Published: Jan 31, 2024
GALAPAGOS > GUAYAQUIL
There was a lot of melancholy in the air today. None of us wanted to leave. I think the crew arranged a 5am wakeup on purpose to keep us all distracted – we left for our final sunrise outing on Mosquera Islet, saying goodbye to the white sand beach, a lava gull, some twin sealions, and a frigate bird chasing another frigate bird with an eel in its mouth. Last time on the dinghies. Last breakfast. Rushed attempts to pack our suitcases and get them off the boat. It’s been a crazy week. To be completely honest, today was a sad day, and we could feel it. We were high on emotion. All of us shed some tears. And although it wasn’t fully verbalised, I think what we probably would have needed the most is a bit of time to reflect and process the experience of being on and leaving the islands… but we were headed straight to Guayaquil – our next destination. I can’t believe we’ve got another week and a half left of our trip – there’s a part of me that can’t wait for the new euphoria that will arise as I gather fresh experiences in novel places, but truthfully, there’s another part of me that wants to sit still for a bit, just basking in the images of the Galapagos that are still in my mind and the promise I’ve made to return.
Mosquera islet waking up
Frigate bird chase
But the tinges of sadness and nostalgia I was feeling quickly turned to stress as what I’d been dreading in the leadup to leaving the boat came true: having Wi-Fi again made me want to turn it right back off. With every email and message coming in after a week of being off the grid, I became more and more out of balance. I found myself wondering if this is what I feel on the daily in London, but I’m just desensitised to it…
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I had a lot of time to bask in my existential stress –our flight was delayed because a bird crashed into our plane (let’s hope it wasn’t a blue-footed booby!). The delay was probably a good thing as we had a bit of a fiasco trying to transfer 10 extra kilos from one suitcase to another… I blame the oars and the machete.
So we arrived in Guayaquil much later than planned, and after settling into where we’re staying in Guayaquil’s Historic Park, we headed out on what was supposed to be an afternoon city tour, but was now an evening tour. We were all half-dazed from sheer exhaustion but it didn’t matter: as the sun set, we took in Chile street — known for its street market – and Seminario park, also known as iguana park (the iguanas here look very different from the ones in the Galapagos!). We learned about the city’s unfortunate history, plagued by fires and pirates, and we learned that there are hardly any Indigenous people left in Guayaquil, as they were all wiped out by the Spanish in the 1500s. We admired the architecture typical of Guayaquil: old buildings with white columns and wide windows. We saw the rich communities (characterised by their gated houses) and the not-so-rich communities, the second largest cemetery in South America, the local flower market where we could take in the roses (one of Ecuador’s main exports), a statue of the first Guayaquil mayor standing in front of the Guayas river, the Ceiba trees (familiar from the Amazon), and some small tortoises (not-so-familiar after the giants we saw in Galapagos.)
Guayaquil’s iguana park
I’m absolutely exhausted, to tell the truth. And I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the sickening swaying of the boat at night and the deafening sound of the anchor lowering whilst I’m trying to sleep…
