• Olddustyboots.com
  • Olddustyboots.com

Ecuador and the Galapagos isla

A truly unique trip that checks off a bucket list item. Read more
  • Trip start
    November 27, 2023
  • 444 steps to la Faro

    November 29, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Guayaquil was founded by the joining of the Guaya people and the Quil people with a beautiful love story that is represented by this statue. Then our climb up these twisting, narrow stairs wound through a neighbourhood the clings to the steep hill. At the top, a lighthouse reigns like a queen on her throne while the muddy river brings Andes mountain nutrients to the surrounding farmlands.Read more

  • Cocoa plantation

    November 29, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We had lunch at a cocoa plantation where the trees are grown in the traditional way amongst banana trees, lemon grass, oregano herbs and other plants. We saw a ripe cocoa pod cut open and we tasted the juicy seeds. The beans dry for over 24 days before they become the chocolate that we do desire.Read more

  • Galapagos islands

    November 30, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today we traveled to the middle of nowhere, - the Galapagos islands. We started our day at 6:30 and began a multi phase transportation plan. First a bus to the airport, where our bags were x-rayed and sealed with a green security zip tie, followed by a 2 hour flight. Next, a 20 minute bus ride to the dock where we boarded a water taxi for a short ride. Then a bus to a quaint restaurant in the middle of the jungle for lunch, which is where we saw many giant tortoises grazing in the lush grass. We continued on the bus until we came to another dock. We took our second water taxi to board our larger fishing boat with 4 motors that took us 2 hours across the ocean to Isabela Island. A bus brought us deep into the jungle where we're staying in safari tents. So cool!Read more

  • Wall of Tears and Tortoises

    December 1, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    This afternoon we hiked the 10 kilometre round trip trail to the Wall of Tears that was built by prisoners who were housed in a prison here between 1946 and 1959. Conditions were brutal and eventually the prisoners escaped. On the way, we encountered several giant land tortoises in their habitat and enjoyed the cacti and trees that they graze on, including the poison apple tree that humans can't touch.Read more

  • Sierra Negra Volcano

    December 2, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    This morning we hiked for an hour up to Sierra Negra volcano, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the archipelago. It's caldera is the second largest in the world with a diameter of 6 miles. Sadly, it rained the whole way and all we could see was clouds. We did manage to see the vermillion flycatcher though!Read more

  • Tortoise Breeding Center

    December 2, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    The National park in the Galapagos have a tortoise breeding program to try to repopulate two species of giant tortoises. Eggs are artificially incubated to improve the number of tortoises that survive and the offspring are raised at the center until they're big enough and have a hard enough shell to survive in the wild. The day before we visited, 150 tortoises were released into the wild by the center.Read more

  • Goodbye Galapagos, Hello Quito

    December 3, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Back we traveled by bus, then speedboat for over 2 hours on a very rough ocean. We again took a bus to a water taxi and then another bus to the airport. On our way, we stopped at a tortoise breeding ranch on Santa Cruz island and saw a gathering of tortoises at a pond. This is typical behavior during the breeding season, but the rest of the year, tortoises are loners. Our flight took us to Guayaquil and then to Quito where we arrived tired but happily looking forward to our next adventures.Read more

  • Papallacta Hot Springs

    December 4, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We traveled by bus through the mountains to the Papallacta Hot Springs where we stayed in rustic cabins that surrounded an oasis of flowers, hot pools and winding paths. Doug and I soaked in a thermal pool, then sat in the steam room and finished off our spa treatment with a long, luxurious massage.Read more

  • Coca, the Amazon Rainforest

    December 5, 2023 in Ecuador

    We traveled from Papallacta Hot Springs back to Quito where we took a half hour flight to Coca. At the airport, we admired the historic costumes of the people celebrating independence day. In Coca, we took a 2 hour boat ride that zigged and zagged back and forth across the river as our captain followed the current. Leaving the river, we walked about a mile through the jungle to board dugout canoes for our last leg of our journey. By 2 pm, we arrived at Sacha lodge on Pilchicocha lake
    .
    Read more

  • The Mother Spirit Tree

    December 6, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    In the Amazon the rainforest woke up early, so we were in a dugout canoe at 7:00 am in the rain. We traveled across the lake and down a small tributary looking for wildlife, and then we left our canoe to walk through the jungle. We arrived at an ancient, giant tree that was over 100 feet tall. We climbed a winding metal staircase to a platform that circled the tree and we spent a couple of glorious hours birdwatching and learning about the entire ecosystem that lives high above the jungle in this tree's mossy branches.Read more

  • Ariel Suspension Bridge

    December 6, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    We walked through the jungle for about a mile, looking for wildlife. When we reached the metal tower, we climbed until we were high above the tree canopy and then enjoyed birdwatching from our suspension bridge. We saw toucan, bush turkeys and other birds flitting from tree to tree. By the time we climbed down it was getting dark and we walked home by headlamps in a spooky world.Read more