After the hectic day yesterday and the night out, today is a day off to relax and enjoy the hostel. It is funny to sit by the pool when the beach is 50ft away beyond a wall, but there isn’t much beach at high tide. Costs Cost today: $36.00 Cumulative cost: $4,437.15
I went surfing today! The first time on the board, I coasted all the way to shore in disbelief that I was standing on the thing. The second time out I fell right off. Paddling out is hard work – I’ll be feeling it tomorrow. The beach in town is lined with bars that turn into clubs by night. The… Read more »
There is one direct bus, operated by Azuay and departing Cuenca at 9:30PM. I went to the terminal the night before to buy the ticket for $15. I hear the day bus that was available last year no longer runs, but I am not sure about that. The hardest part of the ride is filling out the immigration forms as… Read more »
Taking a night bus out to Máncora, Peru tonight leaves me with one more day to wander Cuenca. I walked down to the terminal to buy the ticket last night. The Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno, situated in a former home for the mentally ill in Cuenca, Ecuador is an eerie place – more so with the laughter of children… Read more »
Cuenca is a nice little city, with neatly tiled streets and orange roofs. I even went running today, for the first time in months (and got lost doing so.) There is a river and a green park down the river. This place has me wondering what I was doing sticking around Quito for so long. The walls inside Cuenca’s “New… Read more »
I read that getting from the Guayaquil airport to Cuenca was an easy matter of walking to the nearby bus terminal and buying a ticket. This is mostly true, but far from clear on the spot. Walking out of the airport there was a sign for buses so I followed the path across the parking lot and across the street…. Read more »
To get to Baltra airport (GPS) for a 10AM flight I was advised to take the 7AM bus from the terminal at the edge of town. I got up at 6, determined to get a coffee and pastry before heading to the airport. I expected this was not uncommon in a town of tourists catching a diving tour at the… Read more »
Off the boat and onto solid land, though it doesn’t feel so solid. A short walk to see the captive tortoises at Darwin Station, and that’s the so called 8th day of the cruise. I parted ways with the other passengers as they took the arranged ride to the airport and I went to the hotel to rest, write these… Read more »
The last, though technically penultimate, day of the Galapagos cruise was one full of luckily timed sightings. On the morning walk at the red beach, we saw a rare bright red bird which the guide said lives in the highlands and never ventures so close to the sea. At the same beach we had another opportunity to swim with two… Read more »
Retrospective On the visit to Santiago and Bartolome Islands I saw, for the first time, lava that actually looks like what I imagined lava to look like. The Galapagos are incredibly different from the volcanic lands of Iceland. A large area is covered by black streaks and swirls of lava flows. For contrast, heaps of iron-heavy rusted red ash sprout… Read more »