GALAPAGOS ISLANDS & PERU

After finishing my last weekend in Montanita I headed down to Guayaquil with three friends from the Spanish school. We had been told Guayaquil (Ecuador’s largest city) was not very interesting so we got there Sunday evening and left the following morning. We were all more less going in separate directions following Guayaquil so once again I was back on the road solo, headed towards the Galapagos Islands. I was able to leave my surfboard in the hostel’s storage space since it would have been a hassle to bring the board with me on the plane/boats on the Galapagos. I would pick it up a week later upon my return to mainland Ecuador. On the flight were a bunch of tourists, especially alot of families and older travelers. Getting to the Galapagos and seeing everything there is to see requires a pretty hefty budget, thus the reason for the lack of younger/budget travelers.  My justification for deciding to go the Galapagos was mainly based off my proximity already to these islands. Being relatively close to one of the largest ecosystem diversities in the world and why Charles Darwin spent so much time here, justified my detour to these islands.

Tasty airplane snacks

The start of the Galapagos islands

Upon arrival to Baltra Island where the main airport is, the climate was very desert-like and arid. To get to Puerto Ayora, the main city on the Galapagos, I had to take a 10 min bus, followed by a 10 min ferry, followed by a 1 hour taxi. By the time I arrived in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, I had gone through a desert climate, a rainy jungle like atmosphere, followed by this seaside port town. A pretty big variety in environments already….

 

The next day I was off to Isla Santa Fe, a 2 hour boat ride from the main island. Most of the morning was spent doing some snorkeling, seeing the infamous blue footed boobies and a bunch of sea lions and seals. 

The sea lion did not seem to like me

He definitely did not like me

The snorkeling was followed by rice and Ceviche for lunch (a mix of chopped up fish, lemon juice, onions, tomatoes and seasoning). We then did a quick hike on a deserted beach and saw a whole colony of marine lizards. Our 2 hour boat ride back to the main island included a little snack of some freshly prepared barracuda sushi by the captain.

Barracuda sushi

  

I had to...

The next day consisted of checking out the Charles Darwin center, a ranch with Giant Tortoises (Tortugas), and Tortuga beach. The tortoises were very impressive to see with weights reaching up to 400 kg (880 lbs) and ages up to 170 years old! That means some were born in the mid 1800s which is pretty amazing if you think about it.  I had lunch right next to Puerto Ayora’s main fish market. As you can see in the photo below, as the ladies were cutting up the fish to sell it to customers, there were about 10 pelicans and a seal ready to snatch the scraps of fish that she would throw out. As soon as one pelican would grab a piece of fish, the other 9 pelicans and seal would get pretty vicious and try to steal it from the first pelican. 

I think the guy was pissed off at the seal stealing all the fish he was going to buy

 

The final two days of my trip were spent on Isla Isabela, the largest island of the Galapagos, situated about 2 hrs by speed boat from Puerto Ayora. Upon arrival in the port on Isla Isabela, a ton of penguins and sea lions were swimming near the dock and flamingoes were hanging out in a nearby lagoon. With a few other people from the hostel we climbed the Cerro Negro volcano at 4500 ft. It was interesting to start the hike in a rainy jungle-like environment, followed by dry, desert conditions, and finishing on a trail consisting of volcanic rocks. A perfect example of the Galapagos Islands’ biodiversity.

The desert near the Cerro Negro Volcan

Isabela Island

As I flew back to mainland Ecuador, I had some time to contemplate on my week in the Galapagos. The variety of flora and fauna I got to see with my own eyes was something I’d likely experience in very few other places in the world. The preservation of this environment/ecosystems on the Galapagos is very impressive, but is one of the upsides to all the fees you have to pay to get on the islands. But I also concluded that after 2+ weeks of always having people to hang out with and talk to at the Spanish school in Montanita, it was strange going back into solo traveling mode on the Galapagos. I have to say although there are benefits to traveling solo such as having your own schedule and being able to make 100% of the decisions, I did miss the social interaction aspect of being in a group setting.

I was back in Guayaquil for an afternoon and night in the same hostel I had stayed in the previous week. I would be meeting up the next day with a friend from the Montanita Spanish school to do the 8 hr bus ride from Guayaquil to Mancora, Peru with. 

An Ecuadorian board bag

Upon checking into the hostel we quickly realized we were in the biggest party area of one of the biggest party towns in Peru, even on a Sunday night. Kiss goodbye trying to get a good night’s sleep after an 8 hr bus ride! The next morning I got my first surf in Peru where it was around 3-4 ft but really shallow so a lot of the rocks were exposed. I squeezed in an afternoon/sunset session as well where there were some really clean 5 footers coming in, ending my surf session in the dark.

The next morning I wanted to avoid the crowds so I was in the water a bit after 6 AM and got a solid 2 hr session in. Although Mancora had some fun waves, after talking with some locals, I decided I could score even better waves in Lobitos, a surf town 2 hrs south of Mancora. I was warned though that the water would be much colder, the winds a lot stronger, and in a much more remote area of Peru.  Lobitos consists of 7 points as can be seen on this map: http://surfinglobitos.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/lobitos-surfspots.jpg

That afternoon I surfed La Punta (see map) where it was around 6 ft but very crowded with everybody fighting for the take-off closest to the rocks. The hostel I stayed at had a perfect view of Generales (see map) and consisted of mostly Argentinean and Chilean surfers/travelers. The next day consisted of a morning and early afternoon session in 5-7 ft conditions.I haven't decided how long I will stay in Lobitos. I guess it depends mostly on the surf conditions, but I am shooting for being in Cuzco, Peru to do Machu Pichu by the end of the September. Stay tuned for the next blog entry!

One of the smaller waves of the day...

Cold barrels for breakfast in Lobitos