Cruising the coast of Ecuador

After Baños we were ready for some quality beach time, so we headed out to the coast.  After a 10 hour overnight bus ride from Baños, we arrived in a town called La Libertad.  We then had to get a taxi out to the beachside city of Salinas where we thought we'd start our coastal journey.  However, when we got there it was 6am and no hostels/hotels were open, and the ones we saw looked way out of our price range anyway.  It just seemed like too much of a resort town where rich locals or tourists would go, so we decided to jump on a bus and head further north to Montañita.

Montañita is a small coastal town on the Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) and is a tourist mecca for surfing, partying and chilling out on the beach.  We walked around a few hostels and eventually chose one that was right across from the beach.  The only thing separating us from the water was the sea wall, so it was a great view from the balcony.  

View from our hostel

We were only there for 2 nights during the week so we didn't see any of the craziness that we hear happens on the weekends, but the beach was still pretty packed during the day.  It was a really nice beach with soft sand and beautiful warm water, and a shitload of optimistic surfers waiting for a wave.  Apparently it was the wrong time of year for good surf, but that didn't deter people.  And although it's probably the most touristy place on the coast, we still managed to find some good, cheap local places to eat - $1.50 for a 2 course lunch and juice, and $5 for dinner.  It really isn't hard to escape the over-priced tourist restaurants if you try.  So after only a couple of days chilling in Montañita we decided to keep heading north to the next place.

That next stop was a small fishing village called Puerto López, which is one of the main spots to go whale watching between mid-June to October.  That was all we really knew about the place, so we found a hostel and figured we'd find a tour for the next day.  As it turned out, the hostel either owned or worked in conjunction with a tour agency around the block, so we got a discount for the whale watching tour.  It was only $15 each which seemed to be a pretty good deal, so we booked for the second day.  We asked the girl how likely it was that we'd see whales and she assured us it was 100%, but she wouldn't agree to give us our money back if we didn't see any.  What a surprise.  The weather wasn't great and there was a bit of a swell, so when we got to the whale watching 'spot' and turned the engine off, we were rolling around a bit.  There were other boats out there too, just sitting and waiting to spot a whale.  So we sat, and we waited.  And waited.  For about an hour (well, it felt like that long, but was probably much less), until someone yelled out and then we were off on the chase.  It was crazy, every time someone spotted a whale we'd go charging off after it so we could get as close as possible.  At home there would be strict rules about how many hundreds of meters away you had to stay to give the whales space, but no such rules exist in Ecuador.  The first couple of times I only saw the spray of water from the blowhole, but then eventually we kept spotting their backs as they'd breach the surface.  

Of course the one time a whale actually jumped high out of the water we were facing the wrong way and missed it.  Bugger.  It was also impossible to get a good shot when we were rolling around over big waves, but at least we got to see quite a few whales.  Lucky, or that poor girl would have had us demanding our money back.  And Kurt wouldn't have taken no for an answer.  Again, I was surprised that I didn't get seasick due to the rough conditions, but some other people weren't so lucky.  This time it was two guys who spent the entire time hanging over the back spewing their rings out.  I don't think they saw a single whale.  Money well spent boys. 

Puerto López is a very chilled out village, so apart from the whale watching we just wandered around town and up and down the beach.  An Aussie guy we'd met the first time in Quito, Paul, was doing the Ruta del Sol from the other direction, so we figured we'd cross paths somewhere along the way.  We ended up catching up with him on our third day in Puerto López, but the funniest thing was that he was actually staying in the same hostel as us.  Funny how that happens.  We were going to have some beers in the arvo, but it was a Sunday so that wasn't going to be possible as it's illegal to sell alcohol on Sundays in Ecuador.  Apparently it's because the locals get so fucked up they don't turn up to work on Monday.  There's nothing to stop people buying up large on Saturday though, but we hadn't thought of that ourselves.  However, not ones to give up so easy we thought we'd try our hand at buying some illicit booze from some random corner store, and to our surprise it couldn't have been easier.  The little old lady up the street didn't even hesitate in selling us two bottles of vodka, for only $7.50 each.  Not as cheap as other countries, but still a bargain.  In the end, we actually found a place on the beach that would sell us beer anyway, so we started off down there drinking cold beer watching the sun go down, observing a crazy man methodically sweep the beach with his metal detector.  Then we retired to the rooftop at our hostel and cracked open the vodka.  You can't beat a good old Sunday session.  We were actually going to leave town that Sunday, but we delayed it a day so we could catch up with Paul.  But the next day was time to leave, so we jumped on a bus north again.

After about 5 hours we arrived in Canoa, which is another chilled out fishing village.  It's also popular with travellers, but thankfully isn't over-run like Montañita. Yet.  It was getting dark when we got there, so after wandering around for a while trying in vain to find a place Paul recommended to us, we found an awesome looking place right on the beach at the end of the street, made out of bamboo.  We figured we'd look for the other place in the morning, which we did.  It was a bit further along the beachfront street than we'd looked the previous night, and when we found it we knew why Paul had recommended it to us.  It's called Coco Loco and is another big bamboo building, and dorm beds were only $6.  It doesn't get much cheaper than that so we moved our stuff over.  

Coco Loco - our home away from home in Canoa

It's run by an American woman and her Mexican husband, and they make everyone feel welcome.  It felt like home after only a couple of days.  We had initially thought we'd stay in Canoa and do Spanish lessons, but after a few days we didn't think it was really the place to stay for a month.  It was a good place to chill out, but there really wasn't anything to do.  We still really loved the place and stayed for a week, just relaxing and doing basically fuck all.  

On our 5th or 6th night we were talking and drinking with a Swiss couple, but it wasn't until the next night that we realised we hadn't exchanged names.  It's funny, but that happens all the time.  The usual questions like what's your name, what do you do etc just aren't that important when you're travelling and get talking to strangers.  Well, at least not until the second day/night.  We eventually introduced ourselves, and spent the next night drinking and playing poker with Anna and Aaron and another couple of people.  Kurt and Aaron were the last ones still battling it out, and eventually finished up at about 5am.  Neither of them could really be assed playing on, but they wouldn't give up either, on principle.  Anna and Aaron were travelling around South America in their kombi they'd bought in Chile and were also heading north, so Kurt asked if they'd mind giving us a lift to the next beach.  They said they were going to ask us if we wanted to go with them anyway, so it all worked out well.  We were looking forward to travelling up the coast with them in their faithful kombi 'Pepe'.

Anna and Aaron's faithful kombi 'Pepe'

After backtracking to a nearby town town to get cash out and stock up on supplies, we drove about 200km north to a sleepy fishing village called Mompiche.  While it's still low-key and undeveloped compared to all the other coastal hot spots, it's slowly growing in popularity with tourists.  It's probably one of the most scenically unique locations along the coast, as there is a thick layer of protective rainforest between the highway and the village.  This makes it feel quite remote from anywhere, so it's the perfect place to escape from it all.  

View of Mompiche from the top of our hostel

When we arrived it was getting dark so we pulled up and Anna ran up and checked out a couple of hostels.  She found one that would let us drive Pepe inside the gate where it would be secure and they could sleep in the van.  We were actually trying to find a specific hostel as Kurt and I had met an Argentinian guy in Quito a few weeks before who owned a hostel there, and he told us to stay there if we went.  But it was too dark so we just stayed at the place Anna found.  We had a few beers at this little bar right by the beach, which was basically a hut, then went back to the hostel.  And who appears at the top of the stairs but Martin, the Argentinian guy.  Turns out we'd found his hostel after all.  The next day he told us that we wouldn't be paying for our room, and Anna and Aaron could stay for free too.  Sweet. 

Even though it was the time of year when it's generally cloudy and cooler than the high season, it was still plenty warm enough for us and we ended up spending 6 nights there.  It was a great place to chill out and eat cheap, good seafood, and explore.  It was a small village but one thing we noticed and really liked were the way the houses were all built out of bamboo, and were very open.  Only the bedrooms had windows, with the rest of the house being open to the cool sea breeze.  Perfect.  

There was actually a surprising amount of things to do and see in Mompiche.  We walked out to Playa Negra, a beautiful black sand beach that is sadly being reduced in size as they are mining the sand which is rich in titanium.  We've been to a black sand beach in New Zealand, but this sand was unlike anything else.  It was so fine and soft it felt like silk when we'd rub our sand covered feet together.  Incredible.  

Playa Negra

We also went across to Portete Island, accessible only by small boat, which used to be a well-kept secret but is now well-known amongst locals and travellers.  And unfortunately there's now a huge ugly eyesore on the hillside in the form of an all-inclusive resort complex.  The rest of the island is pretty tranquil and unspoilt though, with miles and miles of sandy beach and thousands of bright orange crabs scuttling all over the show.  Apart from some food and arts/craft stalls, there are no other services on the island.  We also walked along the beach back in Mompiche and up to the headland where a small local cemetery is located, and it was a beautiful view back along the beach.  A very calm, peaceful place.  

Portete Island

View from the cemetery

However, our most unsuccessful outing was to try and spot monkeys in the forest area just a short walk from the beach.  We'd been told by a German guy that once we reached the forest it was only about a 1km walk and to look out for a big tree.  Thanks for narrowing it down mate, it's a forest and there are lots of big trees.  We figured we'd just keep walking and hopefully find, or at least hear, the monkeys, but it wasn't the easiest walk.  It started out muddy and slippery then we had to constantly wade through a river and over slippery rocks.  Not the easiest terrain in jandals/thongs, especially when Kurt's kept blowing out every 2 minutes.  It was also pissing down for a while, but that was actually quite nice.  But after about an hour of walking we figured there would be no monkey watching that day, so we headed back. 

After 6 nights in Mompiche we made the long drive back to Quito, which took us about 9 hours.  Pepe needed an oil and filter change along the way, but did well to get us back over the Andes and to the cold heights of the capital.  We'd had a great 3 weeks cruising up the Ecuadorian coast, eating good food and drinking plenty and meeting great people.  Thanks to Anna, Aaron and Pepe for letting us travel with them - hopefully we'll meet up again soon.

More bang for your buck in Baños

Before arriving in Ecuador we knew sweet fuck all about the country, and we hadn't met many people who'd been there.  In fact, it's a country a lot of backpackers seem to skip over for some reason in their haste to get to Colombia or Peru (depending on which way they're travelling).  The only places we knew about in Ecuador were the Galapagos Islands of course, and a small town called Baños that Kurt knew of and we heard about along the way.  So after getting back from the Galapagos Islands we wanted to check out Baños and see for ourselves what it had to offer.  A shitload as it turns out.

Baños (full name Baños de Agua Santa) is a small city in the Andean highlands, about 3.5 hours south of Quito.  It's located right on the foothills of Tungurahua volcano, which is still active, so it's pretty damn impressive scenery. Baños, meaning 'baths' in Spanish, is named after the hydrothermal springs which surround the city, but this is only one of many things that attract so many people to this city.  And it's not just tourists who flock here but locals as well, as Baños is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador.  Bring it on!

We initially thought we'd spend 3 or 4 days in Baños, but there was so much to do and we liked it so much we ended up staying a week.  Our first night there we met up with Pete and Jake again (Americans we met in Quito) who were already in the hostel we checked into, then Sabien (Belgian we also met in Quito) walked in the door.  We knew she was coming but not for another day or two, so of course we all had to go out for a few beers.  Just a few mind you, we can be sensible about these things.  Sometimes. 

After the awesome hostel breakfast the next morning we went for a walk around town to see if we could hire bikes to explore the beautiful Ruta de las Cascadas (Waterfall Route).  We managed to get some pretty decent bikes for $5 each for the whole day, so off we went.  This route is about 18km by bicycle, and there's about a dozen different waterfalls along the way.  However, it's not the easiest or calmest ride, as you spend most of it sharing the road with trucks and cars. Now I'm not sure if we've mentioned it before, but South Americans are crazy drivers.  The minute they get behind the wheel they turn into insane, impatient wannabe Formula 1 drivers with a death wish, and it's highly unlikely most of them even have licenses.  We didn't have any close calls however, so we were able to enjoy the ride.  Except for the pain and exhaustion of a lot of uphill riding that is.  Minor detail. 

Hydroelectric dam

There were good viewpoints the whole way along, so we could stop and check out the waterfalls and valleys.  It was beautiful lush surroundings, but there was more than just looking at stuff to be done.  We came across a couple of ziplining places, one that was the longest offered (1km) and one that you could do tandem, side by side.  There was also a small bridge jump, but we kept going as we were going to leave that for the way back. 

The small, 35m bridge jump

 
We'd arranged to meet Pete and Jake at Manto de la Novia waterfall (the Bride's Veil) which was the last ziplining place. We'd chosen this one because it went across the valley and over two small waterfalls, so we figured it would be the best view while we were racing across a wire hundreds of metres above it.  But because we're super fit athletic types we'd made it there a couple of hours early, so we decided to continue on to the most spectacular waterfall - Pailon del Diablo (the Devil’s Cauldron).  I'm sure Satan was flattered they thought of him when naming such a beautiful place.  We had to park our bikes and walk about 30mins down to the actual waterfall which was pretty cool, a shit tonne of water smashing down on the rocks below.  And there were viewing platforms close enough that we were nice and wet when we left.

Pailon del Diablo

We went back to meet Pete and Jake at the ziplining place then bargained the guy down to $6 each.  How ridiculous is that?  We all got suited up with the safety gear, then Kurt was first to go so he was lifted up into the bands that hold your legs out behind you.  Next minute he was flying off across the valley, camera in hand to capture the ride.  The two guys were next and I was last across.  It was a lot smoother than we were expecting, and not crazy fast, so it wasn't terrifying at all.  Only when you thought about falling to your death on the rocks below if the safety equipment failed.  I bet that's never happened though. 

Manto de la Novia waterfall in the background

After getting over to the other side we jumped in a cable car/gondola back across which was just as fast, if not faster than the ziplining.  It was pretty cool actually, especially since it was completely open and basically just a metal cage.  Good times all round for $6.  We then had to make the ride back to town, but we'd been told to just flag down a passing truck or taxi that would take us and our bikes back for a measly $1.50.  We rode about a quarter of the way then followed this good advice.

There are so many adventure sports and activites to choose from in Baños, but something we'd been wanting to do for a while was white water rafting.  And why not when it's only $25 each, including lunch?  We had to drive about 30-40 minutes out of town to the river, which was about a grade 3, so a good way to start off.  We had 3 young tourism students in our group plus another guy, and because they could all speak English our guide gave all the commands and instructions in English.  We all had turns being up front captaining the boat in pairs, where you'd get a faceful of water everytime we went over a rapid.  So much fun.  I fell backwards overboard at one stage, but managed to keep my feet hooked in so others could pull me back in.  And luckily I didn't let go of my paddle either.  Not a bad effort.  All up we had about an hour or more on the river but it went pretty quick.  It wasn't over the top in terms of rapids, but it was enough to be a lot of fun. 

The one thing we'd been wanting to do more than anything though, was the bridge jump, or bridge swing.  We were initially going to do the one we passed out on the Waterfall Route, but it was pretty small at only 35m high.  And we figured, if you're going to do something, you might as well do it properly.  So we decided to do it off the San Francisco Bridge which is right in town and is 120m high.  And yes, this was crazy cheap too - only $15. 

The San Francisco Bridge we jumped off.

Beautiful view from the bridge.

We rocked up at about 10.30am but the guy was still setting everything up so told us to come back in half an hour.  No-one else was there when we got back so Kurt got fitted out with all the harnesses and safety gear.  And just in case you're wondering, it was actually really safe.  Not that we've got anything to compare it to, but it seemed like it was going to hold us.  The most difficult part was climbing up onto the ledge over the side of the bridge.  When we'd watched people do it the day before there were steps, which made it so easy, but we had to actually climb up the railing which was a bit awkward.  The last thing you really want to be worrying about when you're about to jump off a bridge, is falling off before you even get on the ledge.  But we both managed fine. 

The guy tells you to put your arms out and jump out as far as you can so you don't just flop off and get jerked by the ropes.  Kurt didn't hesitate when the guy counted down, and his jump was really good.  It was obvious from his yelling and cheering that he was having fun, all the way down to the bottom where another guy pulled him in.  Then it was my turn.  When I got up on the ledge I started freaking out and wasn't sure I could go through with it, but when he counted down I thought it's now or never, so I jumped.  Well, I thought I'd jumped out but when we watched the videos that Sabien took for us, I just kind of fell off, so the guy had to flick my feet so I went out in an arc.  It was the biggest adrenaline rush for both of us, and the funnest thing we've done.  We were both on a high for ages after.  Thanks again to Sabien for the awesome videos to capture our crazy stunt.

We also figured that since Baños is named after the many thermal hot springs, we had to check one out.  We went to one in town that we could just walk to, but it was in an awesome location right under a waterfall cascading down a huge mountain.  We chose to go at night when it was cooler and we'd appreciate it more, and for only $3 each it was a bargain.  There were 3 baths of different temperatures - about 36 degrees, 40 degrees and a cold plunge pool.  We started in the 36 degree pool and after a while decided that it was more than hot enough for us.  Most of the people in the hotter one were just sitting around the edge, so it was obviously ridiculously hot.  We didn't feel the need to scorch ourselves in that one, so just chilled in the middle one for an hour or so then cooled off in the plunge pool.  It was a perfect, relaxing end to the day.

View of the waterfall in the distance from our hostel.

The thermal baths were at the base of this waterfall.

The rest of the time in Baños we chilled out and wandered around.  We visited the randomest museum ever, which had everything from statues of Jesus to old costumes and random toys, to stuffed and pickled dead animals.  An interesting way to spend 30mins. 

But the thing that Kurt had been looking forward to for a long time was getting his tattoo done.  He'd wanted it for the last 6 years, so when Sabien told us she was getting a tattoo done by a local guy we went in to check out his work.  Turns out he's an amazing artist, so we kept popping in to follow progess when Sabien was getting hers done.  He did an awesome job of her black and grey gecko, so Kurt talked to him about his design and booked in for an appointment.  It took a while to get Kurt's idea across to the guy, but after we'd brought in a rough idea of what he wanted it to look like and explained the meaning to him, he got the idea.  When we turned up on the Sunday and he showed Kurt what he'd drawn up, Kurt was so stoked as it was exactly what he wanted.  And just over an hour later, it was done.  His lines were so clean and precise and it looked awesome.  Kurt couldn't have been happier to see the idea that had been in his head for years inked on his skin.  And it only cost $80.  Where else could you get such a quality tattoo, done with perfectly sterile equipment for that cheap? 

Getting started.

The finished product.

Carlos, the talented tattoo artist.

We had so much fun in Baños, it really did live up to it's name of the adventure capital of Ecuador.  For such a small place there's so much to do and see, and we would happily go back for more.

The Galapagos Islands - it doesn't get much better

The Galapagos Islands were another dream destination on our list, and a once in a lifetime trip.  We were expecting it to be expensive and had figured it would cost around $5,000 in total for about 5 or 6 days, so we were prepared to fork out a lot of cash to see this amazing place.

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands around the equator, over 900km west of Ecuador (which they are a part of).  There are 14 main islands and 3 smaller islands, as well as over a hundred rocks and islets.  However, for the sake of tourism there are 3 main islands that people visit or stay on - San Cristobal, Santa Cruz and Isabela.  It's possible to visit some of the other smaller islands on cruises etc, but boats are prohibited to enter some areas of the Galapagos.  This is a good thing as it helps to protect the more than 7,000 identified species in the Islands.  So as you can imagine, it was almost impossible to turn a corner without seeing something new and different, and amazingly cool.

When we arrived in Quito we went to a few agencies to get an idea of the cruises they offered, prices and possible dates to leave.  The average price of a 4 day boat cruise (mid-level in terms of quality) was about $1,200 dollars per person, not including flights and the entry fee to the Islands.  So all up it was looking like it would cost around the two grand mark each.  About what we were expecting.  However, we hate organised tours because you never know what you're going to get in terms of quality, and there's nothing worse than being stuck on a boat with a bunch of people you can't stand.  We also hate being told what to do and when to do it - that's not our idea of fun.  For this reason we were very unsure about what to do, as we wanted to have the best experience possible.  Obviously.  And it's not like you can just pop back over again if it doesn't work out how you want it.  So, after briefly talking to a guy at our hostel who had recently volunteered on the Islands and highly recommended we just do the whole trip ourselves, our minds were made up.  We didn't really need much convincing.

We hadn't really thought it would be possible to visit the Islands independently and still see and do everything we wanted, so to hear that it was not only possible but recommended by many people, we were stoked.  After deciding which islands we wanted to go to and how long for, we booked our flights directly from the airline.  It couldn't have been easier, and cost us $934 for return flights for both of us to the airport on Baltra Island, which is above Santa Cruz Island.  At Quito airport we had to pay $10 each for a 'visa' for the Galapagos, then upon arrival in Galapagos there's a $100 park entrance fee per person. The flight was about 2.5 hours, then we had to get a bus to a small channel to get a boat across to Santa Cruz Island.  Then it was a 45min bus ride to Puerto Ayora which is the main town on the island and is the most populated town in the archipelago.  We were totally surprised at how many people actually live in the Galapagos - somewhere between 19,000 and 25,000, depending on where you get your information from.  Luckily there weren't many tourists staying on the islands when were were there, otherwise it would have felt way too crowded. 

We spent 3 nights on Santa Cruz, and while it was more expensive than what we're used to, it wasn't ridiculously over-priced.  We paid $30 a night for our room, but that included a really good breakfast.  And because we're not ignorant tourists, we ate where the locals ate which saved us a LOT of money.  We could get a set menu lunch for $2.50 which included soup, a main and a glass of juice.  Who knew that would be possible in an isolated place 900kms from the mainland?  And for dinner the most we paid was $8 each, but that was for prawns in coconut sauce and rice.  Bloody delicious. 

There was actually quite a lot to see and do on Santa Cruz, so we had no problems filling in our time there.  We visited a tortoise breeding centre where we could see tiny little babies up to ridiculously huge adults which would have been at least 100kg.  There were also iguanas there, but yellow ones which I'd never seen before.  

One day we hired bikes and rode more than 7kms out of town, pretty much all uphill, to a lava tunnel known as the 'Tunnel of Love' because of the heart-shaped hole in the ceiling of the tunnel. It was a scenic ride, but who wants to ride over 7kms uphill on a scorching hot day?  Needless to say, the return journey was a lot easier, but we were feeling the pain quite intensely for a day or two.  

The heart shaped hole

One of the most beautiful and unique places we visited on Santa Cruz was called Las Grietas, which is two giant walls formed by volcanic rock with crystal clear blue-green water in between.  It's a popular spot for snorkelling, however there wasn't much to see when we were there.  It was still an amazing place to be though.  And Kurt couldn't resist climbing up then jumping off the rocks from about 10 metres, but the hard landing was a bit painful on the old kidneys.  It looked impressive though.  

Las Grietas

That same day we walked out to Tortuga Bay, which is a stunning beach with the softest, finest white sand we've ever walked on.  It continued all the way into the crystal clear water too, not a single shell or sharp object in sight.  It was gorgeous.  

Tortuga Bay

We also did a half day tour of the bays, but it was a bit disappointing.  The only reason we did it was to visit a small islet where you can swim and snorkel with sea lions anytime of the year.  But when we got out there we hung around for a few photos then the boat just took off again.  Apparently the current was too strong so we weren't allowed in the water.  We were both so pissed off because that was the whole point of the tour for us.   We then got off the boat and walked around to a beach where there were shitloads of marine iguanas crawling all over the place and each other.  It was pretty cool because it took a while to spot them as they blended into the dark rocks, but once we saw them they were everywhere.  After that we had time for some snorkelling, spotting heaps of cool fish, including huge schools of them that would cruise by.  I was just hoping a shark wouldn't come along for a feed and get us as well.  Me, paranoid?  Perish the thought.

 
After 3 nights on Santa Cruz we got the ferry over to Isabela Island.  Now, I don't know what everyone's idea of a ferry is, but to us it's a large boat that holds about 100 people or more and moves pretty slowly.  That is not what we got on.  Not even close.  It was a speedboat that held about 20 people, with three 300 horsepower engines.  So instead of a nice leisurely cruise across to Isabela, we hammered across the water at ridiculous speeds, regardless of how choppy the waves were.  We were sitting up the front so were getting absolutely smashed everytime we slammed into a wave, so much so that Kurt had to stand up for the last half hour or so to ease the pain on his back and tailbone.  Under those circumstances I was very surprised I didn't get seasick, but others weren't so lucky.  One poor woman across from us was spewing into plastic bags and looking very pale and sweaty.  Not a fun way to spend 2 hours.  It was one of those situations where you secretly think, rather you than me.

Isabela is the largest island of the Galapagos and is shaped like a seahorse, formed by six volcanoes merging into a single land mass.  Five out of the six volcanoes are still active, making it one of the most volcanically active places on earth.  While this island is bigger than Santa Cruz, the main town of Puerto Villamil is much smaller than Puerto Ayora.  As a result there's not as much choice in terms of food.  We paid $25 for our room (with air-con this time) but it didn't include breakfast, so it ended up about the same price as on Santa Cruz.  We stayed for 4 nights on Isabela and it was awesome.  We explored the island a bit, hiring bikes again (gluttons for punishment) to ride out to an area where there are a few things to see.  However, after about 30mins Kurt got a puncture so we stashed our bikes in the bushes  and walked the rest of the way up to the Wall of Tears.  On the way up we saw a pretty big land turtle on the side of the road, which freaked the fuck out of me when it kind of hissed at me as we walked past.  It was cool to see one in the wild though, and we might not have spotted it if we'd still been on the bikes.  

We finally arrived at the Wall of Tears which is so named because it was built by prisoners when there was a Penal Colony on the island from 1946 to 1959.  As punishment the prisoners were forced to build this wall with huge blocks of lava, and it measures about 100m long by 7m high.  You can climb up to the top of the wall which has a spectacular panoramic view of the place. 

On the way back down we checked out a little cove that was beautiful and had a marine iguana just chilling in the incoming tide, and back down at the bottom we had a quick look at a tunnel that was formed by volcanic eruptions and leads under the sea.  

Then Kurt spotted a tourist truck which had a space on the back where a bike would fit.  So I went and asked if he could take me and Kurt's bike back to town while Kurt rode my bike back.  Thankfully the guy was nice enough to agree, so one of us didn't have to make the long walk back.  We went straight to get the tyre fixed so we could explore another area of the island.  We'd read about a little bay down by the port which was supposed to be good for snorkelling, so we headed out there.  But on the wooden walkway out there we came across a blockade - a cute little sealion just hanging out.  

It had big gorgeous eyes and didn't seem too phased by our presence, so we took a few photos before quietly sneaking past.  At the jetty there were a couple more sealions, much larger, sleeping on the warm wooden boards under the shade.  Again, they weren't bothered by us being around them, but we didn't want to get too close.  So we kitted up with snorkels and fins and jumped into the water.  We saw heaps of cool fish and almost immediately a couple of sealions came to check us out.  They were swimming with us and around us pretty much the whole time we were snorkelling, and they'd come so close we could have touched them.  It was such a cool experience to see them playing around, moving through the water so quickly and gracefully right in front of and under us.  They really are curious and beautiful creatures.  It was one of the things we both really wanted to do during our time in the Galapagos, and it was one of the highlights.

Our private snorkelling spot

Because Isabela has so many volcanoes, we couldn't leave without climbing at least one.  Most of the volcanoes are located in the National Park and can't be visited without a guide, so we had to do a tour.  We visited Volcan Sierra Negra and Volcan Chico, which was about a 5 hour round trip walking over varied landscapes.  We arrived at Sierra Negra first, which is an active volcano, last erupting in 2005.  It's also the second largest caldera in the world at 70 square kilometres.  However, because it was still quite early the view of the caldera was completely obliterated by fog/clouds.  Our guide assured us that we'd be able to see it on our return back down, so we continued on to Volcan Chico, which is a collection of smaller cones on the slopes of Sierra Negra.  There was a pretty dramatic change in landscape at this point as we left any form of vegetation behind and clambered over black boulders and rocks, which came up against a solidified ocean of lava. 

Solidified lava

Some of these rocks were so sharp and brittle like glass, so we had to walk carefully.  The landscape was unlike anything we've ever seen, it was like being on another planet.  We walked up to the top of one cone which had a breathtaking view out over the island to the water.  

Volcan Chico

Like I said, we were constantly amazed by the things we saw every single day.  On our way back we came across the lookout point for Sierra Negra and, sure enough, it was clear enough to see the enormity of it.  It was a massive black crater, with fissures and cracks all over it, some so big they looked like roads.  To know it's still active is quite scary, as there's not really anywhere the locals can evacuate to if there's another eruption.

Volcan Sierra Negra

Because the volcano tour was so good we decided to do another tour with the same company, but just a short 2.5 hour one this time.  We went out in a boat to a snorkelling spot, where we saw plenty of fish again, a small ray and another big fuck-off ray.  We weren't expecting to see that so it was an awesome surprise.  There was also a group of sealions there, so they were swimming and playing around us again.  It hadn't lost its magic the second time around.  

Small ray

Electric blue fish

Massive ray

After that we visited an islet called Las Tintoreras, which is a lava canal where white fin sharks (called tintoreras) often rest.  Unfortunately we could only spot the shadow of one shark sleeping at the bottom.  But there were plenty of other things to see, as on the islet there were also heaps of birds, marine iguanas and sealions.  We also spotted our first sea tortoise out in the bay, which was one thing we sadly didn't get to see whilst snorkelling.  On the way back to shore we went past an outcrop of rocks with a bunch of penguins and blue-footed boobies.  Not a bad way to end the day.

Blue-footed boobie

After 4 nights on Isabela we had to get the early 'ferry' back to Santa Cruz to catch our flight.  Fortunately we'd learnt from the hellish ride over, so we made sure we were first on the boat to get the prime seats at the back of the boat, in front of the motors.  Although it was uncovered and we got rained on for a while, it was a million times better as the ride was much smoother.  It was so much more enjoyable when we weren't getting slammed around every time we went over a wave.  This time we got to watch the people sitting inside wincing with pain and discomfort instead. 

As with nearly all trips, however long you have is never enough, and this was the case with our time on the Galapagos Islands.  We could easily have spent weeks there seeing and doing new things every day, but it was just too expensive.  But, because we did it ourselves it cost only a fraction of doing a cruise.  In total, we spent just under $2,000 for the two of us for a week, and that included everything - flights, visas, entrance fees and everything we spent on the islands.  And we got to do everything our way which made it so much better for us.  The Galapagos lived up to our expectations 100%, and we left totally blown away by what we'd seen and done.  It truly is a magical place on earth.