Ecuador

Arrived in Quito after a long flight from Cusco. Will be starting my Project in Galapagos next week, but before that I will explore Quito Ecuador. Another person from the Project in Galapagos emailed me to connect and we will be sharing accommodations in Quito. Her name is Susan and I met her at the hostel in Quito. Another stair climb to the room. Lovely place but like 7 flight of stairs. Looking forward to exploring Quito, especially the equator line. Quito is in the middle of the earth and I want to stand on the equator line.

There are “two” equator lines, both claiming to be the correct line. The more “known” one called the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo. There you can see a monument and bright yellow line designating the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

At the equator line you can actually balance an egg on it’s tip. After a few attempts I did it!

Museo de Sitio Intinan, close to Mundo, is the “real” equator line according to GPS. It was a fun place to visit, with a tour and activities. Do you know that water flushes the opposite on different sides of equator? We saw that demo as well as others.

This is the monument there marking the equator line. The activities were excellent and recommending that you go see each location. The viewpoint at Mundo was excellent, but the activities better at Intinan. I think Intinan is the actual equator line.

Since we were in Quito on October 30th we got to enjoy Guaguas de Pan. Guagua also known as Wawa means baby in Quechua. It is a tradition to eat these breads along with a purple corn and fruit drink called colada morada on November 2nd for the Day of the Dead. A little early, but the restaurants and bakeries had it already. The holiday is meant to honor the memory of relatives and friends who have passed away.

Quito was a fun city and I was actually able to celebrate my birthday again. Thanks to Susan

Arrived in Galapagos. Met William, the coordinator, and the other couple volunteering. Walked to dockside and saw all the seal lions, turtles and marine iguanas. It’s an amazing place with seal lions all over the place.

The only thing is that it is cold and rainy. Don’t know how the water will be for swimming or snorkeling. Had lunch and dinner at the house we are staying. I got alittle cold. First time during all the trip so far. It is a cough mostly. Took Tylenol pm and slept well. Do feel better than yesterday. First day of work so we’ll see how that goes.

Well my third day in Galapagos and I am impressed. It really is all that they say it is. Only thing is I got this cough . Had it for about 3 or 4 days. Getting better but feel bad when I cough in closed quarters. One of our jobs here is to cut down otoy – a plant, and bring it to the tortoises at their reserve.

   Bird counted, sea lion counted, worked on the garden and did beach clean up.  Not too bad.  Some of the walks are alittle treacherous but manageable.   Taking my time like always. 

Food is cooked by Flora and is ok, but the rice for lunch and dinner reminds me of Uncle Ben’s rice. The other couple, Caroline and Michael, and Crystal, she got here the other day, from France, are real nice. We all get along. Also there is Mark the volunteer who has been here for awhile and Daniel, the 18 year old, who leaves on Friday.

It has been cool and raining, but once in awhile it clears and gets sunny. I did go snorkeling with my wet suit. Glad I brought it.

Didn’t see any sea-life that day, other than the sea lions all over the beach..

It was baby season so saw many mothers and their babies. Also saw some babies who perished due to perhaps not finding their mothers or other reasons. Mothers leave their babies and go fishing for some times days leaving babies alone on the beach. Some of the babies never find their mothers and other mothers reject them. It was heartbreaking, but nature’s way.

Went to visit Santa Cruz on Friday. The ferry ride was 2 hours but not that bad. In Santa Cruz we went to visit the tortoises in the wild and went to the lava tubes. In the afternoon to visit Charles Darwin center and saw Lonesome George, the tortoise.

Santa Cruz is great for shopping. The vibe is more of a modern city. It is nice. People are still very friendly. We spent one night then came back on the afternoon ferry. During the day we just hung around the city and went shopping and rested on the beach.
The ferry back was a little more turbulent. Good thing I took a sea sickness pill.
The next week we spent teaching English in the afternoon. We all did an awesome job working together. The kids reminded me of my Hawaii kids and made me miss teaching. I will miss them. That is one reason I don’t want to volunteer teaching or working with kids… I develop attachments. It will be hard to say goodbye.

On Friday me and Susan will go to Santa Cruz then Floreana and Isabella.
Another ferry ride to Santa Cruz then spent one night and took a day trip to Floreana. We ate grilled fish again. It was yummy. Cooked on the fire. $15 for 2 servings.

The next morning went to Floreana for the day. In Floreana we went snorkeling at Lobelia ( seal resting) Beach. It was good for turtles and fish. Lots of turtles popping up all over. Then we went to highlands we saw the Whitmore estate. We saw the pirates cave where the Whitmore’s lived for a year before having an actual house. Read the book “Floreana” to get insight to this story of love, tragedy and mysterious death. The lady with us sprinkled her mom’s ashes in the cave. Her mom always wanted to go to Floreana so she finally got to rest there.

We saw the black beach…Kauai’s black beach is just as good if not better.

Then another ferry ride back to Santa Cruz. The next morning we went to Isabela for 3 nights. Isabella is small (3000 people live there). It is more of a beach town. Reminds me of a Hawaiian island with no tourists. There were tourists, but few and you could go to the beach with no one there.

On the first day we walked to the turtle breeding center then went to see the flamingos. At the breeding center got to see the Isabella tortoises with the flat back. A flat back enables them to reach higher and stretch out their neck more to reach the branches for food.

The next day was the tunnels tour with snorkeling. The best snorkeling so far. Water was clear, calm and shallow in the first spot. Saw soo much. Second spot was deeper and saw penguins, marbled ray and seahorse. The guide was awesome. Took great pictures and shared with us. On the trip we saw sharks, fish, turtles, rays, penguins, seahorses and the boobies dance at the lava tunnels.

The next day was the volcano tour. We walked on the caldera of Sierra Negro. The 2nd largest active caldera in the world. Walking on the lava field was unbelievable. It was awesome. The tubes, the cracks and the scenery were out of this world.

In the evening we bought pizza and shared with our hostel host and her 9 year old nephew, Allen. He loved the Hawaiian pizza. I have to admit was probably one of the best meals I had in Galapagos. The food is ok, but not yummy. The pizza was good, but not the cheese.

Now we are on our way back to San Cristobal where we’ll work in the afternoon. It will be nice to see the kids again. Well share about our trip.
The ride home was great. Only 5 passengers. We got to lay down and sleep as opposed to sit up and sleep.

Stayed another two days at the reserve. Had happy hour for the last time with the other volunteers and a last dinner. My time here has been awesome. I love the “natural” feel with less cars, free roaming sea lions, iguanas, crabs, etc. I feel safe and secure. It’s a great place to simply enjoy life.

Heading to Guayaquil next then back home to Hawaii. Wouldn’t you know it, but on the plane to Guayaquil I saw one of our students. He remembered me and we had a short interaction. He was on his way to Quito. Galapagos is a small place where “everyone knows your name”.

Guayaquil is intriguing to me. It is a big city and known as an unsafe place. I want to see the Iguana park and I am staying in a hotel right next to the park. The next day I walked to the park and met George, who takes these interesting photos with the iguanas.

George actually showed me how to take those pictures and it is now added to my photo learning projects. Much to learn, but I have the time.

Final thoughts… Galapagos is a wonderful place to visit and not to be missed. I loved everything about it. The wildlife is awesome and the people are friendly. I loved the preservation and the island life. Ecuador remains a country I would like to explore more. Actually the whole of South America remains to be explored. I shall return. There is still Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Bolivia, Argentina, etc … need I say more.