Day 87 - Flight from Galapagos to Guayaquil

This was transport day with lots of short legs as we head back to Guayaquil from Galapagos. 

This is a one hour bus trip, then a ten minute boat ride to the airport island, then a short bus to the airport, where we stayed for an hour waiting to bord the packed flight. We got home on time and lost an hour flying east. We then returned to the hotel, and took a few minutes taking photos of our bikes for the Colombia bike pass, then for the export back to Australia. 

We had room service which we have not done on this trip!

Day 86 - Second Galapagos Day - Darwin Centre and Highland Tortoises

This was our second full day on Galapagos, and our first excusion before lunch was to the Charles Darwin research centre. Here they are focussed on breeding the tortoises from the various islands. 

An average tortoise lives between 120 and 170 years, but thousands were killed for food in the 1800's reducing the population from about 400,000 to less than a quarter of that now. There are fifteen different species, most from different islands, with one of those now extinct since the last died in 2012. 

So breeding is a big deal. They collect the eggs from the ground a few days after they are buried by the the tortoises. This stops dogs and pigs digging them up and destroying them. They are taken to the research centre and incubated very carefully using a hair dryer to keep the incubators in order! They are kept at 28 degrees for males and 29.5 degrees for females. The photos show the small tortoises at a few weeks old, then some months and years. They are kept very well protected as there is a strong market for stolen tortoises, at about US$25,000 a piece! A local gang comprising conservators, police and customs agents was recently caught and jailed for their theft. 

Probably the most interesting feature is that the tortoises have developed over time to suit the island that they come from, so studying them is key for the Centre. One called "George" in my pictures died in 2012 and has been to the taxidermist in the USA, as he is the last specimen of that species, having been reared and looked after by a local ranger for 40 years. He was estimated at 170 years old. 

After lunch together at the Bhia Mar again, we caught a bus up to the highlands to see three things. The first was two large sunken holes or collapsed tunnels. The second was to a long lava tube about 400m in length on private property, requiring a steep step entrance, and a small squeeze midway through the tunnel. At higher sections, the roof was about 20m high and was quite impressive. 

The third, was an extension to the farm, with lots of large tortoises on it. They were fascinating to see in their natural environment as they are so famous on Galapagos, but didn't do much for me - just an interesting curiosity. So we took a bunch of photos of course. 

We drove back to the village and had a delightful but overly filling dinner at Isla Restaurant, with the sandy floor. We also did some clothes shopping!

Day 85 - First day Boating at Galapagos

For our first full day at Galapagos, we had been promised a full days activity on the water, and this it turned out to be. At first we thought we would be sharing a power boat with six others, but in fact had it to ourselves. We all met at the dock, a short walk from the hotel, where many others were lining up at their boats in the warm sunshine. Our power boat was about 30 feet with three outboards, two larger ones being a Suzuki and a Yamaha and a back-up outboard. 

We took off out of the harbour, and headed east to Santa Fe island. The first snorkeling spot was near to a rocky shore, we reached about an hour after leaving. There were many birds on the rocks and a mass of fish in the sea. We had a delightful time snorkeling, and I managed to get some good video of a single sea lion as he swam around me. 

We moved onto another site, where there was a beach in a quiet bay, and other boats showed up too, but the water was very clear and fairly cool. We all got in, and Sheryle and others climbed out fairly quickly, but I went on with the guide and tried to video lots of sea lions, but ended up with a bunch of stills instead! I did manage to get some shots of a white tipped shark and a sole turtle. (Note that there are both tortoises and turtles on Galapagos, the latter in the water, the former on land).

At this same spot we had managed to catch a small yellow-fin tuna on the way in and the crew soon turned this into sashimi and some cooked tuna for lunch along with salad. Top day. 

The last stop was back on "quite beach" through a small wavy bar, on the home island of Santa Cruz, about 15 minutes from port. It was a top day.

Sheryle and I then went for dinner at Bahia Mar, and excellent local restaurant.

Day 84 - Flight from Guayaquil to Galapagos - Tortuga Bay

In a well organised train of events, cars, taxis and boats we travelled out to the airport at Guayaquil as a group, and flew with LATAM (now linked to Delta not QANTAS) to Galapagos for a three day visit. The flight is about an hour and a half almost due west, and lands on the old military airstrip built by the Americans during the second world war, to protect the Panama Canal. The airstrip is on the island of Baltra, one of seven major islands in the group, there being a total of 13 reasonable sized islands. There is then about 150 smaller ones and isolated rocks making up the archipelago. Some say a total of 330 islands and rocks exist. 

From the airport, we took a short bus ride to the canal or channel that links to the second largest island, being Santa Cruz, where we took a five minute taxi-boat ride to the main island, then an hour on the bus to the town and port of Puerto Ayora. This place is small but magnificent, being well organised and clean with dozens of small local shops and restaurants, effectively looking after the visitors only. The population of Galapagos is about 64,000 and no one else, including other Ecuadorians are allowed to live here. Their aim is to keep it as natural as possible and extreme lengths are taken to make this happen, such as a fully self supporting eco-airport. Another example is that almost all of the water is made via osmosis, either from the sea or waste.

We stopped at our small and delightful hotel called Acacia, which is about 50 metres from the main shopping strip. Our room was large and had a nice view over the port. The people here were also very helpful through our full stay and made custom breakfasts for us each day. 

After a short break, we took a bus to the National Park at Tortuga Bay, where Charles Darwin's "Beagle" first anchored. The walk in is about 2.2km with another 1km to a "quite beach" where we swam, with quite a few other people. The walk is along a fully manufactured stone trail, as this area is full of loose volcanic stones, and used to be a day's walk just to reach the beach The main beach was out of bounds for swimming, but the sea was very stable with small even waves and we were so tempted. 

We walked the length of the beach in quite peace, despite a number of other visitors. At the small calm bay beyond, we swam, believing that this was the actual beach at which Darwin came ashore, looking for water and supplies. They were in the Galapagos for just seven weeks. It was here that he developed the theory that formed the basis of his book "The Origin of the Species". This is often reflected as a theory of evolution, but in fact his thesis was that animals that adapt to change (rather than being the fastest, smartest of toughest) will survive. 

There are dozens of examples on these islands. We saw many locals including pelicans, frigate birds, marine iguanas and many others. It was simply extraordinary. 

Others stayed a while, but we walked back, and then into town a few kilometres. We had a shower and went to a recommended restaurant on the water called Bahia Mah, where I had a first class steak for probably the first time on this trip. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and the exercise.

Day 83 - Cuenca to Guyaquil

Cuenca is JC's home town. He was born here and lived here until he was five, then again when he was 8 to 10, then moved to the USA when he was 13, by crossing the border and walking into the desert from Mexico. His mother lives in Cuenca and he went to visit her when he arrived. Cuenca is also a gloriously pretty and clean town, in particular compared to anywhere in Peru. Crossing into Ecuador was so stunningly different from Peru, and this town highlighted it with magnificent parks, mowed lawns, clean streets and well appointed houses. We were delighted. 

Our day started in the small but very neat hotel called La Casona, when we all piled into Willy's truck and headed down to the BMW Dealer at Challuabamba, one of six in Ecuador. They had done the service on our bikes overnight and were out testing them and getting them washed - my bike has not been so clean since it was new! The service was also excellent and a very fair price. They replaced my spark plugs, the oil and filter, air filter, and also all brake pads for the two front disks and rear. The difference in performance and smoothness was particularly noticeable, and I was very pleased. Our route out of town head up a very winding road on a nearby hill and Ned Meisner, the new rider joined us until the coffee stop on his new Suzuki adventure bike. It was a true cafe and the coffee was very good, and hopefully will continue to improve as we head north towards Colombia. 

The road continued up-hill but I was unable to stop at the "mirador" or lookout as a truck was parked across the entrance, and to make it worse a very heavy fog came down, which really slowed us down as we headed down the hill on generally good roads, trying to avoid the occasional pothole. We were heading to Guayaquil a port town on the Guayas River, and therefore reknowned as a drug smuggling port. We stopped after 200km at a Wyndham Hotel on the waterfront and then Sheryle and I went for a long walk along the waterfront and a ride in the local Poma Cabin lift across the river. We were warned not to wander too far out of the area, as "it's not safe" but it seemed very reasonable to us, at least around the hotel.

Tomorrow we fly to Glapagos, something we have waited on, for many years.

Day 82 - Entering Ecuador from Peru

We had enjoyed our short break on the beach at Mancora but had were glad to head out of Peru and into Ecuador. We had spent plenty of time in Peru and despite its wonders, we had had enough of the trash on the back roads and some of the more disorganised hotels. It is such a country of contrasts.

We decided to rise before dawn and leave very early. The hotel people provided coffee and bread and butter but no toaster or jam or fruit, but we all knew we needed to eat something, so did and were glad of it. 

It was 140 kilometres to the border, and sensibly the Peruvian and Ecuadorian governments share buildings for both entry and exit. Exit was easy, but the border officials said that we could not enter Ecuador without a certified certificate saying that we had not criminal records for five years! Obviously it would be easy to create one, but getting the "stamp" would be a challenge. The purpose of this extended rule was to keep villains from Peru and other countries out of Ecaudorian Cartel Gangs. We were very deflated, but eventually the manager came over and asked if we were riding motos (motorcycles) and we said yes, and so he made an exception. JC was very pleased as you can imagine. 

So after a couple of hours we crossed, but a German couple were so incensed with the rules that they turned back! I'm not sure what world you are in when you piss off Government Officials!

We rode another 80 km and were joined by JC's cousin, Edwin who was riding a brand new Honda TransAlp motorcycle and he escorted us into the town of Cuenca, which is truly beautiful, after a stop for a soup lunch which we all enjoyed. The roads here have large humps in them and some areas of gravel disturbance created by geological movements, which are worth watching out for as you round a corner.

We went straight to the BMW Dealer here, and the others to the hotel La Cascona. I have now ridden more than 20,000 km on my bike and it needs another service most urgently. I will also get the rear brake pads replaced (as I am carrying spares from Australi), but decided to continue with the excellent Michelin Adventure tyres for the moment.  The visit to the Dealer was interesting as they had our bikes on the hoists in seconds and were draining oil and replacing filters very quickly. My bike is filthy. 

Ned Meisner who is the new person joining us for the last 12 days, lives here in Cuenca, but is an American citizen. He invited us to his home for dinner to meet us, and we were a little unsure of this, but he provided first class Japanese Sushi and a hamburger for Paul which was a delightful surprise. Edwin and his girlfriend turned up too, and all in all it was a good evening. We travelled by taxi back to the hotel, and paid with US dollars as they are the currency for Equador. 

Day 81 - On the Beach at Mancora (not Punta Sol)

We are valuing our rest days highly, particularly when they are at the beach! As you can see from the photos below, we have a delightful position, with our room on the ground floor, a nice pool outside which we have used repeatedly and a long beach along which we can walk with ease, but dodging the horse riders and fishermen. 

There are many hotels and bungalows along this section, maybe 50 in all, but almost all have few if any guests. Covid restrictions and the social unrest has reduced the numbers here, but also there is no airport near by, and a gravel road out the back of all the hotels does not excite international visitors generally. Still it is a beautiful spot. 

We decided to walk to the town which took about an hour, and was delightful. However being Sunday, not much was open, and we were chased by touts everywhere. One was particularly loud after we did not respond to his question about which country we came from. Also, no one has espresso coffee (I am guessing due to the cost of a machine) but thems the breaks.  We caught a tuk tuk home for about two dollars, driven very slowly by a young lady. Tuk tuk racing is unlikey to have the same impact here as in Phuket!

We swam again and I swam in the sea, with a little surf. There was a young man on a board here, from Lima and he had been in Sydney which he loved. For Peruvians, getting a visa to visit Australia is quite a challenge unless you have assets and a job in Peru.  The waves were small but powerful and I caught a few in body surfing mode and ended up right on the beach which was just great. 

My sore tooth is still sore, but anti-biotics seem to be helping a little and I am hopeful it will be repaired by tomorrow as we head across the border into Ecuado and to Cuenca, home of the sombrero and maker of the best Panama Hats from natural materials. I will also get my bike serviced as we have now passed 20,000 kilometres of riding with about four thousand to go.