Baños and Guayaquil

From Huaraz it was not so easy to get to Ecuador. We had a 36 hours trip ahead of us and had to change our transport 8 times. With a Colectivo we drove to Cumbate, from there we took a bus to Trujillo and jumped into an overnight bus to the Ecuadorian border. To speed up a bit we took a taxi over the boarder to get our stamps and took another taxi to Huaralls. In this not very charming boarder town we had to wait for a bus to Guayaquil. We just started our trip north when Michael just felt his seat moving. The man behind us tried to get into Michaels backpack and when he realized it, Michael gripped the guy’s collar and slapped him in the face. The man dropped the wallet and the bus driver kicked him out in the middle of nowhere.

We were still angry about this incident but eager not to let it spoil our adventure in Ecuador. In Guayaquil we had to change the bus to Ambato and change to our last bus to Baños. We arrived in the small, quiet town at 9:30 pm so exhausted that we just took the first hostel just next to the bus terminal.

The next morning we changed hostel since we wanted to stay in a place with a community place to get in touch with other travelers. In town we found a nice and clean place and met Mark and Antje. With Mark we did a bike tour down to Machay, visiting 4 different waterfalls. We enjoyed the scenery and at the last waterfall we took a truck back to Baños.

Since Mark also wanted to fly to the Galapagos, Michael booked a flight ticket for him. The three of us got ready the next morning and headed towards Guayaquil to catch our flights.

In Guayaquil I called a hostel to check out availability and the area close to the City Mall was just perfect. We were super excited about Galapagos that we couldn’t sleep. At the airport we waited for our call and almost missed our flight since the TV was so loud that we didn’t hear the speakers.

So off we went and couldn’t wait to get to this unique place.

Accommodation Baños: Plantas y Blanco, Martinez near 12 de Diciembre

Price: US $ 10 p.p., double room, shared bathroom, wifi, kitchen

Comment: great rooftop terrace and a Turkish bath. Very clean rooms.

Accommodation Guayaquil: Dreamkapture Inn, www.dreamkatpure.com

Price: US $ 24 for double room, own bathroom, wifi

Comment: far outside of the center but great location if you want to stay close to the Bus
                 Terminal and Airport. Close to the City Mall where you can find plenty of food. But
                 the best burger is just down the road (watch for the queue of locals).