April 05th
This morning I just had to go to Tortuga Bay one last time. This was my favourite beach of the entire area. I left at 7:15am and it took me three hours to get to my destination, Playa Mansa, as I stopped so often to take photos. Loved the cloud reflections by the beach!
I took macro photos of cactus, cacti flower, lizards and was shocked to see a gigantic tortoise hidden behind some bushes eating.
After arriving at the beach and going for my last swim, I took a few photos of a pelican flying by.
Lastly, I left Playa Mansa and at the end of Playa Brava I spent some time taking photos and videos of the Iguana Marina as they left the beach and went into the rocks by the ocean. Such an interesting creature they are.
I returned back to my room by 1pm as it was extremely hot out.
This afternoon, I left about 4:30pm and made my way down to the Puerto Ayora wharf. I was taking a few photos of the harbour when I witnessed a bird dive right into the water for a fish right in front of me. I got to laughing thinking how I see birds dive into water for food and some fish jump out of the water for food. At that moment I saw three black-tailed sharks come up below the bird. The bird just got out of the water in the nick of time. They were some close to having a bird for a meal.
After a few minutes I heard what sounded like a loud burp and turned to see a sea lion making some noise. It was swimming around the wharf and then it jumped up on the dock and slowly made its way up the ramp to the wharf. This lady was sitting on a bench and it came up to her. She quickly got up and got out of the way. The sea lion jumped up on the bench and lay down. Too funny! LOL
April 06th
Got up this morning, had my breakfast, and the taxi arrived early … 6:50am. The host at the accommodation “recommended” that I take a taxi to the Ferry and it ONLY cost $30.00 … that it would be more comfortable. I told him that I was up for the challenge and would prefer to take the bus. It was a good thing the taxi driver came early as when he took me to the bus terminal, three minutes away, it was already 75% full. He dropped my suitcase beside the bus and the bus driver loaded it onto the bus. The taxi cost $1.50. After getting on the bus, I had to wait about 20 minutes before we headed out. About half way to the Ferry port, the bus assistant came around and collected $2.00 per person for the bus. Got to the Ferry port and a Ferry was already there. The last Ferry I was on here, your suitcases are loaded on top, this Ferry you take your luggage on board and put them at the back of the boat. It cost $1.00 for the Ferry ride to the other side. The last step is you line up for a bus and you need to place your own luggage underneath before you board. This bus service is free. So, let’s see if my math is good … Going back to the airport it cost me $4.50 as compare to $31.00. When I arrived it cost me $60.00 through the hostel … hmmmm, a lesson learned. I must say it was very easy going and quite organized coming back and I would suggest that this would be the same if coming into Galapagos. So if you plan on going to Galapagos and follow my advice AND you save big bucks … send me $5.00. HAHAHAHA I got to make my money back somehow. LOL
I was informed that if my flight is at noon and I need to be there 2 hours earlier, to leave 3 hours before that if travelling the way I did. Reason being as the change in transportation can at times be a waiting game. Where I left so early in the morning it was not much of a problem. However, if I missed that first bus, then I would be waiting for another hour at the bus terminal. Where my connections were so quick it still took one hour and forty minutes. So, if you are really not up for such a challenge then taking the taxi to the Ferry would be your best bet.
Got to Guayaquil and the driver with my name card was nowhere to be seen. I went over to the luggage stow booth and the lady there was very kind and helpful. She contacted the hotel and the driver was there earlier, but the plane was delayed. He was waiting outside in the van, but came in once they contacted him.
Arrived at the hotel with great service from the time you get out of the car to the desk clerk. What I noticed this time which I did not notice before was the extra charges on the bill. When he told me the amount I told him that is different then what I was quoted. He scrolled down to show me the charges of 10% service fee and 12% tax. So, the service fee of 10% … I guess the shuttle service is not truly free. LOL Original cost for hotel was 58.00USD with the additional 22% it ended up costing me over 110.00CDN ... not the deal that I was expecting.
What a difference being in a room with a large king-sized bed, lots of light and …. NO bugs! LOL Got lots of work caught up on my blogs as internet was very good. It is certainly going to be a very restful evening.
April 07th
It was an amazing breakfast that was included in the accommodation price. By far the best breakfast I have had on this journey. They had hot and cold food, lots of fruit and a huge assortment of items to choose from. Fresh juice was my highlight. LOL
The hotel had a chauffeur drive me to the airport. He was a little jerky behind the wheel. When we arrived at the airport, he took the wrong ramp and ended up dropping me off at the Arrivals doors instead of the Departures. He was then going to drop me off in front of the Domestic and I told him to drive to the end and drop me off at Internacionale. Once he stopped, I opened the car door, but did not get out. He turned around wondering what I was doing ... I told him I was waiting for him to open the trunk so I could get my suitcase. He quickly jumped out and opened the trunk. He was very apologetic about it though. :-)