My 27th Birthday

The final bus ride, out of Colombia and into Ecuador, wasn't any easier than the previous few I'd taken recently. We were stopped for about 2 hours while a bike competition passed through, so we didn't arrive until about 6 p.m. After starting to stress when the bus driver couldn't find my checked bag, he finally found it and I was on my way to the hostel.

As I was still suffering from some mystery bug or virus, I was quite looking forward to doing nothing in Quito. I'd almost resigned myself to staying in bed on my 27th birthday, until I was convinced by Carolina to meet up with her and celebrate the day. She kindly bought lunch for me at a sushi restaurant, then we went to the Quicentro shopping mall so I could replace some clothes that in truth should've been thrown out months before. We shared some ice-cream and a juice in the afternoon before I headed back to the hostel and in to bed. Considering I'd never met Carolina before (we'd only met and talked via Couchsurfing), and the fact that she'd been up since 2a.m. that day working at the airport, it was an incredibly nice gesture from her that not only made me feel a little better, but made what could've easily been an unforgettable birthday into a really nice day.

Lunch with Carolina

The next day I met up with another friend off Couchsurfing, Keika, whom I met when I was last in Quito in September 2015. For the second time in two days I was spoiled, this time Keika and her boyfriend buying me a birthday cake after our lunch together. Again I was made to feel incredibly lucky by the awesome people that I've met whilst travelling.

Birthday cake with Keika and Mauricio

In between this I spent a lot of time laying in bed and watching tv shows, while recovering. I've been pretty lucky on this trip so far in terms of getting sick, never having needed to go to the doctors. But even the mystery bug/illness aside, travelling for one year certainly takes it out of you.

When I first started this trip, I met other travellers who had been going for months on end, and they would tell me, "I just feel tired all of the time". I didn't get it then, but now I can certainly appreciate the feeling. And not only is my body tired, my clothes and luggage look tired too.

It's been great to settle down in Quito for a few days, see old friends and make new ones, and recharge the batteries. I needed it, because I can't see myself getting much of a rest over the next few weeks during Carnaval in Brazil!

Quito, Ecuador

The last stop of my travels within Ecuador brought me to Quito, it’s capital. As was the nature of most of my experience in this country, I had a limited amount of time to try and see as much of this place as I could.

On Monday I ducked out of the hostel early to get a well overdue haircut for the measly price of $1. The perks of travelling in South America. Surprisingly, the price did not reflect the quality of the job and I was able to, without embarrassment, show my face in the hostel again. Later that morning I took the free walking tour around the city, which culminated with a cheap lunch at the central market. Whilst there was a variety of local dishes on offer, many containing every part of a cow you could imagine, I opted for the safety of some fried pork.

In the afternoon a group of us visited the place where the equator line cuts through Quito - “The Middle of the World”. The funny thing is there are actually 2 equator lines in Quito - the real and the fake one. The real one, which has been confirmed by GPS, is where the tourists are shown the exact point for a cliche photo opportunity, then a bunch of “experiments” that are paraded about as if you were at a magic fair. For example, pouring water down a drain either side of the line and seeing it swirl in opposite directions, and trying to balance an egg on top of the head of a nail (it’s supposed to be easier on the equator). The fake one is around 300m away and is home to a huge statue (much better for photos), and is a little tourist town of it’s own, overflowing with restaurants and gift shops.

The wrong (yet more photogenic) Middle of the World

On Tuesday I walked up hundreds of steps to the top of the Basílica del Voto Nacional, then took a cab to the Teleférico (cable car). Both gave some superb vantage points over Quito, which really is a beautiful city to admire from afar.

My spare time was spent with friends at the hostel where there were delicious home made meals prepared by a chef every night, talking with my little nephew on Skype for the first time in as long as I can remember, having ice cream with a Quiteña I met off Couchsurfing and finally getting around to a few sessions back at the gym since I twisted my knee in Huacachina.

Whilst being the country I’ve spent the least amount of time in, Ecuador has been home to some of the most memorable experiences of the trip so far. From seeing nature at it’s finest in the Galápagos, to becoming an uncle for the second time in Cuenca. And many more in between. Whilst I intend to spend the rest of my time on this trip seeing as many new countries, cities and people as possible, Ecuador is the only country I can say that I haven't really had a complete experience of, and need to return to and explore some more one day.

The Galápagos Islands - Ecuador

I’m at a loss for words on how to describe these past 10 days. I could rattle off a few adjectives, but none of them would begin to tell the story of my time in the Galápagos. But for the sake of recording this whirlwind of an experience, I’ll try.

Flying in from Guayaquil, I arrived in Baltra Island early Sunday afternoon where the tour guide Edwin was waiting for me. My plane was delayed slightly so I had a late lunch on board the Guantanamera and then met up with the rest of the passengers. 

Fortunately, the group was full of interesting and genuinely nice people. More than three-quarters of them Dutch, two Brits, an Israeli, some Canadians, an American and an Argentine made up the mixture. And as has happened so often on this trip, the people made the experience all the more memorable.

The gang - minus the Argentine and American who left early

Because of this, the experience became so much more than just the sum of it’s parts. So I won’t do this story a disservice and just rattle off the itinerary for each day. Most of the time, they were constructed in the same way - breakfast at 7am, activity in the morning (e.g. trek on the island, dingy ride and/or snorkelling on the shore or in deep water), lunch at midday and then another activity in the afternoon. Dinner at 7pm, then afterwards we’d sail to the next destination. There were a few rough nights on board, so most of the time I found myself falling asleep whilst hugging the bed frame to make sure I didn’t roll off the top bunk during the night.

Our guide Edwin was incredible, not only did he keep the group laughing each day, he demonstrated an incredible knowledge of the islands, the wildlife and pretty much any other question we would throw at him. He also had quite an interesting life story which we were treated to late one morning after a few too many drinks, sneakily taken from the bar whilst the crew slept.

On top of that, the crew on board were amazing, even though most of them didn’t speak a great deal of English. The second captain (His parents actually named him “Segundo”, which means “Second” in Spanish. So this was quite fitting.) even let me take the reigns for a while.

A lot of nervous faces here...

The interactions you have in the Galápagos is out of this world. It’s nature at it’s most pristine. There’s no guarantee you’ll see a particular animal like you would get at a zoo or national park, yet we saw almost everything we expected to. We snorkelled with sharks, played with sea lions, swam with sea turtles, countless different types of fish and manta rays, cormorants, iguanas, penguins, owls and a whole lot more.

And then there’d be days you get an extra surprise. On Thursday we were all sat down for lunch when Edwin came rushing in yelling “Dolphins! Dolphins!”. We ran out to the front of the boat and were treated to several minutes of dolphins following the boat, playing together and jumping out of the water. On another occasion we saw a few whales breaching the surface in the distance.

Managed to get this shot amongst the madness

For the animals that you can get a lot closer to, the rules on Galápagos are pretty clear and obvious - no flash on your camera and don’t get closer than 2 metres. It’s things like this, coupled with the fact most of the animals don’t have any natural predators, that makes them surprisingly calm (and sometimes playful) when people are around.

On Wednesday the Dutch contingency grew as we said goodbye to two of our passengers and replaced them with a couple of girls from the Netherlands. That night the crew threw a party for us, with plenty of free drinks and dancing to some local music. It could have been the boat rocking, or the strong caipirinhas, but after 7 months in South America I’m sad to say I’m still no better a dancer than I was before I left.

Before long, Saturday had come around and with it the last full day of our amazing adventure on board. A few farewell drinks turned into an interesting conversation with Edwin and a few others until the early hours of the morning, then a few of us took the opportunity to sleep up on the top deck under the stars for our last night on board. It was really was the perfect way to end the week.

After what felt like 30 minutes of sleep I was woken at 6am by the crew cleaning the ship around where we lay. After dusting ourselves off it was a little island visit for those of us who didn’t opt for a sleep in. It was well worth it, as we were treated to a beautiful sunrise which the sea lions seemed to enjoy just as much as us.

A morning stretch

Then it was off to the airport to say our goodbyes. I had already planned to stay in Puerto Ayora for 4 more nights, so I headed back with the Dutch girls who couldn’t get a last minute flight out of the islands. We spent the afternoon relaxing at the hotel after not really getting a chance to do so on the cruise, then at night we hung out with some Aussies and ate some delicious empanadas from a street vendor (always the best kind), then had some drinks on the balcony of our room.

The girls left Tuesday morning, and the comedown from the week that was (and more) finally hit me. I spent the rest of my time in Puerto Ayora doing some day trips, and scuba diving around Floreana and North Seymour Islands, which was again another incredible experience with some equally incredible photos.

Diving with a Sea Lion at Floreana Island

And that’s it. My attempt at covering one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Just as hard was trying to pick the best photos out of thousands of equally worthy shots.

Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca can be added to the list of cities that surprised me on this trip. It more than surpassed my preconceptions of it being a quiet little colonial town, and made me glad I’d had a few days relaxing with the seniors in Vilcabamba beforehand.

Two big nights on the town were had with some locals I’d made friends with, one night ending with me crawling into bed at 6 in the morning - a rarity for me - usually I'm falling asleep on the dance floor at 2AM.

Aside from the partying, a day was spent in the beautifully peaceful Cajas National Park, where we were treated to some superb scenery, wildlife and a traditional Ecuadorian lunch. Notably delicious was the Canelasco shot and Locro de Papas soup.

Canelasco shot and Locra de Papas soup

Hours were spent at various cafes and restaurants, and it seems like Ecuador is one of few South American countries that has figured out how to do some of my favourite staples properly: coffee and bacon. A benefit of having such a big influence from the United States.

I gingerly strolled around the colonial streets one last time, nursing a slight hangover, and walked up the dizzying stairs of the Cuenca Cathedral to get a decent shot of the city and look back on what was a thoroughly enjoyable 5 days.

Parque Calderon, from the top of Cuenca Cathedral


Vilcabamba, Ecuador

I wanted to chill out in Vilcabamba for a few days, but I didn't realise until I got there that it was actually a common place for retirees from the United States to come and settle down. So I didn't last long before I had itchy feet and needed to move on to a more lively place.

Another border crossing...

Another day of buses from Piura to Loja, then Loja to Vilcabamba. I put my bags down at the hostel and took a walk around the city. A bit of live music in the square, but nothing going on outside a block or two from the main area.

The next day I moved to a hostel 2km out of town called Hostería Izhcayluma. It had been recommended by a girl I met in Huaraz, and looked like a really nice place. It was, but again it was too quiet for my likings. More of a place to come on a brief holiday to get away from everything, do yoga classes and some hiking. I spent one night there then was on my way again, taking the bus up to Cuenca.

The thing you notice immediately about Ecuador is the beautiful countryside on bus rides. The mountains are still there, just as they are in Peru, however it's completely green and looks much fresher and alive. The drive up to Cuenca was filled with rolling green hills, scattered farmhouses and cows and horses dotted in between. Like what you'd see on the side of a milk carton.

In saying that, as I was only really passing through I kept my camera away, preferring to take it in myself. There'll be plenty of other opportunities for photos of this scenery throughout Ecuador.