Happy 2016 from Beautiful Downtown Singapore!!

Well, we're back at it and sitting in downtown Singapore after a 30 hour travelling bout which began in an Ottawa snowstorm and ended up in 28 degree Singapore via Hong Kong!

We've already rang in the New Year, slept, and are beginning 2016, thirteen hours ahead of family and friends. Woot!!

Follow along...

Montañita, Ecuador

March 15, 2015

We wrapped up Galapagos nicely and are ready for some real R and R; no schedule, no planned trips, no crack of dawn rises, no airports, no hauling luggage, just hangin' on the beach and exploring, and that's exactly what we're doing. From Galapagos to Guayaquil by plane, and three hours by bus to our little town on the Pacific coast ($5.50 each), and a quick cab ride to the door, a whopping $1.50 fare.

Some had suggested that this may not be the best location as it's the surf capital of the country, but we must be in the low season as it's pretty laid back and calm and there really aren't that many people, except on weekends, which we prefer. We keep expecting Jimi Hendrix or Bob Marley to surface though, perhaps they're incognito, peddling their hash brownies on the beach.

Many of the 20-somethings here sport dreads and hang out on the beach all day long, running back and forth to the surf. We're bringing the average age up a tad but we're on a point at the far end of the beach which separates us from the neighbouring town of Olón and the beach there is fantastic, with horses and donkeys roaming at large and is a huge expanse of light sand and waves and awesome sunsets. A cab to Olón is $1.50, or our preferred mode of transportation, the bus, at 80 cents for two. We've made it there a few times and even overshot it on foot the first time and ended up in Curea, pronounced Korea. The kid at the bar didn't get it when Rainer told him he didn't look Korean. Of course, after a lengthy explanation in broken Spanish, jokes just don't seem to have the same oomph.

Cost of living is relatively low - our beachfront room is $38 (US) per night which includes breakfast, and although it's a common balcony, we pretty much have it to ourselves. 600mL cervezas are $1.25, a huge cup of red is $3, also good Thai and salmon! Shrimp are a dime a dozen so we're doing our best to take advantage of that, and you can get a standard meal of meat (chicken beef, pork), rice and beans for $3 to $3.50, which includes good soup and some kind of fruit juice.

We celebrated St. Paddy's at the beach bar next door, barefoot in the sand floor, two Canucks on guitar, reserved surfboard parking rack in the bar, dogs running the beach, waves crashing. Very different from our  customary haunts at home. Could get used to this.

The sign down the beach advertises 3 Bramhas for $5 - we thought they meant beer but shot a few pics of the bulls that wander down on different occasions, so perhaps the sign is multi-purpose.

Hangin' here till the 31st, with day side trips in the works...back to walking the sands....

Galapagos!

Travel ain't always what it's cracked up to be...

They say getting there is half the fun, or it is about the journey as much as the destination. Hard to believe when you are sitting in airports for hours on end, or bouncing in the back of a pickup truck on roads under construction or hanging onto your bags.

In case of transcending from the jungle over the Andes to Galapagos, it took two days of river running, bouncing buses, long waits in airports (four to be exact), an appearance by the Ecuadorean army (on their way to manouvers), fog and turbulence in Quito, a short ferry ride from one island to the next, and riding in the back of a pickup truck loaded with luggage to get us to our destination - Santa Cruz Island, 1,000 Kilometers off the coast of Ecuador in the mid Pacific.

Galapagos better be worth it!

I am pleased to report that overall, the sights and wonders of Galapagos live up to the billings. Swimming with sea turtles, hovering over sharks, watching a variety sea rays gliding along below or frolicking in some ancient ritual, and snorkeling through schools of multicoloured fish made it all worthwhile. The giant tortoises hanging out in their natural environment were a bonus along with various iguanas and multiple species of birds that make the islands their homes and have evolved in unique ways to adapt to their particular environment.

Galapagos has come a long way from a distant dry wasteland in the middle of the Pacific, a former penal colony, to struggling with ecological disruptions from man and volcanoes.

In the end, while some of the tours on the islands are lacking in quality and organization, feel rushed and are overpriced, the experience was enhanced with the last four days spent on a small yacht, the Monserrat, with an excellent crew and guides. Our time on board came to a close much too quickly as I'm sure there were many more wonders to see around the next point and in each of the many bays we passed along our brief journey.