Denouement Diaries - Week 14

Essentially the ramblings of two adults that probably require adult supervision.

As usual, follow along at:

Anyway let's get into it:


11/5/23 - Day 92: Quito --> Olon

  • Drove from Quito out to Olon
  • 'Sweet and Coffee' (Ecuador's version of Starbucks) on the way
  • Threw our bags in to the surf shack run by a super cool Venezuelan chick - thanks, Paola!!
  • Went for a swim
  • Got sunburned - idiots
  • South Indian for lunch while Meli had an Italian lesson
  • Walk to the end of the beach in the afternoon - saw a dead dolphin unfortunately - first time I had ever seen one (we wondered if it had died in a net? - there is heaps of tuna fishing in the region)
  • Did some grocery shopping with Meli to sort breakfasts and snacks for the next few days
  • Went to 'Shankhe' for dinner over at Montanita - was a really cool place with some very friendly cats

12/5/23 - Day 93: Olon

  • Woke up and cooked up some bacon and eggs for breakfast while Paola was taking a surf lesson
  • Walked Casey up to the little township where she did a yoga lesson on the hotel rooftop next door to the indian restaurant
  • I had coffee in the cute cafe underneath in the meantime
  • We had more coffee when Casey joined me after yoga
  • Wandered back because Casey and Meli had a surf lesson at 1200
  • I took a board out for my first surf in a couple of years, I think
  • My arms died
  • Chilled in afternoon
  • Late lunch with Casey and Meli at 'MoMo' was excellent - really good food - get the gnocchi
  • Afternoon swims and movies
  • Then we were all pretty good for skipping dinner as we had a late big lunch
  • So we walked up to 'Tortuga' cafe for snacks and coffee as dinner and to watch some old American expats play the bongos

13/5/23 - Day 94: Olon

  • 0800 surf for me and lessons for Casey and Meli
  • Cooked up some breakfast back at Paola’s
  • We went for another nice round of coffee with Meli at 1000
  • Meli left before lunch to head back to Guayaquil
  • Very chilled hot afternoon for us
  • Swim around 1500 to cool off
  • Casey took a board to have a bash
  • Walked up to the town for 'Poke Bowls' for dinner
  • Freshly cracked open coconut on the beach after dinner
  • Then to a churro and coffee place for postres
  • Walk home
  • Watched the 'Princess Diaries' - why did I do that...?

14/5/23 - Day 95: Olon --> Guayaquil

  • Had to leave the beach unfortunately
  • Went for a swim in the morning
  • Then cooked up some breakfast
  • And packed up
  • Went for a last coffee at 'Noah Cafe'
  • We potentially had a lead on a lift back to Guayaquil but just ended getting the bus - was very easy
  • Just a hot walk to the depot
  • Bus for a few hours to Guayaquil depot
  • Then a very short cab ride to the Holiday Inn
  • Checked in
  • Room service late lunch
  • A dip in the spa
  • Then started wathching 'The Consultant' on Prime

15/5/23 - Day 96: Guayaquil --> Medellin

  • Travel day
  • Up a bit early for a 0630 transfer a couple of minutes to the airport
  • Bought myself a new collapsible toothbrush at the airport pharmacy, which was very exciting
  • Had already checked in so up to security
  • Exit immigration was easy
  • But then one of those very South American things happened when about 5 metres past the immigration desk, the nex person asked to see passports as well
  • Like we had literally just passed through immigration, been stamped, and exited within immediate vision of this idiot - "passport please" - ugh
  • Anyway went and found a coffee shop to post up, get some ordinary breakfast and wait
  • Then of course passing through the gate we had issues as well - more south america
  • The stewardess pulled us into another line, asked us for documents, including onward flights out of Colombia - simple questions of "why do you need to know this information?" had no good answers - basically my mood was "I don't care about you, I have a valid plane ticket and can discuss my Colombia plans with Colombian immigration on arrival"
  • Then we were told we should have filled out an online visa application (definitely do not need this)
  • Eventually boarded
  • Easy flight in to Bogota
  • Finished the online application while in the immigration line
  • Which the fellow at the immigration desk could not have cared less about
  • Stamped and in
  • But we had to do a domestic trasfer anyway
  • So through the next security checkpoint, up to the gate, got a coffee etc
  • Short flight in to Medellin with a bunch of very happy nuns
  • Since check in at out place was 1500, we took another luxurious right turn and just posted up for lunch at the airport, instead of lugging bags around Medellin waiting for a hotel
  • Uber from the airport
  • Cool tunnels through the mountains into Medellin
  • Checked in
  • Very small room but it's fine
  • Walked down the road with Casey for the first of her week of pole classes
  • Picked her up then went to dinner at a Mexican place literally across the road from our hotel
  • We are in a very nice little neighbourhood of trendy restaurants and cafes
  • Watched more of 'The Consultant'

16/5/23 - Day 97: Medellin

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Embarrasing to have to listen to another young couple (Australian, we think) complain about literally everything at another table...
  • Then wandered around the neighbourhood and sample some of it's coffee
  • My feeling is that instead of doing a 'Colombian Coffee Tour' out to a farm or something, I just drink as much Colombian coffee in her cafes as I can
  • Took an Uber up to the Botanic Gardens
  • Very intersting to see neighbourhoods change very quickly on the way between 'nice and quite and leafy' to 'groups of young men living under corrugated iron tents under a bridge'
  • Got to the Gardens
  • Heaps of massive iguanas all over the place
  • And piles of turtles in the sun
  • Had some coffee and ice block snack
  • Then Uber back to a shopping centre in our neighbourhood to try and see the new 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie
  • But they were all screening in dubbed Spanish - figured we would probably miss some gags if we tried to watch it
  • Had some lunch
  • Then walked back to the Hotel
  • Casey diverted on the way to ger her nails did
  • Which turned into a 2.5 hour session of 'nails then getting back through a thunderstorm while intermittently taking shelter under shop awnings'
  • Casey off to her next pole session
  • Dinner at an Argentinian Parilla place - I still think I can do better steak...

17/5/23 - Day 98: Medellin + Guatape

  • Up and had breakfast at the hotel
  • Because we were picked up at 0730 for a transfer to the start of a tour out to the big rock thing and Guatape
  • Got to the square where we were meeting the tour
  • And had a little bit of time so grabbed a coffee
  • Fended of some dude trying to sell antique books
  • Onto the mini bus
  • And then off
  • Casey booked this and I had no idea what we were doing
  • Turned out to be a combination gastronomic and sightseeing tour
  • So we stopped for strawberries and cream once were out of Medellin
  • Then hot cacao drink and bread
  • We got to the big rock thing - El Peñón de Guatapé - and were given an hour or so
  • It's massive - 700 steps straight up the side of the rock
  • Not too hard compared to some of the Andes walks
  • Nice views from the top over the lake and little islands and headlands - all manmade from a dam apparently
  • Down and back to the bus - down to the lake where we jumped on a little boat for lunch
  • It turns out that wrapping a pile of food in a banana leaf does not make it gourmet...
  • Finished our little loop in the boat then back up the shore and into Guatape proper
  • It is essentially a re-creation of the original town that now lies under the lake
  • I was getting those familiar 'this is a fake place theme park for tourists where no locals actually live' vibes again
  • Had some nice coffee in the town
  • Then wandered around and looked at all the colourful streets
  • Back to the bus with one last stop to eat jam wrapped in cheese - I politely declined...
  • Then the ride back in to Medellin
  • Uber back to our hotel then just chilled for a little while
  • Went to a Vietnamese place in the neighbourhood which was good
  • Then finished 'The Consultant' - the series sort of fizzled at the end

Stay tuned...