Had the day in Guayaquil. We took a bus tour that showed the highlights. Lots of beautiful parks and sculptures and mosaics.
We got off at the Cathedral (the second oldest in South America) and started walking. It was 3km from the start of the Malecon (the boardwalk along the river) to the old town and The Hill! 244 steps up to the lighthouse then another 52 to the top of that. Thank goodness it was only 26°C.
boardwalk in guayaquil photos
Back to the Cathedral and the Iguana Park (lots of Iguanas on the ground and in the trees) to catch our bus back to the hotel.
cathedral in guayaquil photos
Quito, Ecuador – The morning was rainy so we waited for our late afternoon bus and walking tour. We had a very knowledgeable guide who filled us in on the history and buildings of this mountainside city. And the grand finale was seeing the Winged Virgin Mary that presides over the city. We were thankful we were on the bus vs having to walk up!
The Galapagos – Saturday - A very early start to a long day. We had to fly from Quito, back to Guayaquil and then carry on to the Galapagos. Silver Seas looked after us very well and made it all seem so simple. We had our first glimpse of wildlife right in the harbour as we boarded the zodiacs enroute to the ship. Brilliant red crabs and a nursing sealion, pelicans and Frigate birds. And it only got better.
We met up with a lovely group of people and shared a Birthday dinner with Mike (and Jan) before finally crawling into bed.
Sunday - Our first day onboard was tremendous. Breakfast was wonderful, then off to hike 388 steps for a superb view - Bartolome's Summit. From the zodiac we saw our first Blue Footed Boobie, a Pelican, a Heron and a Ray of some sort playing in the water. Next was snorkelling on a lovely beach - Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome. After viewing many different fish we were heading to shore when two penguins started diving and swimming close to us – it was so exciting! Right in the middle of watching their antics a huge pelican started a long straight dive right toward us. It impacted the water 10 feel in front of us and came up with a gullet full of water and its dinner. It continued to dive several more times before flying off. What an amazing start to our adventure! But wait, there is more . . .
After a terrific lunch of scorpion fish and coconut shrimp stew, we had a sunset zodiac tour. We saw herons, boobies (Blue footed and Nazca), swallow tailed gulls, frigates, pelicans, brown noddy terns and other birds, fish along with green turtles, reef sharks, sea lions and high-flying kite rays - all in an hour tour of magnificent scenarios beyond what we could ever have imagined. As usual, photos can’t do it justice. Caleta Bucanero, Santiago Island.
The evening of lectures, cocktail parties and fine dining, rivalled our highest hopes and we are now exhausted with deep smiles of gratitude as we collapse into bed.
Tomorrow, more adventures await.
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