Saturday, September 27, 2008

Whale watching

View from my room at Ayampe, a small fishing village on the Ruta del Sol of Ecuador´s Pacific coast. Lots of surfing here too, reminds me of home...

I came here to visit Isla de la Plata, the poor woman´s Galapagos. Catch the cute blue-footed boobie in the photo at left - lots of them nesting on the island, almost tame they are too so long as you skirt the small circle they make out of their poo which the female sits inside of to hatch her eggs!



Didn´t set out to do it but I spent yesterday whale-watching just sitting on a beautiful deserted beach further up the Ecuadorian coast in the national park. Saw some earlier in the week also on the boat trip out to Isla de la Plata.

Crossed over the headland to `little turtle´ beach (translated that myself from the Spanish - comprendo muchas, speak very little!) folowing turtle tracks up the sand and found a fossilised turtle jaw. Saw the real thing swimming near the boat just off Isla de la Plata, but mostly I´ve heard about dead turtles washed up on the beaches. Plastic victims.


Saw a beautiful church today in Olon as I made my way down the Ecuadorean coast to Guayaquil. It sat high on a cliff edge at the south end of the bay with open sides down to a half-wall made of stones. It´s Sunday so it was full of people - many children.

I am now in Guayaquil which is Ecuador´s biggest city on my way back to Peru to visit some adobe pyramids
from pre-Columbian times (AD 750) in Chiclayo on the coast. There´s also a very famous witchdoctor´s market there. Since Cuzco, there have been quite a few opportunities in this region to explore shamanism. But in La Paz I stayed just near the witchcraft market and that was close enough for me. But I´ll check out the witch doctors and let you know...


There´s been a referendum today and voting is mandatory. Every one has to go back to their home town to vote so it has been busy on the road and the bus station. Took half an hour just for our bus to turn in there. Got my ticket for tomorrow´s ride. We leave at 11.30am and arrive in Chiclayo at 3am. Not looking forward to that!

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