A Futile Attempt at Laundry

Still playing catch-up on the Blog. This entry takes place on the last day of the Galapagos trip. That sunday was my 10th day in the Galapagos and my last morning on the yacht. I thought the crew would drop everyone off at the main town as they had done at the half way mark. But the night before, I was told we were returning to the airport because most people were flying out at noon. I had 10 days worth of laundry and had planned to drop it all off at a lavandaria while going off to explore more of the main island. But that would now require me to take a bus an hour back into town. So during our last landing of the trip, while we were scouting for Frigates with enlarged red balloon-like sacks, I debated whether or not to stay or try and change my flight to a day earlier. Laundry on the Galapagos: expensive. Laundry on the mainland: well, it had to be cheaper.

Our last landing of the trip was on an island a short distance from the airport island. We were looking for randy Frigates; our guide saying there was a 1% chance of seeing them inflating their red sacks for mating rights. I had seen this on a Nat Geo special and was anxious to see it live (I am weird). A 1% chance seemed low. Especially since we saw one within minutes of the landing. And many more 20 minutes later. It was late in the mating season, but there were still a few guys hoping for luck at last call. I was snap-happy with my camera.

After stepping over and around more sea lions, we were picked up and taken back to the yacht for breakfast and to pack. I was looking forward to another big breakfast full of eggs, fruit, and maybe even some bacon. We had bread and cold cuts. Apparently they were going to restock when they dropped us off. As I was packing up my things, and trying to figure out what to do with my boots that stunk of sea lion poo, I decided I might as well see if I could switch my flight to that day and spend the afternoon in Guayaquil. That would help make up for some of the time I lost staying in Quito and extra week.

When I got to the ticket counter and asked about availability, I was told there was room for me to switch, and at no penalty. I asked what time the flight was. I thought the agent said 2pm. I told him that was too late and said nevermind. My yacht guide, who was standing there helping those of us who weren`t fluent (me), told me he said 12pm. Oh, noon is good. I would be in downtown Guayaquil by 3pm. So I switched the flight. This was at 9:30am. Fourty minutes later an announcement said the flight was delayed until 1pm. By this time the buses had departed for the mainland. But an hour wasn`t so bad. Then, at 11am, an announcement said the plane would depart at 2pm. Figured. Those of us from the yacht, waiting on that flight, sat around drinking beers, filling out post cards, and ordering over priced lunches. Then, at 1pm, we were told the flight would leave at 3pm.

The flight left at 4:15pm. We flew a Nestle plane (no idea what that was all about) and were told to take any available seat. I got a window and slept most of the way back.

When we landed in Guayaquil at close to 7pm (the mainland is an hour ahead), I realized it was too late to do laundry, but decided to look in my Lonely Planet guide book for a hostel near a lavandaria. The map showed no lavandarias. I picked a random hostal and then took the book´s advice about walking out past the taxis in front of the airport and out to the main road to flag one down. This supposedly saved me $2. I am cheap. It was worth the hike.

The cab driver knew exactly where my hostal was and we darted through the deserted streets of downtown Guayaquil. The location was not pretty. I asked the cab driver if the neighborhood was safe. He smirked and said "sure". And in I went. The room was really nice (nice for $10 a night). Even came with cable tv. But the tv would turn itself off and back on every few minutes (couldn`t figure that one out). The shower had great pressure and hot water, but no shower curtain. And the toilet was spotless, but had no seat. There was, however, air conditioning. And I needed it. Guayaquil was hot.

I asked the man at the desk about a laundry and he pointed to a place on a paper map where one should be. But it would have to wait until the morning. I asked him if the neighborhood was safe. He said "sure". And so off I went to explore. Guayaquil was not pretty. At least not at night. And I saw no sign of a lavandaria. After walking around for about an hour, I did find a new riverfront plaza that had been put in a few years back and was loaded with families. Here I strolled until, during a phone call with my coworker, I was told it was late and this wasn`t the city to be exploring at night. And so I went back to my hostal and went to bed, amongst 10 days worth of dirty clothes. That would be chore numero uno in the morning.