Ecuador was next on our hit list and we were there to realise an ambition of Chloe's - The Galapagos Islands. For all we had heard it promised to be an outstanding part of our travels and it delivered. An unbelievable place.
But more of that in a minute because what took us by surprise was how much we liked Ecuador's capital, and our first stop, Quito. Our previous destination, San Jose, probably gave Quito a helping hand in that it was so rubbish that by comparison we already loved our new environment.
We stayed in the new town which had a really modern feel, so unlike Central American cities, with much more fashionable venues to hang out at. It had a totally unique feel to anywhere else we had been. Quito is a city in the clouds, its altitude means that in the evening you can see the cloud moving past the street lamps. Its eerie - especially when you hear so much about the threat of street crime.
We went out of Quito to the nearby equator line. That was cool. Then we explored the Old Town of Quito which really sets it apart from other cities. Old cobble streets, Churches on every corner, pretty squares and plazas and intersting Ecuadorian characters at every turn. Up on the hillside over-looking the city is the Virgen de Quito which is Quito´s version of Rio's Christ the Redeemer. It's huge when you get up close and the views of the city from inside the statue are amazing.
And so to Galapagos. Wow. We boarded our boat, The Golondrina, with a motley crew of tourists and a motley crew. Here is a summary of our colleagues:
- A German couple - could speak far more english than they would let on
- Two french ladies - could speak far less english than anyone
- Two Californians - Steve and Elizabeth, co-investigators in Bert-gate (see: The Incident On Day Two)
- An Aussie and Kiwi couple - lived down the road from us in Chis a few years back
- A Chilean and his 16 year old girlfriend - nicknamed Magnum because he used to be a P.I. in Chicago before going into the Fruit Machine business. This guy was the million dollar man.
- A Mexican and his wife - Old mates with the Chilean. Now chief doc at Chicago and US Soccer teams.
- Bert - German implicated in Bert-gate, great chap
- And Ken, the Japanese pop star - the icing on the cake. This kid was social gold.
Our guide was Fabrizio ("call me Fozzy") one of the nicest people I've ever met. He was born on the Galapagos Islands and he was as passionate as they come. The tour was 5 days and by the end of it you really see a startling variety of nature and wildlife.
Sea lions, tropical fish and coral, lizards, flamingos, hermit crabs, snakes, pelicans, marine and land iguanas, hawks, finches, doves, sharks, manta rays, sting rays, turtles, tortoises, blue footed booby birds, frigate birds - the list goes on.
I wont do a run down of each day because it really is about seeing everything that the islands have to offer but I will give a few of the highlights:
- Swimming with sea lions on one of the best beaches of our entire travels
- Snorkelling with sharks
- Checking out 150 year old tortoises
- The incident on day two
- Some entertaining evenings on the boat
The last of these highlights makes me think of Ken. He lives for music. Singing at every possible turn on one night we persuaded Ken to give us a song one night. Picture this if you will - We were on the top of the boat, Ken looks to the sky and so begins "are the stars shining tonight?" before breaking into a truly stunning song about the sky at night (the name of the song escapes me).
This young man's life is one long music video. When we were swimming with sea lions in the surf, Ken was striding along the beach belting out his favourite love songs. The sun was setting behind him and it was like we were watching our own private music video. Words cant describe it.
A thoroughly enjoyable time on the boat. We all got on so well despite language barriers and other differences. We particularly got on with Steve and Elizabeth hooking up with them for a night out in Quito on our return. And although I may not have gone into great detail about the up close and personal moments with the wildlife it truly was the star of the show - sorry Ken, you were a close second.
