Puerto Lopez

I made it! The bus ride was awful, since it was overnight and I can't sleep well on buses, but it was the nicest bus I've ever been on. Not super advanced or anything, but newer and cleaner than Rimrock Stages. They stored all of our stuff below and gave us tickets to claim it on arrival. I was glad to be leaving Quito after walking through it after dark, and I'm really glad to be done travelling, at least long distance. Today I get to rest and explore the town, and tomorrow I guess I'm headed off to Isla de la Plata, the poor man's Galapagos, for sea turtle patrol and a bird survey. The two volunteers here, from Italy and Scotland, told me they stay on the island for about a week at a time and see blue-footed boobies and albatross as well as the turtles hatching now.

Puerto Lopez is an interesting town. I'll have to post some pictures when I get the chance. It's basically a small small fishing village with dirt roads and a lot of run-down buildings, but everyone is super nice. I'm going out later to do some grocery shopping and exploring, and I'll write more about it once I've seen more. If I don't post something by tonight, though, I probably won't be back for a week, so don't hold your breath.