15- Two months

General thoughts & random experiences after 2 months of traveling

Sun protection
So close to the Equator, you need a lot of sunscreen with a much higher factor, as you would usually need. I use factor 20 in Ireland/ Germany & sometimes 30 on hols, so I thought 30 would be enough. I was wrong, even with factor 50 & multiple applications during the day, I got sunburnt.
Take especially care on the high points (nose, forehead, shoulders....) but also on points you would usually forget, ie. your hands.
Also sunscreen is quite expensive here, you pay about 15$ for 200ml & it doesn’t last you long. Which is a quite heavy impact if you are traveling on a tight budget.
As I am usually skin-allergic to a lot of cosmetic products, I bought the ones made for babies & it worked out relatively well.

Lovely surprise
While waiting outside the guesthouse (San Jose, Costa Rica) for our shuttle to arrive, the security guide from the building next door came to us & gave us chocolates 😍.

Stop or non-stop
It’s confusing me to death: the Non-stop bus which stops every 10mins or so to pick up & drop of people in the middle of nowhere or to let people into the bus so that they can sell random stuff to the passengers, give something small of their goods to the bus driver & get a free ride for a few km.

F
Being finally not the only white person in the public bus - yeah. There seems to be a lot like a lot of  French’s in Baños (Ecuador) & in the buses on the way in & out. Even in the hostel the 8 or so other people I met there were all from France.
Haven’t heard German in about 6 weeks now. I am starting to miss the Germans - shocking!

Interesting payment system for public transportation (for gringos?)
Whatever money you are giving for public transportation, they take it & you don’t get change.
For longer journeys you usually buy a ticket in advance & they have a schedule & a fix price. Any other (shorter) public transportation seems to work differently. You just take a seat & they drive you. Later one or at the end of the journey you pay. If you give them 1US$ they take it and walk away. Same with 0.50US$ and sometimes even with 0.25US$. If you ask the fare upfront they don’t give you the info or tell you something much higher, ie. 2 US$ For a bit even 10mins journey. So best to just give them a smaller coin & if they want more, they will tell you. Which also means try to always have small coins with you. In lot if the cases they can’t even work with you when you only have a 10$ or even a 5$ note & might just leave you standing on the road. That I experienced so far in Costa Rica, Panama & Ecuador. I highly doubt that it will be any different in Peru now.

14- Cuenca, Ecuador

27th of Feb to 01st of March 2019 - Cuenca, Ecuador

Cuenca
Next (& unfortunately already the last) station in Ecuador for me was Cuenca. The bus from Banos took about 8hrs, so that’s relatively typical here that getting from one place to another kills a day of your time. It’s because of the distances, but also due to the fact that most roads (especially the ones through the mountains) are not really in the best state & therefore can only be traveled very slow.
Cuenca is nice & relatively warm compare to Banos & Quito. (I am missing the heat & about 18-20degrees still feels pretty cool somehow.)
During the time I was here there were carnival celebrations, which was nice; it was just a bit loud & very crowded especially in the evenings. Also when you walk around everyone sprays you on with some white foamy stuff, which is interesting. I was happy with my accommodation as it’s basically directly in the city, so you can enjoy all the fun & everything is close by, but the room was actually relatively quiet.
Cuenca is especially worth exploring when we walk around after dark, as everything is illuminated & just looks very beautiful. I especially loved the ocean blue lighted towers of the new cathedral.

Next will be Peru, were I am planning to travel around for about 1month.

13- Banos, Ecuador

24th to 27th of Feb 2019

The bus from Quito to Banos took about 4.5hrs (4.25US$). It would probably usually be a bit faster, but we had to change the bus tire a few km before Banos for some reason. Asking for a window seat usually doesn’t mean that you actually get one, as the seat counting system in the bus seems different with every bus. But sometimes you can change seats if the bus is not fully booked.
Banos is a small & pretty relaxed town in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains. It’s famos for their possibilities of outdoor activities (ie. hiking, biking, rafting, zip lining....), the many waterfalls nearby & their thermal baths. It’s also a town with many spa’s were you can get a cheap pedicure or a 30mins massage for 10US$. (Same a Panama, Ecuador uses the US$, but also has a few national coins.)
I did a tour along the waterfalls. There are many tourist agencies in town & everyone seems to have the same price for these kind of tours. It costs 5US$ and includes only transportation. They drive you to different spots were you can do the different activities if you want. I took a cable car to a waterfall (2US$) & hiked down to another waterfall (2US$). The whole tour lasted about 4hrs.
I also went to Casa del Arbol the famous high swing, which was included in another tour I did.
I also had a few massages (very good) & went to the thermal baths. The baths were very hot & the locals were extremely amused about the few gringos (foreigners) which were using the baths & couldn’t stay longer than 2mins inside, due to the heat. Nevertheless it was very relaxing, despite the necessary permanent in & out, before my skin would get deep fried.

12- Quito, Ecuador

21st to 24th of Feb 2019

Quito
Took the bus from Puerto Lopez to Quito on 21nd of Feb. What a drive. I left the accommodation at 7.15am. The bus left the station at Puerto Lopez at 8am; arrival at Quito was around 8pm & than it took me another hour to reach the accommodation. Jesus. At least I got to see “The Intouchables” in the bus, although it was in Spanish. It’s a great movie.
The public transport system here in Quito seems pretty cool. There are a few lines ie. north to south & east to west. Some buses (ie. Ecovia - the one that goes from the city to the bus terminal) mostly have there own lanes, so they don’t really stuck in traffic. Pay with a 0.25US$ coin and go as far & as long as you want to. Pretty amazing, cheap and fairly easy to navigate. And if you want to take a taxi it’s about 2-3US$ for a 10mins drive.
Here in Quito/ Ecuador in general there seems to be a lot less tourists (or at least white people) than there were in Costa Rica or Panama. I feel being observed the whole time. A pretty weird feeling, but they are all very small, curvy or overweight & with dark thick hair & dark brown eyes. So I do look different & I do get noticed. It’s just something I am slowly getting used to.
A went with the Teleferico (cable car) up the hill. The view about Quito & the surrounding volcanos was amazing & its pretty high up there (4.100msnm). The drive is about 2.5kms, 20mins & costs you 8.50US$ return. That’s the price for a foreign tourists, almost all touristy things have different (much cheaper) prices for Ecuadorians, which is alright.
I also went to Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, the Equator monument. The Equator is painted there as a yellow line on the ground and you can basically step or jump from the northern to the southern hemisphere and vice versa.
Quito is pretty high up (2.850m above sea level) and many people get sick (anoxia), especially if they fly in. As I took the bus & therefore gradually adjusted to the height, I was totally fine. But unfortunately I felt freezing cold in Quito - the whole time. Coming from the very hot Puerto Lopez (>30degrees), the about 11degrees in Quito felt more like being on the North Pole, instead of being by the Equator. Also it basically rained/drizzled the whole time I was there. I felt a bit like I never left Ireland.

Teleferico (cable car) 4.100msnm

The Equator - one foot on the northern & one at the southern hemisphere 

11- Guayaquil & Puerto López, Ecuador

17th to 21st of Feb 2019 - Guayaquil/ Puerto Lopez - Quito

Guayaquil (2nights)
The flight from Madrid was delayed, so I only arrived at the hostel at around 1am on 17-Feb. I was pretty exhausted and didn’t do much on that one day I had in Guayaquil. There are a couple of Malecons (river-/ sea front walks) in the town, which the locals like to do, especially at the weekends. So I did the same. It was very very hot & humid during my time in this town & it also rained a lot.
I was on the look out for some snack/ dinner later that day & ended up in a local bar. They had only meat & sweet dishes (pretty much the standard in Central- & South America), but the owner was so nice and made me a salad with cheese & a fresh juice. I paid unbelievable 2US$ all together - OMG.

18th to 21st of Feb 2019 (3nights), Puerto Lopez
Went to the bus terminal on 18th of Feb in the morning & tried to find the bus company the girl at the hostel mentioned to me for going to Puerto Lopez. Unfortunately this bus company doesn’t go to there. (It’s very confusing here, as there are so many bus companies & some of them also have their own terminals.) Some guy started talking to me & mentioned Jipijapa. I was very confused as this is actually a town in Ecuador & I didn’t want to go there. I followed him through the terminal although I had a weird feeling. Turns out he was from a bus company called Jipijapa, going to Puerto Lopez within the next minutes - perfect 😊. Sometimes you just have to trust. 5.50US$ fare for the about 4hrs bus ride.
Puerto Lopez is wonderful. It’s a beach town, not too big with a gorgeous very long beach & many shops & restaurants. They even have TukTuks - OMG, how cool is that!! I really missed them since I was in Thailand. Here they are called motortaxis & they are very cheap. From anywhere within the town they charge you 0.25US$ (more about the fascinating price system in Central- & Southamerica in a different post) from & to the bus terminal, which is a bit out of town, you pay 1US$.
It was very sunny & dry in Puerto López - thanks god, as I feared permanent rain at this time of the year in Ecuador. I had a very nice time on the beach during my stay here.
On the 2nd day I did a tour to Isla de la Plata (silver island). It is also called the Galápagos of the poor man, as it’s so much more affordable (35US$ for a day trip incl snorkeling & snacks) & you can also see the blue-footed boobies (yes, that’s the real name) here.
I was lucky enough to do the tour with a family from the states, as we therefore had an English speaking guide. Usually no one seems to speak English in Ecuador, not even at the accommodations or the tour agencies. As I don’t really speak Spanish communications are relatively difficult, but the people here are extremely nice & try to figure out what I want, so somehow it always works out for me.
On my last/ 2nd full day in Puerto López I wanted to go to Los Frailes beach, which is not far from the town. It’s supposed to be very beautiful & it’s called one of the best beaches in Ecuador. Unfortunately I was very unlucky as access to the beach was denied due to maintenance. Sh... I wish I had more time in Puerto Lopez/ Ecuador, but unfortunately I have to rush things a bit to get the chance to go everywhere where I want to go within the next months, so I only had 2 full days in Puerto Lopez.
Next stop Quito - the capital city of Ecuador.

Blue footed booby

Blue footed booby observing tourists from under the cliff

At the park in Guayaquil 

10- World wide

09th to 16th of Feb 2019 Essential & nonsensical trips around the world

As mentioned already in a previous post - the least expected thing happend & I had to fly to Ireland to unlock my Visa debit card PIN. It got locked at the start of January as I tried to use it in an accommodation, where I was being asked to insert the PIN multiple times, as I was told the connection/ communication btw the paying machine and the bank broke down. My bank could not (or didn’t want to?!)  help (I called them multiple times) & the credit card I also have is limited & can’t be extended.

So instead of going to Panama City & than flying to Ecuador (Quito) at the start of February as planned, I went back to Costa Rica and than traveled onwards.
Bocas del Toro, Panama -> Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica (4nights) -> San Jose, Costa Rica (red eye flight) -> Paris, France -> Berlin, Germany (1night) -> Dublin, Ireland (1night) -> Madrid, Spain -> Guayaquil, Ecuador

Paris airport was fascinating. After landing with AirFrance and before another flight with the same airline about 1hr later, there was another security check. So everyone had to get rid of their drinks. How handy that there were shops right after the check, where they sold 500ml of water for 4€ 🙄.

Another flight gave me some stomachache, as we were standing in Dublin for quite some time & than had to circle over Madrid for about 1hr with the potential of having to fly to some other airport. Don’t even know why. Jesus, what a stress relief after we finally landed.
As much as I love being someplace else, I really don’t like traveling itself. It’s way to stressful for me. Hopefully this might ease a bit within the next few months as there will be a lot of traveling.

Finally I arrived in Ecuador on 17-Feb after 1am (local time) very very exhausted, sick (the usual travel cold) & 11days later than original planned (& of course also with much less money than originally budgeted) - but hey at least I am finally here!
Anyways there are always good things in every situation. It was a beautiful sunny day in Dublin & I also got the chance to meet a great friend for amazing food and a couple of drinks & had a great evening 😍. I really miss nice company & catching up over a few drinks or so.
So, more about Ecuador & onward traveling in the next post.

9- Bocas del Toro, Panama

24th Jan to 09th Feb 2019
Left Monteverde on 24th Jan & spent one night in San Jose & 2 in Puerto Viejo. Arrived on Bocas del Toro on 27th Jan 2019. Border crossing was easy enough with the shuttle I booked. You just have to pay your exit fee from CR (8US$) & give your fingerprints & your proof of onward travel to the Panama check point (also possible to show on your phone) & that’s it. No issue with the wrong entry stamp date in my passport, they didn’t even look at it. Yes!!
I stayed in Bocas town & was exploring this and some of the other islands around.
Some of the things I did during my stay:
-Rented a bike (8US$ for 5 hrs) & cycled to Playa Bluff - very lovely yellow sand beach - but challenging route for someone who seems surprisingly rather unfit like me 🤔
-Took a water taxi to Isla Bastimentos (6US$ Return) & hiked to Wizard Beach - was being asked by the police to leave at around 4pm as it’s not a safe place to stay for foreigners (seems there had been a few violent robberies recently) - but still worth a visit, just go there early in the day, so you have more time by the beach.
-Took the local bus to Costa del Drago (5US$ return) & went to Playa Drago & Playa Estrella (Starfish beach) unfortunately non starfish seen, but beautiful area, just a little crowded (especially on weekends) but def worth a visit.
-Took a taxi boat to Isla Carenero (2US$ return) & hiked around there. Consider to stay there if you are more into nature & less into going out or simple if you want to enjoy peace for a while. Wish I would have done that myself for a few nights.
-Did a Bioluminescence tour on a new moon night, snorkeling included. It was probably one of the most special & amazing things I have ever done so far! Also the clear sky was absolutely amazing. Like seeing the Milky Way with your own bare eyes 😳
-Did a day tour which included snorkeling, dolphin, starfish & sloth watching & lots and lots of beach time.

Welcome 😊

Zapatillas- beautiful ❤️❤️