AspiringNomad

I am feeling elated after the last 12 hours, in fact, after the last week!
I can’t help but think, that it’s this exact feeling that people get addicted to when travelling!
I started my morning feeling a little sad that I was having to depart from the beautiful island of San Cristobal. It was warm and muggy and after being here for a few days I had got used to the fact that my skin always feels a bit clammy. Even if it was overcast, you knew the weather would brighten up after an hour or so. I headed to breakfast with my two friends; Martin (pronounced in Spanish) and Ben.

We returned to my favourite spot for scrambled egg, a pot of fruit and three pancakes topped with fruit and honey.
Like with most meals over the last two weeks, I lost my appetite half way through, but thankfully the others helped me out. (Ben decided after the last few days that I was a good person to go to dinner with because I didn’t finish my meals. I think he would get a shock if he saw how much I eat at home!!)

At 10am, Ben and I needed to head to the airport to catch our flight back to the mainland. Martin came with us to say goodbye at the airport. It was yet another emotional farewell. An end to another short chapter in an incredible part of the world and a tearful goodbye to a friendship I had made that had to finish too soon.

Once I landed in Guayaquil, I hugged Ben goodbye as he stayed on the plan to continue on to Quito and I patiently waited to get through to baggage claim to get my backpack.
As I waited, Christina and Dominique from my dive tour came over to say hello and knowing I had some time to wait in Quayaquil they invited me for lunch with them and their friends.
This came about because during the dive tour we were chatting about the dangers in Quayaquil and how in the ‘travelling world’ (yes, I am that person now), Guayaquil has a pretty bad wrap.
Born and raised in Guayaquil they were determined to change my mind about the place.

So, for lunch I headed to a swanky Sushi restaurant in the nicer area of the city. August, his girlfriend and child, Alessandro, Christina, Dominique and me all sat down for lunch. As Spanish was the first language for all of them, I was sat there for most of the meal not knowing what was going on. All I could think about was that I felt like a foreign exchange student! Christina was kindly translating a lot of the conversation for me but it confirmed that I am going to spend some time on this trip learning Spanish. Although I didnt mind not being able to understand, it did limit how much contribution I could make to the conversation. August and his family headed off and it was just the four of us left to explore the nice areas of Guayaquil and eventually head back to Dominique and Christina’s house.
It wasn’t what you would expect. I imagined they were fairly well off and as we entered the gated community, I was right. Their house was lovely, really modern and decorated strangely similar to an English new build. I think Christina’s experience of living in Amsterdam for 3 years had a slight influence on the interior design.

We chatted about travel, work, Netflix, relationships and how I apparently look like a Mexican signer called ‘Berlinda’ (I definitely don’t) until it was time for me to get into the UBER to head to the bus station.

As I approached the extremely busy terminal the driver asked if I would like to be accompanied going inside. Without hesitation, I said ‘sì!’
His fluent Spanish got me to my stop no. 101 just in time to climb aboard and depart for Mancora, Peru!

I have been reflecting on my time in the Galapagos whilst I have been curled up on the bus. Put it this way, I am not even embarrassed that I bought a t-shirt that says Galapagos on! Absolutely no shame after experiencing just how magical it is there.
The people who work and live on the island love where they are and are extremely proud to be part of the beautiful archipelago. There is a subtle buzz in the air of excited tourists which can’t be ignored.

I woke up Thursday morning a little worried about my upcoming dive that afternoon. After a little lay in, I got my things together and headed for breakfast. It was here I met Ben. From Manchester (originally High Wycombe), we ended up having a coffee together and then finding a cheap place to have breakfast. *Queue the favourite pancake place* Ben had just arrived on the island from Santa Cruz. We both wanted to organise a trip for Saturday and after hunting around we ended up booking the popular ‘360° tour’.
We separated ways as I went off to the dive center. Here I met Oswaldo, he was going to be my dive instructer/buddy for the two dives I had planned for the day. I can’t say I wasn’t nervous about the fact that he said I would have to demonstrate the skills to him again in order to be able to dive at Kicker Rock tomorrow.
We headed to the Pier and got onto a boat with some others. Differing in abilities my nerves calmed and despite being the least experienced there, I don’t think it showed too much!
Our first dive was at Tjetetas. A nice easy place to roll back and decend with a light current, crystal clear waters and obviously, lots of marine life. I was having the time of my life! Unfortunately, as we ascended I was reminded that after feeling a bit under the weather for the last few days (I am sure it doesnt have anything to do with the late nights and alcohol!) my left ear was completely blocked!
The second dive at Karahua (a ship wreck) was looking unlikely. As I attempt to descend the pain was too much and I had to signal to Oswaldo that I could equalise my left ear.
He suggested that we abandon the dive and let the ear settle. He recommended that I go to the pharmacy to get some Otozoman drops to see if that helps as it would be hugely disappointing to miss out on Kicker Rock the following day.

That evening I met up with Ben and we headed to a local restaurant for the Menu Del Dias. Fish, rice, chips and veg was served and we moved on for a couple of cocktails. After I blew him away with my extensive knowledge of Chesterfield we called it a night and headed to bed!

I was apprehensive the following morning and couldn’t contain my excitement for the day ahead. The whole reason for completing my PADI Open Water was so I could scuba dive at Kicker Rock. After seeing it multiple times on nature programmes I couldnt believe I was actually going to go there.
I met my group at the dive center again and headed to the pier, Jacob and Martin were our guides for the day. Jacob would be my dive buddy as the other divers were in couples.

I can’t quite articulate the feeling of approaching a huge rock in the middle of the Pacific ocean, standing 143m tall. It is one hell of a spectacle.

We geared up and I happily stepped into the ocean. Once we were all in we started to decend. My left ear however, was not giving up. It took me a while to get down and I had to settle for about 15m whilst the others were a couple of meters below. I occasionally got too excited and sank a little lower but the pain was too much to endure so I had to come back up again, but it didn’t distract from what was going on around me! Tens of sea turtles, 100s of different species of fish and most importantly, the main attraction, sharks! I look down and see the rock continue deep into the abiss. A nice 45mins ended well and I was so happy that I had a chance to dive there.
We had a little break with banana bread, juice and fruit and it was soon time for the second dive. This time Jacob guided us to a huge school of fish that populate one side of the rock. The school was so big that as you swam into it, everything became dark. I was actually worried that I was going to lose my group! But after spinning a couple of times, the fish create a ring around you and I could see the other divers doing the same. As we swim through the fish a white tip shark joins us down there. A moment I won’t ever forget! Another 45mins was soon over and we ascended to the surface. The current was tough but it made the experience more exciting. We boarded the boat and had some lunch. Although I could no longer hear anything from my left ear anymore, I was on a huge high!

Martin and I compared Go Pro pictures and decided to celebrate when we returned to land with a few happy hour cocktails!

Once freshened up, a few cocktails turned into a couple of shots of tequila and before I knew it, I was in Mr.Infernos discotheque! I was getting to learni some salsa moves and generally having a great time but, I was still aware that my 360° tour started at 7am the following morning! At about 1am we left the club to try and get a few hours sleep!

It was a sleepy Saturday morning, but I surprisingly felt OK! I think my body has come to terms with the increased alcohol consumption I seem to have kept up on this trip.
I met Ben at Pinta, a coffee shop close to the pier. If you have ever watched Love Actually, you’ll be familiar with the scene where Kevin Spacey’s character is buying a necklace for his love interest behind his wife’s back and Rowan Atkinson is taking his sweet, sweet time packing the box for the necklace. Yes? Well, then you know how painfully slow the girl in the coffee shop was making a coffee for the guy infront of us who also purchased a bag on ground coffee! Thinking we would either miss the tour or have to skip the coffee it was eventually our turn! Thank goodness the coffee was delicious and we just made it on time to the tour!

We headed off for a final time to Kicker Rock (this time just to snorkel).
I jumped in and as soon as I look down, a casual hammerhead swims beneath us! We spend about an hour here admiring the wildlife and then headed to a beautiful beach for some sunbathing. As I reluctantly put suncream on I look over to see Ben laying there fully clothed with shorts and t-shirt. He claims that no amount of suncream would protect his pasty skin, so it is best not to risk it! As he topped up his casio watch tan line that he has been working on over the past 6 weeks we chatted some more and soaked up the beautiful beach before moving on to our third and final stop.

At Rosablanca, we got our snorkelling gear on again and swam in a lagoon. It was full of huge sea turtles that were incredibly docile and quite happy to be filmed. The water was warm and clear but very shallow.

Once back on shore, I told Ben I needed to do some admin as I was yet to sort out anything for the Peru leg of my trip.
Unfortunately, the WIFI wasn’t working very well, so I gave up and decided to go for drinks instead!
I then ended up meeting Martin and a group of people who he had met that day. Two girls were from Germany, one from Turkey, two other guys from Galapagos, Martin’s sister and her friends were all there too! Determined to not have a late night again, me and a couple of others decided to skip the discotheque and went in at about 12pm. After seeing the two German girls at the airport this morning, I thanked myself for my very adult decision. The multiple bottles of water and pastries that surrounded them wasn’t working and they were not in a good way! Quite a sight though, even the woman sat next to then started laughing when I was asking them about their night!

I crossed the border into Peru about 90mins ago and I am soon to arrive in Mancora. Coincidently, I happen to be on the same bus as a friend from Quito, Callum. (We only noticed when we got off at the border) As we have been catching up on last week’s antics, I haven’t managed to get much sleep! I have semi accepted that I am going to be tired for most of this trip. Despite booking a hostel in Mancora that parties every night to 3am, I am still hopefully I’ll catch up on some sleep in the next few days!