I had heard that it was quite a schlep from Banos to Montinita. It was supposed to be at least 7 hours from Banos to Guayaquil and then supposedly another 4 or so to Montanita. Since it was going to take so long, I was interested in going overnight, but I knew I would need to switch buses in Guayaquil. All of the bus stations I had been in in Ecuador were really shaddy, so I was a bit nervous to show up at 3 am in Guayaquil and have to spend time there waiting for a bus.
Luckily, the Guayaquil bus station is amazing. It´s actually a mall and quite new and swanky. It´s very safe and you can feel fine showing up at any time of the night. Miraculously the security guards are extremely helpful as well. You can ask any of them which bus counter to use for where you´re going and they will happily tell you and even walk you in the right direction.
Once you get your ticket, you have to take the elevator up to the second floor where all of the buses leave. The security guards up there are also super helpful and will gladly point you to the correct door to exit.
I would also suggest that if you´re heading to Peru, that you book your ticket there through C.I.F.A (pronounced see-fa). They helped me get off and on in all of the right spots to get my passport stamped our and back in.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Banos
Ever since I first heard of Banos I always laugh when I saw it. I find it kind of astonishing and ever so delightful that there is a major tourist destination in the middle of Ecuador that is literally called the toilet.
I believe Banos actually gets it´s name as it is known for it´s thermal springs. Based on what I´ve read in the guide books and talked with others, the hot springs water gets changed daily at best. This means the best time to go is at like 5 am when they open. While highly recommended by others, it gets the big thanks but no thanks for me. Luckily Banos is also known for white water rafting, hiking, biking, and a wide variety of other activities.
The day I got into Quito from the Galapagos I went straight to the bus station and caught a bus to Banos. I´ve found the buses in Ecuador to be a bit more challenging than the rest of Latin America as you really have to pay attention for your stop. Banos was no exception and I almost missed my stop but then quickly hustled off and headed for the Blancos y Plantas hostel recommended to me.
Banos is an adorable little town. The main area is not too large and it feels very safe and comfortable to walk around at night. I found a lovely little Mexican restaurant and promptly went to sleep after dinner.
The next day I had planned to do some hiking but it was pouring. A few of the locals thought that it might clear up later in the day, but there was no way to know. After 8 days without internet, I had a lot of email to catch up on, so I spent some qt in the Internet cafe and then tried to walk around some more. The umbrella I bought in Quito came in handy today!
I had met a women at breakfast who worked at one of the spa´s down the road, Chakra. Based on her recommendation I had a lovely one hour hot stone massage for a mere $20. Yes, I was liking Banos quite a bit.
I spent the rest of the afternoon talking with one of the guys in my room and then reading in the cafe upstairs. There was no rest for the weary with the rain, so rather reluctantly I headed to dinner and then sleep to dream of warmer days tomorrow.
The next day my wish was granted. The sky wasn´t exactly clear, but it would do. I headed over to la officina de turismo and got a free map of the area. The agent recommended a walk up to the virgin mary (the latin american´s sure do love to put the virgin mary up a really big hill) and then from there a walk to the farming town of Rutun.
The walk up to the virgin was mostly paved stairs - but over 650 of them! From there it was up, up, up for about another hour and a half of single track rather muddy path. There was a slightly disarming moment when the path let out into a huge cow pasture and several cows stared straight at me. I somewhat timidly continued on, trying to also plan some strategy should a cow try and come close. It was a long way up with many false hopes of being there, but the view of banos was totally worth it. From there it was more single muddy track to Rutun, when it eventually opened onto a road. I took the road down and back towards banos. After about another 30 minutes a farmer stopped to chat with me. We exchanged a few sentences and then he offered to show me his house. He explained that he had cows and chickens His house was a little two room adobe house. One room had the kitchen and a fire. The other served as his bedroom and living room. He had some herb that he just picked and made tea with. We sat and chatted for about 20 minutes. We covered a wide range of topics from our mutual love of Obama, me describing my life in San Francisco, and both of us talking about our travels. It was really very special and so nice of him to share his home and stories with me.
From there it was down, down, down to Banos. I decided to take the paved road over slipping and sliding my way down the huge hill. It took another couple of hours before my very weary self showed back up in the hostel, but it had been an amazing day.
My last day in Banos was spent white water rafting. I was a bit intimidated when I signed up and was told that the trip included the cost of a wet suit. I had never been white water rafting before where it was so cold you needed to wear a wet suit. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the water wasn´t too bad and the trip itself was a blast. There were 6 of us in our raft total including the guide and we flew through the water. I would definitely recommend booking with Geotours if you find yourself in Banos. After lunch with the group, I came back to the hostel, took a quick shower and checked out. I was off to Montinita!
I believe Banos actually gets it´s name as it is known for it´s thermal springs. Based on what I´ve read in the guide books and talked with others, the hot springs water gets changed daily at best. This means the best time to go is at like 5 am when they open. While highly recommended by others, it gets the big thanks but no thanks for me. Luckily Banos is also known for white water rafting, hiking, biking, and a wide variety of other activities.
The day I got into Quito from the Galapagos I went straight to the bus station and caught a bus to Banos. I´ve found the buses in Ecuador to be a bit more challenging than the rest of Latin America as you really have to pay attention for your stop. Banos was no exception and I almost missed my stop but then quickly hustled off and headed for the Blancos y Plantas hostel recommended to me.
Banos is an adorable little town. The main area is not too large and it feels very safe and comfortable to walk around at night. I found a lovely little Mexican restaurant and promptly went to sleep after dinner.
The next day I had planned to do some hiking but it was pouring. A few of the locals thought that it might clear up later in the day, but there was no way to know. After 8 days without internet, I had a lot of email to catch up on, so I spent some qt in the Internet cafe and then tried to walk around some more. The umbrella I bought in Quito came in handy today!
I had met a women at breakfast who worked at one of the spa´s down the road, Chakra. Based on her recommendation I had a lovely one hour hot stone massage for a mere $20. Yes, I was liking Banos quite a bit.
I spent the rest of the afternoon talking with one of the guys in my room and then reading in the cafe upstairs. There was no rest for the weary with the rain, so rather reluctantly I headed to dinner and then sleep to dream of warmer days tomorrow.
The next day my wish was granted. The sky wasn´t exactly clear, but it would do. I headed over to la officina de turismo and got a free map of the area. The agent recommended a walk up to the virgin mary (the latin american´s sure do love to put the virgin mary up a really big hill) and then from there a walk to the farming town of Rutun.
The walk up to the virgin was mostly paved stairs - but over 650 of them! From there it was up, up, up for about another hour and a half of single track rather muddy path. There was a slightly disarming moment when the path let out into a huge cow pasture and several cows stared straight at me. I somewhat timidly continued on, trying to also plan some strategy should a cow try and come close. It was a long way up with many false hopes of being there, but the view of banos was totally worth it. From there it was more single muddy track to Rutun, when it eventually opened onto a road. I took the road down and back towards banos. After about another 30 minutes a farmer stopped to chat with me. We exchanged a few sentences and then he offered to show me his house. He explained that he had cows and chickens His house was a little two room adobe house. One room had the kitchen and a fire. The other served as his bedroom and living room. He had some herb that he just picked and made tea with. We sat and chatted for about 20 minutes. We covered a wide range of topics from our mutual love of Obama, me describing my life in San Francisco, and both of us talking about our travels. It was really very special and so nice of him to share his home and stories with me.
From there it was down, down, down to Banos. I decided to take the paved road over slipping and sliding my way down the huge hill. It took another couple of hours before my very weary self showed back up in the hostel, but it had been an amazing day.
My last day in Banos was spent white water rafting. I was a bit intimidated when I signed up and was told that the trip included the cost of a wet suit. I had never been white water rafting before where it was so cold you needed to wear a wet suit. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the water wasn´t too bad and the trip itself was a blast. There were 6 of us in our raft total including the guide and we flew through the water. I would definitely recommend booking with Geotours if you find yourself in Banos. After lunch with the group, I came back to the hostel, took a quick shower and checked out. I was off to Montinita!
8 Amazing Days in the Galapagos.
I had been somewhat on the fence about whether I was going to go to the Galapagos, but one look at the brochures and I was sold!
I decided to do a land tour, as it was less pricey, but it still encompassed some island hopping so I´d still be able to see quite a bit.
Day 1
Day one was spent flying to Baltra (originally a US military base but now an Ecuadorian military base), a quick ferry ride to Santa Cruz and then a 3.5 hour speed boat ride over to Isabella. I arrived at Isabella and was greeted by Pablo, who would be my guide for the next day and a half. He took me to drop my stuff off at the hotel and then we went to the Tortoise breeding center. He walked me through the center and in very good English explained all about the Tortoises. He showed me the beach and then walked me around town, which was all of about 4 blocks. Back at the hotel he explained that he would pick me up tomorrow for a day of horseback riding, a tour of the volcano, and then snorkeling.
Day 2
The next day Pablo came as promised and we, along with a family consisting of a mom and dad, their three adult children, one of the girl´s husband and her 2 year old son set off. The family was super friendly. They were all Ecuadorian but the mother, father, son, and one daughter had recently moved to New Jeresy.
When we arrived to the start of our trek, we were all placed on horses (I made sure to ask for a ¨muy tranquilo¨one). From there it was about 3 hours on horses up to the volcano. You start out in the rain forest and it was quite muddy, so I was a bit concerned about my horse, Valle. But Valle was a champ and took everything very slowly, so while we slide a bit at times, he always kept his balance.
It was a very hot hour and a half walk around the volcanoes, but it was fascinating. We saw the second biggest crater in the world and learned all about the forming of the Galapagos. It was then another 3 hours down the mountain on the horses.
As soon as we were back at the hotel, I changed into my bathing suit and Pablo took me snorkeling. We went to the dock and got a boat just for the two of us. We went on a tour of the small island right around the pier. To avoid a large group of snorkelers, we opted to walk around the white tip shark island first. It was iguana convention with iguanas EVERYWHERE stacked on top of each other. Pablo laughed at my hesitance to walk around them, but they would usually scatter once you came close. We were lucky enough to see one shark, although he speed by pretty fast.
From there we went to a different snorkeling sight where it was just the two of us. There were some great fish to see, including a couple of large parrot fish. I got in the water before Pablo and about two minutes later I saw this large swoosh of gray go by me. At first I thought it was Pablo - but then I realized it was a sea lion! Later two more came over to play around us and then a fourth came by to check us out. It was the first time I had ever been in the water with sea lions and it was thrilling. They are really curious and they like to get very close next to you. It was some of the most incredible snorkeling I´d ever done.
Day 3
The next morning I was out the door by 5:30 am to catch a speed boat over to Santa Cruz. Antonio met me and took me to my room. Antonio explained that he would be shuttling me around between meals and activities, however the one thing was that Antonio spoke no English.
That morning Julio and his friend took me around the Tortoise breeding center there. Their English was not as good as Pablo´s so I tried to read all of the signs they had posted. They seem to tag team the trip where one would go spotting for tortoises and then when they found some, the other one would bring me over to check them out and then vice versa. I saw a lot of formal tours go by in groups of 20 plus and while I knew they were getting a far better education, I really enjoyed my more personal service.
I took a quick nap and then it was time for a lunch followed by a boat tour. The boat tour was to Bahia.
Even though I had been promised English speaking guides, our captain spoke only Spanish. Luckily there was a mother with her teenage daughter who were originally Ecuadorian but now lived in New Hampshire and they could translate for me. We took a tour around a few islands and then stopped for some snorkeling. There were sea lions galore as well as many fish, and then right before it was time to go in a turtle passed under me!
From there we went to another island where there was a short hike to more swimming and then it was back on the boat and back to the hotel.
Our last stop was the Tunnel of Love. Legend has it that two went in but three came out. We were 9 when we went in and we came out 9. Very disappointing. After asking ¨Donde esta los chicos caliente?¨ and getting some crazy looks from the others on the ship, the American/Ecuadorian woman realized that what i was trying to say was ¨Donde esta los hombres guapos?¨ Apparently chicos caliente translates literally and she had a good laugh the rest of the way back wondering where the hot men were.
Day 4
Day four was an all day tour of Floreana. Antonio and I had breakfast together and then he took me over to the pier for our boat. There was some sort of confusion with the boat, that I´m sure if I spoke better Spanish I would have understood - but the bottom line was I ended up waiting an hour and a half at the pier. The pier is quite a fascinating place to spend some time as there is constant comings and goings from it. It seems most of the tour boats have their own zodiacs, so I saw a variety of tours coming and going. While I, at times, was dealing with language barriers, I was also really glad that all of my tours were in really small groups - which was not always the case with boat tours.
Finally our boat arrived and we were off to Floreana. It´s pretty far from Santa Cruz and the 2.5 hours on the speed boat was rough for most of the people. Luckily it didn´t effect me and I spent most of the time chatting with the husband of a couple from Texas. Finally we were at Floreana and after seeing a bit of the island it was snorkeling time! More sea lions (woot!), another turtle and some great fish. After snorkeling we went onto the island where about 140 people live. It was originally settled by pirates and then settled by a German family escaping from Germany in the 1930s. We heard all about the history and it was really interesting to see the small town.
It was a long day when I got back, and after dinner I went straight to bed.
Day 5
Day five was another early one. I was sitting outside my hotel at 5 am ready to go. The bus picked us up and drove us across the island to a rather swanky looking boat which was going to take us to Bartolome. There were lounge chairs and lots of space to stretch out on top of the boat. I met a girl from Germany who was also traveling on her own and we spent much of the 3 hour tranquil trip out to Bartolome talking.
Once we arrived at Bartolome it was a hike up an inactive volcano with frequent stops for pictures and to learn more about the history of the flora and fauna of the island. After hiking it was in the water we went, and poof, more sea lions! For some of the others on our trip it was there first time seeing sea lions, so it was fun to watch how excited they were. While I was watching one sea lion, I saw a large swoosh go by - it was pelican diving for a fish. Later we saw 4 penguins, which was my first time seeing penguins in the water. They were adorable!
After snorkeling it was lunch on the boat and then a very relaxing 3 hours back. I took advantage of the sun and the lounge chairs and got in a snooze before we arrived back to Santa Cruz.
Soinya, who I had met on the boat, had dinner and some drinks together, which was a lovely way to end my last day on Santa Cruz.
Day 6
Day 6 I spent the morning with Julio and Andreas. Andreas was another tourist from Austria. We went to check out the volcanic tubes which you can crawl through. Then it was up to the highlands to go walking with some Tortoises.
In the afternoon it was another long speedboat ride over to San Cristobol. I was met by Manilo, a son of the owner of the hotel I was staying at. He took me to my room and then I quickly changed so we could get in some snorkeling before sunset. He took me to lobos beach, which true to it´s name was packed with sea lions. Luckily we had the beach to ourselves (other than our many furry friends) and we hopped into the water. As soon as we were in, sea lions were swimming all around us trying to figure out what on earth we were doing. The current was quite strong, so we swam hard to make it out to some deeper water. We were snorkeling around when I heard Manilo call my name. I swam over to him to find an enormous turtle swimming around under him. We swam with the turtle for a while, every so often being interrupted by jealous sea lions who wanted our attention. As it started to get dark, we swam back to shore and headed home. His friend hadn´t come to pick us up so we decided to walk home. The walk home took about 25 minutes and I managed to spend the whole time chatting with Manilo in Spanish. I was very impressed with myself.
That evening I went down to the pier, which was also filled with sea lions. There was a wooden fence that was supposed to keep people from walking out onto the sand with sea lions. Unfortunately the sea lions didn´t realize this and many hand crawled under the fence and draped themselves over the benches that were supposed to be for the humans to sit and watch the sea lions.
Day 7
My last full day in the Galapagos - que lastimo! There were 30 school children on their winter break staying at the hotel, so I joined them and with two guides we split up into two boats for a day of snorkeling. We went about 2 hours out in the speed boat and toured around three different islands, snorkeling at each island. It was great to spend most of my last day in the water seeing more sea lions (of course), turtles, and many, many fish! The kids were all around 12 and it was funny to see them get so excited over the sea lions and to watch the basic pandemonium that is 30 school children in the water.
Day 8
I spent the morning with a guided tour of the Galapagos information center. We learned all about how the different animals have evolved as well as how each of the islands was settled. It was a quick morning and then off to the airport for Quito.
I decided to do a land tour, as it was less pricey, but it still encompassed some island hopping so I´d still be able to see quite a bit.
Day 1
Day one was spent flying to Baltra (originally a US military base but now an Ecuadorian military base), a quick ferry ride to Santa Cruz and then a 3.5 hour speed boat ride over to Isabella. I arrived at Isabella and was greeted by Pablo, who would be my guide for the next day and a half. He took me to drop my stuff off at the hotel and then we went to the Tortoise breeding center. He walked me through the center and in very good English explained all about the Tortoises. He showed me the beach and then walked me around town, which was all of about 4 blocks. Back at the hotel he explained that he would pick me up tomorrow for a day of horseback riding, a tour of the volcano, and then snorkeling.
Day 2
The next day Pablo came as promised and we, along with a family consisting of a mom and dad, their three adult children, one of the girl´s husband and her 2 year old son set off. The family was super friendly. They were all Ecuadorian but the mother, father, son, and one daughter had recently moved to New Jeresy.
When we arrived to the start of our trek, we were all placed on horses (I made sure to ask for a ¨muy tranquilo¨one). From there it was about 3 hours on horses up to the volcano. You start out in the rain forest and it was quite muddy, so I was a bit concerned about my horse, Valle. But Valle was a champ and took everything very slowly, so while we slide a bit at times, he always kept his balance.
It was a very hot hour and a half walk around the volcanoes, but it was fascinating. We saw the second biggest crater in the world and learned all about the forming of the Galapagos. It was then another 3 hours down the mountain on the horses.
As soon as we were back at the hotel, I changed into my bathing suit and Pablo took me snorkeling. We went to the dock and got a boat just for the two of us. We went on a tour of the small island right around the pier. To avoid a large group of snorkelers, we opted to walk around the white tip shark island first. It was iguana convention with iguanas EVERYWHERE stacked on top of each other. Pablo laughed at my hesitance to walk around them, but they would usually scatter once you came close. We were lucky enough to see one shark, although he speed by pretty fast.
From there we went to a different snorkeling sight where it was just the two of us. There were some great fish to see, including a couple of large parrot fish. I got in the water before Pablo and about two minutes later I saw this large swoosh of gray go by me. At first I thought it was Pablo - but then I realized it was a sea lion! Later two more came over to play around us and then a fourth came by to check us out. It was the first time I had ever been in the water with sea lions and it was thrilling. They are really curious and they like to get very close next to you. It was some of the most incredible snorkeling I´d ever done.
Day 3
The next morning I was out the door by 5:30 am to catch a speed boat over to Santa Cruz. Antonio met me and took me to my room. Antonio explained that he would be shuttling me around between meals and activities, however the one thing was that Antonio spoke no English.
That morning Julio and his friend took me around the Tortoise breeding center there. Their English was not as good as Pablo´s so I tried to read all of the signs they had posted. They seem to tag team the trip where one would go spotting for tortoises and then when they found some, the other one would bring me over to check them out and then vice versa. I saw a lot of formal tours go by in groups of 20 plus and while I knew they were getting a far better education, I really enjoyed my more personal service.
I took a quick nap and then it was time for a lunch followed by a boat tour. The boat tour was to Bahia.
Even though I had been promised English speaking guides, our captain spoke only Spanish. Luckily there was a mother with her teenage daughter who were originally Ecuadorian but now lived in New Hampshire and they could translate for me. We took a tour around a few islands and then stopped for some snorkeling. There were sea lions galore as well as many fish, and then right before it was time to go in a turtle passed under me!
From there we went to another island where there was a short hike to more swimming and then it was back on the boat and back to the hotel.
Our last stop was the Tunnel of Love. Legend has it that two went in but three came out. We were 9 when we went in and we came out 9. Very disappointing. After asking ¨Donde esta los chicos caliente?¨ and getting some crazy looks from the others on the ship, the American/Ecuadorian woman realized that what i was trying to say was ¨Donde esta los hombres guapos?¨ Apparently chicos caliente translates literally and she had a good laugh the rest of the way back wondering where the hot men were.
Day 4
Day four was an all day tour of Floreana. Antonio and I had breakfast together and then he took me over to the pier for our boat. There was some sort of confusion with the boat, that I´m sure if I spoke better Spanish I would have understood - but the bottom line was I ended up waiting an hour and a half at the pier. The pier is quite a fascinating place to spend some time as there is constant comings and goings from it. It seems most of the tour boats have their own zodiacs, so I saw a variety of tours coming and going. While I, at times, was dealing with language barriers, I was also really glad that all of my tours were in really small groups - which was not always the case with boat tours.
Finally our boat arrived and we were off to Floreana. It´s pretty far from Santa Cruz and the 2.5 hours on the speed boat was rough for most of the people. Luckily it didn´t effect me and I spent most of the time chatting with the husband of a couple from Texas. Finally we were at Floreana and after seeing a bit of the island it was snorkeling time! More sea lions (woot!), another turtle and some great fish. After snorkeling we went onto the island where about 140 people live. It was originally settled by pirates and then settled by a German family escaping from Germany in the 1930s. We heard all about the history and it was really interesting to see the small town.
It was a long day when I got back, and after dinner I went straight to bed.
Day 5
Day five was another early one. I was sitting outside my hotel at 5 am ready to go. The bus picked us up and drove us across the island to a rather swanky looking boat which was going to take us to Bartolome. There were lounge chairs and lots of space to stretch out on top of the boat. I met a girl from Germany who was also traveling on her own and we spent much of the 3 hour tranquil trip out to Bartolome talking.
Once we arrived at Bartolome it was a hike up an inactive volcano with frequent stops for pictures and to learn more about the history of the flora and fauna of the island. After hiking it was in the water we went, and poof, more sea lions! For some of the others on our trip it was there first time seeing sea lions, so it was fun to watch how excited they were. While I was watching one sea lion, I saw a large swoosh go by - it was pelican diving for a fish. Later we saw 4 penguins, which was my first time seeing penguins in the water. They were adorable!
After snorkeling it was lunch on the boat and then a very relaxing 3 hours back. I took advantage of the sun and the lounge chairs and got in a snooze before we arrived back to Santa Cruz.
Soinya, who I had met on the boat, had dinner and some drinks together, which was a lovely way to end my last day on Santa Cruz.
Day 6
Day 6 I spent the morning with Julio and Andreas. Andreas was another tourist from Austria. We went to check out the volcanic tubes which you can crawl through. Then it was up to the highlands to go walking with some Tortoises.
In the afternoon it was another long speedboat ride over to San Cristobol. I was met by Manilo, a son of the owner of the hotel I was staying at. He took me to my room and then I quickly changed so we could get in some snorkeling before sunset. He took me to lobos beach, which true to it´s name was packed with sea lions. Luckily we had the beach to ourselves (other than our many furry friends) and we hopped into the water. As soon as we were in, sea lions were swimming all around us trying to figure out what on earth we were doing. The current was quite strong, so we swam hard to make it out to some deeper water. We were snorkeling around when I heard Manilo call my name. I swam over to him to find an enormous turtle swimming around under him. We swam with the turtle for a while, every so often being interrupted by jealous sea lions who wanted our attention. As it started to get dark, we swam back to shore and headed home. His friend hadn´t come to pick us up so we decided to walk home. The walk home took about 25 minutes and I managed to spend the whole time chatting with Manilo in Spanish. I was very impressed with myself.
That evening I went down to the pier, which was also filled with sea lions. There was a wooden fence that was supposed to keep people from walking out onto the sand with sea lions. Unfortunately the sea lions didn´t realize this and many hand crawled under the fence and draped themselves over the benches that were supposed to be for the humans to sit and watch the sea lions.
Day 7
My last full day in the Galapagos - que lastimo! There were 30 school children on their winter break staying at the hotel, so I joined them and with two guides we split up into two boats for a day of snorkeling. We went about 2 hours out in the speed boat and toured around three different islands, snorkeling at each island. It was great to spend most of my last day in the water seeing more sea lions (of course), turtles, and many, many fish! The kids were all around 12 and it was funny to see them get so excited over the sea lions and to watch the basic pandemonium that is 30 school children in the water.
Day 8
I spent the morning with a guided tour of the Galapagos information center. We learned all about how the different animals have evolved as well as how each of the islands was settled. It was a quick morning and then off to the airport for Quito.
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