This will be a short one. Unfortunately the budget isnt going to allow us to go to the Galapagos. I just had to turn my head and not think about just how close I am. I think it would be a great trip for Kelly and I to do together, start saving Kel. We didnt allow a lot of time for Ecuador as I have not been successful in finding a workaway there. We stopped for half a day and a night in Guayaquil as I had been told it wasnt worth spending time in. Actually I quite liked the bit of the city we saw and wish we had time to stay longer. Josh wants to see Quito so Ive allowed a few days for that. Regardless of what Ive read Im really not impressed. Yes they have worked hard at restoring the old colonial buildings, which is really nice to see. So many cities in SA have allowed the old buildings to decay. Other than that though I dont see the attraction. Its a strange location for a city, in a valley between several volcanoes. The streets are all over the place and as a result so are the buses. It was quite hard to navigate our way around. We did take a taxi up the virgin Mary statue and Josh met a fellow Canadian, Vikram, from Montreal. He now lives in Edmonton. We went for a coffee and chatted for a while. Oddly enough we were on a bus a couple days later, and saw him walking down the street in this very large city. What are the odds. We were able to share some of our experiences with him as he is traveling the opposite direction from us. Unfortunately the highlight, or maybe I should say the lowlight, of the trip was my getting pickpocketed on the bus. You know you read all the warnings, the scams, to be carefull on the very busy buses. But still it happens. And I got scammed good. A young woman with a small baby. Ive even read about this scam but I just didnt clue in. As soon as the doors closed I realized what had happened but it was too late. All my cards, some money and my new cel phone. I was so pissed at her but as time wore on I was more mad at myself for being so stupid and careless. Oh well, I guess if thats the worst that happens I can live with it.
After just 3 days we hopped a flight to Bogota for the next leg in the journey.
