpful.
When it came to Friday morning we were all reluctant to be leaving as we all were on so much of a high we wanted to keep going.
The flight back to Quito (4 of 11) was to time and we were back in our hotel by mid afternoon. Saturday we had time to go up the telerifico to look down on Quito from 4100 metres and then get a cab up to the equator, which was touristy but a must when you were so close.
Our evening flight to Lima in Peru (5 of 11) left at 1830hrs and arrived to time. As we taxied in, the second part of our four part adventure was about to begin.
After a short flight from Leeds Bradford to Amsterdam (flight 1 of 11) we had a four hour wait for our connection to Quito. The flight left at 2355hrs and was due in to Quito at 0810hrs on Sunday morning. The flight, apart from being long went very well. It had 2 stops on the way, 1 at a Dutch Caribbean Island I didn’t know existed – Bonaire, just off the coast of Venezuela and then at Ecuador’s second but largest city Guayquil. KLM looked after us well with plenty of grub and drinks to keep us all quiet. I even managed to get a few hours sleep, which is always a bonus on night flights.
On arrival at Quito where the airport is in the middle of the city and at 10000 feet we had the usual immigration fiasco and battle with the taxi touts before we got to our hotel in the business district of town. Nice hotel – Radisson Royal – not too far from the old town and other attractions.
With all day to try to stay awake to get onto Ecuadorian time we decided to walk out to the old town. We asked at reception for a suitable route and were told not to be back after 1730hrs. The obvious question was what happens after 1730hrs? Not safe to be out on the streets after this time was the reply. Off we went obviously planning to be back for 1730hrs.
We had a good wander round the old town, which was very impressive and there was also some sort of carnival going on in town with stalls, bands, music and bicycles everywhere. Most entertaining. We also had a good tour of the cathedral and got up to the top of the clock tower. With eyelids weighing in at 5 kilos each due to lack of sleep, it was shut eye early at about 8ish.
The next day (Monday) we were back up to Quito airport for our flight to Baltra in the Galapagos via Guayquil (Flight 3 of 11.) We had to check in and go through biosecurity and get a transit card. Then it was good old airport security where some plank left his wallet in the scanner tray!! I didn’t notice until I ordered some breakfast then it was panic stations. After asking questions at everywhere I had been I heard my name over the tannoy but didn’t know where to go as they were speaking in Spanish. I eventually was guided back to security where I was luckily reunited with my wallet. With breakfast now going cold I wolfed it down as it was almost time to go.
It was a good flight and all went to time, then as we approached Baltra airport it was announced that in line with Galapagos procedures the aircraft had to fumigated before arrival. So all the overhead locker doors were opened and the crew walked down the plane spraying into the lockers and cabin!! The airport in Baltra was pretty much a hut with no walls and there was no baggage handling gear. It was all placed all over the floor and you were sent in a few at a time to find your luggage and match it to your luggage tickets on the way out.
We then found our guide for the week – Katie – who was a local girl from Santa Cruz who was rounding us all up and getting us on the right bus to the ferry to Santa Cruz then another bus to the port on the island. At the port we were taken to the launch to get rid of our bags and have lunch. We were then briefed on the days activities and off we went back to Santa Cruz. We were heading for the Charles Darwin research centre.
On the way to the centre we saw pelicans, frigates and some iguanas, not bad for the walk to the centre. At the centre we saw too many birds to mention, iguanas, young giant tortoises, many species of adult giant tortoise and the star attraction – Lonesome George. Now, Old George is sadly the last male in his species of giant tortoise. He shares his lodgings with several ladies with whom he has no interest in whatsoever. So here you have a guy who is approx 135 years old with many ladies at his feet and almost every tortoise scientist on the planet trying to get the guy to mate but there is nothing doing. All quite sad really.
After the research centre which was very interesting and well presented by Katie, we had free time in Santa Cruz before we headed back to the boat. Santa Cruz not being a very big place we ambled back through the streets and a sign outside a bar advertising crazy hour caught our eye so we went for a drink. Funnily enough there were a few others from the boat in there too. A drink followed and it was back to the boat.
Now the general run of things seemed to be travel by night to the next island with the boat moored in the bay by day whiles we did landings and snorkelling. The boat crew were excellent, the guide was too and we were with a right mixed bag of folks. Aside from Bill and myself, there were 2 other Brits who were out on holiday, a couple from Holland on a 6 month South America tour, a Swiss couple out on holiday, a German guy on a 12 month gap year, an American couple from LA (originally from Hawaii,) another American couple from San Francisco (originally from Hong Kong,) with their friends who were a couple from Hong Kong.
The first night at sea was a choppy one with the boat pitching and tossing all over the place. We awoke in the calm waters of a sheltered Bay off the Island of Santa Fe. Here we snorkelled for the first time and were thrilled by Galapagos sea lions dashing around us, green turtles swimming under us and white tipped sharks passing us by. A wonderful sighting on our first snorkel.
All this went on all week with more seals, more turtles and more sharks. We were also lucky enough to see many sting rays in large groups, manta rays, puffer fish, barracuda, too many other fish to name and the icing on the cake was a large pod of dolphins with which we snorkelled twice, it was fantastic.
On the land side of the trip we saw the famous blue footed boobies and their chicks, nasca boobies, waved albatross and their chicks, hooded mockingbirds, Galapagos hawks, swallow tailed gulls, cactus finches and many more. We also saw marine iguanas, land iguanas, dozens of seals, sting rays coming up to the waters edge to feed on crabs buried in the sand and the best viewing on land goes to the female green turtle just leaving her nest and heading back to the sea.
I have to say that all in all it was a wonderful experience and it was superb how none of the land animals or birds feared any of us. They just sat there as we strode over them, gazed at them and took many many pictures of them. I guess in an ideal world this is how it should be. The ships crew looked after us all really well, the food was great and varied and our guide Katie was very knowledgeable and helpful.
When it came to Friday morning we were all reluctant to be leaving as we all were on so much of a high we wanted to keep going.
The flight back to Quito (4 of 11) was to time and we were back in our hotel by mid afternoon. Saturday we had time to go up the telerifico to look down on Quito from 4100 metres and then get a cab up to the equator, which was touristy but a must when you were so close.
Our evening flight to Lima in Peru (5 of 11) left at 1830hrs and arrived to time. As we taxied in, the second part of our four part adventure was about to begin.
Pix are - 2 of the cathedral in Quito, lonesome George and some info, other tortoises with our guide, myself and Bill and I, land iguana, Galapagos sea lion, pelican getting a lift on our boat, sally lightfoot crab, sunset over the seals, blue footed booby & chick, nasca boobie, albatross chick, albatross with chicks, marine iguanas, female green turtle leaving nest, frigate birds and chicks, our boat, view of Quito from telerifico and the equator.
