Southern Ecuador y Perú

To ease any fears those of you who read this blog may have, Amy and I are completely safe. We started with two days in Quito, then had a lovely 13 hour busride to Celica, in the southern mountains, and then a very authentic, bumpy 35 minute ride in the back of a pick up truck to Cruzpamba where we stayed in a resort-like house that isn't actually open to the public yet. We made cake in a traditional stone oven and ate caldo de gallina, with the chicken claw floating abut in the bowl. Yum. From there we hiked through just about every farmer's crops and forests, rode horses into the evening, swam in the pool, had a photo shoot (don't ask, very weird), spent nearly an entire day in over 10 different cars, trucks, death cabs, and buses. That day we walked through a petrified forest and took a tour of a gold mine, as well as try the local soup specialty, repe. The next day we travelled less, walked more, and went swimming in some natural pools/waterwalls as well as visit some stone formations made by volcanic eruptions.

We were excited to leave Walter, the uninformed tour guide and strike off on our own. We headed for the Peruvian border, crossed just fine, and easily got transportion to Piura. From here we were going to head to the beach and just beach hop for the next three days, but the town of Paita one hour away is not, in fact, a tourist beach, but rather a fishermen's beach. So back to Piura we went where we saw all the plazas and monuments and got on a buseta for Máncora, one of the most famous tourist beaches. After many lies and tricks and many frustrating minutes of waiting, we arrived in Máncora and spent the whole next day laying on the beach and soaking in the sun. Ah, t'was great, and I didn't burn at all, and Amy just a little bit. The next day we headed to a nearby mud pool, Poza de Barro, where we soked in the hot springs, made mud face masks, and became wooly mammoths upon leaving the waters (only the pics can describe how gross we were!). From there we headed to Tumbes, not a beach town, but one with lots of plazas and monuments and mosaics and internet. After a morning of walking, and a fantastically cheap and tasty lunch, we decided to take a nap around 5 p.m....and woke up at 11! But that was perfect timing to go out for dinner (one expensive slice of pizza) and dancing. Though I cannot express how much I miss Francisco and Bernardo and the First Ave regulars because South Americans CAN'T DANCE! Pity, really, but good times. And this morning we walked to the last remaining mosaic tile statue and are heading for Ecuador this afternoon. First Cuenca, then Baños, then an Amazon tour in Tena! More details later.

Chao!

Galápagos Adventures

So here are just a few of the 904 photos I took while in the Galápagos. I have tried to highlight the best, the silliest, and the most beautiful. There is no way to describe the clarity of the water, the feeling of the boat swaying beneath your feet (it took me awhile to find my sea legs), nor the glorious sun shining down all day long.

We arrived at the Baltra harbor and were greeted by sea lions sleeping on the pier. Although they look pretty, they smell awful and make a painful, disgusting roaring sound.

We went via dinghy to our lovely Yolita, a 16 passenger yacht that would be our home for the next 8 days. It was economy class but just fine for me! There was a group of 6 elderly Californians, two Australian girls, a young Swiss couple, the swiss guy Roland who was my roommate, and two Quiteños: Juan Francisco and his Dad Solomon. It was a fun mix of people, and I was thrilled to have someone with whom to speak spanish!

As for the yacht, it was a little tricky to not fall off the toilet with all the waves rocking you side to side and back and forth, but that just added to the fun of it all. And as you can see, mom, the cabins were teeny tiny, so basically only one person could fit in at a time.

On Sunday afternoon we walked along the Bachas beach and swam in the clear ocean waters. We then relaxed on the yacht and got to know one another as we travelled to the next island.

Luckily, we were blessed to have a capitan more experienced than myself! However, I did learn and practice my naval terms such as bow, stern, port, and starboard.

Monday morning we hiked along Plaza Sur and saw crabs, land iguanas, marine iguanas, mockingbirds, finches, gulls, frigate birds, and pelicans.

We went snorkeling in the afternoon off of Santa Fe Island where we saw schools of gorgeous fish, whitetipped sharks, coral, sea stars, sting rays, and sea cucumbers. We also got to play with the young sea lion pups who would come right up to you and kiss your face mask. Yeah, I was kinda freaked out by it at first, but it was really fun after I got less scared of their spastic, unpredictable movements.

On land, sea lions abounded and had no fear of humans, allowing for some fun photo shoots. Juan was kind enough to humor me and my strange ideas!

We hiked through the cactus forest and returned to Yolita for "briefing" of the next day's activities and for another incredible dinner. The food here is amazing!

After travelling all night, we arrived Tuesday morning at Española Island. We disembarked on Punto Suarez and saw more sea lions, iguanas, lava lizards, albatross and finally the famous Blue-Footed Boobies. We watched them dance, court, and mate. "Action over here!" as said our wonderful guide Luis. Good times.

We also hiked to a blowhole and watched the waves come crashing in. Here I am with our guide Luis who was super fun all week long and always put up with my Spanish.

We went snorkeling again in the afternoon, but no amount of sunlight seemed to warm that water that was frigid from the Humboldt currents coming up from Chile.

After lunch and a nap (one of the best things about this tour), we landed on Gardener Bay beach where I walked the entire lenght of the beach and then tanned a bit. We were interrupted by the cutest little seal pup that hobbled up the beach and plopped right down on the towel of one of the Australians! Just look at that face!

The beauty of a boat in the middle of the ocean is that you can see every single star on a cloudless night such as this one. I stayed up on the upper deck for hours just looking at the milky way, the southern cross, the centauri stars, and the millions of others that were crystal clear. Never in my life have I seen so many!

Wednesday morning we arrived at Floreana Island and got off on Punto Cormorant. Here we saw flamingos and the green beach due to the olibina cristals in the sand. Another beach was white, and we heard the story of how all sorts of people mysteriously disappeard throughout the years. We later went snorkeling around Devil's Crown, amazing, once again. We also hiked along Post Office Bay where they have a barrel that has served as a free post office for centuries. Sadly, I didn't have any postcards, but you just stick your postcard in and when someone comes who lives nearby, they deliver it. It could take weeks, months, or years, but there were postcards from all over. Sadly, none werefrom the Midwest, so I won't get to bring anyone great joy.

We then walked through a lava tunnel, made when the lava exposed to the air hardens, but the lava inside keeps flowing. At some point the tunnel was filled with water, so we had to return to the entrance.

We returned to Yolita and set off for Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the main sea port in the archipelago, arriving just in time for the most amazing sunset ever!

Every night the sunsets were indescribeably wonderful, bit this one was just a bit more gorgeous!

After dinner we all went on land to explore the town and buy some souvenirs, and Juan and I set off to salsa dance! We took a water taxi back to Yolita and got a few, short hours of sleep before awaing for the next day's adventures.

Thursday morning we hiked to the Charles Darwin Research Station and saw the famous galápagos (large saddle-back tortoises) as well as the baby turtles and iguanas that the scientists are helping raise to combat the extinctions and decreasing population sizes due to food competition of the many introduced species.

This lovely shot is from Tortuga Bay, which took us an hour's military march to get to, but was totally worth it! Juan says it's the best beach in the whole wide world! After such physical exertion, we returned to Yolita for lunch and a much-needed nap.

In the afternoon we returned to Santa Cruz and bused up to a farm where we saw galápagos in their natural habitats.

We first hiked all the way through a lava tunnel, this one much larger than the first one.

Back on Yolita, we dined, rested, and I learned how to play Rummy, which is vastly different than the Gin Rummy I grew up with. Overnight we travelled to Rábida Island.

Friday morning on Rábida Island we hiked, saw endemic plants and birds, and saw a hillside filled with pelicans' nests.

We went snorkeling and saw an enormous manta ray! It was seriously twice the size of my armspan! I was a little paralyzed in fear, but after the fourth time it passed by I was loving it!

We sailed for Sombrero Chino where we saw amazing landscapes of volcanic lava flows, this time of the smooth pahoehoe variety, not the sharp and painful a'a' lava.

In the evening I played some Scrabble cards with Lani, one of the californian ladies, and I must say I enjoyed the different version of the classic board game.

On Saturday morning we arrived at Bartolomé island and hiked some 300+ steps up to the summit with this incredible double-beach view below.

In the afternoon we took a dinghy ride through the nearby lagoons and saw the mangroves, some sharks, a few sea turtles, and finally the spotted eagle rays and the golden rays. It was great and super relaxing (Luis did all the paddling!).

Sunday morning we disembarked on Norte Seymour Beach and saw lots of Magnificent Frigate Birds attempting to attract their mates. We also hiked by many cacti, including the Mickey Mouse variety as shown here. I'm standing with Lani and Roland, my roommate whose hair is "on holiday". At least he's honest!

From here we went to the Baltra harbor and bused to the airport. There was a less than enjoyable 3.5 hour wait at the airport, but then we got a direct flight to Quito, not having to stop in Guayaquil.

And thus concludes my Galápagos adventures.

Three days of rest from my luxurious Galápagos tour

I have returned from the unbelieveable paradise that is el Archipelago Galápagos. Words cannot describe my amazing experiences, and you'll have to wait for pictures a few days (or even months until i'm caught up). I'm burning them off my camera tomorrow and will wait for several months for some to be emailed to me. Until then, know that I am safe, tan (NOT burned, mind you--I did well with the art of sunscreen application), and was not eaten by the white tipped sharks with which I swam. That's right. I saw it all, basically. 8 days on a yacht will leave me feeling the ocean swells beneath me for days (I really don't like this sensation) and will leave me remembering the one-of-a-kind, gorgeous, cruel, romantic, endangered, pristine, savage world of the Galápagos islands for a lifetime. Oh man, it was great!

Considerate Builder

So, as always when I see someone's personality quiz results, this evening I felt compelled to take the most recent 11-page quiz (thanks a lot, ñaña). As I read the results, I was struck by three things.

1. I have no idea what agency means, though apparently mine is low. So I looked it up and,

"Agency is how much you believe you determine your own outcomes. "

2. I agree with nearly everything the results tell me (scroll over each color). Could this possibly be because they're just rephrasing my very own answers to their questions? Nah.

3. The way they phrase the results are highly convincing, to the extent that if I were to lie horribly on the quiz and read the results, I am certain that my opinion and view of myself would change. The verdict of my report: "You are a Considerate Builder." Just listen to that. I don't even know what that means, but when I read these declarative words, I seriously picture myself thinking of others with a hammer in hand. And "Never one to be found in chic boutiques or trendy clothing stores, you take an extremely practical approach to getting dressed." While mainly true, now I can never enter the outlet BCBG again just to try on fancy dresses because these results have so strongly declared that I cannot be there! So either I've gotta go back and redo the 11 pages for how I WANT to think of myself, and thus learn to believe it, or I must accept these declarations as the truth, at least for now...until the next quiz comes along.



You are detail-oriented, cautious, and practical, making you a BUILDER.

You are excellent at focusing on the concrete, functional elements of things, so you're good at making things happen.

You're perceptive, down-to-earth, and realistic.

Although you may doubt yourself sometimes, you have the skills and the curiosity to pursue broader adventures.

You like to consider a lot of information before making big decisions, and you think about that information in realistic, thorough ways.

You don't concern yourself with flashy styles or surface appearances—you're far too sensible for that.

You tend to believe that things happen for a reason, and that not everything is under our control.

You trust others, care about them, and are slow to judge them, making you CONSIDERATE.

You enjoy exploring the world through observation, quietly watching others.

Relating to others so well, and understanding their emotions, leads you to trust people in general, even though you're somewhat shy and reserved at times.

Your belief that people are generally well-intentioned contributes to your sympathy regarding their problems.

Although you may not vocalize it often, you have an awareness of how society affects individuals, and you understand complex causes of people's behavior.

You like to look at all sides of a situation before making a judgment, particularly when that situation involves important things in other people's lives.