Romping and Nguyening

Havana

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

Most tourists fly into Havana, the capital of Cuba. Beyond the stifling summer heat and lively, gritty streets, Havana is simply put…BEAUTIFUL. Tall, historic buildings that serve primarily as small homes line the narrow streets of Havana Vieja. Rotund, topless men and skinny, mid-drift adorning women can be found lingering on the sidewalks in front of their shabby homes at sunset, avoiding the oven-like atmosphere in their living rooms. No Spanish colonial square in South America can compete with Havana Vieja, and the consistent live music is icing on the cake.

But despite all its glory, scammers lurk the streets to take advantage of the first day of the eager tourist. As sad is it sounds, any friendly local in Havana or any other major city in Cuba has one purpose: to trick you into giving him or her money. Havana ended up being a difficult city to enjoy after politely excusing ourselves away from so many scams, but once it was overlooked, it became easier to appreciate its beauty and rawness. My favorite activity in Havana was roaming around the narrow streets of gorgeous architecture, and gazing upon the hustle and bustle of city life from my Spanish colonial balcony. Of our 20 days, we spent 5 nights in Havana.

In the streets:

The National Capitol Building (unfortunately under renovation at the time):

Che art can be found everywhere.

Souvenirs:

Plaza de Armas lined with old books:

Havana’s first neoclassical building, El Templete:

Castillo de La Real Fuerza, a fortress that is now a maritime museum:

Plaza Vieja:

Street food time! Pizza, fresh juice, coffee, all for just a few cents.

A favorite of locals and tourists, strolling along the Malecon at sunset:

Live music everywhere!

The famous Che Guevara mural at the Plaza de la Revolucion:

Touring around Havana in style:

A historic day, the U.S. Embassy in Havana, less than 24 hours after it reopened:

Our first three nights in Cuba were spent in Havana, and having just arrived to Cuba, we couldn’t wait to get out of it to the countryside of Viñales. However at the closure of our trip, after learning just how much more difficult the rest of Cuba actually was, we couldn’t wait to return to Havana to spend our final nights.

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Cuba – Know Before You Go

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

In late 2014 we toyed with the idea of visiting Cuba during our 5 months of South American travel. Only a couple months later in 2015 when Obama made it public that he wanted to lift the Cuban embargo, we unanimously agreed that we had to go before traveling there became easier and legal. We had to go before it opened its doors to the United States…we had to go before American tourists would change everything.

Prepare to be frustrated and fascinated at the same time, they said. Go with an open mind, they said.

There is no internet in Cuba which makes preparation prior to arriving a necessity. (Well, there is internet, but at $2/hour in only very few locations, I found it to be a bit more inconvenient than what I’m used to.) Lonely Planet’s travel guide for Cuba would be my best friend for the time I would spend in the largest island of the Caribbean. Upon my initial research, I quickly learned that the simple basics of currency, getting there, accommodation, food, and transportation in Cuba would not be so simple for any tourist. Below I share the information I learned before arriving, and my experiences and reflections after having spent 20 days in Cuba.

***

Currency & Budgeting

Like most developing countries Cuba is mainly a cash-based economy. There are ATMs but if you’re American like me, don’t even think about using them. I read that as of March 2015, some debit cards would work, but I was not going to take any chances and arrive to Cuba without all the cash I would need. Our only solution was to bring enough cash to last us the duration of our stay. And because Cuba is an expensive place to visit despite how little the locals live on (thanks, Cuban government!), we both had to pre-budget and carry an uncomfortable amount of cash.

Cuba has two currencies: the CUC (convertible peso), and the CUP (moneda nacional). $1 CUC is equivalent to $1 USD, and $25 CUP is equivalent to $1 CUC. Think of $5 CUP as 20¢ USD. Tourists will primarily be using the CUC to pay for expensive items such as food in restaurants, lodging, long distance transportation, excursions, etc. But the CUP is handy for things that locals buy, such as street food ($5 CUP for churros, $10 CUP for a small pizza, etc.) It is easy to exchange money at any bank or cadeca (money changer). I later learned that tourists aren’t the only people queuing in line at cadecas. Locals also line up at cadecas to convert their CUPs into CUCs, so they can buy “luxury” items such as shampoo and toothpaste. Some tourist-catered restaurants won’t even accept CUPs; I had to pay $3 CUC for a mojito because they wouldn’t take $75 CUP. To make things even more confusing people call both the CUC and the CUP pesos, and it is up to you to clarify whether it is CUC or CUP, allowing plenty of room for rip-offs and scams.

This confusing dual currency system has created an in-your-face separation of classes. In tourist areas, there are few CUP cafeterias not far from CUC restaurants. The often dark and grimy CUP cafeterias are filled with poorer locals and the occasional tourists like us spending anywhere from 25¢ to $2 for meals, whereas the CUC restaurants are modern and clean like any nice restaurant in the U.S., serving $7-$12 meals. The more time we spent in Cuba the more we found it easier to eat at the CUP cafeterias and food stalls, though the occasional stare-down still made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Even in small shops it became clear what locals could and could not afford—the $4.80 CUC Pringles versus the $5 CUP (20¢) package of inedible crackers. This dual-class system that Fidel and Che fought so hard to bring down is as strong as ever.

Although the CUC is equivalent to the USD, the USD has the worst exchange rate—they are accepted but with a 10% penalty fee on top of the exchange rate. So what did we do? We took out $1,600 each while we were still in Ecuador (thankfully the national currency of Ecuador is the USD!), went to a money changer in Quito, and converted them all into euros. It was scary carrying around $3,200 in only $20 bills (Ecuador does not have $100 bills!). After converting to euros, Chris and I each ended up with four notes: three enormous 500 euro notes, and one 100 euro note. During our layover in Mexico I also pulled out $3,000 MXN (~$185 USD) as backup. At the end of Day 1 in Cuba, we had 5 different currencies in our travel wallet: euros, Mexican pesos (MXN), dollars (USD), convertible pesos (CUC), and monedas nacionales (CUP).

In terms of budgeting for Cuba, base costs include the Cuban visa that can easily be purchased in Mexico ($300 MXN or $18 USD), exit fee ($332 MXN or $20 USD) and a taxi to and from the airport ($20 CUC one-way). It is said that Cuban health insurance is required ($4 per day), but that service was nowhere to be found at the airport. Excluding the total base costs of $58, I read that a budget traveler should plan to spend anywhere from $60-$80 CUC per person per day, assuming the daily costs are shared with one other person. We planned for the higher side, so $80 CUC x 20 days = $1,600 CUC. Turned out that we super over-budgeted and we each ended up spending closer to $50 CUC per day. Yay!

Getting There

Cuba is full of tourists year-round, especially from Canada…but not so much from the United States. Because the embargo has not yet fully lifted, there are no direct commercial flights to Cuba from the U.S., except a few chartered flights from select states. So what was the easiest way to get there for us?

For Americans, perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to Havana, Cuba via commercial airline is from Cancun, Mexico. We flew into Cancun from Quito, Ecuador and then flew from Cancun to Havana. There are flights everyday from Cancun to Havana via Cubana at 3:05pm for around $350—that 1-hour flight ain’t cheap!

During our layover in Cancun we easily found a guy selling Cuban visas for $300 MXN ($18 USD). I took out MXN from the ATM, paid for the visas, and then checked into our flight for Havana.

Once in Havana, there were a handful of Cuban secret police-types loitering in Customs, stopping a bunch of tourists at random for questioning with regard to our occupation, length of stay, purpose of visit, etc. After all the questioning, we proceeded to get our entry stamp. Because we are American, they simply stamped our visa, which was a piece of paper separate from the passport. When we left Cuba, they stamped the visa and took it back, leaving no trace of Cuba in our passports.

Accommodation

There are two options: expensive government-run hotels ($80-$150) and cheaper family run casas particulares ($15-$35). Naturally, we stayed in casas throughout Cuba.

The casas particulares are houses or apartments belonging to the middle to upper-middle class. For a monthly fee, the owners of these homes are allowed to rent out their vacant rooms to tourists. Whether or not the rooms are rented, the owners still must pay this monthly fee to the government. Because the price is based on per room and not per person, it is much cheaper to travel to Cuba with other people in order to split the cost of the room. There are no hostels in Cuba catered to backpackers, and as a result, traveling alone can be quite lonesome. In addition to being the more economical option, casas also include…a family! The people who live there treat you like family, are incredibly helpful with answering any questions, and provide tips and recommendations. More often than not the casas are beautiful, colonial houses with high ceilings and columns. Relaxing on the front porch in the warm evenings on a rocking chair with a beer or a glass of wine was the norm. With the exception of our first casa, we would simply show up in the next city to a casa referred to by our previous casa host, or we would find a casa on our own. Do NOT accept any help from a taxi driver or hustler on the street, as you will be taken to a really shitty casa and charged a higher price to cover their commission.

Several days before our arrival, I nervously googled casas particulares cuba, and little did I know that there would be numerous websites with dozens of casas. After many email exchanges I finally reserved a casa I liked in a preferred location: a private 1 bed-room apartment with bathroom, hot water, air conditioner (an absolute MUST!!!), a kitchen with cooking utensils, a living/dining area, and a balcony in Havana Vieja. At $35 CUCs, it was a bit more than I preferred, but I couldn’t be picky at the last minute. The kitchen was also a plus, since most casas don’t advertise kitchen access. YAY! I thought. I can cook some meals to save money and avoid the notoriously bland Cuban food! Except grocery shopping ended up being more of a shocking experience.

Food

Stories reveal that prior to 2011, food served to tourists in Cuba was notoriously bland and awful, whether it be from a government restaurant or a paladar, a private restaurant. Apparently there had been government restrictions on what restaurants could buy and serve, limiting options to practically just spaghetti, bread and ham. Even black pepper was a luxury. Like all things in the world, things have changed, and now midrange-to-upscale restaurants have popped up, serving quality meals that exceeded my expectations. The going price for a decent entrée seemed to be anywhere from $6-$12 CUC, and many entrées were perfect for sharing during dinner. Still, there is no regional dish of Cuba.

Most if not all casas can also prepare ridiculously large breakfasts and dinners for $5 and $10 CUC per person. In preparation for a long day ahead, we would ask our casa host to prepare us breakfast, which typically included a large plate of local fruits, milk, coffee, fresh juice, fresh bread and butter, and fried eggs. Giant breakfasts like these would last us until lunch without snacks.

Later on in our travels we learned that we could actually pay less for less food—$5 for just fruit, juice, and coffee for the two of us became the norm. We only had dinner at two different casas, neither of which were memorable. Eating out at restaurants ended up being cheaper, tastier, and more varied.

Street food sold from homes or random shacks are also scattered here and there, typically peso pizzas, a personal-sized pizza that costs literally cents. After such a large breakfast, we usually enjoyed a $5-10 CUP (20-40¢ USD) peso pizza for lunch under the heat of the sun. Another cheap treat that could be found almost everywhere was ice cream. Cubans sure know how to make their ice cream. 4-5 scoops of delicious, creamy ice cream and cake averaged $4 CUP, or 16¢. Fluffy cheese pizzas for 25¢ and ice cream for 10-15¢ were the norm for us in Cuba.

Early in our trip I wanted to prepare my own meals, but little did I know that the basic task of grocery shopping in Cuba would leave me frustrated and shocked. Even the concept of packing a picnic lunch was nonexistent; we had to either eat at an expensive restaurant on site, or pack a cheap, barely edible ham and cheese sandwich from a street vendor. There is either a food and water shortage in the whole country, or a serious distribution problem.

Shopping for groceries in Havana, the busy capital of Cuba, made grocery shopping in the rural villages of Myanmar seem modern by comparison. I’m going to classify “grocery shopping” into four categories: packaged goods, meat, fresh produce, and water.

Packaged goods: The tiendas or grocery shops resembled ration shops, dark and forlorn without any lights. Liquor and sodas filled small, single fridges or wooden shelves, but almost never water. Smaller stores had maybe two glass displays; larger stores had several shelves. They were stocked with packaged foods typically found in “emergency” kits: instant mashed potatoes, spaghetti, tomato sauce, packaged soups, and jars of mayonnaise. If you were lucky, there would be cookies or the worst crackers you’ll ever eat.
Meat: It was difficult to find any carneceria or meat shop. Some tiendas sold meat, but if they did, it was liver spread, hot dogs, hamburger patties, ham, and maybe chicken drumsticks if you were lucky.
Fresh produce: Only in Havana did I see an actual produce market which was a small, dark, gritty room filled with half-empty crates of wilting produce. Most of the time I was better off finding a street vendor pushing a fruit or vegetable cart, and even those were scarce. Outside of major cities there were only fruit cart vendors, who weren’t always well stocked. In one tiny town I asked my casa host where she bought fresh food, and she told me from a truck that comes into town only twice a week. I have to wonder where the hell Cuban chefs get their ingredients.
Water: In a Caribbean country so hot and humid year round, one would think a Cuban could make a killer living selling bottled water on the sidewalk. We couldn’t even find bottled water at the gas station or grocery store. Another traveler told me she was in a small town that completely ran out of water, and when a truck finally arrived with bottled water, it was like Black Friday at Walmart. The typical rate for a 1500 ml bottle of water was $1.50, sometimes as low as 70¢ and as high as $2.00 in touristy areas. My tip is if you see 1500 ml bottles of water, buy as much as you can comfortably carry and conserve.

Transportation

Like food, the cost difference between transportation for locals and transportation for tourists is strikingly appalling. Anything you manage to do the “local way” will cost literally just a few cents, whereas doing anything the “tourist way” will range anywhere from $20-$80. While we found the local way to be ridiculously economical, it definitely required Spanish, patience, and tolerance for discomfort.

Tourists who prefer not to enjoy Cuba the local way can travel independently by rental car or taxi, or dependently by tour bus, all which are exponentially more expensive than the local way. Rental cars can range from $50-$70/day. City taxis range anywhere from $5-15 for ~10 minutes of driving. (Tip: Unlike anywhere else in the world, negotiate a price, and don’t use the taxi meter. A driver suggested using the taxi meter once, we naively agreed, and ended up with a $14.50 bill after about 5 km. Many taxi drivers will also offer tours/excursions outside of the city ranging from $20-$80. Sadly, taxi drivers are probably some of the richest people in Cuba because of the ample opportunities they have to rip off tourists. I heard that even doctors resort to driving taxis just to get by.) Perhaps the cheapest tourist option is to take a tour with one of many companies: Infotur, Ecotur, Havanatur, and Transtur. You can load onto a comfortable, air-conditioned bus with other tourists and pay $20-$40, depending on the tour. Albeit more costly, any of these touristy transportation methods will be the fastest and most comfortable options.

Because we are budget travelers and prefer to experience countries the local way, we primarily took local transportation within cities, which included buses, trucks, and horse carts. Unlike taxis, local buses in the cities are insanely cheap. The local bus within Havana cost 40¢ CUP per ride, which is less than 2¢ USD. LESS THAN 2¢!!! Thanks to simple instructions from our casa host, we were able to take the local bus once in Havana, literally saving us a $10 taxi ride. Like all public buses, the ride took longer than it should have, but 2¢ could not be beat! And we got to see some parts of the city we wouldn’t have otherwise visited.

The camiones or trucks that can be used within cities or between long-distance cities come more often than buses and ranged anywhere from $1-5 CUP (4-20¢). These trucks were similar to cattle trucks, but with benches to sit on and poles to cling onto. We ended up using trucks more often than we expected because we found that asking locals for the nearest truck stop always resulted in helpful answers and directions. Riding them was incredibly uncomfortable, bumpy, hot, and often grotesquely crowded, but they were always an adventure.

Horse carts or cochas were also another form of inner-city transportation. Like trucks and buses, there were horse cart stops with specific routes, and locals were always eager to answer our questions. For only $1-2 CUP (4-8¢), it was an economical way to travel short distances, and a pleasant experience with the clip-clopping of hooves.

By avoiding rental cars, private daily taxi drivers, and bus tours, we not only saved a couple hundred dollars, but we were also able to mingle with the locals. As the only tourists waiting at a bus, truck, or horse cart stop, we were definitely an interesting couple to spectate. Once we watched a bunch of locals run and climb into a giant dump truck. We hesitantly followed, which resulted in a free ride on a dirt road along a river beach. By traveling the local way, we were able to share numerous friendly conversations with locals of all ages and color.

For long-haul travel between cities, we opted to go the tourist way for reliability and comfort. There is only one long-destination tourist bus called Viazul. Although I’ve heard stories of broken air conditioners, Viazul buses are generally fine. With prices ranging from $12-$50 depending on distance, it is incredibly rare to find any local on these buses. Viazul has its perks, but it also has a couple of downsides. First, buying the tickets can be a nightmare. In a communist country there is no incentive to do well in a job, or ambition to compete since there are no other companies to compete with. In our first experience, there were perhaps 10 people in line ahead of us, and it took over an hour to purchase bus tickets, even with two employees working. As soon as we got to the window, it became clear why the queue was so impeccably slow; the workers do not give a shit about their job. Second, sometimes the bus station and ticket office can be inconveniently located within the city—and have I mentioned how expensive a taxi ride was? Thanks to Viazul, my new nickname for Cuba became Queue-ba.

Instead of taking Viazul you can share a collective taxi to a major city for only several bucks more than the Viazul price. The only perks by taxi are direct hotel/casa pick up and drop off and saving several hours. We shared a taxi from Viñales to the Bay of Pigs and there was no perk other than saving a couple hours; we were 4 tourists crammed in a tiny taxi without air conditioning, loud music, and a driver who tried to scam us after dropping us off. Because taxi drivers pocket the cash they make, it is easy for them to rack up anywhere from $80-$200 per trip depending on how far they drive.

East Asian Ignorance

I feel obliged to throw in what it means to travel to Cuba as an East Asian, or East-Asian American. Like South America, Cuba rarely sees East Asians wandering about their streets, but unlike South America, Cubans handle their excitement with ignorance and offensive stereotypes.

In South America, locals often asked me if I was from Japan, Korea, or China. In Cuba, I don’t get asked. I get shouted at. At least 5 times a day, someone would shout East Asian countries at me from a distance. “JAPON! CORREA! CHINA!” Chris had to shout back in Spanish, “I’m not from Japan!” People would shout, “Konnichiwa!” When I said I wasn’t from Japan, they would respond with, “Ni hao!” Once an entire band from a park shouted a bunch of Japanese words at me. Another time a man quickly walked by me and said, “Hola Suzuki!” And another time a random man who literally saw me for a few seconds pointed at me and told an European family who were having dinner, “Champion de karate!” These stories are funny to share, but in person, it is incredibly infuriating and exhausting. I asked two other Asian tourists (who were in fact Japanese and Korean) if they got shouted at and they said yes, all the time. I saw fewer than 10 Asian tourists in Cuba during my visit; if you are East Asian, prepare for special treatment.

Scams

Like any other poor/developing nation, scams are to be expected. However I have to admit that never before had we experienced so many attempted scams; it was either on par if not worse than Cambodia. During our first couple of days in Cuba we were fresh enough to simply go along with their script, being friendly and chatty with the locals who were so eager to be our friend right until they offered to take us to a bar or restaurant. We quickly shook their hands and took off. Toward the end of our trip, we simply ignored anyone who tried to be our friend, to the point where they were chasing us down the streets shouting, “Hola, amigo! Hola! Hello! My friend! Hola! Hello!” Throughout our 20 days, there had been absolutely no benefit and only potential for scams by speaking to anyone who was overtly friendly, zealously ambitious, or competent in English. “We don’t need or want any help, thank you,” became my immediate response (in Spanish of course) to anyone who simply tried to talk to me. My sad advice is to ignore anyone who is overly nice to you, unless you don’t mind being tricked and lied to.

***

Cuba is charmingly fucked up. Of course, the classier way of describing it is the same way everyone else and guidebooks describe it: frustrating, shocking, yet inspiring at the same time. Despite being only 90 miles away from a country that has a surplus of everything, Cuba lacks access to basic necessities and shortages are a part of daily life. Plastered to the incredible architecture and rich culture are the layers of economic deficiency and recent revolutionary history, and yet still, the country amazingly sees no serious crimes and its people are eager to open their doors more as U.S. ties improve.

You can travel the touristy way by spending heaps of money and experiencing what’s most convenient and easy, ignoring and remaining blissfully ignorant to the real Cuba and therefore avoiding any guilt. Or you can travel the local way to experience the typical frustrations of daily Cuban life, and end up filling your evenings with troubled thoughts about injustice and socialism. Like in all my travels I attempted to experience Cuba as locally as I could, and at the end of each day I thought about how the locals lived their everyday lives, seemingly happy with what they had, whereas us tourists were barely just getting a sneak-peek of their country from a more comfortable viewpoint. And yet this quick look, this brief “vacation,” these 20 days of assimilation, has broken me in a way no other country has…and what broke me in this short time period is what these people must face everyday. I feel ashamed to say that traveling and enduring Cuba made me a stronger person. Even as I struggled to be patient and reminded myself to be more understanding on a regular basis, I still believe that Cuba is the most difficult country I have ever visited.

There truly is no other place like Cuba.

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Otavalo

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

We bid farewell to the historic center of Quito on Saturday morning as we headed out for Otavalo at 8am. It was an easy 40-minute 25¢ trolly ride from Santo Domingo to El Ejido to Terminal Norte. However, Terminal Norte was insanely packed with locals and tourists queuing up for buses for Otavalo. Fortunately the long line moved along quickly, we paid $2.50 each for our bus tickets, and we were on our way to Otavalo by 9:30am.

Exactly two hours later we arrived to the main bus terminal in a very lively Otavalo. We didn’t have to walk far to find streets filled with hostels and we quickly checked into a hostel run by a family of native Otavalos for $9 per person per night. (It was $7 per person for a room with shared bath, but we wanted to splurge for a private bathroom. Ha!) After dropping our bags, we ventured out into the bustling streets toward the famous Saturday market.

This region of Ecuador has an indigenous population known for their handicrafts and Andean folk music. The Otavalos can easily be recognized by their traditional dress; men are typically in white pants with a dark poncho, and women are typically in a dark skirt, colorful waist band, and white blouse with colorful embroidery. Both men and women wear their hair long, with the men’s hair typically in a single braid. All throughout the streets we watched the locals carrying out their typical Saturday morning.

It was difficult to restrain myself from jumping into the piles of yarn:

My favorite knitted mask that could be found everywhere was a mask of the god Inti, one of the most regarded deities of Inca religion.

Beautiful displays of dream catchers:

Plenty of handmade friendship bracelets:

Noon soon approached and we found ourselves in the produce market.

Not far from the produce stands were the food stalls, crowded with hungry locals chowing down on lunch. The roast pork was amazing.

After lunch we walked several kilometers north to the outskirts of Otavalo to the cascada de Peguche, or Peguche waterfall. Apparently the Otavalos take ritual baths here during important ceremonies and festivals. Because it was a Saturday it was popular with locals.

We then proceeded to hike beyond the waterfall, up and over the mirador to the other side of the hill toward Lago San Pablo. Along the way we walked by several villagers and their livestock.

Lago San Pablo, with Imbabura Mountain in the distance. Imbabura is one of the highest mountains in Ecuador at 4,630 meters.

Feeling lazy, we took the bus back to Otavalo. Fortunately there was a bus stop right across the street from Lago San Pablo. Day 1 from Quito to Otavalo, to the market, to Peguche waterfall, and to Lago San Pablo was delightful.

Day 2 was equally as stunning, if not more. By 8:20am we got ourselves on a bus heading toward the town of Cotacachi for 35¢. We got off at the town of Quiroga and shared a taxi with 2 other tourists to Laguna Cuicocha for $4. Approximately 10-15 minutes later we were dropped off along the breathtaking Laguna Cuicocha, a volcanic crater now filled with a lake. We began our hike at exactly 9am, which made the total travel time of bus and taxi only 40 minutes. Luck was also in our hands, as the weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a hike around the crater.

Unlike most people, we opted to hike the laguna clockwise, which meant we had to walk up the paved road an additional 3.5 km. There was a large sign clearly indicating the end of the trail and not to enter, but we along with a group of locals started from the end anyway. Because the trail was so narrow, we ended up being glad that we traveled in this direction; it was more secluded which meant we didn’t have to wait for struggling hikers ahead of us. As the sun rose higher, the day grew later, and we made our way toward the entrance of the hike. It was a weekend and it became evident that the later the day, the more people there were. I highly recommend hiking earlier in the day, and/or starting from the end of the trail to avoid large crowds.

The hike around the rim was perfect–not too long and not too short with a distance of approximately 14 km which took us just under 3.5 hours. It peaked out at ~3,450 meters at its highest point.

Unlike Laguna Quilotoa, what made circumnavigating the rim of Laguna Cuicocha more interesting were the two islands in the form of three domes of volcanic rock in the center. The island as seen above is nicknamed “Cuy” or guinea pig, because it looks like one! The further and higher we walked, the more we circled around the islands, and the more the views changed. We were even able to see the skinny water channel between the two islands, which boats can navigate through.

We found ourselves in the parking lot at exactly 12:30pm and within a minute we were able to hitch a ride on the back of a local’s pickup truck returning to Quiroga. Nguyening!

Our final days in Ecuador were wonderfully spent: we strolled through the most famous market in the country, and we satisfied our thirst for the outdoors by hiking to the waterfall and hiking around the beautiful rim of a caldera. It was now time to wrap up our incredible 5 months in South America and finish with one more fascinating country in the Caribbean prior to going home.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged cascada de peguche, lago san pablo, laguna cuicocha, otavalo market | 1 Comment

Quito

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

At 2,850 meters high Quito is the second tallest capital in the world after La Paz. This long city stretches from north to south, with the primary tourist neighborhoods of Historic Quito (Centro Historico) and La Mariscal situated in the middle of the city. And when I say stretch, I truly do mean stretch. To take a bus from the main bus terminal in the south to the main bus terminal in the north could take an upward of 2 hours! Because Quito has one of the largest and most preserved historic centers in North and South America, I opted to spend our only two nights in the historic center…and also because it was significantly cheaper. =)

Bus/trolly transportation could not be easier in Quito. Because there is not yet a subway in Quito, the bus lines are used like a subway. They have their own special lane (which may make it even faster than a taxi), they are equally as packed as subways in Tokyo, and they are only 25¢ per ride. After we arrived to the Terminal Terrestre Quitumbe in the south we immediately hopped on trolly C4 toward the historic center. About 40 minutes later we stepped down into Plaza Santo Domingo.

I immediately fell in love with our pink budget hotel in the historic center, which was over a century old. For only $15/night, Hotel Juana de Arco could not be beat.

We like to call places like these “charming.” Our bathroom was so small, I finally achieved my dream of taking a shit and brushing my teeth at the same time. Just kidding. Chris did.

As expected, I marveled at the architecture in the historic district.

There also seems to be no limit to museums, churches, and cathedrals.

One somewhat kitschy half-day trip that can easily be done from Quito is the trip to La Mitad del Mundo, or “The Middle of the World,” which supposedly marks the equator line. From the historic center we took the red line “trolly” (known as el trole) for 25¢ and rode it to Ofelia station. From there it was easy to find another bus with Mitad del Mundo written on the top, and we rode that the rest of the way for an additional 40¢. The total travel time was just about an hour. Once we arrived we paid $6 each to see the monument and the museum. Despite the equator line being slightly off by ~240 meters, we still enjoyed it.

It’s funny that they even draw a line to divide the northern and southern hemispheres. It is said that the equatorial line is 5 km wide; it would be impossible to place one foot in one hemisphere and the other foot in the other hemisphere. Still, tourists want their photos!

Not far north from La Mitad del Mundo is a more accurate location of the 0º0º0º mark. There, one can find another museum and more touristy signs claiming to be the actual equatorial line. But even though it is more accurate than the old Mitad del Mundo, it is still not in fact the exact location of the equator! It was another $4 per person to enter this site, but we didn’t feel like spending more money to take another phony picture.

Using our own GPS, we set out for the third time north in search to find the true equator. It was literally across the street from the second location. However, there was no landmark for the actual equatorial line. Boo.

Our time in Quito was short due to my desire to stroll around the famous Saturday market at Otavalo. We were able to see the beautiful historic center and a couple of city parks, take in the wonderful options of the modern city’s gastronomy, people-watch and stroll, and visit the equatorial line, which was just about the most I could make out of Quito in just a short day and a half.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged mitad del mundo | Leave a comment

Quilotoa

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

The Quilotoa Traverse, a multi-day trekking excursion from village to village in the Ecuadorian Andes, was actually what I looked forward to the most in mainland Ecuador. Typically hikers follow this standard 4-day route from south to north:

1. Arrive to Quilotoa and spend the night.
2. Hike from Quilotoa to Chugchilan.
3. Hike from Chugchilan to Isinlivi.
4. Hike from Isinlivi to Sigchos, then take a bus to Latacunga.

Some also tack on the 4-hour hike around the crater of the Quilotoa volcano rim, or the 1 to 2-hour roundtrip hike down to the lagoon. Or to shorten the hike due to time, one can easily return to the base city of Latacunga from any one of the villages. Whichever route is taken, gorgeous views of rivers and valleys are guaranteed along with pleasant encounters with local villagers and animals. Chris had to shorten the trek due to time, so we actually decided upon arrival that we would hike to Chugchilan to spend our first night, continue to Sigchos the following day where we would spend a second night, and then return to Latacunga in the morning on the third day.

Our first day was quite ambitious, mainly due to time… and lack of directions. The goal was to make it to Chugchilan by sunset–from Baños! We got up bright and early, departed Baños by ~7:15am, transferred buses in Ambato, got dropped off at the outskirts of Latacunga by 9am, and hopped into the back of a pickup truck for a shared taxi ride with some locals into town. We quickly walked over to Hostal Tiana, the most recommended hostal for backpackers hiking Cotopaxi or Quilotoa, dropped off our luggage for a small fee, and then hurried over to the bus terminal with our day packs to catch a bus for Quilotoa. Buses headed for neighboring villages are frequent, and we left the bus terminal at 10:30. Exactly two hours later at 12:30 we got dropped off at Laguna Quilotoa, where we paid the $2 admission fee.

Situated at ~3,900 meters, we were forced to adjust to the high altitude and cold again. Upon stepping down from the bus, I was blasted with the fog’s cold wind. We quickly put on our layers, gloves, and beanies to prepare ourselves for the trek.

But before the hike we had to eat lunch, and it wasn’t until shortly past 1pm that we made our way to the mirador which was filled with tourists on day trips. As expected the skies were gray and overcast, but the site of the crater lagoon was beautiful nonetheless.

Because it was difficult to tear my eyes away from such beauty, we remained at the rim for at least another half hour. During our stay a villager stopped briefly for a prayer.

Finally we headed out for Chugchilan sometime between 1 and 2, a bit late to start a 4-5 hour trek. Sunset was at 6:24pm which was barely enough time (to include getting lost!). We followed the dirt trail clockwise from the mirador and literally within minutes of leaving, not another tourist was in site. The trail now only belonged to us and the occasional local villager such as these children and sheep.

Crossroads and forks in the road appeared practically every 15-30 minutes, promising to deter every trekker from the correct path. It was essential to ask every villager passing by for the route toward Chugchilan.

And of course, we got lost, just like everyone does. We ended up being on the wrong side of the valley and had to gingerly step down steep off-trail slopes which ended up putting us a bit further than we intended. However once we made it down to the river, we followed the river toward town and eventually got back on track. Yay!

It took a total of 4.5 hours from Quilotoa to Chugchilan, which included time for getting lost. Not bad! By the time we got into town it was almost dark and I was glad to have made it before it got any darker. We were exhausted, filthy, and cold after a half day of bus travel and hiking down and over steep valleys. Hostal Cloud Forest checked us in for $15/person/night, which included dinner and breakfast. Considering past multi-day trekking excursions ended with basic meals, a sleeping bag, and a tent, our stay at a friendly hostel with comfy bed, hot water, flushing toilets, and prepared meals was of utmost comfort. A picture of this adorable, backpacker-friendly hostel the next morning:

One of the owners gave us a map and detailed instructions for our onward hike toward Sigchos. Thanks to his specific instructions, we stayed mostly on track. (We only had to backtrack a couple times, which was pretty good!) Before the afternoon cloud forest could drift its way into the valley, we hiked down into the valley, along the river, and back up the steep valley into Sigchos. The scenery was stunning.

Chris helped an elderly woman clear a path of tree branches.

A small soda/coffee stand, perfect for a short break.

Along the river.

Sigchos ended up taking closer to 6 hours than the suggested 4 hours everyone from Chugchilan said it would take. Damn liars. During the last hour or so of our hike the cloud forest rolled in, bringing along with it the brisk Andes chill. There wasn’t much to do in the abysmal town, and we caught the 7am bus the next morning for Latacunga.

Had the weather cooperated, I would have made the day trip to Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. With the dark, thick clouds and rain, I knew better than to attempt the hike at 4,800 meters. Fortunately our timing in Latacunga was perfect as I timed it to coincide with the famous animal market on Thursday mornings in Saquisili. We took the 45¢ bus ride from Latacunga to Saquisili on Wednesday afternoon, spent an evening in the only hotel in town for $10/night, and woke up at 6am the next morning to watch the whole ordeal at the animal market. The animal market was about a 20-minute walk from town, so we hitched a quick ride on a truck for 25¢ each.

Every Thursday morning between 5am and 8am villagers from all over the area gather to buy and sell cows, llamas, alpacas, pigs, goats, sheep, and donkeys. Those with animal rights issues probably shouldn’t go to this market. Since we were already in the area, I wanted to make the side trip to Saquisili; I wouldn’t recommend coming all the way here just to see the animal market. Still, I found it interesting but Chris didn’t find it interesting at all…he is from Iowa after all.

Lots of piggies of all sizes.

Llamas and alpacas.

Sheep and their people.

Guinea pigs, of course. A truck full of them.

And of course, a market isn’t a market without some street food: tasty quail eggs and fried corn patties stuffed with cheese.

Immediately after the market we set out for Quito, the capital of Ecuador only a mere 2 hours north from these towns and villages. It had been 2.5 weeks since we were last in a major city (Guayaquil) and we looked forward to our day and a half in beautiful, modern Quito.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged chugchilan, quilotoa, saquisili, sigchos | 2 Comments

Baños

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

I didn’t realize that Quito’s international airport was so far from Quito (and a whopping $35 taxi ride into the city!), and because we wanted to go straight to Baños after the Galapagos, we spent the night in Pifo instead of Quito. The cab ride was $10, and the driver dropped us off at a nice hostel in Pifo at $20/night. I highly recommend this route for those arriving to Quito airport who immediately want to skip Quito and head south.

Early the next morning we took the bus from Pifo to Ambato for about $2 each, and transferred to another bus for Baños for $1.50. We arrived to our hostel before noon.

Albiet touristy, everyone says Baños is a cool little mountain town worth visiting for a couple of days, primarily due to the vast number of possible adventure activities within range. The town is dramatically set atop a ridge with lush mountains on one side and a cliff on the other. Waterfalls can be seen within town flowing from the hills high above, and pouring down into the canyons below. Despite being near the equator, its elevation of ~2,000 meters promises mostly cool days and overcast skies.

Sugarcane (caña) is abundant in the area and can be found in the form of taffy, bundles, and juice.

Men could be seen stretching the local specialty of sugarcane taffy on all corners of the streets.

During our short stay we visited the picturesque La Casa del Arbol and magnificent Pailon del Diablo, and we both gave a shot at puenting and canopying. Other activities in the area that we did not participate in include horseback riding, white water rafting, canyoneering, paragliding, rappelling, and soaking in natural hot baths.

Instead of taking the $1 bus to La Casa del Arbol (The Treehouse) we opted to hike up the hill, which took only 2 hours. Along the way we made a new friend, who actually followed us all the way to La Casa.

Not far from the famed Casa del Arbol was another tree house, but with a hammock, and it was vacant! Almost everyone takes the bus up, so they pass this adorable little tree house. We had it all to ourselves.

Our furry friend joined us too.

And finally, we walked over to La Casa del Arbol with its “must-do” swing over the hill into the beautiful vista of the active Tungurahua volcano. The entrance fee is $1, and there is typically a line with maybe 3-6 people who want their turn on the swing. For the majority of visitors, the dramatic landscape with the volcano in the distance is obscured with clouds and fog. We were somewhat lucky in that the volcano was only partially obscured. Swinging out into the open was soothing and liberating.

After swinging over the hillside, we made our way back down into town via bus for $1. Buses are infrequent (departures are at 12 and 4); there may be a couple more departure times, but I’m not clear on when they are. We were lucky that we arrived at 11:15am in order to return via the noon bus. The next plan was to check out San Francisco Bridge, the highest bridge in town, for puenting.

Puenting, or “bridging,” is kind of like bungee jumping, except you are attached via body harness rather than the legs using a rope instead of a bungee, and you end up swinging side to side instead of bobbing up and down. I had read about puenting prior to my arrival to Baños and I thought I would freak out due to my fear of heights. A couple of girls freaked themselves out and stepped down. Truly, there is a simple secret to it: Just don’t think about it. Instead of pondering over all the unlikely “what if’s”, I just focused on how much fun it would be. I mean, after all, it was just a bunch of dudes standing on a bridge with a bunch of harnesses, right? No forms, no waivers to sign? AND it’s super cheap at only $20 a jump. HA!

Chris made me jump first because he was worried I wouldn’t jump after he did.

Chris jumped next. His form was excellent – he’d be a natural BASE jumper. 🙂

We had such a great time, we opted to go a second time. Our second jump was $15/person. After having done both, I recommend jumping solo instead of with a partner.

Another awesome half-day is the bike ride to Pailon del Diablo, or “The Devil’s Cauldron,” the most spectacular waterfall in the area. The mostly downhill 18-km bike ride to Pailon del Diablo takes one through scenic hillside landscapes abundant with even more waterfalls, and at least 5 zip-lining/canopying options. The opportunity to canopy was too convenient. We pulled over for a quick $15 roundtrip canopy ride over the valley.

Getting ready:

Chris zipping down the line over the river:

Me next. Wee!

After the quick canopying excursion we continued our way east toward Pailon del Diabo. Bike parking was free at the parking lot, and it was a quick 2-km hike down (and a $1.50 entrance fee) to one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Ecuador. Because it had been raining, the already-insanely-powerful waterfall was extra insanely-powerful. No words can describe the experience of the torrential downpour of mist, the powerful wind blast, and deafening waters. It was actually a bit frightening as we were able to approach the waterfall from behind and literally be inches from the cascade after crawling through a narrow, rocky crevasse.

We were utterly drenched and barely audible even shouting over the roaring cascades.

Normally, this walkway could be visible and walkable. Definitely not that day!

We soaked in Mother Nature’s power and finally tore ourselves away to dry off. This is what the waterfall looks like from a distance.

Our morning of biking, canyoning, and waterfall-ing concluded with an easy $2/person ride back up to Baños on the back of a truck.

Good thing we finished too. The light morning drizzle increased to a light rain by the time we returned to town, where we spent the rest of the gray afternoon sipping cappuccinos in a cozy cafe. With local delights such as sugarcane taffy, a plethora of outdoor activities, and outstanding restaurants and cafes, we could have easily spent more time here. Two whole days should be the minimum for beautiful Baños; we were glad to have swung the treehouse swing, puented, canopied, and soaked in Pailon del Diablo in the limited amount time that we had.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged la casa del arbol, pailon del diablo, puenting | 2 Comments

The Galapagos

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

We came to the Galapagos for one primary reason: to experience the wildlife, particularly the blue footed boobies. They say that you will take many more pictures than you anticipate, and they were right. Wild animals, galore! During our transport from the airport to Puerto Ayora, our bus slammed on its breaks for a giant iguana crossing, and when we reached the canal, hundreds of blue footed boobies were diving into the ocean.

Within my first 15 minutes of exploring Puerto Ayora I literally stumbled upon a sleeping sea lion, I accidentally scared off a couple camouflaged marine iguanas, a frigate bird soared overhead, and I watched dozens of bright orange crabs scatter over black lava rocks. This was just day one in the most populated city on the most populated island. As we visited more remote areas, we dizzied ourselves with plenty of head-turning and picture-taking action. Oh, and the warm weather, beautiful beaches, and the cruise were also icing on the cake. =)

Sea lions and pelicans always competed for a tasty treat at the local fish market.

Oh, and you know, just a water dog sleeping on a park bench.

Free Stuff to Do on Santa Cruz Island

On Santa Cruz Island there are several places one can visit for free. (Well, it’s technically not free since everyone pays the $100 national park fee, but these excursions don’t require an additional fee.) These places include Las Grietas, Tortuga Bay, The Charles Darwin Research Center, the Tortoise Reserve, and some lava tubes.

It costs only 60¢ one-way for a taxi boat toward Las Grietas. Once off the boat it is a quick 10 or 15-minute stroll to Las Grietas, a canyon filled with a mix of fresh and ocean water. Its low salinity was wonderful, the water was exceptionally clear, and fish could be seen swimming around. Great place for a swim.

Tortuga Bay isn’t the most beautiful beach or bay, but it is one of the few places one can just sit and relax in Puerto Ayora. It is easily walkable from town, about 6 km roundtrip. I was lucky with my first visit. Not only were there a myriad of marine iguanas, but I also got up and close with a couple blue footed boobies!!! I returned with Chris a second time and there were no boobies…just pelicans.

OMG, BOOBIES!!!

Hermit crab.

And marine iguanas.

A ton of marine iguanas.

And lots of opuntia cacti, only native to the Galapagos.

The Charles Darwin Research Center is only a short walk on the far east of town. There, they breed giant tortoises! A bunch of baby tortoises can be found lying around, but I was more interested in the giant ones.

Wild tortoises can also be found at the tortoise reserve:

You can also be ~~tortoises~~ tourists at the reserve.

We also visited the smaller, less-visited lava tubes called El Mirador, just 3 km north of town. Probably only worth checking out if you have time to kill.

North Seymour

Although Santa Cruz is the main island, two other habitable islands are San Cristobal and Isabella. I believe there are 13 islands on the map; to include every single microscopic island from the Galapagos would mean hundreds of islands. All three main islands offer their own land excursions and neighboring island excursions. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit Isabella or San Cristobal, but we did do one island excursion from Santa Cruz.

Because our ultimate goal for the whole trip was to witness the famous blue footed booby mating dance, we simply had to go to North Seymour Island, which seemed to be the most popular island nearest Santa Cruz for bird watching. Excursions ain’t cheap–depending on where you go prices range from $80-$200. The norm for North Seymour was $160, but after shopping around, I found a last minute deal for $145. And I will say the hundreds of wild birds and land iguanas made the whole trip worth it.

As soon as I made my first step onto North Seymour, a male frigate soared right over our heads.

It was common to find iguanas blocking the trail.

Chris pretending to be a frigate. Yes, you can get this close to them.

Even the bugs are beautiful, particularly this grasshopper.

Frigates, galore!!! The males inflate their red balloon-like throats in an effort to attract a mate — the bigger, the better… probably. 😉

This is what a baby frigate looks like…a giant white ball of puff. Many just sit there in solitude, plopped on their nests, posed for a picture.

And finally, our favorite…blue footed boobies! Here the father sits on his baby as the mother stands to the side to keep the giant frigates from eating her young. We also fulfilled a dream of ours by witnessing two boobies doing their mating dance; we were quite a distance away so I have no good footage to show.

Scuba Diving

Flights are expensive, the national park fee is expensive, cruises are expensive, land excursions are expensive–hell, everything is expensive! Especially scuba diving! For $170 we made two dives at Gordon Rocks, perhaps the best place to dive in the Galapagos. I was merely hoping to see at least one hammerhead shark, but we were blown away with what ended up being some of our best dives ever. While descending 30 meters down, we immediately spotted a hammerhead shark. Later we witnessed more hammerhead sharks than we could count–over two dozen! Visibility was not the best, and schools of white-tipped sharks and hammerhead sharks would simply appear out of the ocean mist in a procession. In addition to the white-tipped sharks and schools of hammerhead sharks, we were bombarded with schools of barracuda, sea turtles, a sea lion, morays, and eagle rays.

Getting ready for our first dive:

Posing with a sea turtle:

Moray:

White-tipped sharks:

A pair of hammerheads:

A hammerhead and an eagle ray:

Our dive group with Gordon Rocks in the distance:

If you are a diver, you MUST dive at Gordon Rocks! Witnessing schools of hammerhead sharks swimming in circles below AND above is almost incredible enough to bring tears to the eyes.

Cruise

Truly the best way to enjoy the Galapagos is via cruise on a yacht. Unlike giant cruises that accommodate thousands of passengers, cruises in the Galapagos are typically limited to a cozy 20 passengers or fewer, which allow great, friendly conversations with other excited travelers during meals and excursions.

This may be partly due to the fact that it was my and Chris’ first cruise, but one of the activities we enjoyed most was simply relaxing on a lawn chair on the top deck beneath the shade, cooling off from the ocean wind, and enjoying the landscape passing by as the yacht makes its way to the next scheduled activity.

Not only did we save about $1,000 each by booking last minute, we somehow got upgraded to a top deck room with a queen bed, even though I booked the cheapest room possible which was a lower deck room with twin beds. Even an older couple I met who booked in advance got twin beds. As soon as our guide told us our room was in the upper deck, Chris and I immediately exchanged a silent, excited squeal of joy between our eyes.

We woke up to sunrises like this:

And enjoyed sunsets like this:

After backpacking and staying in cheap hostels for so many months, it was such a luxury to have all our meals served to us, three times per day.

Two activities per day were included, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The yacht would remain anchored at sea, and we would ride a dingy to shore.

Between activities we were always welcomed back on board with fresh, yummy snacks and fresh-squeezed juices.

We saw more animals. This happy sea lion posed for this photo.

American oyster catchers were adorable (they eat crabs, not oysters).

Bright, orange crabs.

The miniature Galapagos penguin, only native to the Galapagos!

We even snorkeled with the penguins!

We visited beautiful, interesting islands and white, sandy beaches.

Sullivan was composed of dried lava!

Bartolome.

Think this couldn’t get any better? It did. The last minute cruise happened to fall on my 30th birthday! I only realized this halfway into booking the cruise back in Cuenca at the travel agency. Here was a toast to my last day of being in my 20’s (which was an amazing decade to say the least):

For dinner the crew surprised me with my very own birthday cake that they baked only several hours prior to serving:

Conclusion

As you can see, everything about the Galapagos was amazing. The wildlife, the beaches, the diving, the excursions, the cruises. Both of South America’s remote islands of the Galapagos and Easter Island are trips I will hold dear in my memory…I cannot gush enough about both of these incredible places. As I’ve stated at the beginning of this post, Chris and I had originally planned on skipping the Galapagos. We sure are glad that we didn’t.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged galapagos, gordon rocks, north seymour | 7 Comments

Galapagos on a Budget

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

We told everyone we weren’t going to the Galapagos since we had already planned one expensive island excursion to Easter Island. However once I arrived to Cuenca, I couldn’t help but keep an eye out for last minute deals for cruises in the Galapagos. It is said that the best way to experience the Galapagos is via cruise, and now that I am writing this after the fact, I couldn’t agree more.

Cruise

During my first day in Cuenca a sidewalk sign caught my eye, advertising a last minute 4-day/3-night cruise to the Galapagos at the end of July. I had heard that there were tour agencies all over Quito and Guayaquil that sell last minute cruises, but I did not know that Cuenca offered them too.

I visited five travel agencies. The prerequisite was a 5- or 4-day cruise, anytime between July 4th and July 26th. One never got back to me, two were too expensive for me, and one claimed to not have any last minute deals due to the high season. However, one company found me a last minute deal: a 4-day/3-night cruise from July 9 through July 12 (my birthday, yay!) on a first-class yacht (Monserrat) for $920 pp, about half off the normal price. (I know it sounds pricey, but any bit of research on prices for cruises in the Galapagos will reveal just how jaw-dropping costs and logistics can be.) I probably could have bargained it down even more by claiming we were 2 people instead of 1 or that we were going to and from the airport independently, but because it was the first travel company that made me an appealing offer, I decided not to bargain.

Airfare

Rather than booking my airline with the travel agency, I opted to book our own airline tickets for more flexibility. Buffering the cruise with 3 nights before and 3 nights after proved to be more than just a win-win situation; not only was it cheaper and more flexible, it gave us a total of 10 days to spend in the Galapagos! We would fly from Guayaquil (which is actually cheaper than flying out of Quito) and then return to Quito, and we would also be flying on a Monday and Wednesday, the cheapest days of the week to fly. What normally would have been a $500-$550 flight was $430, and what normally would have been a $1800-$2000 cruise was $920. Romping and Nguyening!

So on Thursday, July 2, I booked our flights to the Galapagos for the following Monday, July 6, and the cruise for July 9-12. In less than a week, we’d return to the familiar pleasures of the beach and ocean, we’d dive into true “vacation mode,” and most importantly, we’d see the famous wildlife of the Galapagos.

Excursions

The airfare and cruise weren’t the only items with a hefty price tag. There was also the $20 entry card and the $100 national park fee. One day of scuba diving was also a must for us, and it seems as if diving in the Galapagos may be one of the most expensive places in the world to dive. Don’t forget lodging, food, and other excursions! I was saving at least a thousand dollars by booking last minute, but I was also going to spend more than a thousand dollars by simply going to the Galapagos.

We ended up paying an additional $170 each to make 2 dives at Gordon Rocks (perhaps the best dive site in the Galapagos), and an additional $145 each for a last-minute land excursion to North Seymour Island. There were cheaper dive shops but I wanted to dive with a reputable company (we went with Galapagos Travellers and had a fantastic time), and I shopped around for excursions to North Seymour and the best deal was $145 as opposed to the typical $160 tours.

Lodging

We opted to walk around the main town of Santa Cruz Island upon arrival to check out hostels and prices. The standard fare for a double room with private bath, hot water, air con, and wifi was $20 pp. We spent our first three nights paying $20 pp at Costa del Pacifico, but later found another basic hotel for $15 pp per night at Hotel Santa Cruz. Cheap accommodation in the Galapagos actually exists, unlike Patagonia or Easter Island!

Food

Unlike Easter Island, food in the Galapagos was fortunately not absurdly outrageous as one would expect for remote islands in the Pacific. We brought in granola from Guayaquil and bought yogurt and bananas for breakfast everyday, and most of our lunches and dinners were cheap $4 meals that included soup, entrée, and juice. Only a couple times would we “splurge” on shared meals that cost $20+ (a pizza dinner for my birthday, and a sushi dinner another night).

Breakdown

So what was the grand total for my 10-day “budget” trip to the Galapagos?

Airfare (Guayaqil -> Galapagos & Galapagos -> Quito) $430
4-day/3-night cruise $920
Tips for the cruise $75
Departure card $20
National Park Fee $100
Scuba Diving $170
One Land Excursion to North Seymour $140
6 nights at hotels $105
Food, snacks, beverages for 6 days (approx. cost) $80
Transportation to/from the airport $16
Total: $2,056

$2,056 might seem a bit steep for 10 days in the Galapagos, but as I’ve stated earlier, once you do your own research on the Galapagos, you’ll have a better understanding of the prices. Typical 4-day/3-night cruises excluding domestic airfare typically range from $1,800-$2,000. One woman I spoke with spent about $2,100 on the same cruise I paid $920 for because she booked it in advance. No trip to the Galapagos will ever be cheap (it is already at least $500 for the domestic flight + $120 for the entry fees), but with flexibility in your schedule, it is possible to save hundreds or thousands of dollars. While in Santa Cruz we even saw a last minute 7-day live aboard deal to Darwin & Wolf for only $1,900 which was normally $5,900!!! The Galapagos truly is as amazing as everyone says it is and we are both glad to have scuba dived and experienced it via cruise.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged galapagos | 1 Comment

Guayaquil

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

On July 4^th after celebrating Independence Day in Cuenca with American retirees over hotdogs and hamburgers, we headed out to Ecuador’s largest and most populated city, Guayaquil.

Guayaquil is really more of a 1-day stopover for tourists before visiting the main attraction. Like Lima is to Cusco and Machu Picchu, Guayaquil is the gateway to the Galapagos. Fortunately there are just enough attractions within Guayaquil (that are all within walking distance of each other) to keep tourists entertained for the day.

The pride of Guayaquil is Malecon 2000, the recently constructed 2.5 km boardwalk along the Guayas River on Simon Bolivar. It is alive with people, vendors, popcorn and ice cream stands, retail shops and restaurants, and monuments.

Down the street from Malecon 2000 is an eye-catching palace:

At the north end of Simon Bolivar is the colorful, historic neighborhood of Las Peñas and Cerro Santa Ana.

The 444 steps leading to the lighthouse at the top of Cerro Santa Ana take you through charming buildings along the way.

The lighthouse:

Views of Guayaquil from the top of the lighthouse:

Another pleasant river walk slightly tamer than the Malecon 2000 is the Malecon del Salado, which is best visited once the sun sets.

Lights and fountains with music:

My personal favorite place in Guayaquil is the small park of Parque Seminario, more commonly known as El Parque de Las Iguanas. Iguanas were literally EVERYWHERE! Since these were wild iguanas, their growth was not limited to a glass box. Some were huge–more than 3x the size of pet iguanas I’m used to seeing.

Little did we know that feeding time on Sunday mornings was at 9am. A park attendant appeared with a wheelbarrow full of lettuce leaves.

We enjoyed feeding the iguanas despite the NO FEEDING signs. If the park attendant was feeding the iguanas, we were probably all safe to do it too.

The Malecon 2000, Malecon del Salado, Cerro Ana, and Parque Seminario were just enough to keep us entertained in the sweltering hot Guayaquil. And coincidentally, the day of our departure was the same day as Pope Francis’ arrival to Guayaquil. “Papa Francisco,” the first pope ever from South America, had just begun his South American tour with Ecuador. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw just how big of an ordeal it meant to South Americans. Giant banners hung over buildings, posters were being sold, and hats and T-shirts were adorned by almost everyone, all with the pope’s face printed all over them. We were actually at Guayaquil airport waiting for our flight to the Galapagos, watching the pope on TV making his way over from Quito.

Everyone in the airport, including all the workers, were plastered to the television.

Within minutes of his landing, people had lined up against the large glass windows, waiting to snap a picture of his plane. And soon enough his plane landed (see plane in the distance, not the parked plane), which caused an eruption of applause and rancor throughout the airport.

Not long after that we began our vacation in the Galapagos.

Posted in Ecuador | Tagged cerro santa ana, malecon 2000, parque seminario | 1 Comment

Cuenca

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Jean Nguyen

About 4 hours by bus north of Vilcabamba is Cuenca, Ecuador’s beautiful colonial city, Ecuador’s third largest city, and our new favorite city in South America. As it is nestled in lush, green valleys and surrounded by rivers, the architecture of Cuenca is not the only gem of the area. To our surprise we quickly discovered that Cuenca has one of the fastest growing retirement communities from the United States. Due to the large number of expats from all over the world, the gastronomy never ceased to please us; from Italian restaurants with fresh homemade pasta, to the fluffiest Belgium waffles, to the seemingly unlimited amount of homemade ice cream and gelato, to the creamiest lattes made by European baristas, it was far too easy to become comfortable in Cuenca. A gentle stroll along the Tomebamba River leads one to the central area of Cuenca, where the quaint buildings make me feel as if I’m strolling through the entrance of Disneyland.

Despite all the churches and cathedrals I’ve seen throughout South America, the eye-catching azure domes of the “new” cathedral in Cuenca were probably the prettiest I’ve seen.

The cathedral’s façade:

Within the main plaza, retail shops, cafes, and restaurants are abundant, but street vendors selling tropical fruits are also plentiful. Like in the streets of Vietnam, I enjoyed fresh coconut juice from a fruit vendor.

Oddly enough not far from the main square lies the Pumapungo Ruins, the modest set of ruins within the city.

A bird sanctuary exists in Pumapungo:

Although no one raves about the street art in Cuenca, we spectated and appreciated the copious amount of street art found all over the city.

Also not too far from the main square is the Turi Mirador. A quick walk up some steps leads one to a view of the city and the valley.

Over the course of 3 days in Cuenca, we squandered away many hours in cafes, watching the people and the city passing us by, and being productive with our personal work. The weather was simply perfect for us; the equatorial highlands made it warm during the day and light jacket-weather during the evening. But because our time was running out we unfortunately had to move on from our new favorite city to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest (and perhaps grimiest) city.

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