30th September, Porto Ayura, Santa Cruz

Over breakfast at the Mainao Hotel, we realised something was stirring in Guiyaquil and Quito. Thought it was some standard South American Sturm and Drang, but then learnt the airports were closed, there was tyre-burning and teargas in the streets, and the Presidente shouting speeches from the window of the Police HQ in Guiyaquil. Both police and army are striking wanting pension payments to be additional to their pay packets (or so the hotel staff explained). Felt less worried than I should have, and more selfishly pleased there was possibility we might be stranded on Santa Cruz. The police here are part of a smaller community and don´t brandish weapons as they do in Quito. However, our holiday life goes on, so we walked to the Nimfa Lagoon - magic place, still waters amongst mangroves, with a deck to sit on and enjoy the view. You could very well expect to see nymphs, or at least the Lady of the Lake sinking into the water. The water was so clear, you could see a stingray and shoals of silvery fish. Back in real life in the town, the airline told us all will be fine tomorrow, and we should be able to fly in the morning. We´ll see.

28th September - Santa Cruz, Gal.

Tuesday 28^th September

Santa Cruz

Patrick and I spent a couple of tetchy hours on an apparently steam-driven PC to try and find ways of getting to, and somewhere to stay, in Mindo – a bird-watching area outside of Quito, from Wed. evening. Eventually asked reception to ring through to the chosen Hostal to book it. Bit of a complicated arrangement from Quito to Mindo, then hopefully finding a way from Mindo to Otavalo, for the next booked accommodation, with a stop at Quito to collect the rucksack we have left in the Hotel Catedral’s safe-keeping. Walked away from the reception desk at which point the thought of leaving the Galapagos to go to an unknown, cold place again, hit me, and I burst into tears. Ridiculous. I know I can’t actually spend the next four weeks here, but I desperately wanted a couple more days. Patrick indulged me, we went to the airline office in Porto Ayora, delayed our flight booking for two days, meaning we will travel direct from Galapagos on 1^st October, to Otavalo, which is at least, quiet and pleasant (we hear), and has the considerable attraction of a renowned market. Smile firmly back in place, we wasted a couple of hours wandering around, found a cheap hotel for the last night here as the Mainao could only let us stay till Wed. night. Had a completely relaxed time drinking coffee looking at the Ocean, and wandered back to ‘our’ hotel.

27th September - North Seymour and end of cruise

Monday 27^th September

North Seymour early in the morning to catch Magnificent Frigate birds – the males puff up the chicken-like red skin on their chests. Such an odd display, often accompanied by one or two adoring females, sat under each outspread wing. Lots of BFBs, land Iguanas, Marine Iguanas. Good long walk through trail on the island.

Sadly back to the boat for a last breakfast and on shore at Baltra to drop passengers off who flew off that morning. The French family (2 adults, four children) Kees and Patrick and I bundled into a five-seater truck for the transfer back to Porto Ayora on Santa Cruz. Patrick and I are staying for two nights at Hotel Mainao, which is another little slice of heaven, all white and odd staircases, and specially prepared areas to sit with sun umbrellas and tables. Gloriously dark at night, and quiet, although Patrick’s inner ear continues to compensate for the ghost of the swaying motion from the ship. Relaxed in the early evening and walked to the Rock bar for a beer with Kees, who is also staying on the Island.

26th September - Santa Fe and Plazas Islands

Sunday 26^th September

Sante Fe Island and Plazas Island.

Barrington Bay for snorkelling. Now fully equipped – snorkel, wetsuit and flippers, and I was MOVING!! For which I was quite glad when we found a big shark, big enough (six foot?) to make me turn on my heels as it were, and swim fast but quietly in the opposite direction. White coral stood out against the sandy floor, more shoals of beautiful colourful fish (looking in the reference book, I could recognise Black striped Salma, Angel fish, Panamic Sergeant Major, stingrays, but there were others, and would not swear to the right id on the named ones) and more friendly sea lions. Later we sailed to Plazas Island for a long walk on this escarpment shaped island. Exhausted sea lions bask everywhere, even quite high on the cliffs, recuperating for the next fight and mating session with the females. Beautiful flying displays from Frigate birds, Tropical Birds (long swallowy tails), Swallow-tailed Gulls, BFBoobies, Nazca Boobies.

25th September - Espanola Island

25^th September 2010.

Espanola Island.

To another sparkling white beach with bluey-green clear waters. Huge colony of sea lions basking in the sun. How many photos can you take of these anthropomorphically relaxed creatures? Several hundred, apparently. Completely irresistible. They were mostly unworried and divided their time between snoozing together on the warm sand, and lazily playing in the shallows. Only the big males reminded us of the darker side of life for these creatures, as they have their circle of females for only around a month, after which they are basically knackered, lose a fight with a fitter male, and go off to Plazas Island to recuperate. Patrick was investigated by a curious young sea lion who flipped up towards him for a better look. So lovely to be able to be close to these creatures who feel no fear towards us. Complete privilege. Back to boat, sailed to Garners Islet where, in the huge cave, you could see the base of a blowhole. Surrounded by sea lions playing around us. Snorkelled from Panga, right around the rocks, but kept getting left behind due to my refusal to wear flippers. Soon got over that one, and used them after this – way too much work swimming in a wetsuit – my legs were tired afterwards. In the afternoon, walked around Suarez Point to see nesting Albatross with fluffy youngsters, so silly with their rough but soft feathers next to their sleek beautiful golden necked parents. Lots of Blue Footed Boobies, including some doing their stately dance, which just makes you laugh – tail up, head in the air, wings neatly folded back, and these daft blue feet raising one by one to impress the ladeez. Also our first encounter with the spooky iguanas – Marine ones this time – black and red and fat, sitting absorbing the rays, and simply climbing on top of each other as the sun went down. Incredible abundance of wildlife, you could not turn without seeing Mocking Birds, Finches, Yellow Warblers, herons, BF Boobies, Albatrosses, Frigate-birds, lizards and Iguanas. Back on board, managed to stay awake long enough to take a beer out on deck, enjoy the moon and the splashing of sea lions and turtles. I missed the owls who flew round the boat later, but could not keep my eyes open any longer than 10pm. Jx

24th September - Galapagos - Floreana Island

Friday 24^th September

So exciting waking up to the view of the next island (Floreana). Breakfast was a full-on feast of fresh fruit juice, fruit, scrambled eggs, set the tone for three full meals a day that wasn’t really balanced by all the walking and swimming later! Wonderful crew of 8 who all swapped between sailoring and waitering, even the Capitan, who at one moment would be navigating the ship in his white uniform, and the next would be ready in his wetsuit for the next snorkelling outing. The boat, built in 1895, was all polished wood, just how I had hoped it would be. We were constantly accompanied by Pelicans and huge Frigate (both ‘Magnificent’ and grey) birds, and at night would be visited by friendly sea lions playing alongside, and giant turtles lazily coming up for air and swimming alongside. Our fellow passengers were French, Belgium, German and American, which didn’t help my attempts at Spanish – I still haven’t much beyond ordering food and drink, and greetings. The Belgiques are travelling for a year, with their young family (4 up to ten, including twins of 8 or 9 years). The youngest, Martin, is a little fireball of energy and noise, but totally gorgeous and entertaining. Terrifying too, absolutely no sense of fear and would jump and climb on anything, including the side of the ship, edges of craters, etc. We snorkelled from the beach, around the rocks. I quickly got cold and had to come out, but even so, was swimming with turtles, sea lions, baby sharks, shoals of silvery fish and countless bright yellow and blue fish. Wonderful. Back on board for a huge and delicious lunch, and taken out by ‘Panga’ (inflatable boat) to the Devil’s crown, an outcrop of rocks divided in two. Wore a wetsuit this time, and was guided by the patient Capitan. I find it quite scary when the water is rough, and worry about leaking mask, water in the breathing tube, jelly fish (there are none here), sharks (too small to bite us. So much abundance in incredibly clear water, I have not seen anything since diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Back on board, hot shower and out for a ‘wet landing’ on a white sandy beach.

Walked up to the famous postbox where pirates used to leave letters in the hope they were picked up by a sailor who was sailing to the address on the letter. We went through the postcards left there, picking out some locally addressed ones which we will deliver on our return, and optimistically left some of our own for the next travellers. Then on to a lava tunnel. The guide had suggested we bring torches, but it quickly became obvious these were absolutely essential. We climbed down precarious ladders and over rocks down a steep slope, and walked for half a kilometre underground in pitch black. I was grateful for my tiny torch… Towards the end we started to wade in water that eventually became thigh-high, climbed through an arch left by a rockfall, and then simply turned back. Quite awe-inspiring – the tunnels were as big as a vaulted church, and there was just enough risk and fear to make the whole thing really exciting. Gratefully back in the sunlight, we walked back to beach to be taken by Panga back to the Angelique for dinner and a beer before collapsing into bed at 8pm (!) and sleeping a good 9 hours. Wonderful.

As for Patrick? Far from being the land-lubber he professed to be, Patrick seems to be hopping in and out of Panga’s like an old hand, and enjoying the seaborne experience as much as me, which is brilliant. He does not swim (or float, actually…), but seems happy enough to sit and read and relax while I’m battling with the waves. I think we are both also enjoying the company on the boat – I don’t suppose we would ever seek out any of the fellow passengers, but in the main they are interesting, intelligent and curious, and we have had some good conversations and laughter.

23rd September - to Galapagos

Thursday 23^rd September

To Galapagos. Flew direct to Baltra Island. Sunshine, warmth, smell of vegetation, and friendly people.

Baltra is an ex-US air force base; beautifully bleak. A few kiosks and that's it!

[I relaxed immediately on touchdown. - P]

What a contrast. We both had the biggest smiles as soon as we reached the tarmac from the plane. Within seconds I had seen a lizard, a finch, and within minutes of leaving the open air barn that masqueraded as the airport, we saw sea lions, pelicans, frigate birds, bright orange Sally Lightfoot Crabs. It all simply got better during the transfer to ferry to Santa Cruz, and a crazy 100kph dash down the single road that cuts across the island to Porto Ayora. Saw 'ghost trees' lining the route; ashen looking trees that somehow live for ages without water and thn burst into blossom when the rain arrives.

Met Omar,our guide for the week (nephew of the driver, funnily enough), and having dumped our luggage in our cabins, took us on a tour to the highlands, to see some massive craters created by lava air bubbles, the Giant Tortoise breeding area. Back to the boat for dinner, and meeting the rest of the 16 people on the boat, and back to the Port for a beer, trying not to worry about Omar’s warning that the night’s sail would take us through some choppy waters. Back on board, we took a seasickness pill, and slept deeply, finding the motion comforting. Even the engine noise felt like a loud but constant companion.

22nd September - in Quito

Wed. 22^nd September

Decided we must have ‘sneakers’ for the cruise round Galapagos, a la written instructions from the tour provider. Caught a trolley bus to an out of town shopping centre on the advice of the tourist office. Queued with the locals for the place to open at 10am, feeling extremely out of place. Did buy some very nice snorkelling equipment which I was glad of on the boat though. At least we have now been on a local bus instead of scurrying around by taxi in fear of getting mugged – a real danger in Quito. One of our later acquaintances on the boat told us how she was scammed in Quito by a woman telling her she had bird mess on her rucksack. Despite protesting that it was jam and trying to get away, the accomplice cut the strap of her $500 camera, in full sight of half a dozen security guards and policemen. A pre-prepared statement helpfully provided by the police, describing the events almost exactly, confirmed her suspicions that the police are fully aware of the scam, and are failing to do anything about it, despite heavy police, army and private security guards on almost every doorway. Looking back to this stage of the trip, I realise we should have taken day trips out, but we seemed to be enervated by the hustle and bustle and traffic, and the scares about personal security, so we wasted a lot of time trying to enjoy a city that I found I simply wanted to escape.

[Visited the Grand Plaza and up to the hill overlooking the city to see the Panecillo, the statue of the virgin. Changed rooms at the hotel and hoped for a better night's sleep. P]

21st September 2010 to Quito

Flew to Quito via Guiyaquil. We spent a few hours at Guiyaquil airport during stopover – lovely – it was tropically warm, and the newly built airport included a massive koi carp lake, surrounded by trees – saw lots of interesting birdlife, right by the airport. Had lunch at café, outside overlooking banana trees and other lush vegetation. Then flew to Quito, and checked into Hotel Catedral in Colonial district. Hotel of the old school, which suits me. Ventured out, but not too far, on the advice of the concierge (for security reasons) but found the most gorgeous restaurant – La Vista Hermosa, full of antiques and curios. After eating enough for ten – I can’t resist a plate of good food – climbed the stairs to look at the view including the beautiful Basilica. [Great difficulty going back up the hill, partly due to the altitude.P]

That night, discovered that our room was placed to provide a nightmare night of no sleep – traffic and car horns, and a security light opposite, combined with ill-fitting French doors onto a Juliet balcony meant no sleep, despite ear plugs. At 2am, some sort of ritualistic rhythmic banging on an Oil drum or similar, which started off the same noise from surrounding streets, defeated the earplugs. This was repeated at 5am. Staggered to breakfast and begged a quieter room at the back. Having started our trip over-tired and needing rest, neither of us feel any benefit yet, despite having seen some interesting things. There have been times when a week in Bognor was looking like a better alternative.

P & J x

19/09/2010 Miraflores

Quiet morning.

J. Walking Miraflorians have built a nice cliff-top path for everyone to walk, run and cycle on. It goes for a couple of miles, and has the double advantage of being impossible to get lost from, and having a great sea view.

P. Confirming flight and reading.

Walked up past parque Kennedy and did some clothes shopping. On to Petit Thouars to the Artesanal area. Shop after shop of local textiles and jewellery, almost overwhelming.

P. Fell in love the Charrango's and a beautiful blue guitar.

Despite very reasonable prices, it would be very difficult to carry one around for the next month and to get it home safely. Boo!

J. I discovered that too much choice inhibits my spending, which may be good therapy!

Lunch at Pepe's, a local diner and some supplementary food shopping at Vivanda.

Chatted to the woman on reception to try and find out where the Peruvian music etc is and she said that there's not much contemporary music it's either Pan pipes or AOR from the US or UK.

J. We frequently hear Al Stewart's Year of the Cat - seems to be the theme music for the holiday! Could be worse, the only music from this century that we have heard has been James Blunt.

Quiet afternoon and a beer at Si Senor, across the road.

P & J xx

18/09/2010 Miraflores

P. Broke my camera and found the laundry.





Also, found the Parque Kennedy, which was having a Flower Show, which probably explains why it was so difficult to find rooms here!





Wonderful exotic blooms!





Strolled around town and ended up in the Parque d'Amor, where a Mayoral Rally was taking place.





Interviewed by students.



Wandered into Barranco in search of night and found it! The market square is heaving and the music is v loud. AOR rock, Salsa anything but local music. Through trial and error ended up in our 'favourite place' the Posada with the view over the bay. Absolutely gorgeous!


Nice day!





P x J xx

17/09/2010 Goodbye Gran Bolivar, Hello Miraflores!

It was sad to leave the Gran Bolivar. A wonderful spacious and slightly crazy old building, still trying to hold on to its grandeur in the middle of a tourist city.

At midnight, last night, the music started. At first it sounded like it was coming from the bathroom but was from the bar next door! We are on the 4th [technically 2nd ] floor!

Peru seems to love 70's and 80's rock music and tends to stay up late on 'school nights'! The band are scheduled to play until 2.00am so we settle for intermittent sleep and music crit. The drummer really was bad! Otherwise, creditable versions of Bon Jovi, Journey, Whitesnake etc.

J. I went down to see if they were playing in one of the big events rooms, but the music was coming from the pub next door! Would have stayed and watched otherwise.

Off to Miraflores which is seaside and casinos predominantly.

Some beautifiul views and lovely, if a bit expensive food.

P. Wanted to go for a 'Folklorico' event, which turned out to be be a) v. expensive, b) in the local Hilton Hotel.

We sampled a huge Pisco Sour in the local grill restaurant. [Difficult to know what to call them as they serve meat in volume and very little else!] Then wandered home and found ourselves in the Mexican Restauarant across from our hotel.

P x J xx

Quiet day.

We spent today doing admin stuff. Tickets, banks etc.

Explored the Hotel, a bit. The Gran Hotel Bolivar is a colonial masterpiece; huge and ornate. It is also, in need of a bit of love.

There are long corridors, magnificent ballrooms and meeting places in stately decay.

It is, without doubt, one of the wonders of Lima!

The charming ladies at the Tourist Information Bureau sorted out our booking for Miraflores, down south a few miles, after many attempts.

We feared that Miraflores might actually be full this weekend! internet problems continue, so postings may be short and sporadic.

We also had lunch with the Nun's today. Nice restaurant called L'Eau Vive. Not cheap, but a nice place and lovely food. Our waitress/Nun was lovely and could have passed for an elderly Barrett relative. We suspect her of kleptomaniac tendencies -she insisted on taking our rucksacks away for safe-keeping and 'forgot' to give them back till prompted. We also saw her somehow walk away with a woman's ring, a huge silver thing I had noticed was firmly on the diner's finger. The woman called out to her, and the Nun shame-facedly 'found' it in the napkin she had taken from the table.

P&J xx

Getting here...

Missed a plane, arrived in the early hours of the morning at Lima Airport as the city was waking up. Amazing smell of fish (or beans) at the airport.

Checked into the the Gran Hotel Bolivar; not so much a Hotel as a time-capsule.

We were glad to arrive after the usual drama that surrounds my travelling (says Jill). I'm still happy to have new experiences at my advanced age. (Says Patrick)

The room was huge and ornate. We turned on the 1920's radio and the opening bars of 'The Year of the Cat' played. 'On morning from a Bogart movie, in a country where they turn back time...'

The room was a bit chilly with no signs of supplementary heating.

Some sleep and continental breakfast.

Wander round town to see the Cathedral and the Changing of the Guard at the Governor's Palace, followed by our first Pisco Sour oof the trip, on the Terrace as recommended in the guide book.

Dinner in the Hotel. yummy!

P x J xx

Happy Birthday, Pat.

Happy Birthday Pat. x








Lovely to see you and the family, but should have been packing.







P & J

Pre - flight

'Damn', said Pato. 'I'm just about ready to go on holiday now'. What a moron, he'd been into the office to try and get a pet project off the ground.

Eeejit! I hear you cry! Indeed!

Taxi booked for Monday morning and bag packed. Just some farewells to say and, maybe, the odd tearful goodbye.