Little Lolly's Small Adventures: Ecuador

Someone's wake-up call! Or does the sea lion want somewhere more
comfortable to sleep?

We had an early morning wake-up call so that we could see the Charles Darwin Research Station before we started making tracks to Baltra Airport. The research station was about a 10 to 15 minute walk but it was raining - not so nice but everyone tried to keep their spirits up.

At the research station we had a nice walk around the site to see land tortoises & learn about the breeding programme. We even saw young tortoises of 3 months old to 3 years old. We also saw preserved body of Lone George who was the last giant tortoise of his kind.

When we returned to the hotel we had a few minutes to dry off and freshen up. Our luggage went, once again, through one of the back windows of the minibus and we piled into the bus.

On the way to the airport we stopped by Twin Craters which is really a collapsed lava tunnel, causing 2 huge deep holes in the earth.

Then onward to the airport, catching a ferry on almost the last leg of our journey. Our luggage was piled onto the ferry roof and offloaded onto public busses on the other side. Then the finally we arrived at the airport. Juan accompanied us all the way until we went through security. It was a very sad farewell for us. We had grown very fond of our guide who, by now, had become a good friend. Santiago (a guide who had flown across with us to the Galapagos islands) met us at the airport and went with us all the way through security - he was flying home until his next guiding assignment.

While we waited for our flight at Baltra Airport most of us sat in the food hall eating packed lunches, compliments from the hotel. We were kept entertained by sparrows flying inside, looking for crumbs. They got up very close to humans, sitting on the back of a chair, on the table & even on someone's hat rim.

When we landed at Guayaquil airport, Ecuador, Santiago stood at the door of the aeroplane and said goodbye to us as we left. The flight was continuing to his home town so he wouldn't be coming any further with us. I had the guests meet in a group so we could go out to the arrivals hall together. It worked a treat. We were met by tour group representatives who gave us our tickets and took us through check-in. They left us at the security gates as we made our way for our next flight to Lima, Peru.

After an uneventful flight we were met at Lima hotel by our new guide, Manning, who kindly had porters to pick up our luggage and take it to the Wyndham Costa del Sol Hotel airport, across the road from the airport. It was a short walk to the airport and there Manning gave us a briefing of what would happen in the morning and over the next few days, and handed out our hotel room keys.

After that - it was time for me to have a much needed bath and contact Paul.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Graveyard wall

Charles Darwin Research Station

Lone George

Young land tortoises - they are very small but wait until they grow up!

Last look at our hotel

Collapsed lava tunnels site

Ferry and the airport

A sparrow in the airport dining hall, hoping for some crumbs

I know yesterday was overcast and warm but today we had lots of rain in the morning fortunately the sun came out in the afternoon.

We headed back over to the yacht again today and sailed to Daphne Island through the rain. It cleared as we arrived at the island which made for better sightseeing. We saw Darwin finches, gulls, blue footed booby birds, sea lions, red crabs, herons, pelicans & more as we sailed around the base of the cliffs.

Our next destination was Bachas Island but first the chef treated us, yet again, to a nice home cooked lunch of tuna & veggies; and passion fruit tart for dessert. Sharks swam around & beneath the yacht as we had lunch. It gave other visitors already on the island time to finish their walks. The amount of people visiting each island is limited each day; and the sizes of groups are as well. This is in order to preserve the environment and not to stress out the birds or any other living thing on the islands.

We took a zodiac to Bachus island and had a walk. The heat was a bit of a killer but we managed, carrying plenty of water with us. It was a nice walk. There were lots of iguanas, nesting gulls, sea lions and cubs, frigate birds, booby birds, etc. The dry island was carpeted in many places with red succulent plants and tall tree-like cacti.

We couldn't swim off the island today because of the sharks frequenting the area in the hope of an easy meal of baby seals. I was very very hot after the walk so asked Juan if I could jump into the water from the yacht to cool off. I promised him I would be careful and very quick. He and the pilot agreed. No sharks had been seen since lunch time. After checking the surrounding water and underneath the yacht I dived in and climbed out again while a member of the boat crew sat in the zodiac, keeping watch. Another guest also hastily stripped to his swimming trunks and dived into the water to cool down too.

Another lovely day over and done with - we had to head back to our hotel. The hotel manageress had arranged for us to go to a local restaurant for a meal and to experience island life. She walked with us to the restaurant and left us there to enjoy our evening. There was a good choice of 3 course meals and once again we were well fed. While we were eating local musicians came into the restaurant to play (more so - to sell their CDs). It made the evening more
wonderful. Outside the rain hammered down and the restaurant had to close some windows so that those seated near the windows didn't get wet. Needless to say, the hotel manageress sent a runner with umbrellas to our restaurant so that we wouldn't get wet on the way back. It was a very thoughtful gesture.

After dinner we made our way back to the hotel under our own steam. I decided to not see a bit more of the nightlife in town but headed back to the hotel so that I could chat to Paul via messenger and also get my report done.

Tomorrow will be an early start ...

PHOTOGRAPHS