Author: Tim

Thursday, March 7 – Puerto Ayora

Sadly, my last day in the Galapagos. All good things must come to an end! Today I took a hike to Tortuga Bay. It was a nice walk through town followed by a fairly long brick-lined path to the beach. TripAdvisor recently named Tortuga Bay one of the Top 10 beaches in the world. I’ll let you be the judge!

Friday, March 8 – transit from Puerto Ayora to Quito

My flight to Quito was at 11:30am, with the recommendation being that passengers should leave Puerto Ayora three hours early to allow for the wait times to catch the ferry to Baltra Island and the bus to the airport. Instead of taking the bus to the ferry I opted for a shared taxi at a cost of $10. That’s double the bus cost, but worth it to confirm the timing and reliability of the ride! (I’m a big spender, I know!)

Since I was departing the next day for Cuenca, I just booked a hotel near the airport. The hotel cost was $29 (incl breakfast), with an $8 transfer from the airport and a $5 transfer back to the airport. (the higher pickup cost must be due to the fact that somebody was waiting for me at arrivals) I’m loving all of that!

Saturday, March 9 – transit from Quito to Cuenca

Cuenca is known for its historic city centre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also has a mild climate due to an elevation of 8,400ft (a nice break after the heat of the Galapagos!). And finally, the city has shown up on many “best places to retire” lists. (Not that I’m thinking of retiring here! But it must be a decent place if it makes the lists, right?) So, for all of those reasons, I thought it was worth a look.

I will be here until Thursday. I booked a B&B for $39/night (nice!). The round trip airfare from Quito was $119. Here are some pictures of the B&B; it’s a very nice place! (And did I mention it was $39/night?)

Step Count Update: As predicted, the pace I set in January was unsustainable. On January 31, the average daily step count for my trip was 17,500. My average now stands at 14,200. Still not bad though, right? Especially considering the number of days I’ve spent at high elevation!! I have noticed one thing that I think is kind of cool – I’m on pace to take 1 million steps for the trip.

Galapagos Island Snorkeling Pictures

We were lucky to see a wide variety of creatures during our snorkeling excursions, including sharks, rays, sea lions, eels and a wide variety of fish. The two major omissions were a hammerhead shark and a sea turtle. (no need to get greedy!) Here are some pictures…

Wednesday, March 6 – transit from M/S Cachalote Explorer to Puerto Ayora

It was somewhat sad to be finishing our cruise, but I think six days was about right. Taking into account the close quarters, hectic pace, and familiarity with the other passengers, crew and environment, I don’t think an eight or ten day option would have been an added benefit for me.

Following breakfast we were transported to the Baltra Island airport. This was great for the five in our group who were flying out that morning, but the rest of us were extending our stay in Puerto Ayora. So, you know what that meant…the bus/ferry/bus procedure to get into town. Oh well!

I stayed at the same hotel as my previous visit here, but the rate was a little higher this time. I think this is mainly because I wanted to book it early – before I got on the boat – knowing that I wouldn’t have internet access while on the cruise. Two nights @ $66/night.

I spent the afternoon roaming around the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Charles Darwin Foundation and the CDRS are undertaking research to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity in the Galapagos Archipelago. The main focus of the visitor areas is the Galapagos Giant Tortoise.

The nine of us from the cruise who stayed in Puerto Ayora met for one last time over dinner and drinks in town. It was a nice way to end the trip. (but we forgot to take a group photo!)

Funny Story: I met a couple from Canada who were staying at the same hotel in Quito. We were both looking to book a last-minute Galapagos trip, so we spent a fair amount of time comparing notes. We also went on the day trip to Otavalo together. Well, they left Quito for the Galapagos one day before me, so we said our goodbyes. Fast forward two days and I’m walking down a side street in San Cristobal when I hear someone calling my name. You guessed it, my friends from Canada! Weird, right? Hang on, there’s one more chapter. Today in Puerto Ayora our group from the cruise agreed to meet at the town’s main pier. As I’m walking there, I hear my name called out again. Yup! And the bizarre part is that they were only in town for a short window during a break on their cruise. They were getting back on their boat 20 minutes after they saw me. Small world…

Final note about the cruise: At certain times today after getting off the boat I noticed myself rocking back and forth a bit. Kind of funny. It took me back to the times when we’d spend all day on Lake Mendota. I got the same feeling then.

Saturday, March 2 through Tuesday, March 5 – aboard the M/S Cachalote Explorer

The days on the boat were busy. We had at least three excursions per day – a combination of hikes and snorkeling. On one day we had an option to go kayaking; I did that. We visited six islands during our six day cruise. One thing that surprised me was how diverse the landscapes were between the different islands. Another surprise was how incredibly tame the animals were. They have no fear of humans.

Considering we’re in the rainy season in Ecuador, we got extremely lucky with the weather – no rain at all. And another nice bonus was the lack of clouds at night, which resulted in amazing stargazing opportunities!

Of course I took loads of pictures. I’ve picked some of the best to post here…

In my next entry I’ll include some pictures from our snorkeling – I didn’t take the pictures, but I did see all the things in the photos. Promise!

Thursday, February 28 – transit from Puerto Ayora to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island

Tomorrow I will be meeting my cruise boat on San Cristobal island, so this afternoon I’ll be taking a ferry there from Puerto Ayora.

I spent the morning exploring a little bit more of the town.

The ferry service amounts to multiple converted pleasure boats, all departing at the same time from Puerto Ayora to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. All passenger bags must undergo an inspection at the dock prior to boarding the boats. This makes for a rather hectic atmosphere.

The ferry ticket must be purchased at least a day in advance, and costs $30 (in addition, a 50 cent payment for the shuttle boat service from the dock to the ferry is required at each end of the trip – why not just add this into the price of the ferry ticket?)

This boat ride reminded me of my time working offshore in the Bay of Campeche. We would depart Ciudad del Carmen in a crew boat for the four hour ride to the platforms. That was on a much larger scale than this, but a similar concept. One advantage I had working offshore was that I was part of the “management team”, so I could make the ride up top in the wheelhouse. No such luck on this ferry boat ride!

After checking into my hotel, I spent a little time walking along the San Cristobal waterfront. My hotel was pretty basic, but clean, with hot water and cold A/C! Cost for one night: $39.

Friday, March 1 – transit from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to the M/S Cachalote Explorer

My Galapagos cruise starts today! Pickup is at 12:30pm, so the morning was spent roaming around San Cristobal.

There were nine of us who gathering on the dock in San Cristobal to board the Cachalote. The boat holds 16, but there were already 5 on board who started their cruise two days earlier. The 14 consisted of:

• A 75 year old woman from England – she participated in less than half of the excursions (but hey, I guess you have to give her credit for showing up!)
• A couple in their 60s from England who own a travel company
• Another couple in their 60s from England – retired teachers who spent their early years working in Africa
• A family of four from Scotland spending a year traveling the world (Wow!). The parents are in their 40s, and their daughters are 9 (Evie) and 7 (Bella). The girls were a delight. We ended up spending our siesta times playing card games.
• A couple in their 30s from Australia (but he’s from Venezuela and she’s from Ireland). They too are spending a year traveling the world (what!).
• A couple in their 30s from Switzerland (she’s from Germany) who are, wait for it, spending a year traveling the world (are you kidding me!).

It was a nice mix of people and we all got along great. And I like the fact that I was the only one from the United States. (I tend to find US tourists rather obnoxious – but wait, I’m a US tourist!)

And a nice bonus was the fact that I had a cabin to myself. I was willing to share, but the final passenger list didn’t support it. (When I booked last minute I knew there was a full cabin still available) The single supplement on these cruises will run anywhere from 50% to 100%, so that was a significant savings for me.

We boarded the boat for lunch and then returned to San Cristobal for a rather insignificant 1/2 day excursion to the interior of the island. Then it was back to the boat for dinner and an overnight trip to our next destination – Española (Hood) Island.

March 8th: It’s good news /bad news time. The bad news is my time in the Galapagos is over. The good news is that I am now back in Quito with fast internet, so it’s time to update my journal! I’m a few days behind, so I plan on catching up with multiple journal entries over the next few days (that’s assuming I have a fast internet connection in Cuenca, where I’m off to tomorrow).

Wednesday, February 27 – transit from Quito to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

I have a 9:30 departure this morning, but I need to leave the hotel around 6:30 because a) it’s a long drive to the airport; and b) extra time is required at the airport because all bags to the Galapagos undergo an inspection to make sure no restricted foods, plants, etc. are brought on to the islands. (Similar to Australia or New Zealand) Taxi fare: $30 (ugh, too expensive!)

There is a segregated Galapagos area at the airport. This is where the bags are inspected and a Transit Control Card is obtained for $20. This card must be kept and submitted at the airport when departing the islands. It is used by the government to control immigration to the Galapagos.

There are two airports in the Galapagos (surprising, I know). I am flying to Baltra Island. Basically the only things on the island are the airport, some military installations, and a fuel depot. Upon arrival at the airport passengers essentially go through something similar to immigration control. At this time a $100 Galapagos National Park Entrance Fee is paid (cash only).

My ultimate destination is Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island. To get there, the following takes place:

• Board a bus to go from the airport to the ferry landing ($5, 10 minute drive)
• Take a ferry from Baltra to Santa Cruz ($1, 10 minute ride)
• Board a bus to go from the ferry landing to Puerto Ayora ($5, 45 minutes). Taxis from here are also an option, but they are $25. (Nope!)

After checking into my hotel, I did a little roaming around the town…

Side Note: Being on the equator, I was curious how Ecuador defined its seasons throughout the year. Although the December-February timeframe is the warmest part of the year, they consider it winter, because it is also the wettest time of the year.

Monday, February 25 and Tuesday, February 26 – Quito

Before I start, a couple things I forgot to include in my Sunday entry…

During the drive to the volcano, our tour guide mentioned that on Sunday in Quito major streets are closed to traffic to allow for walking, jogging, bicycling, etc. Just like Santiago! And Jakarta! I’m sensing a worldwide movement here!

I’ve spent the last two days mainly working on booking my Galapagos trip. I thought I was so smart waiting until the last minute to finalize my plans. Huge savings would be mine! What I failed to realize was that next week is the carnival celebration in Ecuador. Doh! Ultimately though I got a good boat, with a good itinerary. I probably didn’t save as much as I could have on the cruise, and I know I spent more than typical on the airfare. The flight issue also forced me to head to the islands a couple days before my cruise starts. (but I think that’s actually a good thing) My boat departs on Friday, but flights were either fully booked or exorbitantly priced on Thursday and Friday, so I depart Quito tomorrow. I’m also extended my stay in the islands on the back end of the trip. The cruise ends on Wednesday, and I’ll depart on Friday. So, I’ll have about 9 days total in the Galapagos.

The details. The name of my boat is the Cachalote Explorer. (clicking on the name will direct you the boat’s website) I am taking the ‘Hood’ itinerary (6 days / 5 nights). The list price on the trip is $3,300. I paid $1,920. So, I saved a little over 40%. I heard of others saving more than 50%, and I could have done that on some of the other cruises I was quoted, but I didn’t like the ship size (too big) or the itinerary. My roundtrip airfare was $550. I think it’s typically in the $400 range.

I’ve booked a B&B on Santa Cruz island for tomorrow night at $49. Then on Thursday I’ll take a ferry to San Cristobal Island, where my cruise departs on Friday. (I still need to book my Thursday night hotel)

I’ve read that the internet service is rather slow on the major islands, and I’m not sure if we’ll even have any service on the boat. So, this could be my last entry for the next 10 days or so. I’m sure you’ll miss me. Right!

I apologize for the delay between posts. It’s been a busy view days in Quito! (fun and planning)

Thursday, February 21 – transit from La Paz to Quito

Today was the long travel day. But I guess I was mentally prepared for it, so it wasn’t too terrible.

I arrived in Quito in the early evening. The elevation of the airport is 7,900 ft. Not quite in the league of La Paz, but a relatively high altitude airport. (note to Ed: I didn’t see any prop planes on departure from La Paz, but did see some on arrival in Quito) Quito’s population is 2.5 million, and it is the 2nd highest capital city in the world, just behind my last stop – La Paz.

I’m staying at a nice little boutique hotel in a fairly active and centrally located part of the city.

Friday, February 22 – Quito

Today I did my favorite thing when arriving at a new city – roam around on foot. I focused on the Historic City Centre, which was among the first World Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO, in 1978. Unfortunately, like Valparaiso, I found this area to be dirty and covered with graffiti. It’s too bad. Here are some highlights…

Saturday, February 23 – Quito

I spent the day on an excursion to the nearby town of Otavalo for their massive Saturday Market. A couple other stops were made along the way. The cost of the tour was $60 (incl a snack).

The market is full of stalls selling textiles, tagua nut jewelry, musical instruments, dream catchers, leather goods, fake shrunken heads, indigenous costumes, hand-painted platters and trays, purses, clothing, spices, raw foods and spools of wool. Unfortunately, as the city has become more of a tourist attraction, many of the goods sold in the markets are mass-produced in nearby factories and sold in the market by middlemen. (I didn’t buy anything)

Sunday, February 24 – Quito

Another full-day excursion was taken today. This time we headed out on a hike up Cotopaxi volcano. (Excursion cost: $60, incl breakfast and dinner) The volcano is 19,400ft in elevation, and it last erupted 3 years ago. (Wait, what?!?) We spent about 2 hours hiking up to an elevation of 16,000ft. Thanks to the fact that I had been acclimated to altitude since my arrival in La Paz, I felt great. Some of the others in our group struggled. It was a miserable day, raining most of the time (this is the rainy season). It turned to snow though on the way up, which made it kind of fun. At the end of the climb was a little lodge where everyone gathered to warm up. It had a pretty rowdy atmosphere, with everyone feeling a sense of accomplishment. So, in spite of the weather, it was an enjoyable day!

Tuesday, February 19 – La Paz

I’ll lead off with a picture of last night’s “supermoon”, taken from the balcony outside of my hotel room.

Today was fairly low-key. I spent a lot of time traveling around La Paz via their terrific Teleferico (cable car) public transit system. Using cable cars to move around this city makes a lot of sense, considering the brutal traffic, staggering hills, and poor air quality. The system consists of 25 stations along eight lines, and I hit 15 and five of those, respectively. Each journey along a line costs about 50 cents.

Here are some pictures from the cable cars and the stops on my journey…

Wednesday, February 20 – La Paz

Tomorrow I’m on to Ecuador, so today I’ve been relaxing and doing some trip planning (thought it would be a good idea to book a hotel for tomorrow night!). It’s going to be an ugly day. I depart La Paz at 4:30am, have a 10 hour layover in Lima, and arrive in Quito around 6:30pm. (Who booked this itinerary anyway! Cheapo Tim, of course! (The cost of the flight is $370)) I need to be at the airport two hours early, so I’ll be departing my hotel around 2am. The flight from La Paz to Lima is about 2 hours and the flight from Lima to Quito is around 2 1/2 hours. I didn’t spring for any seat upgrades on these flights. (figured I’d be sleeping most of the time anyway!)

More costs – La Paz taxi to airport: $10; Quito airport transfer booked through hotel: $35 (thought I’d splurge after the long day, and it’s only $10 more than a regular taxi). The hotel is booked for four nights, with the original rate being $60/night (incl breakfast), but I’ve earned a free night from Hotels.com, so that brought the rate down to $50/night.

I’ve planned a three week stay in Ecuador. I have no itinerary, but my main early focus will be booking a Galapagos Island boat trip. I’ve read where good last-minute deals can be had – especially if you have a flexible schedule (like me!).

I’m attempting to write this on Monday at my hotel in Copacabana. I had an 11am checkout and my minibus ride to La Paz is at 1:30pm. The hotel only has internet available in the common area, and it’s rather slow. We’ll see how this goes! (the slow internet impacts the uploading of the photos)

Friday, February 15 – transit from La Paz to Copacabana

Scheduled departure time for my minibus trip to Copacabana was 7:30am. We hit the road around 8am. (LA factor – oh well!) There were only 5 of us making the trip, so we were able to spread out in the bus for the 3 1/2 hour journey. (One way transit cost: $19) It was a beautiful drive, with many views of Lake Titicaca. We even had a little ferry crossing. And we made a couple stops along the way for photos. Awesome!

Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains. It is South America’s largest lake (by volume) and the world’s highest navigable body of water. Elevation: 12,500ft Max Depth: 920ft

We had a little ferry crossing at the Strait of Tiquina. It joins the upper and lower portions of the lake. The crossing runs between the towns of San Pedro de Tiquina and San Pablo de Tiquina.

Copacabana is a small town (population of about 6,000). In fact, it is so small that my iPhone weather app indicates my location solely as “Bolivia”! It appears to be totally dependent on tourism. Which makes it seem odd that most of the locals I interacted with were not very friendly. Maybe it’s the culture, or that they are shy. Just kind of weird.

After checking in I decided to climb Cerro Calvario (Calvary Hill), which is lined with small monuments representing the 14 Stations of the Cross. Pilgrims visit the Stations for prayer and penance.

Here are some pictures from the climb…

Following the climb I did a roam around the little city and stopped at a waterfront food stand for a late lunch.

Saturday, February 16 – Copacabana

Today I took a full-day boat excursion to a couple of islands on the lake – Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna. (Excursion cost: $5. Cost for island entry: $1.50 each)

Isla del Sol is the largest island on the lake. The main economic activity of the approximately 800 families on the island is farming, with fishing and tourism augmenting the subsistence economy. Isla del Sol is crossed by many trails, and in the religion of the Incas, it was believed that the sun god was born here. In Yumani village, the Escalera del Inca is a staircase leading to a spring once believed to be the fountain of youth.

Isla de la Luna is inhabited by a small village of about 80 people. Legends in Inca mythology refer to the island as the location where Viracocha ( the great creator deity in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology) commanded the rising of the moon. Archeological ruins of an Inca nunnery were found on the eastern shore.

We departed Copacabana around 8:30am, with the first destination of Isla de la Luna being about two hours away (in a very slow boat!). It was drizzling on departure, but pretty much stopped by the time we reached the island.

I am now writing this in La Paz, with a fast internet connection. Got a fair amount done in Copacabana though!

There was limited seating available on the roof of the boat. No one took advantage of this area on the first leg of the trip, due to the rain. But myself and few others took a chance on the 1 hour trip to Isla del Sol.

The return to Copacabana took about 1 1/2 hours. Once again I opted to sit above deck. It had warmed up nicely, so it was a fun trip back. We even had some entertainment!

We arrived back in Copacabana around 4:30pm. I hadn’t had any lunch, so it was a perfect time for me to head back to Kiosco No. 3 for some grilled trout!

Today was the halfway point of my trip. I guess the typical thing to say is that it “has gone by so fast”. But to me it actually feels about right. It’s been a hectic first half, so the one thing I’ve learned is that I need to slow down some for the second half. My two big adventures coming up are islands – Galapagos and Easter. Other than that, I have no set itinerary. I can say my average step count will be dropping. In fact, since my arrival in the high elevations of Bolivia, it has dropped considerably!

Sunday, February 17 – Copacabana

Today was a rest day. Really! I layed around the hotel room most of the day. Took a nap, did some reading. It felt good. I did go out mid-afternoon to run a couple errands and roam a little bit.

My hotel room balcony was the perfect spot to view the sunset. So, of course, it was cloudy every night I was there! Here’s the best I could do…

Monday, February 18 – transit from Copacabana to La Paz

Time to return to La Paz. But before I go I must lament the fact that I was unable to locate Barry Manilow. Sorry Kari!

Same trip as Friday – 3 1/2 hours in a minibus, with 5 passengers ($19 one way). But this time at the strait crossing we were able to ride on the barge with the driver, and were even allowed to get out of the minibus to take pictures!

On the way into La Paz the driver stopped to let us take these amazing pictures of the city. I’m hopping to ride the cable cars in the next couple days.

The picture below is from my hotel in La Paz. I meant to post it earlier, but forgot. I’ve experienced this in other places, and I’m sure some of you have as well, but others, probably not. (It was the same in Copacabana)

Thursday, February 14 – La Paz

Today I went on an excursion to Tiwanaku. It was a full-day trip to a Pre-Columbian archaeological site, one the largest in South America. The Tiwanaku Culture began as a small settlement which later evolved into a planned city between the 5th and 10th centuries. The political dominance of Tiwanaku began to decline in the 11th century, and its empire collapsed in the first half of the 12th century. The site was first recorded in written history in 1549 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León.

The drive from La Paz took about 1 1/2 hours. The cost of the excursion was $33, which included entrance fees and lunch (no excursion lunch scam today!). Considering the entrance fees alone amount to $14, I thought this was a great deal. The day started out partly cloudy, but the skies started to darken as we completed the tour. And then at lunch it poured! Good timing!

Here are some pictures and a few comments from the day…

Tomorrow I’m heading to Copacabana for the weekend. I’ve read that the internet service there is slow, so I may not be able to post any updates until next week. Have a great weekend!