Day 15 in Ecuador

Good-bye to Ecuador

Rose early and contemplated that this was my last day in Ecuador. It’s been an incredible trip – and I’m not sure I’ve ever before done so many things in such a short time. The people have been wonderful, the traveling has been easy, fun and inexpensive, and the sights have been incredulous.

Having been on the plane a good chunk of yesterday, I decided to get out for one last walk into New Town. Specifically, I wanted to visit the Ethnic Café again – the most delicious latte’s are served there in such a feel-good environment. Walking along past the park, black clouds of diesel fumes from the continuous buses going by, and crowds of people scurrying off to their morning work, I kept eye-balling the mountain that flanks Quito on the west. It is the tallest peak around the city and has a Gondola running to the top that I had wanted to take, but hadn’t done yet. I could see that it was running – the little cars were slowly going up and down. I decided to try to squeeze it into my last morning and walk to it, and see the view of Quito from the top before leaving. Quickly calculating my total pocket money (I didn’t carry a purse with me – just pocket money) I figured I probably had enough to both ride the gondola to the top and come back down and have the latte at the Ethnic café.

Finding the way through the twisting and turning streets without my map, I finally arrived at a University situated at the base of the Gondola mountain. I asked some students for directions which wasn't very successful, then finally found an English-speaking traveler and she said it was still a looooooong way up the mountain, too far to walk. I hailed a taxi and sure enough indeed – had I continued walking I might never have arrived! It starts from darn near half-way up the mountain!

Leaving the taxi and walking to the ticket counter I was already feeling the shortness of breath these high altitudes bring. I began to wonder if I should actually do this, but decided I could always hop back into the Gondola and ride back down if I found I couldn’t breathe at the top.

There was a family of 8 Ecuadorians – two women about my age and the rest were youngsters probably in high school – who were purchasing their tickets just in front of me. We ended up talking a little and discovered that Norma, the older woman, is an English teacher in Guayaquil – they were traveling their country with their children. She told me that the minimum number of people allowed to ride in a Gondola car is 4, maximum is 6, and invited me to ride with them.

It was a slow ride to the top and my ears were having a few challenges with the popping process. They insisted that if I covered my ears and head with my jacket that the pressure wouldn’t affect my ears. I found this to be quite curious (and was unable to understand it scientifically), but two of them covered their heads completely with their jackets. The inside of the car became quite warm, and that in itself was causing a lack of oxygen. I kept yawning to try to pop my ears. The other older woman who rode up with us was already looking half-dead – Norma told me she experiences very low blood pressure at the top of this mountain and that she really shouldn’t have come up to the top. Finally, just to please them, I covered my ears with my jacket for the last 5 minutes of the ride. I don’t think it made any difference with the popping, but it appeared to make them happy. Finally, we reached the landing at the top of the mountain, and exited the Gondola. There was a brisk chill breeze that whipped across us as we gasped for air.

I tried to control my light-headedness and followed them over to the building housing the indoor cafes and shops that sits atop the mountain. The half-dead woman plopped herself into a bench at a table and Norma and some of the youths joined her. I wandered around for a few minutes looking at things, then told them I was going outside to take pictures.

Looking out across Quito and beyond, the views were from higher than the airplanes were flying – you could see the planes passing far below. You could see the current airport, and the big new one they’re building far in the distance, and separate valleys almost unpopulated to the west and east of Quito. The views of Cotopaxi and the other giant volcanoes were majestic – they were covered in snow and draped with a few small clouds. After shooting dozens of photos, I saw a path that appeared to go yet higher and achieve views from another angle. Walking up there, very slowly with several rest-stops along the way, I found a sign that read the elevation – 13,451 feet! No wonder I was feeling a trifle spent and wobbly!

After being on top of the mountain for about 40 minutes, my body was calling for lower altitudes. Walking back down the higher path, I met up with four of the youths who were coming up the path – they said Norma and the others had already taken the Gondola down, and they were just waiting for me! Unbelievable how thoughtful these Ecuadorians are! We descended the trail to the Gondola together and rode it back down. What a difference it made in how I physically felt to get lower by only a thousand feet. I started feeling much better less than half-way back down. By the time we hopped out of the Gondola at the bottom, my light-headedness was gone and my breathing was better. And that was still well above the 9,500’ that the city of Quito sits at.

We parted – couldn’t find Norma to say good-bye. Rode a courtesy bus down about a mile where it turns around and picks up other people to take back up to the Gondola. I got a trifle disoriented for a few minutes trying to figure out where I was (lost without my map and the roads were confusing), but then saw some familiar landmarks and set off walking down. I hailed a taxi and lo and behold – it was the same taxi driver that had taken me up to the Gondola! He seemed quite happy to see me and we actually started talking a little – my Spanish is very poor but he seemed to understand me. After a very enjoyable conversation and ride he delivered me to the Ethnic Café and I waved good-bye.

The Ethnic Café is a place of sanctuary here in Quito. It has beautiful soothing music playing softly in the background, the delicious scents of perfectly roasted coffee, and the aromas of the most yummy foods pervading from the kitchen. It is extraordinarily artistic and colorful in it’s decoration and display of mementos and coffees and tea sets for sale. The lighting is warm amber colored lamps of curved, angled and textured glass – this little haven has an ambiance of peace, comfort and rest.

I ordered my latte and apple strudel, and perched myself at the counter overlooking the street. All was well with the world from within the cocoon of the Ethnic Café. My latte and apple strudel arrived and tasted like perfection. It seemed unreal that within one hour I would be at the airport and heading home.

After sipping the last of the Latte, I slipped into the excellent tourist shop just next door to the Ethnic Café and purchased a small gift for a girlfriend – a male frigate bird in mating posture carved from the Tagua Nut, known as “vegetable ivory”. The nut is extremely hard and durable, and has an ivory color. It is from the palm tree called Phytelephas Macrocarpa that grows in the rainforest and coastal region of Ecuador, and is being used regularly now for carving in lieu of the tusks from elephants, walruses and rhinoceros.

From there I walked back to my hostel, through the large parks, along the streets filled with people, and the buses with diesel fumes, and the taxis zooming past, and the scents, sounds and sights of Quito…at the hostel I ate my leftover fish from the incredible dinner the night before, gave my good-byes and hugs, grabbed my bags, and hailed a taxi from across the street. I arrived at the airport just a few minutes after 12 noon – my flight was to depart at 2:10.

The flight to San Jose, Costa Rica was routed through Guayaquil, so for the second time in as many days I got to see the massive flooding from the air. After refueling and taking on new passengers, we were again airborne and on our way to Costa Rica.

Arriving at San Jose through the immense cloud cover didn’t seem strange until I deboarded. All of a sudden I was surrounded by a different culture entirely – Western Whites! Wow! What a different group than the Ecuadorians I had been enjoying the last two weeks. I could hear aggression and egos, and - excuse me for saying so – what translated to me as quite juvenile banter in some of the grouped male conversations, something I hadn’t heard for awhile, and now distinctively apparent. I was incredulized by how many U.S. folks there were at the airport – probably 90%!

Once boarded onto our Lacsa flight to LAX and taxied out to the end of the runway and ready for take-off only 30 minutes late, the Captain suddenly announced over the speakers that there was a malfunction of some gauges and the plane needed to return to the gate. I couldn’t believe it! This was my 8th flight total during my two-week trip, and the only one that needed to arrive on time due to my friends driving all the way from Palm Springs to LAX to pick me up so late in the evening (scheduled to arrive at 10:16 p.m.), and now it was being delayed! All my other flights had arrived at their destinations on time, but noooo – not THIS one! After 2 hours delay we finally lifted off from San Jose, for the long flight back to California.

And then, another strange thing happened….on re-entry to the U.S. I was pulled aside, as were several others at random, to go through additional security checks! Perhaps it was because I had declared the carved nut as a gift. It cost me another 30 minutes of time and almost lost me my nut! Fortunately, they decided to let me keep it, and I FINALLY got out to the lobby, and PRAISE THE UNIVERSE! My friends were still there waiting for me! They had almost returned to Palm Springs because the flight I was on had already deboarded so long ago and I had not shown up, but they had decided to wait a little longer…may miracles never cease!

We arrived back in Palm Springs by 2:45 a.m. and we were all in bed by 3! I lay there on my bed, my head swirling and my body still rocking from the yacht movement. I had arrived back in one piece with all having gone very well. As soon as the scabs on my buttocks heal from that demon saddle that ate my fanny back in Vilcabamba, I’ll be as good as new. It was an excellent trip, all in all, and I hope you get to go and have an adventure yourself real soon. Off to zzzzzzzzzzzzzz land.

Say

P.S. Stay tuned for the next adventure, coming this summer, when I hike parts of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Wonderland Trail. S

Day 14 in Ecuador

Sunday in the Galapagos

Woke early around 4:30 a.m., well before the alarm set for 5 a.m. Went outside and viewed the stars – they are a bit different here at the equator. Saw the Big Dipper with the North Star almost on the horizon, then the Little Dipper. Couldn’t make out Draco the Dragon but did see Scorpio – it is high in the sky here, whereas from the Northern Hemisphere it is much lower along the horizon.

It was balmy and warm out – absolutely divine temperature. The night was peaceful and quiet. The moon was full, and turning orange as it slowly descended over the Galapagos Islands. I finished looking through Kristina’s fish book before returning it, and went down to the main deck. No one was up or around - all quiet. Back to my room I organized a little for the day and went down again, and this time folks were around.

Because six of us were departing the yacht today at 8:45 a.m. to catch our return flights, we had a very early hike on North Seymour Island . The "pangas" took us at 7:15 over to the island and we had a dry landing almost on top of a baby seal – possibly the smallest, youngest one I’ve seen. Then we spied the marine iguana, which is very dark in comparison to the land iguanas known as the Christmas iguanas, which are red and green. But the big attraction on this walk, even greater than the blue-footed boobie which were plentiful, was the red-throated male frigate bird in all his mating regalia. When the male frigates are trying to attract a mate, they puff up the red air bag at the base of their throat until it is almost as big as a balloon, and crane their head back and watch the skies overhead for a female frigate that might be attracted to their large red air sack. We saw quite a few of these male frigates, and they are really quite extraordinary to behold. We also saw a number of frigate chicks, all fluffy and white, which proves the red neck balloon obviously works as nature intended.

The beach had incredible tube waves coming in, perfect for surfing. Long breaking rolls with aqua blue beneath – stunning! Finally it was time to board the "pangas" again and we were shuttled back to the yacht, where I quickly packed up and then had lunch with the others. This is the first absolutely perfectly beautiful day with no clouds and no hint of rain, and of course I’m leaving Ecuador when the good weather finally arrives.

Not only that, but once on my flight, out of at least 100 seats I had the only one, on a full plane, that had a drape across the headrest that said “Do Not Occupy”. And, to make matters worse, my seat was missing the button that allowed it to lean back. And the flight attendants went back and forth dozens of times and not one of them seemed the least concerned that I was in a broken seat. And I did not said anything for concern they would have me deboard and take the next flight instead of this one. On top of all this, two children thoroughly high and buzzed on sugar candies were seated right behind me who could not sit still. They were continually hitting the back of my seat and bouncing up and down with a mother who must have thought this behavior was natural and not to be controlled. There was someone in front of me who had reclined their seat all the way back practically into my lap! What a flight!

We were an hour late taking off, and it was so humid I was sweating like a pig, salt water running down my face, and once on board I discovered that this flight has no cooling air jets overhead, only reading lamps – it must be an ancient plane! Where's my parachute! While the captain was trying to start the engine, an airport worker was standing ready outside on the tarmac with a large fire extinguisher on wheels just off the left wing…it occurred to me that perhaps I should just stand up and get off….!

But I didn’t and, other than being in a completely ridiculous seating situation, all went well. The best thing I could say for it was that I was perched directly over the middle of the very wide wing, so in case we went down I might have survived a few minutes longer than the rest…although I'm not at all sure that would’ve been a good thing.

The flight to Guayaquil went well, despite the malfunctioning seat and the screaming kicking antics going on behind me, and once there we transferred to another plane. Now THAT was a scene – no one knew where we were going and when we finally found the proper gate it was a free-for-all on seat assignments! Fortunately I was quite near the front of the line, so I was able to get a window seat in the 9th row. Departing Guayaquil we flew above a largely flooded landscape, the direct result of recent torrential downpours. The massive flooding appears to have stretched in a swath between Guayaquil and Cuenca. The skies were completely covered by thick active cloud layers and had been this way almost continually since I arrived in the equatorial region. The temperature was warm and it would be unbearably hot if the clouds weren’t there – Nature’s way of trying to maintain temperature balance, I guess. Reminded me of my menopausal days: constant hot flashes with my response being cold showers.

Touchdown in Quito – excellent pilots! Smooth landing, quick plane departure, short visit with a fellow passenger, Robert from Colorado, and an arrangement for dinner later on, then a taxi and whoosh! I was back at the Chicago Hostel, my traditional hang-out in Old Town, Quito. My room was all fresh and neat, and after a little time checking emails I caught another taxi to Robert’s hotel, from which we went to a superb Ecuadorian restaurant he had heard of, the La Rhonda. We had fabulous traditional Ecuadorian style food while seated at a show-side table observing cultural skirt and shawl dances and Andean bands playing native music – all surrounded by fine mural art on the walls – an amazing place, delicious food, and delightful company. Unfortunately, the rigors of this trip were catching up with me and with the food, music, and wine I was slowly falling asleep in front of my host – how rude of me, but Nature cannot be fought with, at least not for long. We bade goodnight to our fine M’aitre de, and taxied it back to his place where he departed, and the taxi driver delivered me on to my hostel.

Out my hostel window I had full view of the most amazing “basilica” – a church to make the ones in Europe envious! The tall arched windows were all lit up in yellow from the inside, and on the tower the large round window was glowing yellow. The spires were delicate and tall, and extremely ornate in their architecture. Against the outside of the church were hidden lights that slowly rotated the color of the church walls from warm gray to beautiful yellow green, darker green, then purple blue – incredible. I stood at the window and watched for quite a while, then struggled to figure out how my camera works in order to take a timed picture of it. Finally got a few shots that were okay, and hit the hay!

Tomorrow is my last day…it seems to have all gone by in a rush and a flurry.

Say

Day 13 in Ecuador

Saturday in the Galapagos Islands

I entered the dining room at 6:55 a.m. and I was the only one there! Must’ve been a rough night for everyone and they were all sleeping in! Strangely empty and quiet. Sergey, the Ukrainian, arrived at 7 on the button, and then the others started showing up.

Tatiana called us all together before breakfast and announced the news: Chile had just had an 8.8 earthquake and the Navy had ordered all the ships to leave coastal areas and head for deeper water until further notice. Our yacht was underway as she was speaking. We all had breakfast and discussed the possibilities of a tsunami and what it would look like to us. After about an hour she said our Captain had heard that we could follow our regular itinerary, so we all got ready for the first snorkel of the day as the yacht headed for the coast.

Once the yacht was back nearer to shore of Isla Champion (a small islet just off the coast of Isla Floreana), we donned our life jackets and boarded the "panga" for a ride to the cliffside of a large outcropping of lava rock. There was a fair amount of current at this area, but once overboard and into the water, we had visibility of at least 100 feet. There was not as much particulate matter in this location, and it was stunning. Saw so many fish I can’t remember all the species, but there were parrotfish of every color, sea turtle, tube fish on some sort, electric blue fish, and many that are in the fish guides and many that aren’t. It was truly wonderful! Also saw both a black-tipped and white-tipped reef shark. The white-tipped shark was probably at least 7’ long, whereas the black-tipped was probably only about 4’ long. Saw tons of star fish on the bottom, plus a bright purple skinny legged one. I tried to remember every fish I saw, but when looking through the guide books for pictures and names, they all looked so different.

Back onto the yacht via the "panga", we showered and freshened up while the yacht motored down the coast of Isla Floreana to a place called "Post Office". This is where, during the years after Charles Darwin, travelers would leave post cards (sans stamps) and other travelers coming by would check the postcard stash to see if there were any to be delivered in the direction they were going. If there were, those secondary travelers would hand deliver the previous traveler’s mail. The tradition has continued, so we "panga’d" over to the area, landed, and walked into the unique “Post Office” area. We were each handed a stack of post cards to look through and see if there were any we could hand deliver, or at last resort stick a stamp on and send once we’re home. Somebody from California had just left tons of postcards for all their friends in CA, so I ended up with probably 12 postcards to either hand deliver or stick a stamp on! What a hoot! Of course I left one at the post office, too – for Mom! I have more postcards for the rest of my family, but I wanted to make sure everyone really got one, so those I am sending from home, including another one for Mom.
After the postcards, we jumped into our snorkel gear and dashed into the lovely water. We saw a penguin swimming around right near us, and a small sea lion, and a good-sized sea turtle, and many more fish of every kind. There was also a blue-footed boobie watching all our antics. The water is such an azure blue that you feel like you’ve really entered an ideal heaven. Except for the king-size horse flies that think you are the best thing they’ve tasted since the last touristas. One of our group, the Italian man, got bit three times very badly, and one of the welts swelled up to two-inches in diameter!

I finally tired of snorkeling – the visibility was not as good here as during the earlier morning outing, so I swam in to the beach and started exploring by foot the side areas to the cove. Believe it or not, there is a soccer field and a bench and quite a bit of litter just behind some bushes from where we snorkeled! What a shock! I told Tatiana later, and she said it is where the crews of some of these tourist boats play in teams against each other when they have the time and no tourists on board! I mentioned they should at least pick up their litter, but she didn’t respond. Sheesh! It’s so typical of what one sees everywhere. Sell the front, don’t check behind the curtain.

Back on the yacht, we freshened up again and had lunch – starting with spinach soup and popcorn, then shrimp and pepper steak and lots of veggies, finishing with a bowl of sweetened peaches (probably canned) for dessert. Pretty delish!

The yacht changed location again and was positioned just off Punta Cormorant. Around 2:30 we all panga’d to the green silica beach and hiked inland to see the flamingos. The inland shallow lake is brackish – part fresh water and some salt water influence from the tides. The flamingos originally flew here from Florida, and decided they liked it, and stayed. Tourista Flamingos! It happened a long time ago, so now they’re considered indigenous.
Tatiana gave us some human history of Isla Floreana, regarding the first people who came here (Germans), and the intrigue that occurred during their stay (murder by poisoning, etc.). We hiked on around the small lake, and the path headed downward and we were back at the ocean again – a lovely white sandy beach where the sea turtles lay their eggs. There was one lone bachelor sea lion, and we also saw several golden rays and sea turtles as dark shapes in the water. Lots of colorful orange, red and blue crabs scurried over the beach and lava rock, and frigate birds winged overhead checking for buried eggs.

We turned around and headed back up the same trail and were met by another tour group coming in. Tatiana took us on another short trail to an area right on the side of the lake where the flamingos were within a stone’s throw. After a short time there of photo opportunities and gawking, we went back to our snorkel bags at the beach edge and donned our gear – this was my last snorkel for my Galapagos trip. It was excellent!

The water started off with not much visibility, but as we got further out along the cliffside we got up to about 70’ visibility. Saw a sea snake digging its way into the sand until it disappeared, puffer fish, trumpet fish, sea turtle, incredible star fish, camouflaged fish, and so many more – I am in the process of IDing them.

Finally, we had to head back – the rest of the group had already returned to the beach and Kristina and I were the last ones out. We headed back and saw a two baby flounders, and lots more interesting fish. Loaded into the "pangas" and got back to the yacht. We were met with snacks and juice. This time in the snack department there were meat and cheese in fried pouches. They were delicious.

Took yet another shower and this time washed all the salt out of my hair – it’s the last time I’ll shower before returning to Quito. And it’s such a great shower – the best I’ve had my whole time in Ecuador - better than any in hostels I've stayed. Took a cervesa up to the top deck and started getting eveyone’s email address while the most spectacular sunset was under way.

The view of Isla Floreana as we were leaving just got better and better – the sun has been out all afternoon and now we could finally see the whole island. It is a very old island, low in profile, but very beautiful in character with many ancient lava cones throughout the surface, and many with hollow craters inside. At the same time the sunset was putting on a glorious show of orange and pinks against the turquoise blue evening western sky, whiole on the other side of the boat the full moon was rising against the deepening blue eastern night sky – wow! Truly spectacular. These are the kind of moments you want to live in forever, and that remind you how perennially majestic is this planet called Earth.

Tatiana gave us a briefing again before dinner regarding tomorrow’s activities, especially for those of us leaving, and we had a complimentary cocktail again from the bar. We toasted everyone – Tatiana, the crew, the bartender, and each other. What a great group it’s been! Then dinner was brought to the buffet! A beautiful roast Turkey, quite well decorated with carved colorful veggies, and lots of yummy hot dish vegetables and potatoes and even green beans that were excellent! I was very impressed and we all ate quite heartily. For dessert an incredible chocolate cake with chocolate icing was served! What a great way to end this trip to the Galapagos – the “last supper” was superb!

The rest of the evening was taken up with the details of preparing for Sunday’s departure. There was tipping the crew and guide, paying off the bar bill, catching up the journal, packing, checking flight times and making sure I still had all the proper legal paperwork to fly and pass customs, of which there is a bit. And we had to set our clocks early as we have one more hike tomorrow - Sunday – before those of us leaving must depart. We have to rise at 5 a.m. tomorrow and be on deck ready to board the "panga" by 6.

Say

Day 12 in Ecuador

Friday in the Galapagos Islands

It was quite a night with the ship rolling to and fro and at one point my stainless steel water bottle went flying to the other side of the room with a crash, right off my night table. Fortunately I cultivated sea legs back when I was younger and crewed on racing sailboats, so it doesnt usually take too long to adapt to this type of movement, but still it was a bit intense.

After breakfast we got prepared for our morning excursion to the west side of Isla Espanola. We boarded what they call “Pangas” – which are rubber Avons – and did a dry-exit onto an old concrete staircase leading up to the beach. There were sea lions literally everywhere – you had to be careful where you stepped. And then there were the Christmas iguanas everywhere – named for their red and green coloration. And then the little lizards everywhere, and then the gulls and natural boobie birds (their feet are gray, not blue) and many other birds. We walked very slowly along this path shooting pictures left and right, and at least 6 other tour groups were already ahead of us or following us behind. There were a lot more people using this area than I had expected to see. At least 6 other tour boats were anchored in the water near ours.

We had no rain but high overcast, which was actually a blessing. Tatiana was highly knowledgeable on all the animals and birds and their life cycle, etc. She’s truly an amazing young woman. She pointed out many different birds who were hiding their chicks or egg underneath them, and taught us much about each animal we saw. She pointed out the natural “blow hole” created by a crack in the lava along the edge of the island, and we all happily snapped pictures.

Coming out the trail the same way we went in, the sky cleared off and the sun became quite intense. We caught lots more pictures and then finally boarded our “Panga” for the return to the yacht. They have a warm water hose on the stern boarding deck where we showered off sandy feet and packs, then placed our shoes in the shoe rack outside the main deck dining entrance, and THEN partook in our mid-morning snack of unhealthy food they had waiting for us. The bartender is amazed I won’t drink the artificial drinks they serve. I stick to my water, but I do munch on the fava beans they offer – all the rest is garbage in my opinion.

Our yacht quickly pulled anchor and motored over to the east side of Isla Espanola, and after lunch we had the opportunity to kayak, so I didn’t miss it! I love to kayak! The Ukrainian man, Sergey, and I went together. Apparently he had never kayaked before, but he did quite well. We paddled over to the base of the large point of land where so many other tours were already snorkeling and went the opposite direction from them. We immediately spotted about 4 or 5 blue-footed boobies. Apparently they’re not supposed to be around this time of year, so it was fantastic to see them. There were also a couple of young seals rolling and playing in the water, and it was a hoot to watch their antics. Many crabs of every size and color were scaling the rock walls, and we had to be careful because all of a sudden you’d round a corner and there would be a cave that would try to such you into its cavernous depths with the water’s current. It was truly a beautiful paddle, but after about 20 minutes we headed back to the yacht so we could go snorkeling. Most of the rest of our group was already out seeing the underwater sights.

As soon as the London couple returned with their kayak, the four of us headed over to the Cliffside and began snorkeling – this time we were in for a real treat! The visibility was about 80’ though there was still a slight amount of particulate matter in the water column. The fish were so plentiful you could look in any direction and see 10’s if not 100’s of them, in every shape and color imaginable! It was snorkeling at it’s finest! We meandered along the splash zone enjoying fish in large schools, small schools, rainbow colored, camouflage green colored, you name it we saw it, until we snorkeled almost past the end of the large point and were getting fairly close to shore. Our tenders picked us up in the “pangas” and shuttled us back to the yacht.

Lunch was served as our yacht motored its way back to the western part of Isla Espanola where we all boarded the “pangas” again to head to the perfectly white sand beach, where the sea lions were lazing around in droves and one young babe was hunting for its mother. Walked the beach for about 20 minutes, then decided to go snorkeling. Donning snorkel gear I headed out to the large rock just offshore, and saw 5 Manta Rays and a host of sea cucumbers, as well as many of the same types of fish we had seen earlier on the day’s first snorkel.

Came back to the beach and stretched out with a towel on the white coral “sand”, and fingered the coral powder. It has such an amazing feel and texture to it – quite different than sand. Kristina, of the Toronto couple, came and joined me, and from our vantage point we could watch all the snorkelers and boats, gaze at the ocean’s incredible turquoise water, and see the sea turtles and rays swimming below the surface. What a spectacular afternoon!

Finally, we boarded the “Pangas” and went back to the yacht, and the hot tub was ready!!!! Talk about living the life! The hot tub is on the top deck, which is an open air deck except for the canopy which covers about 2/3rds of it. The maximum capacity for the tub is supposed to be three people, but we squeezed 5 people in, laughing hysterically and waving wilding to the other tourists in other boats as our yacht motored away into the sunset with us in the hot tub on the top deck. We felt sorry for them as we were living the life and they had no hot tub on their boat. Talk about being on the other side of the fence…it felt very strange to be with, for the moment, the group that seemed to have it all!

Showered the salt stickiness off and joined everyone in the communal area of the dining room for a briefing on Saturday’s itinerary, and then a celebratory toast to Kristina and Alan for their 10th Anniversary, and a special dinner in their honor. I sat with them at their table and Sergey joined me there. After dinner and visiting, the Holland couple were watching part 3 of the BBC documentary on the Galapagos Islands. I watched a part of it with them, but then turned in for the night. The seas are really rocky and I was starting to feel slightly nauseated, so decided it was time to lie down.

With one hand crammed in between the wall and my mattress and using that as an anchor, I rode through the night fairly well, waking once early in the wee hours (aroud 3:30 EST) when a large wave tossed the yacht so violently that it knocked over the heavy wooden desk chair (was that a shock wave from the Chilean earthquake?), which I decided to leave lying on the floor for the night because it couldn’t fall any further.

Tomorrow we go to Isla Floreana – which means “Charles”, and which is supposed to be the only island to have the last living mockingbirds that gave him the insight into his theory of evolution.

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Day 11 in Ecuador

Thursday trip to the Galapagos Islands

The alarm woke me at 6 a.m. out of a deep sleep. Showered quickly and packed mostly, then zipped up to the Terrace rooftop where there is a free Wi-Fi signal, and figured out how to put Automated Response emails out to alert potential guests at my upcoming retreat that I will return their communication this Sunday.
My tour company ride was 10 minutes late in picking me up, but he managed to get me to the airport by 8 a.m. through a very circuitous route all around hell and begone! He probably had a perfectly logical explanation for it, like at this time of the morning the normal route to the airport is nothing but a snarl of traffic jams, but I really wondered if he knew where he was going for awhile, because I know the city fairly well now, and it sure seemed like maybe he didn’t.

A couple of tour company workers greeted me at the airport and helped me get the necessary papers for the trip – it all took at most 15 minutes, then I was through security (even my full water bottle!) and into the waiting lounge at the gate. Met up with a lovely couple from Toronto, Kristina and Alan, who are down here celebrating their 10th Anniversary - and we're on the same cruise tour! They are doing the 8 day tour, and I’m only here for 4 days, which in actuality is really only 3. We chatted away while waiting for our 9:15 boarding call, and I showed them my MagicJack and let them use it to call Canada.

Finally we boarded a bus which delivered us to the AeroGel plane. My seat was 3A, third row back from the front with a window! I’ve never ridden this close to the front of a commercial airlines – made me almost feel first class, even though this flight didn’t have a separate section for that. Kristina and Alan were seated right behind me.

It was a quick trip to Guayaquil, and during the last half hour of approach we were able to see the massive flooding that has devastated just since Monday both Cuenca and Guayaquil, and probably many more towns between those two. The torrential rains that have been happening here in South America are causing a lot of damage everywhere. Even Machu Pichu in Peru is inaccessible now due to massive mud slides that have totally closed off vast areas to access, even for those who live there.

We had to wait on board for about 40 minutes while the plane was refueled and new passengers boarded, then we were up and out over the great Pacific Ocean…for what seemed forever! It is 600 miles from the coast of Ecuador to the Galapagos, but somehow I thought we’d get there more quickly. Our flight lasted about an hour and forty minutes. Just before landing at San Cristobal Island, they announced they were going to spray for bugs, in compliance with the New World Order – oops, mistake – I meant the World Health Organization. So they went up and down the aisles opening the overhead baggage compartments, and sprayed something (no doubt an insecticide) from a yellow can into them. It was a very quick procedure and probably not too much spray dissipated into our breathing area, but I covered my nose anyway and tried not to inhale for awhile until it dissipated, all the while thinking how silly this procedure is. If I were a stow-away bug or insect, I could’ve completely outwitted this attack.

We were greeted at the very hot and humid open-walls airport by our yacht tour guide. Her name is Tatiana and she is the sweetest and most knowledgeable guide – perfect demeanor and education for her job! Once we were all checked through customs we boarded a bus that took us by a huge gaping hole in the mountain where they are excavating soil for structures such as airports and foundations for more buildings, through downtown Puerto Baquierizo and to the pier. It’s pretty sad going through this town, which is quickly becoming a city. All the ugliness of humans stands stark against the backdrop of one of the most naturally beautiful and wondrous places in the entire world.

Walking out to and on the pier there were sea lions EVERYWHERE. Now, I grew up with sea lions, seals, pelicans, large seagulls and large fish. These wonderful animals generously inhabit the regions of California’s coast, not to mention Oregon and Washington’s coast as well, and the Pacific coast of Canada, too. But I have to say that I was pretty amazed at how many there were and how they have integrated so well with humans that they just lie around anywhere totally trusting they have nothing to fear. They line the steps up and down the boat ramps, they lie on anybody’s boat they can get onto and sunbathe and sleep, they lie underneath the boat ramp in the most precarious places where you’d think they possibly could get squished between plank and dock with a sudden wave surge, and they lie on the sidewalk out to the pier where you must step sensitively around them.

Our large rubber boats, like Avons, picked us up and we bee-lined it for our Yacht, the Grand Natalia. Beautiful yacht! Well-maintained highly varnished carved wooden columns grace the main dining area, and all around the ship the wood is prevalent and immaculately kept, which takes a lot of work for those of you not familiar with the damage salt air and water can do.

Tatiana gave us a talk about tour protocol; safety, sanitation, animal treatment, meals, water intake, etc. Then we had lunch – what a spread! There is a mini-buffet where two hot foods are under cover, and the other 4 hot foods are in regular stainless steel serving dishes. The food was actually pretty good, and I ate more than I normally would. We had a little time off after lunch and I got my room organized…it is a beautiful room.

We rendezvoused at 2:45 p.m. at the stern to pick out snorkel gear, then were transported back to the town pier with the Avon, bussed to a cove, and walked a few hundred meters through dunes and plants and sea rocks to the snorkeling location. Again, sea lions everywhere, and a number of interesting looking birds, but sadly there was a group of locals or Ecuadorian tourists who were also using the cove, and they were clearly not terribly eco-conscious.

Nonetheless, we waded out through them and began snorkeling. Saw a number of colorful fish, such as the Parrotfish (which you can see many of in Hawaii or even the north coast waters off B.C. and down to California), Trumpet fish, Panamic sergeant major, Lizardfish, Black striped salema, and so many more. There was even a sea turtle with a 3’ long shell napping on the bottom til 8 of us were hovering over it, looking at it, and of course it got nervous and swam off.

My mask and snorkel were having a wardrobe malfunction (mask leaking and continual fogging, snorkel constant bad leak - couldn't breathe without taking it off), so I swam in. The visibility was not all the great – maybe 12’ tops, and I’ve snorkeled such incredible places in the world that this, as nice as it was in its own way, was sub-spectacular for me.

Back on shore several other tour guests said the same about it being less than anticipated, and one had even seen what he thought was a human turd float by his mask! Now, since then I’ve seen the sea lions turds, and they are gargantuan and could easily be mistaken for a human turd, so possibly what he saw was sea lion, not human – one can only hope. Also, on the beach there was some plastic and Styrofoam litter – not too much compared to beaches in Mexico and even California and other states, but enough to call attention to the fact that human pollution is everywhere, even here in what is perceived to be one of the Last Bastions of Unadulterated Nature on the planet. Sadly, not so. There are more than 100 tour and cruise ships that ply these waters regularly, and they leak oils and fumes into the sea, no matter how well regulated they might be. And people somehow believe that lime peels are biodegradable in the ocean, so you spy the occasional squeezed lime halves floating around. I say this so that if you have any interest in visiting the Galapagos, you may wish to do so sooner rather than later. It’s quite clear that this place has been under persistent pressure from humans, and while it is still quite good now, it is easy to see that ten years from now it will be much different.

There was a mother seal nursing her baby on the beach, which became the object of much photography from our group. Finally we all took the bus back into town and had 15 minutes to shop (I bought 6 postcards of Galapagos animals and birds to send to my family members), and back to the yacht again, where snacks were served (none healthy, so I barely nibbled on a few salted fava beans and chose my water bottle over their artificial drink).

Shower and clean-up time came next and everyone vanished. The yacht grew quiet and I went up to the top deck where the lounge chairs are and sunbathed for maybe 15 minutes. According to the other passengers, it’s been raining most of their 4 day trip. So I was feeling lucky for this day, but didn’t want to overdue it as the sun is very intense down here and it’s easy to get burned, even for a person like me who can take a lot of sun and very rarely burns.

Back down two flights to the main deck I went to the bar and ordered a cervesa. The beers on this yacht cost $2.50 and are half the size of the beers on the mainland - in other words they cost twice as much and are only half the size! Visited with the bartender and learned he has worked many cruiselines before. Some of them were out of Costa Rica and he almost got to go to Alaska twice but the U.S. wouldn’t let him work on his ship as an employee in U.S. waters. Amazing!

Just before dinner was served, Tatiana had us meet in the sitting area for a briefing. A welcome cocktail was served to each of us (something creamy with rum in it – good thing it was small) and we took turns introducing ourselves. There is a couple from Italy (she speaks English, he doesn’t), a couple from London, a couple from England, Kristina and Alan from Toronto (celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary), a couple from Holland, a young man from Ukraine (a photographer/writer on camera equipment), and myself. A group of 12 very sweet people - what luck!

Then the buffet was open and we all filled our plates and sat at the well-dressed, colorful tables. I sat with the Toronto couple I had met in the airport, and our guide sat with us, along with the Ukrainian man. Interesting conversation and lots of laughter. Dessert was served after they had cleared everyone's plate – a nice pie-shaped slice of what tasted somewhat like crème brulee. Yum!

Later in the evening the Holland couple began watching the BBC’s documentary DVDs on the Galapagos Islands on the flat screen this yacht has – it was excellent and we watched the first two parts of a three-part series. Then off to my cabin with a very rocky night in store as the yacht motored to the next island –Isla Espanola. My sea legs are not quite adjusted yet.

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Day 10 in Ecuador

Wednesday in Quito!

Slept in til the alarm went off and dragged around my room for a few minutes. Then rejuvenated myself with a delicious banana (no GMO here, folks – bananas taste like their supposed to, still) and went to breakfast on the Terrace with my laptop (one egg scrambled, coffee or tea, on large croissant, and a small bowl of fresh cut fruit - $1.00). A lovely couple from Calgary shared my table as there were no other tables available, and we discovered that we were all going to the same place today – Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world)! We decided to go together, so after breakfast we rendezvoused down at the reception area of our hostel, and off we trekked to the appropriate bus stop – the Blue Line.

Caught the bus ($.25) which took us waaaay to the northern end of Quito to a major Bus Terminal, then transferred to another bus heading to Mitad del Mundo ($.10). We wondered whether we had boarded the correct bus as it made stops almost every 15’ picking up anybody and everybody alongside the road who was waiting for a bus! But finally, 1.5 hours after we left the Chicago Hostel, it dropped us at our destination and we entered the area said to be the equator’s dividing line between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

Of course, I had to have my photo taken with one foot in each of the world's hemispheres!

Mitad del Mundo is quite the tourist center ($2.00 adults, $1.00 seniors and children), with a large 8 story monument to the equator’s line, and within that building is quite an excellent Cultural Museum on each floor of the various indigenous cultures of Ecuador – I had no idea there were so many! The amazing thing is that many of them are still living the old way, though they have almost all been introduced to Christianity and much of current living trends. Some of them still live naked with the males tying their penises up with a string so they don’t get in the way of daily living – quite amazing to see the current photos! The basket work and weaving are highly talented, with one of the groups doing the weavings from the reverse side! Astonishing! I’ve never seen weaving done that way before.

After 8 floors of reading about the various cultures in Ecuador and seeing examples of the products and large color photos of them (we weren’t allowed to take pictures in that museum) I wandered out and looked for my friends, Rhonda and Mike, from Calgary. While looking for them I found the scales that you can put a quarter in and it will give you your weight at the equator, which is supposed to be a kilo less (about 2 pounds) than in either the Northern or Southern hemisphere. To me it seemed that my weight was the same as normal, and probably that is because it isn’t the true equator, as discussed below. Found my friends and visited for a few minutes, then we decided to both go our own ways, and rendezvous again once we're back at the Chicago Hostel.

I was famished and went to a little restaurant in the tourist area and ordered a ¼ chicken, rice, potatoes (the potatoes and rice are excellent down here), salad and water – the whole lunch was huge and cost $4.00! I had about 1/3 of it left over so brought it home with me. There are many, many shops in the tourist village area with all types of souvenirs for the purchase, and several high end gorgeous restaurants.

Walked over to the western side of the exhibits and saw the Museum del Sol, then the Insect Exhibit which was nothing short of incredible with the most gorgeous and imaginative insects of every kind I’ve ever seen (again we weren’t allowed to take pictures), then the French Museum, then the Geological Museum, and then out the gate and north to the Museo de Sitio Inti-Nan - the REAL center of the world.

Now THAT was truly interesting. This place says IT is the true equatorial center, and it is 200 meters to the north of the first one. It’s equatorial line was determined using GPS when that technology was newly discovered, so it was learned after the Mitad del Mundo was built that the TRUE equator is actually a bit north of where the large monument and tourist villa now stand.

The tour at Inti-Nan cost $3.00, and a group of three others from Vancouver Island and myself had an English speaking guide. It was fascinating! We learned and saw some of the ways of the indigenous peoples used to live, their house styles, cooking ways, saddles, burial traditions, guinea pig raising (they eat guinea pigs here just like we eat chicken in the states), and even how they shrunk heads in certain areas in the past. We also got to see some skins and some very large stuffed Anacondas. You wouldn’t want one of these snakes to spy you when they’re hungry!

Finally we got to the fun stuff! We got to see how equatorial time is told with something similar to a sundial, but different since the sun is 6 months on one side of the stone dial, and 6 months on the other – the direction of the shadow changes depending whether it’s winter or summer. Then we got to see water drain from a portable sink – clockwise in the southern hemisphere, straight down directly on the equator, and counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere – and it was only 6 feet off either side of the equator, yet it made such a difference! Incredible! Then we tried to balance an egg on a nail – our guide could do it, but none of us could. Then we tried an exercise where kinesiology is at play – trying to pull a person’s thumb and forefinger apart while they tried to hold the connection of those fingers together. Supposedly it is difficult to pull them apart in either hemisphere, but easy to do on the equator, as there are opposing centrifugal forces which weaken a person’s strength. This exercise didn’t play terribly well, but it was fun. Then we tried to walk the equatorial line with arms outstretched, thumbs up, and eyes closed. This was supposed to be again difficult because of opposing centrifugal forces, which may be the case, but I challenge that it is difficult to walk a straight line anywhere when the eyes are closed and your arms up outstreched to either side and you're having to heel-to-toe touch all the way. Try it - the difficulty has little to do with being on the equator.

Finally our guide showed us some more indigenous dwelling replicas, and some captive guinea pigs (poor sweet things - they were scared and squeeling when we looked at them - they are eaten like we eat chicken). He led us back to a woven wool shop for purchases of rugs, etc., and stamped our passports with the 0’0’0’’ mark which shows we’ve been to the center of the world – pretty cool!

The nice folks I took the tour with offered me a ride back to Quito in their taxi, and within minutes we were back in the city – so much different than the bus! I checked out about 4 more hostels in the vicinity of their hotel (nice area!) then headed over to the Tierra de Fuego Tourist Agency and got updated about my trip departing to the Galapagos Islands tomorrow, and started walking back home.

Along my return to Chicago Hostel there was an excellent coffee shop called “Ethnic Café” where I stopped and had my first Latte since I’ve been down here (it was superbly made) and a half beef and vegetable sandwich which arrived in a whole wheat pita pocket with side salad and miniature baked potatoes. Total bill, $5.48. And it was absolutely delicious and the place is the best I’ve been in since I’ve arrived in Ecuador – could’ve been in a swank part of San Diego!

Continued walking home and passed a couple musicians playing on the street – Andean music of wood flutes playing over pre-scored background music, speakers and all powered by a very quiet generator humming along right beside them – what a hoot! And they were good, so of course I had to buy one of their CDs - $5.00.

Finished walking home and now getting ready for the Galapagos Islands! The tour agency will pick me up tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. to take me to the airport and my flight departs at 9:45. I expect to arrive in the Galapagos around 1 p.m. I will not be able to access internet in the Galapagos, to my understanding. That'll be different!

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Day 9 in Ecuador

Tuesday in Quito!

Woke before the alarm to drizzle and gray outside my window…looks like Seattle weather. Putzed around until about 8:30 a.m. and went downstairs to wait for my 8:40 pick-up (they call it Transfer) to the tour bus for the day trip to Papallacta Hot Springs at an elevation of 3307 meters! I waited and waited…cab after cab went by and though all the empty cabs wanted to give me a ride, none of them appeared to be my pick up person, and I waved them on.

Finally I determined they must have forgotten me – the tour was leaving at 9 a.m and it was already that time by my estimate, so I walked across the street to the little shop where there is a Cabina (Pay telephone) and was just dialing the tour office number when the tour company pick-up van came by! I couldn’t believe it! They were a full 20 minutes late, but I was so happy to see them! I really didn’t want to miss Papallacta.

I was the only passenger in the van, besides the driver and the guide, and everything was different than I had expected. There was no other bus we were going to, this was it - a very new and modern van that seats 9 behind the driver and front passenger seats. And we were on our way to pick up the other 3 tourists who had arranged this trip.

We introduced ourselves: Vince (or Vinnie) is the driver, and Felix is our Naturalist Tour Guide (with excellent English). Winding through all the traffic jammed streets we arrived about 20 minutes later at another hostel, and picked up the three tourists: Sallie (a nurse) from Australia, Jay (worker at an RV park in British Columbia) and his father who owns the RV park and whose name I can’t remember.

Leaving Quito took a very long time on a road that was once an ancient trail descending steeply down into a valley. The trail has now been turned into a narrow two lane road, well cobbled and cared for, but originally it was a foot path and then later a horse trail. We almost got into an accident around one sharp corner, and it really rattled our Tour Guide for a minute. Thankfully, both vehicles stopped in time and avoide contact.

Finally we were in the country away from the city and the landscape became the gorgeous Ecuadorian mountains and valleys I’ve come to enjoy so much for their spectacular beauty.

The road started climbing and eventually we were at the top of a 4000+ meter pass and Vince, our driver, pulled over to let us out. Though it was drizzling with high billowy clouds, you could see across the valley a huge snow covered volcano mountain – it was immense. clamored back into the van and descended downFrom there we descende down into a verdant pristine valley with a large clean-looking lake. After passing the lake we turned left and onto a dirt road, then descended some more, then up again and finally!! Voila! We arrived at Papallacta!

What a spectacular place! Nestled just below a saddle pass between two mountain ranges, there are large organic gardens with extremely healthy, gargantuan vegetables growing (giant kale, swiss chard, lettuce, dill, everything). The buildings are very well maintained and look classy enough to be from Santa Fe or Santa Barbara. There is a hotel, restaurant, and other offices, but all so un-signed that it just looks like a highly attractive small villa.

Felix, our Nature Guide, led us on a 45 minute trail hike through the rainforest along the river that feeds some of the cold water to cool the hot springs. The hike brought us by many tropical plants – bromeliads, bamboo, flowers of many kinds and colors, fungi, and always the heavenly sound of the rushing river over giant rocks. Walked back on a dirt road, fairly wet and getting a little cold, and majorly starving. I ate the apple I had brought with me, but the others had nothing.

We paid our $7.00 admittance fee and walked through the gate into the hot spring pool area. Wow Wow and more Wow! Extremely well done stone work, flower gardens, artistically designed pools – the whole place was thoroughly enchanting! There were at least 10 pools of various sizes and temperatures, some painted with pale blue bottoms, others left natural with rock. There were lockers to store our things, dressing rooms, bathrooms, a steam room (but we couldn’t figure out how to turn it on) and cold plunge pools. I felt like a kid in a candy store…which pool first, which pool first! They all looked so deliciously inviting! And while there were a number of other bathers, there really weren’t all that many – it wasn’t overcrowded by any means.

We four touristas started out in one pool and then decided after a few minutes it wasn’t hot enough, and migrated to another blue pool that had steam rolling off. We stayed in that one for the rest of the time, with little jaunts just to toe-test the others, then back to the perfect temp pool. Every 5 or 10 minutes we did the cold plunge pool – that was really refreshing and brought the tingles to your skin when you were back in the hot water.

Finally it was time for us to rendezvous with Felix again (he and Vince didn’t join us in the pools but were out in the van, reading and napping). We departed the lovely hot springs and drove down the hill to a restaurant they dearly wanted to take us to, not too far away. It was large and clean and nicely decorated with wood and warm paint, with varnished wooden tables and bench seats. We had a window next to our table where we could look out across the entire valley to the mountain range on the other side – breathtaking! We all ordered exactly the same thing – trout with rice and salad and potatoes, and a cervesa! It was delicious! Everything was very tasty and prepared excellently. Total price of the meal - $6.00 (that includes the beer).

On the drive back we stopped at the lake and took pictures of it with the mountains as backdrop – ahhh gorgeous Nature! Then we all slept quite a bit on the drive home, and arrived back in Quito about 5:30 p.m. (only 2.5 hours later than originally scheduled). I was the first one they dropped off. It was strange to be back – I felt like I had been in MagicLand and now I was back in – a small boring hostel room all by myself.

Walked downtown to go to an ATM machine – took me three tries before I found one that worked, and it was way on the other side of the large park not too far from my hostel. On the way back I saw the Hilton and went in to ask for room prices for the night of the 28th – I thought it might be nice to have my final night in Quito be at an upper class hotel - $200! The hostel will be fine. But I did go to their restaurant and ordered Seafood Soup. It was excellent! Huffed and puffed my way back to the hostel in the dark (still not used to these high altitudes, and with a full stomach it’s even harder!) with a wad of bills in my pocket totaling $500.00 – I kept a sharp eye out and no one looked twice at me.

Now I’m hopeful to get to Mitad del Mundo tomorrow – “The Middle of the World”. It’s the equatorial line which is still somewhat disputed in that several different places claim to be sitting on top of it. I have heard from people who have been there that they have a moveable toilet that you can take to one side or the other of the line, and even put it on the line itself, and the water goes down differently each time depending which side or the middle that you’re on. Also, an egg is supposed to balance on a pin there, and we are supposed to way about a pound less! I can’t wait to see this!

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