caramelo

I guarantee that you will love the trip Chocolady88, it really is something special. Have a great time........ April isn´t long now, it´s just around the corner. ;)

Thankyou all so much, I´m so glad you enjoyed it! :)

Then we went to the Mountain Paradise Lookout where we saw these views of Guayaquil:

Finished our tour the guide took us to the airport to catch our international flight back to Spain:

It was such a very special trip that we were very sorry when it ended but it was a pleasure to share the experience with all of you.

THE END

The Santa Ana hill is a lovely place situated just above the Malecon 2000 and you can see almost the whole city from there. There are 400 odd steps to the top from the Malecon. There is a lighthouse, museum, small chapel and park at the top. Along the stairs, vendors sell water, ice cream and other snacks.

The monument commemorating the historical conference with Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin finished in 1938:

The Barrio las Peñas located at the foot of the Santa Ana hill is an area of the city with a coastal colonial architecture. It was destroyed and reconstructed several times as a consequence of fires, in particular the great fire of 1896. Las Peñas historic streets now house art galleries and artists' studios, the city’s oldest church, Santo Domingo (1548) and the nearby open-air-theatre, the Bogota. Las Peñas, where the city was founded, was actually rebuilt and painted bright colors where most of Guayaquil's colonial buildings are. Las Peñas has been home to presidents, musicians, historians, artists, captains of industry, housewives and fisherman. With a particular architectural style with narrow streets the houses near the river depict the early days of Ecuador with two fronts one for access from the street and the other for access from the river.

You can see the iguanas in the trees above this guy´s head:

Once finished in the Iguana Park, we went to the Malecon 2000 which is an ultramodern promenade along the waterfront, and has a nice contemporary art museum, a large garden area, an area for kids, and a shopping mall, this large park is the biggest architectural development in many centuries in the City of Guayaquil.

The Bolivar Park, which is also called the Park of the Iguanas is home to many iguanas, some of which approach 5 feet in length. Tourists and locals alike often feed the iguanas mango slices from park vendors. There is also a pond filled with colourful Japanese Tilapia.

An equestrian statue of the Liberator Simón Bolívar is located in the centre of the park. At the base of the statue is the first iguana:

The Church of San Francisco in the Square of the same name:

The spectacular and colorful public exhibition of paintings by the Central Bank Building is a unique peculiarity of Guayaquil. The pictures are changed every 6 months:

The monument of the warrier Mariscal Sucre:

The Moorish clocktower located on the Malecon Simon Bolivar:

At the entrance of the Centennial Park, is this square with the Monument to the Heroes of the Fatherland:

The Guayaquil Cathedral is at the heart of the city and has semigotic style towers and is one of the most visited churches in Guayaquil.

Guayaquil, officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest and most populated city of the Republic of Ecuador with a population near 3 million. The urban area of Guayaquil is ranked among the largest cities in Latin America.

The city got its name after an Indian chief Huancavilca "Guayas" and his wife, "Quil. " The Guayas and Quil (or Kil) Legend says that prisoner Indian chief Guayas discovered that the Spanish wanted to take away his beautiful wife, Kil. He told them he would get them lots of riches if they left his wife alone and granted them freedom. He then took the Spanish up a mountain and asked them for a long strong stick to push up a rock. Once they gave him the spear, he pushed it through his wife's heart and then impaled himself, telling the Spaniards that he was taking two treasures, the river, full of his brother's blood, and his wife, to accompany him up to the land of the Sun.

Guayaquil is the commercial center of the country, with more than half the companies in Ecuador based here, but the city is also beginning to challenge the cultural hegemony of Quito. Apart from shrimp exporting, petroleum refining, food processing and manufacturing, you’ll find a theater, film and art scene growing alongside an already lively club and bar scene that’s fuelled in part by several large universities.

In Guayaquil we had reserved a private local guide to collect us from the airport and to show usthe highlights of Guayaquil, including Bolivar Park, the Centennial Park or Iguana Park, the Administration Square, the Malecon 2000 and Barrio de las Penas.

In the new Administration Square there are several heritage buildings, two of which are the most important government buildings in the city: the Municipality of Guayaquil, the Government of Guayas and the old building of the Cantonal Water Company. Located in the heart of the city of Guayaquil, this beautiful square also has the monument of Antonio José de Sucre, one of the pioneers of the liberation of Ecuador.

Sunday, 15th of August

We were sorry that the cruise or expedition to the Galapagos was over. The departure was similar to our arrival with the transfer to the airport in the zodiac boat with our luggage. Our flight with the line "AEROGAL" from Baltra to Guayaquil was at 11:40am arriving in Guayaquil at 2:10pm

ha ha ha, thanks jimbri!

That night......it was sad because the cruise had come to an end and it was time to say goodbye to everyone, the passengers and the staff:

These were the Naturalists or guides who explained everything to us each day on land:

And we could not be without the Bakes Alaska Cake to say farewell on the ship:

TO BE CONTINUEd WITH THE LAST INSTALLMENT ……… LEAVING THE SHIP IN BALTRA AND OUR DAY IN GUAYAQUIL, EQUADOR…………………

And it was funny to see this bird travelling on the tortoise´s back:

In the afternoon we returned on land where we have had a walk through the Highlands of Santa Cruz Island and went to the place where you find the famous giant tortoises.

The road up to the Highlands was like this:

We saw some tortoises in the far distance:

We returned to the ship and after a buffet lunch we saw a typical Ecuadorian Folkloric Show of the Galapagos on board the ship, and I really enjoyed the girls' dresses with the pictures of the Galapagos animals:

In the installment / chapter on La Paz, Bolivia, I explained that the instrument which the girl in the picture above is playing is called a charango:

But the funniest images were certainly those which we saw in the local fish market with the sea lions and pelicans waiting for their share, ha ha ha........and right next to this sign warning not to give foodt o the animals:

And I found the following image amusing, the Church of Hope (Iglesia de la Esperanza) next door to the discotheque Panga or Bongo!!!:

This last photo is not a good one…….. but just for you to imaging Lonesome George “sleeping in action” on top of the poor female!:

When we had finished this visit we went back down to the center of Puerto Ayora.

These images were taken just walking through the streets of the village:

We could not miss the tree with the giant tortoise:

The highlight of this trip was to see the famous Lonesome George.

Lonesome George, weighing 90kg (14st 2lb), is the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise which is one of eleven extant subspecies of Galapagos tortoise, all of which are native to the Galapagos Islands.

Tortoises on the Galápagos have been hunted for their meat by sailors and fishermen to the point of extinction. Charles Darwin, when he arrived in the Galápagos in 1835, described how he and the crew of the Beagle lived entirely on tortoise meat. Also, the habitat of the tortoises has been eaten away by goats introduced from the mainland.

George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by American Joseph Vagvolgyi. Relocated for his safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station, George was penned with two females of a different subspecies, but although eggs have been produced, none has hatched.

Scientists have been trying to get George to mate since 1993, when they introduced two female tortoises of a different subspecies from the neighbouring island of Isabela into his pen, but he has been in no hurry to procreate.

On July 21, 2008, it was reported that George had unexpectedly mated with one of his female companions. A total of thirteen eggs were collected and placed in incubators. However, on November 11, 2008, The Charles Darwin Research Station reported that 80% of the eggs showed weight loss characteristic of being inviable. To the disappointment of the Darwin Center, by December 2008 the remaining eggs had failed to hatch and x-rays showed them to be inviable.

On 21 July 2009, exactly one year after first announcing George had mated, the Galapagos National Park announced that a second clutch of five eggs had been laid by one of George's female companions. On December 16, it was announced that the incubation period for the first 5 eggs had ended and the eggs were shown to unfortunately be inviable; also a second batch of 6 eggs laid after the first batch by the other female but also ended up being inviable.

I had read a lot about Lonesome George before going on this trip and I felt very sorry for him thinking that, because of his name “lonesome” that he must be very lonely and sad, but I was very happy to see him because he is quite the opposite, as it looks like George lives like a king in the Tortoise Breeding Center in the Galapagos National Park, surrounded by two females of the subspecies similar to his, and he is neither lonely nor sad but just so far has failed to give the offspring to ensure their continued type. I even had to laugh a lot.....because when we were looking at him...... he became “active” and climbed on top of one of the females who accompany him......but with his years he soon got tired and the funny thing is that he did not get down again, but stayed there with all his weight crushing the poor female below, and I think that he just went to sleep as he did not move any more after that!!! ha ha ha!!

I present you to Lonesome George:

Then we learnt a little about the conservation of turtles, first about the incubation

And this time it was the brown pelican who welcomed us to Santa Cruz:

In the Santa Cruz Island are the headquarters of the National Park of the Galapagos Islands, and the Charles Darwin Research Station.

The Charles Darwin Foundation conducts scientific research, biological and conservation projects for the conservation of species of the Galapagos for the last 47 years. Nearly two hundred people work there including scientists, educators, research students and volunteers. 90% of staff working in the foundation are Ecuadorian. This Foundation is an non-profit organization that depends entirely on donations from individuals, foundations, corporationsand governments around the world

The National Park Service operates a tortoise breeding center where they are prepared for reintroduction into the wild.

First we saw the following, and I was surprised to see that their necks were so long.

Saturday, 1st of August

The first images arriving ashore:

Thanks again all of you, Jazzbo, Fleckle, Maybo, Brazilgirl, etc. for your comments.

Jazzbo, I must confess that I am actually Irish, but have lived in Spain for more than 25 years, so I first did this travelogue in Spanish for a travel forum here in Spain, and now I have to translate it into English, and I am cheating using the Google translater and as I am trying to do it quickly as I don´t have too much free time after work, so I haven´t taken much care to check that the English is correct........ and after being 25 years away unfortunately my Enlish is now a bity "rusty"!!!! ;)

Brazilgirl: We got our own flights to Baltra but had no problem what so ever meeting the Celebrity Group. Celebrity have their own stand at the airport and as the airport is small well you can see their sign and meeting point very easy. We were lucky as our flight arrived in before the rest of the group so we just waited for them...... maybe only 30 minutes difference between our and their flight. However if your flight will arrive later than theirs then I assume you provide Celebrity with your flight & arrival details and you will have no problems.

There were at least 2 families with 3 or 4 children each, aged between maybe 8 and 15 and all seemed to love the trip.

For those who want to enjoy the beach, you will have to use the time they offer to those who want to go snorkling......... maybe about an hour or 45 minutes on at least 4 or 5 different ocasions.

You´ll have a great trip as it really is something special, and although I am maybe spoiling some of the surprises with my story and photos but no two trips are the same but I have heard that all trips are fascinating, so I´m sure you will really enjoy it.

I´ll be back soooooooooon with some more!

And after we saw a brown pelican:

And the brown penguin with the Cerro Dragon or Dragon Hill in the background:

Just at the end we saw the sun set and a blue-footed booby:

We returned to the ship where we enjoyed another pleasant evening aboard.

TO BE CONTINUED ……… with the last day of excursions in the Galápagos ……… with more of the Santa Cruz Island