Wow! It's been such an amazing 2 weeks here in Ecuador, the time has gone by way too quickly!
I started off in Quito, where I stayed with Rebecka and Andres. We did awesome amounts if sight-seeing in the two short days I was there. Went up the TelefériQo and hiked up a volcano, went to the equator (mitad del mundo), checked out some lovely hot springs in the mountains, walked around the old town and many of the buildings there, saw a gold church, and spent lots of time touring around! While in Ecuador, I tried canelazo, which is a hot alcoholic beverage that is delicious but slightly dangerous. All in all, I loved Quito! Such a beautiful city with so much history and culture.
Next stop was the GALAPAGOS! Those of you who know me know that going to the Galapagos is something I've been dreaming about for many years, so I've been so eagerly waiting, hoping, and planning for this trip! I could sit here and write for hours about how truly amazing my time was... But I'll try and keep it short! There's lots of ways to see the islands, but most people choose to do a boat cruise to see many of the islands. I looked into cruises, and decided against it for a few reasons... In general, they're quite expensive (which is a big reason when I'm trying to stick to a backpacker's budget), and many companies I've looked into were either foreign owned, or hired foreign guides. This trip, I've really tried to make an effort as much as possible to support entirely local businesses (hostels, restaurants, tours... I always try and make sure the money is staying here!), so that was another big reason I opted against the cruise. Plus, it seemed like a thing that couples or families or older people do. So, anyway, I did some research and I decided to do my open water scuba diving certification in San Cristóbal! I went with the company Galapagos Underwater because the owner, Jimbo, is one of the friendliest guys you will ever meet, he gave me a great deal, and all the money stays in San Cristóbal! (A portion even goes to support development of programs for kids with special needs in the Galapagos).
The scuba diving was AMAZING. I don't think you could pick a better place to learn! We would be doing dives to practice skills, and you would look up and see 5 sea lions just playing in your bubbles, or coming and swimming right up to your face. And even in the practice areas there was amazing reef with so many unique and brightly colored fish! Once I finished all the practice dives, I got to do some deeper open water ones. The first was a reef dive, where again we saw tons of super cool fish, quite a few sea turtles, and many playful sea lions. We also did a wreck dive, which was pretty cool. But by far my favorite was the day we went to Kicker Rock. We did 2 dives out there, and it was unreal. We saw LOTS of sharks (blackfin, galapagos, and hammerhead sharks), sea turtles, sea lions, manta rays, puffer fish, octopi, and soooooo many schools of fish!!! It was so amazing. Being so close to so many sharks was a bit scary at first, but then you realized that they actually have no interest in you at all, and I calmed down (Still went through my tank of air pretty quick though, I was definitely excited). That night, I had the opportunity to go night diving! Which was intense. Outside of your tiny flashlight beam was black abyss... But we saw lots of cool nightlife and at one point shut off all the lights to see all the phosporescence. All in all, just the most amazing week, and I'm officially obsessed with scuba diving!!
I also did lots of land touring on the Galapagos - saw lots of ancient tortoises (which was super cool!), hiked up a few volcanoes, crawled through some lava caves, went to some beaches, saw lots of wildlife like iguanas, blue footed boobies, and other things indigenous to the Galapagos. Just the best time, I honestly can't wait to go back!
And from the Galapagos I went straight to Baños, where I am writing from now. Baños is this cool little town in the mountains about 3 hours from Quito, and it's known as the adventure capital of South America! I was only here for 2 short days, but I was able to go mountain biking, bungee jumping, and canyoning (rapelling down 30m high waterfalls!). Plus the town itself is so pretty, set in a backdrop of the Andes, and there are waterfalls almost everywhere you look. I wish I could stay longer!
I've had a great time in Ecuador, and while I'm sad to leave I'm also super excited for the adventures ahead in Peru and Bolivia. Right now, I'm waiting for my 1am overnight bus to Guayaquil, and then tomorrow afternoon in Guayaquil I hop on a 30 hour long border bus all the way to Lima, and then the next day fly to Cuzco. So, all in all I'm preparing to spend nearly 3 days in transit. I stocked up on snacks and a book, so I should be set! I'll write more updates from Peru, bye for now!
