Big day today, the border crossing! AKA one epic faff. I naively assumed there'd be a cash point (didn't work) or an exchange place (non existent) when I got to Ecuador. Gagh. I had to find a cambio man and make sure the dollars were real, not making the classic car booty fail. Once in Quito I attempted to navigate the local bus system. ERROR. But, 5 buses, 3 taxis and 12 hours later I arrived at my hostel.
Which was one of the worst hostels I've ever been to. My "room" has a tin roof, there's cold showers - it ain't no Caribbean coast temperates. It [Vibes hostel] was recommended to me by some guys I met briefly, who must've hated me. I met some cool people though and had an Ecuadorian dinner/tea not before asking the owner if he had any recommendations,"There's some s*** round the corner." Cheers mate.
I didn't go out out as later got a lovely bout of food poisoning and spent most of the night throwing up. Not fun on a top bunk. Nor was it sitting next to the bathroom as a couple were getting friendly at 5am in the communal lounge. Well glad to hear someone's having fun. Oh and my airline have sent me an email to say my flight to Galápagos has been cancelled. Whaaa.
Día veinticuatro, Quito
Today was a right off. After getting the gossip about the night before and sorting out my Galápagos flight I moved to another hostel (Revolution). Which was, thankfully, heavenly. I slept under one of those cosy Bolivian blankets most of the day and a bunch of us watched a film- Mazerunners (I'm still confused about this btw) but just what I needed.
Día veinticinco, Quito
Feeling lots better phew, though nothing a few local buses can't help bring back the queasy feeling. Me and Katharine (a girl I met on Friday) go to the Equator! It was a mish to get to and a bit of an anticlimax but we had a laugh. There's an impressive monument, Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) dedicated to the French expedition that in 1736 deemed it latitude 0° 0’ 0. Then with the advent of GPS turns out the real spot is 240m north of here.... awkward.
Tomorrow s***s going down as I'm going to the Galápagos aghh!
Día veintiseis, Quito to Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands
I'm up at 4am for my flight. SO excited! It's like a mini holiday within a holiday. You have to pay $120 at the airports before you've even done anything. Eeshh. This is a huge tour/cruise place so I feel like a tramp with my backpack. The taxi driver can't find where I'm staying and I may have come close to tears and suddenly he calls his pals and found it. Being an emotional wreck certainly does come in handy in some situations.
I've lots to cram in in five days but a guy I met did me an itinerary which was SO helpful so I waste no time in going to Tortuga Bay (Tortuga=turtle in Espanõl) The 45 minute walk there was bizarre, it was so noisy. Birds and lizards everywhere. I was baffled as I've never been anywhere in the world where birds don't fly away if you go near them apart from the scally ones (pigeons and seagulls). The wildlife own this place more than I like to own a dancefloor.
Once I get to the Tortuga Bay it's surreal, glowing blue sea and sky, and white sand. I stumbled across a fat old marine iguana and got so excited then I saw about thirty of them under a tree. Round the corner I see... Nowt. Clue is in the title of this beach right?!! No turtles anywhere. Hmmmff. Yeah it's a gorge beach and I have a cheeky swim but whatevs I wanna see a turtle.
Día veintisiete, Santa Cruz y Isabela island
Up bright and early and off to Ranchas di Primisia, a turtle ranch. Or tortoises, I'm not sure what the difference is. If I don't see Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo and/or Michaelangelo I'm kicking off. I get a taxi there and they wait for you or to come back but this bloke is dead friendly and just comes with me, fair enough, I'm pretty cool. We don wellies and go trudging round in the mud and jackpot, turtles!! Some are smaller (females) but my fave is huge and having a nap. My taxi man, Angel (apparently a standard South American name- they must love Buffy here) tells me he's probs 110 years old and about 230kgs! I also went to a lava tunnel which is pretty average and I'm not even sure if it's the right one, maybe he just wants to get back and catch up on Buffy episodes.
After I got a water-taxi or otherwise known as a boat (they do things like this to confuse people like me) and do quick hike (or longer if you get lost ahem) to Las Grietas - volcanic crevices where the porous stone allows water to filter down from the highlands so the water is lush. Really beautiful and refreshing to swim in after the sweaty walk to get there.
That afti I got a ferry to Isabela island. "Ferry" my arse. It was a tiny boat and you spend most of the 2 hour journey either feeling or being sick. Isabela island is the biggest one (and where the most recent volcanic eruption happened) but the town there is lovely- a lot smaller, less touristy and has sandy streets. I met lots of people that night and went a barbie on the beach. Which sounds cool but there were way too many hangry (hungry+angry) people for food and I had the tiniest pork sarnie at 10pm. The woman running it was off her rocker and that night got her first two tattoos from a random bloke there so probably shouldn't have trusted she was the best host.
Día veintiocho, Isabela
I did a day tour to Los Tuneles (the tunnels- my Spanish is getting good). We got a boat to huge lava rock formations with cacti on, perfect for blue footed boobies to nest (birds but I still giggle at this every time). We go to an area to snorkel and jump off the boat and everyone's swimming like flipping dolphins. Me on the other hand who last did snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef in I think 2007? I'm just flapping about. My flippers appear to be preventing me from swimming and I basically go blind, choke and drown in sea water every time I try to snorkel. Some bloke takes pity on me and shows me what to do and I've soon got the hang of it, phew. The water is shallow and I see lots of beautiful fish and straight away huge SEA TURTLES! I didn't have a camera as only brought my phone here but I loved it so much and took in the experience more rather than trying to get the perfect video/photo. We also saw a seahorse and a penguin, but no one goes to the aquarium for a seahorse. The guide took us to a cave and he pushes you under the cave and I see about FOUR sharks. YES!! This is what I'm talking about. They're white-tipped and don't bite in case you're thinking I'm hard as. As I was swimming round the other side of the cave a shark swam past me!! I'm buzzing after this.
That afti a bunch of us chilled at the beach and everyone gets excited about sea lions which I think are pretty ugly and slimy. Are they in the UK as I'm pretty sure I've seen loads before?! I also had a few cocktails because y'know, I almost got eaten alive by a shark today.
Día veintinueve, Isabela to Santa Cruz
I decide to do my own thing and go explore and hire a mountain bike. The bloke at the shop tells me the straight forward route and how to work a bike, pfft I'm all good ta. Off I go and the bloke comes after me on his moped(?!) to tell me I've gone the wrong way through the gears and I'm about to turn the wrong way. Good one Soph. Once on the right path I go to a turtle breeding centre. As they used to be hunted and the introduction of humans along with goats, donkeys, dogs, cats killing them, they also breed them in captivity to keep the population going. I hear a really weird loud groaning noise and see two mating. Ha! Then I cycled to a lake and saw bright pink flamingos! Like real life Flamingo Land without getting eaten by wasps! (A theme park in north east England in case you're not lucky enough to have been.)
Then I do the cycle route through the beach, wetlands and forest. It takes a good few hours and it's mainly uphill but there was lots of small paths that take you to various wildlife bits. Near the end there's a load of steps you can climb up. I was a mountain of sweat after cycling in the heat but the view was well worth it. I felt insignificant amongst the never-ending sea of green and I have one of those moments where you think life is pretty sweet.
At the end of my cycle route is the the Wall of Tears built 1945-1959 by prisoners in the penal colony on the island, many died during it's construction. Bit dark. But I saw a turtle too! The way back was SO much fun. Basically all downhill and impossible to stick to the 20mph speed limit. Rebel innit. I don't think I killed any rare species en route anyway.
I got a boat back to Santa Cruz (the main island), and at the lovely lodge I stayed at the first night and my new mate I made on Isabela, Juan from Madrid, is next door. He's hilarious so it's nice to spend my last night in the Galápagos having a good laugh and gossip.
Día treinta, Galápagos to Quito
I have just enough time to visit the Charles Darwin research centre and see the other iguana species native to Galápagos which were a yellowy orange. I also visited Los Gemelos, two giant volcanic craters. I was so sad to leave as I've barely scratched the surface of this magical, heavenly, beautiful place ... AND I finally have a tan!! Gah. I think the gods took my wish too literally as my flight was delayed and I was stuck at the tiny airport for five hours. Blugh. I read a good book though (Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed) and balled my eyes out in the airport.
Día treinta y uno, Quito to Baños
I want to see a bit more of Ecuador so along with a German couple I met get on a bus south from Quito to a town called Baños. No not named after toilets as I thought but called baths from all the thermal springs. I met some lovely Canadian girls, Mel and Cass, in my room as well as two lads who were the real life Dumb and Dumber. Fresh out of boarding school on a gap yah and had the common sense of a potato. They wanted to know how to ask for tap water (not necessary unless you want a dodgy belly), didn't know who Che Guevara was, asked us the same inane questions and when I told them don't put your small bags under your seat on the bus met with a look of confusion, "People WILL steal your stuff" ... "Really, but we've got a lock"... "Yeah, they have knives. Also looks like you've got something to steal." Pretty sure they will be on the news soon accidentally smuggling coke because they thought it was flour.
Día treinta y dos, Baños
Baños is the adventure town of Ecuador and Cassie and Mel are keen to do some ziplining so I tag along. None of us really know what it entails but I'm imagining ziplining round some trees. I wasn't imagining an enormous canyon and hurtling towards a cliff face at 80mph but it was so much fun. Then things got weird. We had to walk across a suspension bridge which was had big gaps between the steps. I was terrified but slowly did it despite a guide jumping on the other end making it sway. You can make out on the video me smiling through gritted teeth saying I will kill this bloke. Then we have to do "a short climb" to the next zipline. Now when someone says climb I'm thinking a hike, NOT climbing up a f***ing cliff face with metal rings on for 20 metres. I had to do some proper yoga breaths to get through this. Cassie was first and I was second, at the end we've a few steps to go and she summed the whole experience up perfectly, "So... today has escalated quickly." I laugh deliriously and my heart is racing like I've had five jägerbombs. Never have I craved a G&T so much by 11am.
That afternoon we get a taxi to the edge of the world swing - a treehouse with a swing on with a mountainous view. The swing isn't quite as safe as I thought and the treehouse is actually at the edge of a steep hill so if you did fall off it wouldn't be pretty but after this morning nothing's fazing me. We were naughty and went on it twice it was so much fun.
Día treinta y tres, Baños to Quito
It's raining cats and dogs, so what better excuse to gatecrash Cass and Mel's plans to go a spa. Once we arrive the bloke first have to do a walk around the grounds barefoot with various instructions to get rid of negative energy- scream at the hills, hold hands and then hug it out. It sounded really wanky but it turned out to be a good laugh. Then we got in steam boxes, literally a box with steam and you leave your head out. We didn't have our cossies with us so they lent us some that I think had been made for 12 year olds and put on 100degree wash so the only thing that made it less relaxing was coming close to flashing a bum cheek and/or nipple. Every 5 minutes you get out and have buckets of ice cold water thrown over you and get in an ice cold bath. Brrrr. After we had lovely hot stone massages and definitely don't feel like I'm backpacking though it´s a fraction of what it'd cost at home.
That afternoon we bussed it back to Quito and I met up with my mate Owen finally!
Día treinta y cuatro, Baños to Quito
So Owen has already done a few things and neither of us were sure what to do in Quito so go up the Teleferico (the cable car). It had a depressingly empty theme park and at the top you could do a volcano walk but neither of us can be arsed. That afti we brave the markets and attempt to buy pressies for our families but instead end up buying huge alpaca blankets. Whoops. This should be fun cramming it in my already full backpack. We had a lazy night and watched a Liam Neeson film- Non-stop which was fun but defied a lot of logic and physics.
Día treinta y cinco, Quito to Bogota
Owen is off to the Galapagos islands (well jeal) so I do a walking tour of Quito which is pretty cool. I do zone out a bit and my main memory was the 19th century Ecuadorian president was killed by machetes for shagging some bloke's wife. We went to the food market and I finally had cerviche here which was delish! Then I fly back to Bogota via Viva Colombia (owned by RyanAir) who charge me $15 to check in and hand make me a boarding pass. I arrived to my hostel though and I'm reunited with a towel I lost here on my first day in Colombia ohh yeah!
Día treinta y cinco, Bogota to London baby
So it's my last day!! Let's hope I don't jinx it and get robbed or kidnapped in my last few hours here. I haven't been away long and whilst I'm sad to come back I'm looking forward to wearing make up, not staying in a Homer Simpson sunken in bunk bed and eating something other than plantain.
Ta to everyone for reading and thanks to everyone I've met along the way who've made my time so much more fun. I'm so glad I made a trip to the magical Galápagos Islands... even though I first had no idea they were part of Ecuador (pretty sure I should get a refund on my geography degree.)
Ciao amigos X
For more photos and the tortoise mating video if you're as mature as me my Instagram is @sophiebennett1
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