Lima, Guayaquil and Galapagos 20th-22nd March 2007
We flew from Cusco to Lima. We were quite apprehensive, as we had be warned about Lima when we booked our around the world flights. We had a connecting flight from Lima to Guayaquil (Ecuador) but the flight times had changed, so we had to have an overnight stop in Lima. We tried booking a hostel close to the airport. Our airport pick up didn´t arrive (we had given the wrong flight number as it had changed) so we got a taxi. It was hot and dusty. The taxi driver didn´t know the way and we were worried about being robbed.
We arrived at the hostel and it felt like we were imprisoned for 24 hours; the hostel was in a gated area like an impound, so we just stayed in our room.
When booking our Galapagos trip we had corresponded with an agent in Quito to try and find a suitable cruise on the dates we wanted. We found one and only then did we find out they didn´t take credit cards. Even though we knew deep down it was the wrong thing to do we wired our money to another English bank account who was then going to transfer the funds to Ecuador. Once we had booked the trip we heard very little from the agent and by the time we got to Lima we were really worried they had just taken our money and weren´t going to provide the goods. It was a tense time.
We flew to Guayaquil and were relieved to be out of Lima, to our surprise it was quite civilised with car dealerships and shops. Landing there was a bit like in Cambodia, most of it seemed to be underwater. We got to the old airport and amazingly at the Tame Cargo office tickets were waiting for us; we were so relieved. Our hotel was also very nice (and expensive, which seems to make a big difference to how much we like a place!).
On the third day of early mornings and travelling, we were going to Galapagos, flying with Aerogal. The check in was a mess but at last we were on the airoplane to Baltra.
When we landed on Baltra, our guide David was waiting for us, and we were taken on a bus, then barge, then minibus, across Santa Cruz Island.
We stopped at Los Gemelos briefly; two large depressions that could be collapsed magma chambers, or caused by faults. We had lunch then went to the highlands reserve to see the giant tortoises roaming free. There were quite a few, although they were quite shy hiding in there shells when we got too close. The last tortoise we saw was huge.
There was then an hour´s free time in Puerto Ayora. We bought a T-shirt each and then got to go onboard our boat. She was called The Sulidae and was built in 1905. The boat had lots of character, unlike most of the others and came complete with a pirate flag. The sun was setting and around us were pelicans, frigate birds and blue footed boobies diving into the water.
There were 12 passengers and 6 crew. We had our first meal and the briefing for the next day. After three days of travelling and after the worrying about our tickets we went to bed quite early.
We arrived at the hostel and it felt like we were imprisoned for 24 hours; the hostel was in a gated area like an impound, so we just stayed in our room.
When booking our Galapagos trip we had corresponded with an agent in Quito to try and find a suitable cruise on the dates we wanted. We found one and only then did we find out they didn´t take credit cards. Even though we knew deep down it was the wrong thing to do we wired our money to another English bank account who was then going to transfer the funds to Ecuador. Once we had booked the trip we heard very little from the agent and by the time we got to Lima we were really worried they had just taken our money and weren´t going to provide the goods. It was a tense time.
We flew to Guayaquil and were relieved to be out of Lima, to our surprise it was quite civilised with car dealerships and shops. Landing there was a bit like in Cambodia, most of it seemed to be underwater. We got to the old airport and amazingly at the Tame Cargo office tickets were waiting for us; we were so relieved. Our hotel was also very nice (and expensive, which seems to make a big difference to how much we like a place!).
On the third day of early mornings and travelling, we were going to Galapagos, flying with Aerogal. The check in was a mess but at last we were on the airoplane to Baltra.
When we landed on Baltra, our guide David was waiting for us, and we were taken on a bus, then barge, then minibus, across Santa Cruz Island.
We stopped at Los Gemelos briefly; two large depressions that could be collapsed magma chambers, or caused by faults. We had lunch then went to the highlands reserve to see the giant tortoises roaming free. There were quite a few, although they were quite shy hiding in there shells when we got too close. The last tortoise we saw was huge.
There was then an hour´s free time in Puerto Ayora. We bought a T-shirt each and then got to go onboard our boat. She was called The Sulidae and was built in 1905. The boat had lots of character, unlike most of the others and came complete with a pirate flag. The sun was setting and around us were pelicans, frigate birds and blue footed boobies diving into the water.
There were 12 passengers and 6 crew. We had our first meal and the briefing for the next day. After three days of travelling and after the worrying about our tickets we went to bed quite early.
posted by Steve & Helen @ 2:06 AM
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