Oh Wow, Am I Really Here? The Galapagos Islands...

I had done a bit of research on tours to the Galapagos Islands before I left. Most advice says the best way to see the islands is to take a boat tour which includes sleeping and eating on the boat so that you have time to visit islands further away from the main port of Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz. The reading I had done suggested a minumim of a 5 day boat tour because the 1st and last day are really only 1/2 days with pick up and drop off taking up the other 1/2 day. When I went to book my tour, a 5 day tour wasn`t available for the time period I had available so, I ended up with a 4 day boat tour and I tacked on an extra 2 days to stay in Puerto Ayora. I had heard of a few things in Puerto Ayoro that I might like to do and four days on the boat was fine with me since I wasn`t sure how I`d handle being on a small boat for that long. All that said, I ended up on the Intrepido for 3 nights, 4 days with a total of 20 dynamic passengers plus crew.

The flight from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands takes about an hour. I (along with the others) was met at the airport by "Gallo", one of our guides. The airport is on the Isla Baltra and from there we took a 10 minute bus ride to a ferry which took us, oh I don´t know, for maybe a 3 minute ferry ride across to Isla Santa Cruz. From there, we boarded another bus and drove about 40 minutes to Puerto Ayora AND THEN took a dingy to our boat, the Intrepido. We all boarded the boat and were assigned our rooms. Now, traveling sola can be interesting. The accommodation prices are based on double occupancy and there was no way that I was going to pay double to have my own cabin so, I ended up with a roomate...Daniel from Romania. Super nice guy who tells way corney jokes (I can say that now after hanging out with him for so long)! And away we go...

My 1st impression of Isla Baltra and Santa Cruz was that I was really surprised at the landscape. I am not sure what I expected, but normally when I think of Islands, I think tropical looking. Not so here. Certain parts look like a desert with Cactus and such and other parts are more like the moutains with green lush landscape...it´s very unique here. Our 1st adventure was on land. We boarded a bus and took a trip toward the middle of Isla Santa Cruz to visit Lava tubes and to see GINORMOUS land turtles in their natural habitat. The lava tubes are caves and tunnels formed by lava from volcano erruptions...interesting BUT the turtles...ooo weee! Amazing! They didn´t like it if you got too close, they would hiss at you. I was too tired at this point to get any real facts on the turtles...they are just really cool!

After our visit to the land of ginormous turtles, we headed back to our floating home, had dinner and called it a night!

Guayaquil and getting there...

It was an 8 1/2 hour bus ride from Baños to Guayaquil...somebody put me out of my misery! I was told 6 or 6 1/2 hours max...those last two hours were a doozy! AND to top it off, I had the world's chattiest, self proclaimed metro-sexual sitting behind me. He was a young guy named Jonathan who is originally from Venezuela. He was nice enough, but boy oh boy could this kid talk. He was basically standing up in the seat behind me to talk to me the entire way to Guayaquil. He talked about different movies, singers, health care in his country versus Ecuador, where he lives, what he eats, what he does for a living, how much things cost and the list goes on and on! At one point, I had to say, I am tired and going to sleep now and I just ignored him for a while till he sat down. And then, I had to put up the "talk to the hand" gesture while I tried to watch the X Files movie that was playing. Because I still have to concentrate pretty hard when talking to the locals (they talk so fast!), I think he exhausted me more than the bus ride. I did pick up a few new words in Spanish and I did have to talk soley in Spanish so, that was good practice for me.

The ride itself was through some very steep green mountains. I was praying that they have regular maintanence checks of the brakes on the bus! We also made our way through many small towns. Passing through one of these towns, I saw Cuy cooking on the street. I had read about it, but didn't think I'd actually see it. Cuy is roasted guinea pig. I usually try not to have a negative reaction to the food people eat, but seeing these 6 very large, stretched out, fully in tact guinea pigs on a circular spit was pretty darn...well...yeah just...eeewwwww! Later, I saw a picture of it served on a plate and they serve it with the feet/paws in tact. I won't say that it tastes like chicken because I don't know. I did hear that it doesn't taste that bad, but it is very fatty. Ahhh...no thanks, I'll pass.

Finally, I made it to Guayaquil - not the capital of Ecuador, but the city with the largest population. I found a room at Hotel Montesca and immediately headed out walking. I needed to walk after being on that bus for so long. I walked to the main riverfront along the Rio Guayas. It is an area known as Malecon 2000. I walked to Las Peñas and Cerro Santa Ana...up about 500 stairs. It was breezy and nice out and I definitely noted the change in climate from Quito. I went from sweaters and a scarf in Quito to short sleeves and a skirt in Guayaquil. At the top of the steps, there's a light house, the Capilla Santa Ana and a beautiful view of the city.

My time in Guayaquil was short. I had one night there. Tomorrow...Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands!

Baños...un dia mas!

On my last full day in Baños, Anna and I ran "some errands". We dropped my laundry off at the lavanderia, bought my bus ticket for the next day, did some emailing and ate breakfast at a cafe with a very opinionated Danish owner. I didn´t get her name but it is such a small world. She used to live in San Francisco and now, when she visits she stays at a friend´s house that is just 2 blocks from my place!

We decided we wanted to hike around the town so we hiked toward the mountains and found a random bridge called Puente Seco which wasn't so "seco" or dry. There was plenty of water flowing underneath it. We were the only ones there until a man came hiking down the steep mountain on the other side to cross the bride. We both noticed that in Latin America most bridges have a statue of a Saint near it with a little shrine of flowers and the like. I was thankful that the bridge was blessed since we were standing on it, not really knowing anything about it! Speaking of Saints, during my time in Baños, it was the time of the year that the town of Baños pays tribute to La Virgen de Agua Santa. We saw several parades with the statue of La Virgen heading up the crowd, followed by loyal subjects singing and reciting different responsorial phrases.

We were both pretty tired by the time we got back to our hotel. I had planned to go to yoga class but it was a no go. Instead, we grabbed dinner and I had to pack my suitcase for my trip to Guayaquil the next day. Anna and I only had one disagreement during our time together...I want the US dollar to go up and she wants it to go down! At this point, I am afraid to even look up the rate! I said adios to Anna. I am sure our paths will cross again when she comes to visit me in San Francisco or when I visit Sweden!

Baños....ahhh....

From Quito to Baños it is a 4 hour bus ride. I was lucky because pretty much the second I arrived at the bus terminal, I was rushed to buy a ticket and waited for the bus for maybe 3 minutes. The bus terminal in Quito is kind of crazy. I don´t really get it. The ticket vendors seem to be competing to get your business. Everyone is yelling..."we are going here and we are going there"...it was kind of chaotic and it seems to me that it´s not like people get to the terminal and say "where should I go today?" and can be influenced by all the yelling. Maybe there´s more to it. I was happy, I bought my ticket and moved on quickly. On the bus, I met Anna from Sweden. She is amazing. Her Spanish puts me to shame and she speaks English perfectly. She lived in Spain for 2 years and Guatemala for 6 months so, she is an old pro at this traveling stuff. We didn´t have a plan for a place to stay in Baños so, when we arrived, we sought out a hostel. After trying a few, we ended up at a little hotel called the Buena Vista. It´s probably one of the best deals I´ve encountered so far.

That 1st night, Anna and I grabbed some dinner and randomly booked a tour to view the Tungurahua Volcano that same night and then a tour of the Cascadas the next day.

Baños is a little town known for the active Tungurahua Volcano, thermal baths, massages, adventure activities and is the gateway to the Oriente (the amazon). The town itself has an evacuation plan in place and 24 hour surveillance of the volcano´s activity. Our night tour was aboard a "Chiva" which is a tourist kind of truck with open sides and salsa music blasting . The tour was nice because it was clear enough for us to see the snow covered top of the volcano. We didn´t see any lava or red hot rocks but, we did see the smoke spewing out of the top. Our drive to about 4,000 meters was up a narrow, switch back road with some heart stopping views. It was cold the further up we climbed but clear and crisp. In order to help keep us warm, they served us a taste of the really strong local drink, Canelazo (I think that´s what it´s called). It was really strong and reminded me of tequila. The last time the volcano erupted was in August of 2006 and the town was evacuated which, of course, created even more of a draw to the town.

The next morning, we grabbed some breakfast and boarded the "Chiva" again for a ride up La Ruta de las Cascadas. We were on our way to the waterfalls in the area which included; El Manto de la Novia, Pailon del Diablo, and my favorite, La Cascada de Machay. We also took a cable car across a very high canyon. It was a quick ride across and back but a little nerve wracking! We hiked down to Cascada de Machay where Anna proceeded to get very wet. I stayed as dry as possible. I just love the sound of the water...my favorite!After the tour of the waterfalls, I went with Patricio, our guide, to the Pisinas de Agua Santa. The Pisinas are the hot thermal baths that the town is know for. It only cost $1.60 to get in! It was very relaxing. At first, I was a bit put off by the water´s murky brown color but, they say the color is due to the minerals in the water and that is what I choose to believe! It didn´t seem touristy to me at all. Most of the people there were definitely not tourists...just me!

Anna and I went out to dinner that night and later, I got to see a little of the Ecuador vs. Venezuela futbol game. The game didn´t go so well for Ecuador...not a happy crowd!

Dancing with the stars...watch out!

Monday, I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon trying to figure out my plans for the Galapagos Islands and the rest of my time in Ecuador. There's not a lotta sun here so, I was completely bummin when I found myself in the tour office for hours and the sunshine was just a shinin' away outside. After the tour office shananagins, I thought, I need to dance! I knew that there were several dance studios in Quito so, I sought one out. I took private lessons and I danced like fiend for 2 hours (at high altitude - Quito is at about 9,200 feet) - great excercise! I need practice...my arms are too tense and I am a bit stiff apparently but, I had a blast! I am not sure if this video thing works, the sound wasn't coming through - what's salsa dancing without music?!!!

I am heading south to Baños tomorrow. I am looking forward to some HOT natural springs there!

Quito and Mitad del Mundo...Brrrrr...

During my first couple of days here, I have been out of sorts. I hadn't felt that well just before I left and I think I wasn't quite over it when I got here. The first day, I woke up late, walked to the Plaza Grande in Old Town Quito, checked things out a bit and went back to my room. I indulged in trashy romance novels for hours. After a while, I got a little stir crazy so I took a taxi to the mall and walked around. It's city living here - malls, taxis, buses, big buildings and big pollution. My plan was to book a tour to the Galapagos Islands asap which, turns out, is going to have to be on Monday since the tour offices close early on Saturdays and are closed on Sundays.

Day two I had a bit more energy so, I headed out around 10ish and caught a bus to El Mitad del Mundo or The Middle of the World. This is the site of the equator (well close enough...according to current GPS, it's about 200m off - the French were off a bit in pin pointing the actual line). The Midad del Mundo site doesn't have a whole lot to speak of and it's touristy but hey, ya gotta check it out when you are here. The primary attraction is straddling the "equator line" and having 1/2 your body in the northern hemisphere and 1/2 in the southern . There was a stage where a band played traditional Ecuadorian music with traditional dancers. I enjoyed watching and listening for sure. There was a second band that played more contemporary music. I headed out to check out the museo solar. This, apparently, is the actual site of the equator. There, I attended a presentation on the Incas and other cultures that worship the sun. It is pretty amazing to note that the indigenous people were right on with the lining up of their places of worship with the different passages of the sun....solstice, equinox, etc. On the way back, I met an Irish couple that had been travelling for over a year! Wow! They gave me the low down on Peru and Chile - 2 places they have been and I will be going to.

Ecuador and Chile played futbol in Quito on Sunday. There were so many people with futbol jerseys on, it was pretty amazing. Ecuador won so, it was a happy crowd.

Funny thing is, you think (or at least I thought), oh Quito is pretty much at the equator, it should be pretty warm. But, I read before I left that the high temp is 70 degrees. So, sho nuff, it is cold here....cold and rainy...hmmm reminds me of a place I know... I am so glad I brought scarf, hat, gloves and fleece long johns!

One thing to note: Public places in Ecuador seem to BYOTP - Bring Your Own TP. So noted and not to be forgotten!

Hurry up and wait to get there...

I made it and only one day late! After, 11 hours of waiting at SFO for a flight to get me to Miami (my original flight at 6 a.m. was cancelled), a flight to Dallas with a 3 hours of waiting for a flight and an unexpected overnight in Miami and waiting on the plane in Miami for an hour and a half for George W. Bush and Airforce One to leave the airport, I made it. From the time I arrived at the airport to getting to my hotel, almost 48 hours had gone by. I am tired but not as tired as I could be I guess. The overnight in Miami rejuvenated me a little. But, I am definitely tired of being in airports!

I am here, in Quito, Ecuador. I have checked into my hotel and have a super clean, tiny little room. It's kind of rainy out and I am looking forward to checking things out tomorrow!

Whew...me sleepy!