Feliz navidad
Trip Start
Nov 07, 2004
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10
21
Trip End
May 2005
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Guayaquill, Ecuador
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Have finally reached the coast after so far spent most of my time in the mountains. The change to sea level hasn't been quite as energising as I had hoped as the temperature has shot right up which saps the energy a lot and with it my old friend Mr. Mozzie has returned with a vengeance - better get used to it if Im gonna do a jungle trip. Still mustn't grumble having just looked at the temperature chart for London.
Cuenca was nice city. Bit easier to deal with than Quito. A lot more European feeling with virtually no indigenous people. To add to my list of inappropriate food to be eating in Ecuador (in addition to Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Indonesian) I can now add Austrian?!?. Yep great restaurant round the corner that did the best Vehner Schnizel this side of Vienna. With the warm temperature outside there we all were sitting in an Alpine themed restaurant (complete with plastic tree and cotton wool for snow) eating heavy stodge. Surreal!.
Didn't bother visiting the nearby Inca ruins as Im saving them for Peru but did manage a visit to the national park nearby. Sadly the Scottish looking scenery was accompanied by equally Scottish weather so the plan to for a good days hiking had to be cut back. Of course the minute we got on the bus back it stopped. Finally managed to book a Galapogos trip. Will be there over Xmas which is perfect as I was at a bit of a loose end what to do with that one. Wasn't cheap as its the most expensive time to going but think it will be worth it. Will be going the with Ramon from Holland from the Quito crowd so will at least have a partner in crime should the other passengers turn out to be boring old farts. We had one bit of bad news in that ozzie Christian who we both know from the language school in Quito got robbed on a bus the other dat. His bag got snatched from under his seat complete with passport, credit & debit cards, travellers cheques the lot. Poor bugger. Luckily his host family are helping him sort things out but the omens for sorting his passport out arent good - having spoke to one ozzie previously who lost their passport the Australian government & embassies couldn't organise a p*** up in a brewery when it comes to replacing them. For a start they only have about two embassies here (Lima and Brasilia if memory serves me right) and half the consulates (which cant issue passports anyway) are infact only honory consulates which do even less. Infact the only way seems to be to get the British!?! embassy to issue an emergency passport to a country where there is an Australian embassy. Even then with their post 9/11 paranoia it can take up to 8 weeks for them to issue a replacement!. Useless!.
Left Cuenca for the coastal town of Marchella to meet up with some Ecuadorian girls we met in Quito. Bit of a hole if the truth be told. Still it was fun to meet up and it was an interesting experience being the only Gringos in town. Still cant understand half of what they're saying (they speak much faster on the coast).
Arrived in Guyaquill to try and sort out a flight to Cusco, Peru for new years. Have spent a bit longer than planned in Ecuador so need to catch up on lost time so will skip northern Peru (most of the sight worth seeing are in the south anyway). Guayaquill was a bit of a schitzophrenic place. On the one hand it was the most crowded and grimy place IŽve been to so far. On the other had a multi million seaside development had turned the waterfront area into a safe and clean open space that made Barcelona look like Hastings in December. The views over the city at night were spectacular, whole place little lit up like a Christmas. Literally. Sadly it was a Coca Cola sponsored Xmas tree but there you go. Half the houses in the old town were covered in fairy lights. Found a park in the centre of town bursting with live Iguanas strolling around the place. Kids were picking them up and playing with them like toys. Guess the heat left them too dibilated to complain. Food wise IŽd been saving the steaks for Argentina but when we walked past a giant steak house packed to the rafters with locals I couldnŽt help myself. Ended up with a steak about an inch thick steak. Am told it was small by Argentine standards. Felt like I was about to spontanously combust like Mr. Creosold in the Monty Python films "Just one wather thin mint".
Had a couple of days to kill before heading to the Galapogos so decided to move on from the big city and find a some decent beaches. Headed for Porto Lopez on the Pacific coast. The bus ride on the way was an experience. Had the ermm.. pleasure of sitting next to a couple of champion piss artists. When not telling the driver to turn the radio up theyŽd be singing (badly), asking me where I was from and offering me (spilling) a drink from their bottle (which I politely declined) and shaking my hand. As they got drunker and drunker one of them got off seemingly at the wrong stop in the middle of nowhere leaving the other comatosed on the seat next to him snoring. As the bus turned a corner at speed the momentum propelled his head in the opposite direction so he smacked his head with a load thud on the handrest opposite. Rudely awoken from his from the land of nod it was back telling the driver to turn the radio up, singing (badly), asking me where I was from and offering me (spilling) a drink from their bottle (which I politely declined) and shaking my hand. When we arrived jumped into the sea like someone who hadnŽt seen water for weeks.
Found a great hostel run by an Italian and his Ecuadorian Mrs. Arrived on a Sunday afternoon so not much going on other than watch the sunset. More of a fishing village than a resort. Found a cocktail bar on the beach but they wouldnŽt sell us any beer. The next day was a bit overcast so hired a couple of mountain bikes to check out the national park nearby having first checked out the results of the nights fishing - fish of every shape and size inc. small sharks. The park wasnŽt the lush forest IŽd been hoping for - dry as a tinderstick but they did have a sulphur lake you could swim in - made you smell like rotten eggs but your skin felt like silk afterwards. Having dropped the bikes off checked out the local seafood restaurant. Fantastic. By the then the beach bar had reopened and was now selling beer as well though by the time we realised this IŽd bought the strongest cocktail they had which nearly nearly blew my head off.
Left the next day to head back to Guyaquill for the flight to the Galapogos. Stopped off in Montonita for lunch. Great place. Left me in two minds about whether IŽd done the right thing about booking my flight to Cusco for New Years as everyone seemed up for a big beach party there but its done now. The bus ride back to Guayaquill was a much more pleasent affair given we took the coastal scenic route back. Checked out what was supposedly the best crab restaurant in the city. The meat was fantastic but I didnŽt read the menu closely enough and ended up with crab meat in a coconut sauce, yuck!. Tasted more like a desert.
About to board for the Galapogos. Not sure what if any Internet access there will be there so if I canŽt get on before Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas) one and all.
M.
