Thursday 29th January 2029: Chilling in Puerto Ayora

So far on this holiday we seem to have either an activity day or a moving on day.  As we unexpectedly did giant tortoises and lava tunnels on the day we arrived and then a long day's tour to Isabela the day after, this has been the first day we had nothing planned.

There are other trips we could go on, but gain they are long days and we just wanted a couple of days on our holiday to relax. So today we had a wander round the town where were ares staying, Puerto Ayora.  In terms of population, it's about the same size as Bolsover or Shirebrook.  The seafront is dominated by tour operators, restaurants and souvenir sellers.  Just behind the front there are more normal shops, including mini-mercados which all seem to stock the same products.  Virtually everything here has to be imported so prices are a lot higher than the mainland.

The Island of Santa Cruz, where were are staying, has no fresh water supply nor does it have a desalination plant, so drinking water comes in water cooler bottles and you are advised not to brush your teeth with water from the taps.  Though, in truth, we've been given either water cooler bottles or normal bottled water in every place we have stayed on the mainland too.

The main promenade is dominated by the piers (muelles) for tourist boats.  Today there were even more big ships moored out in the bay, though no really huge cruisers like Celebrity.

A few 100 metres away is a smaller cove, where fish and other seafood is landed.  Unsurprisingly, pelicans and sea lions were hanging around, waiting for tit bits.  The seals are so funny.  They lay in benches, the pavements and on steps, unfazed by the humans near them.

In the water we could spot a turtle, small sharks, stripey fish and rays.  Brightly coloured crabs clustered on the black volcanic rock, just above the water line.  Occasionally, a sea iguana would swim by.

Some of the pelicans perched in bushes, when not diving for small fish.  Other iguanas were so small and still, they looked like plastic dinosaur toys.

The sea here is crystal blue with very little litter.  Everywhere there are signs reminding you to respect the environment.   When we went to Komodo Island in Indonesia a couple of years ago, as we went out to sea, there were huge fields of detritus (mainly plastic bottles) floating in  the water.  We haven't seen anything like that here.

The weather is hot and humid, and being on the equator, the sun is directly above.  You don't want to walk far or be out for long.  We retired for lunch at a coffee bar that did omelettes made with eggs for Kevin and made with quinoa for Joan.  (The latter was very stodgy but it was different.)

Afternoons are really hot so we retired to the cool of our air conditioned room.  The internet at our accommodation is very slow.  Sara, our host, suggested a couple of places where it might be faster, but there was no improvement.  So we've decided to wait to upload most of our photos when we get home, or en route if we have time.

It was quite nice after a frenetic holiday, to loll about and do Sudoku (Kevin) or read a book about Captain Fitzroy and Charles Darwin (Joan).

Evening came.  It was still hot and humid but the sun had gone down.  We found a restaurant called Nazca Esencia nearby that did veggie/vegan food.  We both ended up with a hummus and baba ghanoush bowl with pitta.  It was light and airy, with a friendly ambience.  Though our diet choices can be restricting, we've had some interesting and different food here, which makes a change from eternal pizza and pasta.