Colombia Ecuador and Galapagos

We had a long lay in this morning (well longer than any other on this holiday) and then a leisurely breakfast.  We went for another walk along the Malecon 2000 (River Front) and things are a lot quieter today than they were yesterday. There are very few cars about.  The streets that were very busy yesterday now have far few cars on them and these seem to be mainly buses and taxis.  We were continually flashed or tooted at by drivers in an attempt to get a bit of business.  Even shopping centres and most other shops are now closed. University Square The pedestrian crossings along the main road are paintings of something nearby.  This one depicts the River Guayas The pedestrian crossings along the main road are paintings of something nearby.  This one depicts the gardens in Malecon 2000 This was a very busy road yesterday.  Today we could easily cross away from the traffic lights. We walked to the end of the Malecon 2000 hoping that it would lead to a river

The hotel at Quito airport was lovely, comfortable and quiet and we soon went off but were woken from a deep sleep by my phone playing a tune that I haven’t heard before.   We both assumed it was my 6.00 am alarm and I thought I must have accidently set it to another ring tone.   We got up and started to get ready when Paul suddenly realised that it was only 4.15.   When I checked the phone it was a missed call from a local number.   Very strange.   There was no voicemail so we went back to bed but found it difficult to settle again.  We did get up at 6.00 and had an early breakfast and a look around the hotel but I still felt as if I was on the boat and unsteady on my feet.  Hopefully that will pass soon.   It would be a great place to stay if we needed a stopover in Quito. Garden at Hotel San Jose de Puembo, Quito Airport Animals at Hotel San Jose de Puembo, Quito Airport Hotel San Jose de Puembo, Quito Airport Garden at Hotel San Jose de Puembo, Quito Airport

Neither of us could sleep last night.   My feet were hurting from the difficult walk and the boat was rocking about so much that I thought I was going to fall out of bed.   Eventually I got up and made my way to the bathroom and looked out.   The starry sky was amazing.   I could see the Plough so clearly up above and it looked so much nearer that when we see it at home.   Paul took a look and then we went out of our cabin and saw the other side of the boat.   We saw more stars than we have ever seen and also saw the milky way very clearly.   This is because we are close to the equator and there was no light pollution and no moon.   We watched this for some time before going back to bed where we did eventually get to sleep.  We thought it would easily photograph but it didn't. We arrived at breakfast at 7.00 to be told that due to the Corona Virus, the Ecuadorian Government had given the instruction that all tourists must leave the island that day.   As we still had an 8 hour s