Day Seven ... goodbye Galápagos ... and hello Guayaquil

Our final day in the Galapagos Islands began super early with an alarm set for 5.30 am. Our luggage was to be outside our cabins by 6.00am so that the crew could take it to the island on the pangas. It was a beautiful sunrise ... which softened the blow of the rude awakening by the alarm.

At 6.45am we boarded the pangas and headed to Baltra to begin our final excursion of this part of our trip. We boarded a bus which took us to the entrance of the Estacion Cientifica Charles Darwin. This is the research station where marine biologists are studying the islands and researching ways to preserve the integrity of the ecosystem. 

Our visit was brief as we were booked onto an early morning flight (hence the early start ... my apologies to our fellow travellers who had to accommodate our time frame).

At the Research Station we got to see the Galapagos Giant Tortoises at various ages ... from seniors (100+ years) to ones that were hatched in 2026. Juan pointed out the different types of shells which indicates what island they came from. We watched the male turtles try to be the alpha by rising up with open mouths. The one who is the highest is the winner!

After spending time at the station those of us who were departing headed back to the bus. Eight of our group stayed behind to wander the station at their leisure. Two of our group were escorted to their hotel where they were staying the night and we, along with Juan, jumped back on the bus and headed to the airport.

The drive to the airport was about 45 minutes long ... from one end of the island to the other and then we needed to board a tender boat to cross over to a smaller island which is where the airport is located. There were signs alerting us to Giant Tortoise crossings along the road ... and Yes we saw them running (crawling) wild.

And so we said goodbye to the Galapagos. We have had an incredible 4 days exploring this unique and fascinating location. We have seen animals up close and seen evolution be a reality.

With a hug goodbye we farewelled Juan who, having deposited us at the LATAM check in, headed to arrivals to collect his next group of travellers who are about to embark on their Galapagos adventure.

After a short wait and a cool drink we boarded our flight to Guayaquil where we had a 7 hour stopover (not the best flight selections on this leg of our trip). However, not wanting to just sit around in an airport we had booked a Get Your Guide tour of the city.

So we disembarked our flight, collected our luggage and then checked it in for our evening flight to Lima. Then we left the airport and walked to the Holiday Inn where we met our guide Francisco and driver Andrew.

Our tour was just on 4 hrs and was absolutely incredible. Francisco was a gracious guide, patient with our inquisitive nature and my need to take photos all the time. He customised the tour for us, starting with a view point overlooking the city called Paradise Hill.

This provided us with an overview of the city. Francisco pointed out some of the places we were going to visit ... and then we were off. We headed first to Centenary Park where local Ecuadorians were dancing ... so we stopped and watched them fascinated by their moves and the joy on their faces.

Then we caught the cable car ... Aerovia which took us up and past the major cemetery,  the hill (Cerro del Carmen) with the statue of Jesus on top, past the hospital,  Las Penas (the old township built into the hill which reminded us of the favella in Rio and Gamcheon in Korea), past the Museo Antropologico Y de Art, the funfair known as La Perla.

We crossed the Guayas River which is very wide ... with very few boats on it, to Duran Station.  We then jumped off the cable car, walked around the pillar and reboarded to take the Cable Car back across the river. We disembarked to meet up with Andrew again.

Then he drove us to Igauna Park ... where notm surprisingly there were lots of Iguanas being fed by the locals and tourists (maybe 150 land iguanas). The iguanas live in the park, coming down to the ground during the day to be fed lettuce and bananas before climbing into the trees to sleep at night.

We crossed the road to visit the Catedral Catolica Metropolitana de Guayaquil.  This massive cathedral was stunning. A beautiful buttressed ceiling, stained glass windows and gilded columns ... made for a wow!

Then we headed to Plaza de la Administracion to visit the City Hall, passing the Biblioteca Municipal (sadly the library was closing so we couldn't visit). In the Plaza were many statues and other impressive buildings.

We walked to Malecon 2000 ... a riverside boardwalk built in 2000. We passed the Moorish Clocktower, statues, the Hemiciclo da la Rotonda (a structure in recognition of the liberators of South America).

Then it was time to head to the airport for our late flight out to Lima. We are sitting in a Cafe airside at the moment ... eating a yummy cheese and ham toastie (first food for the day!)

Our flight departs in another hour and a half and we won't arrive into Lima until late this evening. 

The day has been amazing. We are exhausted but feel so happy to have taken on the afternoon tour. If you read up about Guayaquil you find that it says it is one of the most dangerous places to visit with high crime rates (sorry Mum) ... but we saw none of that. We were totally safe with Francisco and Andrew. 

And so ends our Ecuador adventure. Truly incredible!