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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

The city of Cuenca is fabulous, + it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site for what its worth. Our hotel wasn't in the old central part which was unfortunate but it was a short ride to the old streets and shops/balconied houses.
Various juices at breakfast Razz

Had to try all the fruits.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (or New Cathedral) which took decades to build

On the way to Guayaquil we stopped here, the pictures don't do justice.

Our last night in Cuenca we had to try the local delicacy 'Cuy'. Can't say I enjoyed it very much Wink

Cuy is guinea pig, we had ours roasted served with a potato side. Half the battle is telling yourself it doesn't look like a guinea pig with its claws et all Shocked

but anyway I didn't like it much.

We didn't spend any time in Guayaquil, got in at night just had dinner and our flight out was the next morning.

For flight to the Galapagos passengers are advised to get to the airport 2 hours in advance. First thing you do is have your luggage screened and they X-Ray it and open it up if they find anything suspicious. They seal your suitcase and hand it backs you, then you proceed to another counter to pay for the 'Galapagos visa' which is $20 for foreigners. Finally you check in 😜

Guayaquil has a nice modern airport. Mainly airbi in sight- one sole Copa and another Aerogal 737. We got served snacks flight time was around 1:45.

GYE-SCY XL-1561
(1120-1215)
Lan Ecuador A319
(one hour time difference....)
GYE = Guayaquil, José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
SCY = San Cristóbal, San Cristóbal Airport

Ecuador, Galapagos Islands

There are 2 main airports serving the Galapagos islands. The smaller one is on the island of San Cristobal, and the bigger one is on Baltra island (which serves Santa Cruz ..... the main port/town island)
San Cristobal has a tiny terminal I love these small airports! It gets around 3/4 flights a day mainly direct to GYE and connecting to UIO.
You land and stand in line for more paperwork they check your 'visa' and the form you are given inflight. Then you pay the entrance fee- which is a whopping $100 per person. So total cost to enter the Galapagos is $120 a person.

There are no marked cabs in the Galapagos they have these white pickup trucks (Toyota Hilixs) most have no markings you just see a white pickup and flag them down. It was a quick 1 dollar (600 meter) drive to our hotel Mar Azul. Unpacked and walked around, had lunch by the bay yummy grilled fish. Had our first (of many) close encounters with sea lions and crabs and a few small iguanas. We wanted to book the next day's activity but all the tour/dive centers were closed for their siesta 😂. We patiently waited till 1500 for people to wake up then booked the next days trip + rented up some snorkelling equipment and wet suits for the evening.

Benches not for humans Laughing

That evening we took a quick cab to Playa Loberia beach. Didn't see much (the water wasn't very clear) except a manta ray and lots of fish but it was definitely worth it. After I got out of the water the sea lions showed up- what bad timing. They swam around playing, sun bathing not a care about the humans sharing their space. 2 pups tried to follow us back ..... we kept our distance and kept moving away but they followed. We played the game for 5 mins and took a video (trivia - when they're small they baa like sheep) but eventually we made our escape.

The next morning we were supposed to meet at the pier at 0830 for our excursion. A boat ride to Kickers Rock + snorkelling then head over to some beach for some more snorkelling or walking or chilling= free time. A quick 20 mins ride to a cove to 'test' our equipment and for the beginners to get a feel of the water and snorkel. Basically we saw a lot of fish then headed to Kickers Rock.

The bad news- I didn't bring my GoPro. I forgot about it totally 😕. The last trip to Hawaii I cycled down Haleakala with the stupid thing strapped to my helmet and it wasn't charged .... this time I left the bloody thing at home. Hmmmmmm which is worse? Embarassed

The water was choppy and the current was quite strong so the plan was to get off the boat 'upsteam' (in the sea) and let the current carry us down which worked great. The rock formation was fabulous and we could snorkel right up to the ledge. It went practically straight down underwater as well- it was a an amazing amazing view! The cliff and plant life and fish was quite a sight. A sea lion resting on the rocks, more crabs. A sea turtle swam between us and almost got smacked in the face by someones flipper. He completely ignored us and didn't stay long maybe just a minute them he swam away.
Got on the boat and after a snack of water and bananas swung around for snorkelling round 2. Quite a few people were sick by this point. The waves were really choppy, floating by the rock you went up and down with the waves over 6 feet. The second snorkel seemed much colder for some reason. Didn't see anything extraordinary except a few scuba divers and jellyfish but the rock and cliff formation was really nice. After that most people were out (tired + bumpy) and it was an equally choppy ride eating lunch on the way to the beach. Spaghetti veggies rice and grilled fish. Spent over an hour on the beach but I was dying there was no shade and it was hot!

Headed back to the San Cristobal pier after an hour and we were done by 1630. A day well spent but we still had one thing left to do. As soon as we got off the boat we took a cab to the Interpretation Center. Free entry but it was just ok not very well done. They have a walking trail to this other beach but we didn't have the 1.5 hours. Would have loved to do it tho.
For dinner it was time for comfort food- pizza and burgers 😜

Trying the local ice cream flavours. Taxo (or Banana Passionfruit) tasted more orangy than passion fruity. There's another fruit called Guanabana which I thought was a mix of guarana and banana .... turned out to be Soursop Confused

Next morning our boat to Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz left at 0700 and we had to be there 20 mins early. Cost was $30 a person booked 2 days in advance by our hotel because sometimes last minute tickets aren't available. Had an early breakfast then walked to the jetty with our luggage (short 10 mins walk) and again had a luggage screening procedure. Just some customs guys open your suitcases and ask if you're carrying plants/fruits etc. As expected they are very careful about controlling what goes where- into or out of the island and even within them.
A lady with a clipboard calls out names when your boat shows up, we took the Truence, a 20 odd seater speedboat. Made the trip in good time but it was bumpy hehehehe good fun tho. Left around 0715 got to Santa Cruz around 0900 maybe.
Not the Truence thankfully Wink

We could walk it to our hostel, Capital Max B&B. Don't know why they called it a hostel certainly wasn't priced like one 😡. It was very nice and comfortable great location etc just bloody expensive. The staff were friendly the breakfast was good, owner was very helpful the location was great- it's just the price which made me doubt wether it was worth it.
Anyway .... that day we just roamed around. Went to many 'travel agencies' (for lack of a better word) to figure out activities and prices over the next few days. Everyone quoted the same price more or less, $10 difference per person maybe but you still gotta ask around. Had lunch at Galapagos Deli which was surprisingly good. We just ordered sandwiches but they were amazing, yummy bread. In fact the best sandwich bread I've eaten in a long while. Wow. Went to the Charles Darwin Research Station in the afternoon was kind of a long walk maybe 20-25 mins from the center of town. Long would be relative, I thought it was a 10 mins walk and it was hot 😉. The museum/breeding center was a tad disappointing but to be fair there was a lot of construction going on so it probably will be great once the final thing opens. We saw the tortoises and iguanas including a yellow species mainly found on Santa Fe island. We didn't get to see the baby tortoises tho. There was some good information on their conservation efforts and the problems they faced.

Darwin's journey on the Beagle

We were supposed to be picked up at 0600, but were also informed that meant anything between 0600-0630 😜. We were used to it by now none of our day trips/tours were ever on time except the one in Panama City. None. At 0630 we called and they said on their way and they showed up at the hotel at 0640. We could have slept a bit more or even better snuck in some breakfast but o well. Today was a trip to Bartolome island. It involved a :45 mins bus ride to the north of Santa Cruz and a 2 hour+ boat ride. Our tour had 12 passengers aboard the Galapagos Shark 2. Breakfast was served when we got on (eggs ham and cheese) and the boats rocking put me to sleep. We saw lots of birds and even manta ray jumping in the water. Never knew they did that.
Bartolome was a tad disappointing and we didn't see any penguins. Great view from the top tho. We went to this cove to snorkel, a few others saw baby sharks but I didn't 😖. I did get up close and personal with a turtle tho, it swam within arms length of me for a few minutes doing his thing not minding me flapping around like a chicken (trying to get out of his way half the time). That was great fun. Yea yea no GoPro sigghhhh.
Had lunch ok the boat, tuna steak with mashed potatoes and pineapple for desert. 2.5 hour slow and bumpy (fun) bad ride back. Put me to sleep again.

The next day was our last full day. Holiday coming to an end I wish we had more time here.
Today was our day trip destination North Seymore and Bachas. North Seymore is where you see the famous blue footed boobie (yes yes 😁), frigate birds and land iguanas among other things. Another drive to the north of Santa Cruz (40km?) and a shorter one hour boat ride to N Seymour with the same boat and crew the Galapagos Shark 2. We walked around bird/animal watching for over an hour.
Not many boobies around (let's be serious) apparently it was too hot. The boobies don't like it when it's hot (yeessss yes I know). When the blue footed boobies are born they don't have blue feet, what does that make them? Just boobies? 🤔. Anyway, seriously people. The blue feet develop as they mature and it's part of their mating dance. The bluer the males feet the better chance of impressing a chick.

The frigate birds are weird but great looking birds. The males build a nest and expand their red throats to lure the females in. The females pick a mate based on the nest and the impressiveness of the red glands. Sometimes the males don't built a nest, they chase others away and steal theirs 😜. An interesting thing about frigates- they don't hunt. They steal fish from the boobies (hahahahaha ... enough guys) and seal lions and whoever else.

After that we went to Bachas beach, had lunch on the way. It was too choppy to snorkel at the beach so a few of us stayed on the boat and snorkels around there. With the sea conditions it very clear water tho.

That evening we went back to the food street next to our hotel, had coconut shrimp with rice or 'Encocado de Camarones'. They called it Ecuadorean cuisine .... it was very nice but could have passed as Indian/Sri Lankan.

R had beef

Breakfast at Capital Maxs before we left. A local dish of lumped up fried banana and a fried egg, I forget what it was called but it was interesting didn't have much of a taste.

Multiple processes to get to Baltra Airport, great IATA code - GPS. The same 40 mins drive up north of Sant Cruz and boarded a little ferry to Baltra. No fixed timings we waited about 15 mins for it to fill up but they leave every 15 mins or so. 5 mins boat ride with out luggage just placed on the roof, no tie downs or rails or anything so thank god they went slow 😜.

That's Santa Cruz in the background, as you can see literally a 5 mins boat ride. The airlines had free shuttle buses to the airport maybe a 10 mins drive.

GPS-UIO EQ-192
(1230-1650)
Tame a320 (hopping flight via GYE)
GPS = Baltra, Seymour Airport

Small airport as expected, nicely laid out.

Talk about false advertising, they don't have 787s. They don't even have them on order Razz

Flight to GYE was 1:40 and uneventful. Service consisted of a drinks run and a snack, the crew came around with 2 trays- one wrap another sandwichy looking thing they didn't tell us what they were so we took one each. The wrap was ham and cheese and the other had a beef filling. They were nothing special. Landed and announcements were made for passengers continuing to Quito to stay seated. People got off, people got on and maybe 30 mins later we were on our way quick flight just up and down. as a reference GYE-UIO is just a tad longer than BLR-MAA.
Approach into UIO (Quito)

UIO-IAH UA-1036
(2355-0515)
United 738
We had a looonnggggg transit in Quito. We wasted time by having a 3 hour lunch at TGIF + tv shows on the iPad + free wifi.
I was not comfortable on the flight at all, and it was a long one almost 5:30 block. Can't really blame UA after hanging around an airport for hours and hours a night flight can never be comfortable.

I was surprised to get a meal. I had eaten at the airport tho so just dabbed at it, the desert was ok but the main was quite rubbish anyway.

Spent the day with family in Houston, and the return flight was comfortable. I couldn't sleep when I wanted tho, so no choice but watch a few movies.

IAH-DXB EK-212
(1820-1905*)
Emirates A380

Thanks for reading, and apologies again for all the pictures.
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Nimish · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:08 pm Post subject:

Loved both parts, and the pictures were not too many, barely enough to get a sense for the multiple places you guys hopped to. Great conversation about the little boobies too Laughing

!
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We miss you Nalini!

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

stealthpilot, there can never be too much of things good and nice.
Pictures, or trip reports. Or lovely pictures in lovelier trip reports!
In spite of another strong scolding from The Wife for over-eating once again, I read through your second part, with relish and delight (not the guinea pig part: I can visualise your discomfort, in the words that you used to describe the experience!)
The Galapagos is a history and biology buff's complete dream...you must have been an excellent student of history and geography to even remember exotic destinations all over the world! I know I may never be able to do this type of travelling: at least I can see the world through your word, and lens!
Blue footed Boobies, and we develop cold feet when trying to describe them?
Funny descriptions, stealthpilot!
Thank you once again, for a fantastic trip report!
Cheers, Sumantra.

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

ameya · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 9:46 am Post subject:

I think just saying "Great Stuff" on whatsapp is not enough.

I came back to see the pictures again & show them to the family.

Superb pics !
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avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Stunnuning part deux, nice pics of the meals.

BTW you should be the last one worried about the holiday coming to an end Twisted Evil

I really feel so good to advise you on these standby flights, the TRs like these are rewarding!

Thanks for sharing!