From Puerto Lopez to Guayaquil

Yesterday was our last day on the coast. In the morning, we walked along the beach and by chance, we discovered a hospital for marine creatures. It was a larger wooden hut and from a distance, it looked more like a non-operational beach bar. Two employees let us in and explained to us about the sick inhabitants currently in the hospital. Out of the 10 tanks, 8 were occupied by turtles. Some looked really bad. One had only 3 legs and a small turtle was missing a piece of its leg. An employee told us that the turtles' biggest enemy is the fishermen. They would hit the turtles if they got caught in their nets. It's sad to hear something like that! Oh, there was a turtle floating almost motionless on the water, it had a needle in its throat. Here, the employee told us that it was being fed through that.

In the front part, there were also some blue-footed boobies. Most of them had a broken wing. They actually glue it and sometimes fix it with a small brace.

Once all the injuries are healed, each animal is released again.

It was really a great facility and we were really surprised that no one had pointed out this hospital to us. We even asked at the hotel what we could visit. Our suspicion is that only the whale-watching season counts here and nothing else.

At around 3:15 p.m., we had to say goodbye to Puerto Lopez. We took a tuk-tuk to the small bus terminal and got tickets for the 4:00 p.m. bus to Guayaquil.

We arrived there safely and after a pleasant night at the hotel, we will now enjoy our last hours in Ecuador - Guayaquil. Our return flight is not until the evening, so we still want to see a few things.

On our journey through Ecuador and to the Galapagos, we have seen and experienced a lot of beautiful things. I am 'totally' impressed by this country. I did not expect such fantastic landscapes, nice people, and this indescribable wildlife at all. We are both deeply impressed and leave Ecuador with a sad and happy eye. LITTLEFOOT, HERE WE COME!!!!

We send our greetings from Ecuador to everyone!

Anke & Daniela