I can’t possibly convey what a great debt I owe to my good friend Ben Bachelder for lending me the phrase “special white man _______”. I first heard Ben utter this phrase during a travelogue he was giving at McMurdo Station Antarctica. Ben was referencing something to do with drinking water in third world countries and the awkwardness presented when a local host might be so gracious as to invite one in to their home. Ben said something like “…so then your host offers you a glass of water. What do you do? Either you can drink it, get sick and deal OR you can reach for your bottle of ‘special white man water’”. It loses quite a lot in print, trust me, it was funny as hell at the time and Marsha (my lovely girlfriend) and I have gotten a great deal of mileage out of the phrase.

The term “tourist” versus “traveler” is a bit of an issue with me. I firmly believe that if some place on the face of the earth is heavily touristed, it’s for a good reason. Either that place has some significant culture, history or natural beauty. I believe that only elitists would label some place unworthy of a visit simply because it is “over-touristed”.

My perceptions have been shattered. Here I sit in Mancora, Peru. I booked the Loki hostel ahead of my arrival here. This place epitomizes everything about “the gringo trail” and “over-touristed”. Don’t get me wrong, the hostel is a lovely place but DAMN….I’ve never been to a place that caters to “tourists” more than this place. Upon check-in, I was immediately encumbered with a wrist band (much like the one you might get at a hospital or when you buy an all-inclusive pass to the carnival). The idea behind the wrist band is for A) security…only those bearing the wrist-band are allowed on the property and B) It is possible to charge meals, drinks, etc to your room. While I appreciate the extra security, I resent the fact that I am immediately identified as a guest of this place when I venture outside the immediate premises.

The disney-ization of Peru doesn’t seem to stop at the Special White Man resort hostel however. EVERY restaurant, store, travel office etc seems to cater ONLY to tourists. I have spent a LOT of time trying my damnedest to learn Spanish and while I appreciate the ease with which I can order a meal, buy a bus ticket or get a taxi, I am a bit resentful that EVERY time I walk into one of the above mentioned establishments, the people speak to me first in English, the menus are in English and any other information I might need is also in English. I’m a bit conflicted actually. I appreciate that things are “easier” in Peru but I also feel that my experience is diminished because of it. In Ecuador this never would have happened. The people there, while certainly worldly, don’t cater to tourists much, if at all (outside The Galapagos). Either one learns Spanish or they have an awful time trying to find their way.

So, for the first time in my recent memory, I find myself in a place that I would define as “touristy” simply because the tourism here doesn’t appear to have grown organically. Tourists are catered to only because they are tourists and not because there is anything remarkable to see or do here. Granted, the surf break is pretty incredible, but it’s nothing any more spectacular than any other surf break along the many miles of the South American Pacific coast. I guess this is what people speak of when they express their loathing of “The Gringo Trail”.

Or not?

Travel forums as well as conversations amongst travelers are rife with tales of the dangers and hassles of crossing the border between Ecuador and Peru at Huaquillas (Ecuador) and Aguas Verdes (Peru). Historically, this area has been disputed by both countries, but more recently the countries have reached an agreement. As a result of the historical disputes there is a bit of a “no-man’s land” that stretches for approximately 3km between the two towns and the respective immigration control points for both countries. Con-artists, crooked taxi drivers and dishonest money changers take advantage of the lawlessness and naivete of foreigners who travel through this area.

It is recommended that travelers take international buses that will wait for you through all the border formalities and save the hassle from people out to scandalize them. I heeded this advice and found a C.I.F.A. bus from Guayaquil to Tumbes (Peru) which was supposed to be direct service (as an aside here, for some reason travelers whom I have spoken to seem to mistake “direct” for “express”…direct doesn’t mean that the bus doesn’t stop…it means that you don’t have to transfer to get from point A to point B). Anyhow, the C.I.F.A. bus service leaves a lot to be desired. It was standing room only for much of the trip to the border and the hawkers who got on everytime the bus stopped were quite annoying, but that’s life in Ecuador and that’s what I was there to experience.

At any rate, I was under the impression that bus service was to be direct all the way to Tumbes and that I would have to find a different bus from there to Mancora. So…when we stopped at the immigration control point on the Ecuadorian side of the border I figured that the bus was going to wait for me to process my passport (i.e. obtain the necessary exit stamp). I even confirmed this thought in my best broken Spanish…and believed that I received an answer of affirmation. I didn’t bother to grab my bag from under the bus….imagine my surprise when, after I got my exit stamp, I turned around to see the tail end of the bus zooming away! So, here I am at the dodgiest spot in South America (allegedly) and I am now separated from half of my belongings.

So…a bus line official sought me out, explaining that I could now get on a different bus that would take me all the way to Mancora. I explained to him that my bag had gone away with the other bus and I sure would like it back. He made a quick phone call and explained to me that the bag would be returned. My confidence in my own ability to speak and understand Spanish was now quite low given the circumstances…so I didn’t really know if I understood what was going on or if I could expect to ever see my bag again…nonetheless, I figured I had several hours before dark and I would harass C.I.F.A. officials until I got results. As it turned out, no harassment was needed as my bag did, indeed, return with the other bus (which had turned around and now headed back to Ecuador). I grabbed my bag and happily boarded the bus for M

Well, here it is, finally! I’m fairly pleased with the final result. If you have the bandwidth available watch it in HD in fullscreen mode…get my money’s worth!

The video is basically a summary of my 10 days of travel in The Galapagos Islands. The cruise that I went on was rather nice. The yacht was exceptionally spacious and our itinerary wasn’t too bad. Without further adieu….the video:

So, for anyone planning on traveling to The Galapagos on a budget, this has to be one of the hardest trips to plan for. There is an over-abundance of information out there with many agents making bookings for tours. I’m not sure if the way I did it was the best way, but I do know that I paid significantly less than some of the people on my tour.

Here’s my experience with budgeting for and booking travel in The Galapagos:

Fortunately, I have a friend who was there about a year before I was, and he was happy to provide me with some great information. The bottom line is, if you’re going to The Galapagos, budget at least $2000 per person. To set foot on the islands is going to cost a minimum of $500…considering the price of the various cruises, that doesn’t leave much left-over from your original 2K.

There are two airlines that serve The Galapagos and the prices are fixed and vary only due to high season vs. low season and whether one flies from Quito or Guayaquil. The national park entrance fee is $100 (though the government of Ecuador may be doubling that soon) and there is a $10 fee for a Galapagos transit card.

Quick tips: Galapagos flights
The cruise operators reserve blocks of seats to accommodate their clients. If their respective cruise doesn’t fill up, there will be empty seats on the plane….so, in my case, there were no flights available for me until Tuesday (which I went ahead and purchased) but if I would have showed up at the airport earlier than Tuesday, there’s a very good chance that I would have been able to get a seat….hindsight 20/20 and all that.

Another good pointer is that it is possible to fly to either Baltra or San Cristobal Island and then fly out from the other one. If you’re thinking about a 4 day cruise this is handy because you can save yourself a water-taxi ride between the two islands when your cruise is over.

Tickets to/from The Galapagos are very flexible and the airlines are happy to change your dates or even change your departure island and not charge any fees for it.

O.K….so with the flight sorted I arrived on Baltra Island and had to take a water taxi to Santa Cruz Island and then a bus to the town of Puerto Ayora. This is the largest settlement on The Galapagos and is full of tour agents, hotels, restaurants and pharmacies…yes pharmacies WTF? Not knowing when I would be starting a cruise I only booked my hotel for the first night. I then set out to find a cruise. I had an itinerary in mind and I knew it would be expensive. I wanted to go to Isla Fernandina and the west side of Isabella. The transit times to these islands are quite great so there aren’t many tours that go to them and the ones that do are expensive. Every agent I spoke to tried to talk me out of going….but still tried to find space for me when I insisted. It soon became apparent that my desired itinerary simply wouldn’t be available to me unless I was willing to spend a week in Puerto Ayora waiting around (and no, I wasn’t willing) so…it then came down to price and class of service. When shopping on the Internet for a cruise, there was a large separation in price between the “economy” class and “luxury” class of service. That gap seemed to narrow a bit at the agents in Guayaquil and it was very narrow at the agents in Puerto Ayora. In the end I found a ship that had a fairly good itinerary in the luxury class for a bargain. Internet price for an 8-day cruise on “The Millennium”: $3200….price in Puerto Ayora after hard bargaining: $1100 (as an aside, “tourist” class cruises were being sold in Guayaquil for $1200 and “tourist-superior” class cruises could be had for $930 in Puerto Ayora).

Lessons Learned

I was there in the “off” season. That would lead one to believe that prices should be lower and availability greater. Not so! During this time, many boats are moored and there simply aren’t spaces. I was told by many an agent that the space he was trying to sell me was the last space for that particular cruise…of course I figured it was a line, but later, when inquiring about the same cruise from a different agent I would find it to be sold out. Any reduction in prices is simply an indication that the worldwide economy sucks and has nothing to do with what time of year it happens to be. The tour operators and agents know how much you spent to get to The Galapagos and seem reluctant to budge much at all on price.

When you have negotiated the lowest possible fare on a cruise, there’s no room for the operator or the agent to pay any credit card processing fees – and I’m not sure that’s even possible on The Islands. I was able to go to the bank and get a cash advance for a sufficient amount to pay for my cruise in cash. There was no fee for doing this, not even from the thieving assholes at Wells Fargo bank.

There you have it, that might not be the way it’s supposed to be done, but that’s the way I did it. If this helps even one person plan for The Galapagos then I’m happy to have taken the time to write it up.

That’s Spanish for “there is no light (i.e. electricity)” . That was one of the first new phrases I picked up upon my return to mainland Ecuador. Currently in all of Ecuador there is a power shortage, apparently due to a lack of rain and resultant low river flows.

Gas Powered Internet:
So, here I sit in a wi-fi enabled internet cafe that has a 5.5 horsepower gas generator to provide electricity when the lights go out. Internet connectivity is pretty spotty and there aren’t any hotels in town that offer in-room wi-fi.

The Galapagos deserve a series of write-ups, but the challenges I must overcome to even manage to post a short update like this are too great to be able to do The Galapagos any justice. I did manage to post some pictures from my trip to The Galapagos. Have a look!

What I’ve been up to
I’m still in Montanita. I’ve been taking Spanish classes for four hours per day and spending most of the rest of my time drinking “cervezas grandes”. Beer is incredibly cheap here and shrimp (even coconut shrimp) is plentiful (though not cheap – WTF??)

What am I going to do next?
I’m not really sure. Today, I signed up for another week of Spanish classes and accommodation here in Montanita. After that, my thoughts are to work my way south and east to Iguazu Falls in Argentina and then back to the West Coast for a visit to Easter Island before heading back to the States to take my physical for my next Antarctic Deployment.

Don’t expect many updates until I leave Ecuador and find some place with a little better connectivity.

Hi there everyone. I’ve had a hectic several days. The Galapagos were absolutely spectacular. I ended up on an 8 day cruise touring several of the islands in the archipelago. Highlights include snorkeling with sea lions, penguins and sharks.

I just arrived in Montanita, Ecuador. It’s a little surf village just north of Guayaquil. A bit funky, perhaps I’ll stay around here for a while, perhaps not.

Once I find a place with wi-fi, I’ll get some photos posted and as soon as I find some time, I’ll work on putting a video together of The Galapagos.

Hasta lluego.