We said a sad farewell to Rosemary at the CIFA bus station in Piura (she had given us a lift - with the driver being a local guy whom Rosemary pays to drive her into the 'big city'). The bus station is pretty grotty but we were encouraged to see a smart, modern double-decker looking ready to go. However, a downturn in events began when an old rickety looking single decker pulled into the garage with a cry of 'Bus para Guayaquil'. The side of the bus proudly advertised air conditioning, food on board, DVD etc so we were a bit more encouraged ....mmmm!. Our driver set off at breakneck speed and made Sullana in really good time. As our journey was expected to take at least nine hours the signs were we might get into Guayaquil a little early, if he could keep up the pace. He did - and covering the road which meets the coast and the most westerly point of the South American mainland, we saw the long stretches of sandy beaches for which this part of the coast is famous. Advice on the border crossing from Peru into Ecuador at Hua......... was scant and sketchy but most said it could be difficult and risky, especially in the dark. However, we found going through on the CIFA bus to be relatively straightforward and Customs was particularly quick with a cursory check of the bus's luggage compartment as night fell. Officials didn't even seem interested that there were a couple of parakeets on board (they had been hanging on bravely to their cage as the driver hurtled round corners and slammed on brakes)! Now is the time to admit that the bus did have air conditioning - the door was left open the entire journey letting the wind flow through the bus. On board food too was much in evidence as street sellers boarded the bus at the many unscheduled stops to sell us their kebabs, fruit, drinks etc. However, these stops where many local people including groups of youngsters got on board were a bit of a worry as hold ups and robberies are common in this area - on this occasion our bus got through safely. Despite the speed the driver was going at, overtaking every and any vehicle in his path, we still arrived at Guayaquil 40 minutes late. We'd arranged a pick-up by our guest house but in the very large, modern and busy bus terminal come shopping mall we couldn't find our man. We therefore grabbed a taxi and made our way to Tangara Guest House in a quiet area of the city. With us and our luggage deposited on the pavement and the taxi disappearing into the night we rang the doorbell. No reply and despite several attempts to elicit a response, looking through gates for any sign of life, we knew we would not be staying at Tangara that night. (The following day we heard from the guest house with their sincere apologies because the only person on duty at that time on Sunday night had been at the bus terminal looking for us.) After 40 minutes waiting for someone to turn up or answer the door we had to make a decision so M went along to the nearby main road and hailed a taxi (she had to wait a while at that time of night but she did get one 'offer' from a passing car that she was quick to refuse!). With us and all our stuff on board, and with a taxi driver who didn't seem to have the slightest comprehension that we were looking for a hotel near the airport (for an early flight the next morning), we eventually got him to stop as we came to a couple of hotels. But with no luck at either we said just to drive on to the airport where we thought there were bound to be hotels. Passing a Sheriton we got him to stop and third time lucky got a room at a very reasonable rate (pity we wouldn't have time to use all the hotel's many facilities). By this late hour we grabbed some beers and food from room service, caught up with some emails and fell into bed at 2:30 - exhausted. What a day!!The alarms went off at 6:30 and we dragged ourselves out of bed, showered and packed ready for the airport and our flight. We'd picked up on a problem with M's credit card the previous night so M had to make a call to the UK before we left the hotel - thankfully everything was sorted out. We also needed to check flight details so called Aerogal (who we were flying with at 10 that morning) to get the knews that we weren't on that flight! We gave Expedia's confirmation details - but Aerogal didn't recognise them nor did they have our passport details for that flight. We therefore called Expedia in the US and explained our serious problem to a very helpful but also very slow rep - it took her ages to understand we had only 2 hours before we were due to fly. She agreed to call Aerogal and call back. Very worried that we would not make the Galapagos, and waiting until Expedia called back, we decided to call Aerogal once again. This time they confirmed with much relief we were on the flight and provided us with the correct check in confirmation code) so started the mad dash to complete packing, check out and get to the airport. The stressful previous day was certainly continuing. However, helpful airport staff made sure we were on the flight and with 2 very rear seats and a cooked breakfast we settled down and landed in the Galapagos in a much better frame of mind. We had made it!!E & M xxx