No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until they come home and rest their head on an old familiar pillow - Lin Yutnag
Ok, we made it back to beautiful, wonderful Seattle where the air is rich with Oxygen. Altitude is an interesting experience. So far we can still deal with it. Best to go back to Tibet soon I figure. I hate waking up in the middle of the night having a strong desire to take a very deeeeep breath.
On Monday May 5th, we had a 2:00 a.m. wake up call to head to the Lima airport for an early flight to Miami FL. Very nice, well organized, user friendly airport. Better than some we have flown out of in eastern Europe. Sad to say that the flight was a half-hour late. That is a big deal when you get up at 2:00 a.m. Also, since we purchased a bottle of the primary ingredient to our new favorite drink, the Pisco Sour, we had to check our luggage. We don't usually check our bag unless the flight attendent is having a bad day and snags our bags. Its happened once or twice, this time we checked bags with malice and forethought. AA flight 2110 was not a full flight and we noticed that the gentleman a seat over from us was taking some pretty healthy pours out of the bottle he had in his "duty free" bag. Maybe he was afraid of flying or needed an early morning bracer. After about 2 or 3 "pours", he fell asleep for most of the 6 hour flight. The flight attendents seemed happy to leave him in La-La Land. That was a first time experience even for us. Lima to Miami was a nice quiet flight. We saw the Panama Canal along the way (new trip destinations abound).
Next stop was Miami and after we cleared "migration", got luggage, passed thru customs, rechecked luggage and got to the gate - our plane to St. Louis was boarding. That was the last confirmed sighting of our bags. Miami to St. Louis was a nice quiet flight.
Next stop was St. Louis. I didn't manage to see the Arch from the plane. Had lunch at a fine airport lunch place. Got to the gate just in time to hear "John Ott please come to the podium"...... I'M NOT GOING WITH OUT MY MR. OTT, I'm thinking. Seems that they needed his seat so a family could sit together. But he IS still flying with me. For some Karmic Reason, I'm the one who ended up sitting next to the 4 year old who never slept the whole trip and really was into turning my reading light on and off for the whole 4 hours....... very cute kid and her mother was totally stressed after hour #1. I felt really bad for all parents who travel with small children. Strapping a 4 year old in an airplane seat and having it go well ain't going to happen. St. Louis to Seattle was not a quiet flight.
So finally, we arrive in Seattle at about 9:30 p.m. on Monday May 5th. Our luggage, which we usually never check, arrived on Tuesday after a fun filled side trip to Dallas.
We had a most wonderful time. If you get a chance to visit to either the Galapagos Islands or Peru -GO, GO, GO. Life is short.
You can see some "selected" photos at http://johnott283.fotodock.co.uk/
It was a good trip.....
Over and out till the next one.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
We say a fond fairwell to Snow Pigs and Inca Grapes
Sunrise on Machu Picchu is a once in a lifetime experience...... but not for us.
We had a really funny guide on this portion of the trip named Ed and for the most part he spoke really good english. He had studied tourism and history at university and had taken a class in San Francisco. But every once in a while he would throw us a loop. John and I spent a fair amount of time looking out the bus window trying to see the "snow pigs"...... snow pigs?? We could see what looked like regular pigs. Maybe snow pigs were white and furry?? No luck, we looked harder. No snow pigs to be seen. After a while it dawned on us that he was talking about "snow peaks", like you find on top of the mountians. I'm really glad we didn't ask anyone else if they had trouble seeing the snow pigs. Another Ed-ism was the "Inca Grapes". Like for fine Inca wine??? After the snow pigs confusion, we pondered this one for a shorter amount of time and figured out Ed was refering to Inca "grave" sites. When Ed spoke, everyone listened very closely.
Friday, May 2rd, our group got up at 4:00 a.m to catch a 5:15 a.m. bus to see the sunrise at the site. Plan was to see the beautiful sunrise, walk around for a bit, absorb some of the atmosphere and then 5 of our group would climb to the top of Wayapicchu Mtn. As we started up the early morning light went from black to murky gray. It was going to be a misty morning at Machu Picchu unfortunately. Busses were packed full with hikers, we wanted to be on the first bus but ended up on bus #5. It is popular to climb Wayapicchu and the park closes off the mountian after 400 people have signed in to climb, so the sooner you get there the better. After we got to the top, John and 4 others headed off for the climb and I and Maggie, the other member of the tour with a gimpy knee, headed back down to the lodge. We were the only 2 people on the bus back down. 3 if you count the bus driver......
Since Maggie and I didn't want to go back to our rooms, we went and had a nice breakfast out on the balcony over looking the river. We then took a tour to see the rare Peruvian Spectacle bear. The lodge has a program that helps return captive bears to the wild and they happened to have 2 bears on site. Also got to take an orchid tour of the lodge gardens. They had over 42 different varities of blooms to see. So while the Other 5 were sweating it out, going another 1,300 feet basically straight up, I had a really nice relaxing morining. Caught up with the Wayapicchu 5, who saw the clouds clearing after summiting and had a really great climb, for lunch and then we were off to catch the 12:20pm PeruRail back to Ollantaytambo and then transfer by bus to Cusco. Train ride back was fun as the train crew put on a fashion show of some really nice Peruvian capes and sweaters. All avaliable for purchase of course after the show. It was interesting to see our train hostess transformed from a PeruRail uniformed young lady, with glasses and pinned up hair, to an Angelina Jolie-like model with long hair and way off the shoulder ponchos...... didn't buy anything. Back up to Cusco and difficult breathing for the afternoon. Got to do some shopping for Alpaca textiles and yarn. Long and exciting day ended with a hotel dinner (Peruvian red wine is not the best) and in bed by 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 3rd, our last day in Cusco. We spent the day touring a local catherdal, visiting a Camelidae farm where llama, Alpaca and Vicuna are raised. Their wool is used to make many textile items which are popular with tourist and are always avaliable in the "shop" at the end of the tour. We vistited Sacsayhuman, an Inca fortress (one of the carved rocks in the wall weighs 120 tons!) and ended the tour day with a visit to Santo Domingo convent built on the site of Koricancha temple - the most important Inca ruin in Peru. The convent was built using some of the stones from the temple. They say over 200,000 lbs of gold was sent from this temple back to Spain. This is a huge temple, I can't even imagine what it looked liked when the Spaniards first saw it. Everything was said to be covered in gold leaf. Off for pisco sours and a nice lunch at a typical cosy Cusco restaurant. Food was really good! Had the rest of the day to relax, pack for Lima and shop. Some real diehard shoppers on this trip. Serious luggage was loaded on the bus when we left town. Ended the tour with a special dinner at a fancy restaurant that evening. John had Very Fried guinea pig - yummmmmm. Earlier in the trip we had both tried Alpaca Kabobs..... not bad.
Sunday, May 4th, we caught an early morning flight back to Lima and sea level - yippee!! We spent the morning touring a pottery museum and then had free time until dinner later in the evening. It NEVER rains in Lima, ever. Not a drop. Makes Seattle look like Phoenix Arizona. Lima is cloudy and over cast 8 to 10 months of the year and has a most unfortunate "fishy" smell in the air. Not smog exactly but not good air quality at all. Dinner was held at the site of a 1,500 year old Inca ruin. I didn't make the dinner but John said the food was quite good. Trout is big in Peru, along with chicken. We had a 2:00 a.m. transfer to the airport the next morning. More about that and photos later.
Over and out for now.....
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Inca dinka do....
We have made it to Machu Picchu.
But here is what we forgot to tell you along the way.
1. Flying out of Quito, we saw a fantastic view of the local volcano Pichincha. BUT we flew way closer to it than I have ever flown to Mt. Rainier. Kinda like the movie Alive.... you get our drift.
2. In Lima we saw a Pre Inca pyramid in downtown Lima. How did we know you may ask, hand formed bricks and an incline vs. rocks and a step formation.
3. Dinner in Lima, got to see a folk dance show. Never knew the Scissor Dancers did hip hop moves. No Rane Gear was used in the sound system.
Now to current events. On 4-29, arrived in Cusco (alt of 11,000 ft +) and headed for Chinchero. There we saw our first Inca walls, had a yarn dying demonstration and toured the local cathedral which dated from the early 1500. Got to see a community meeting in action, folks needed new tractors. Had a late lunch and a later dinner and then to bed.
Wednesday 4-30. After an early breakfast we got to visit a traditional Peruvian market where they were selling Guinea Pigs (I had one as a pet! They taste like chicken), many different types of potatoes, corn (Big Corn), pigs, cute ducks, cute rabbits and cute baby turkeys..... dinner took on a whole different twist. Next stop was Pisac to see the Inca terraces and an astronomical observatory. Hit the local market for local handicrafts and then headed up to the mountians to a hacienda for a really good local lunch. Very yummy, pisco sours were quite good and the coca tea made my tongue numb. Nice garden too and there was a really neat small cannon next to to a fireplace that was as tall as I am. After lunch, full of coca tea and deserts, we hiked up to an Inca fortress named Ollantaytambo. There we saw our first Pre-Inca (Princa) Human Sacraficial Alter which was interesting.
Thursday May 1st. Labor Day Holiday through out S. America. Got up early and caught the Peru-rail to Machu Picchu. Arrived about 9:30. Caught a bus that took us up the hill ( 3,000 ft elevation change). Arrived at the sight and proceeded to climb up. Everywhere was up...... god my feet are really really tired. It is a truly amazing sight and very hard to describe in a blog. We are very lucky to be able to be here and to have the energy to climb up all the hills and see the sights. Visited the main square, saw the royal tombs, sacred sundial, condor rocks, temple of the 3 windows and after our ritual buffet lunch, we hike up an additional 1,300 ft to the Sun Gate. Tomorrow we get a 4:30 a.m wake up call and head back to the site for sunrise over Machu Picchu, a once in a lifetime thing to see.
We are having a great time, travel companions have been wonderful, Pisco Sours are keeping us fortified.
Note to Roz - come on down to Peru, tell Frank the plumbing is fine....
Over and out.
But here is what we forgot to tell you along the way.
1. Flying out of Quito, we saw a fantastic view of the local volcano Pichincha. BUT we flew way closer to it than I have ever flown to Mt. Rainier. Kinda like the movie Alive.... you get our drift.
2. In Lima we saw a Pre Inca pyramid in downtown Lima. How did we know you may ask, hand formed bricks and an incline vs. rocks and a step formation.
3. Dinner in Lima, got to see a folk dance show. Never knew the Scissor Dancers did hip hop moves. No Rane Gear was used in the sound system.
Now to current events. On 4-29, arrived in Cusco (alt of 11,000 ft +) and headed for Chinchero. There we saw our first Inca walls, had a yarn dying demonstration and toured the local cathedral which dated from the early 1500. Got to see a community meeting in action, folks needed new tractors. Had a late lunch and a later dinner and then to bed.
Wednesday 4-30. After an early breakfast we got to visit a traditional Peruvian market where they were selling Guinea Pigs (I had one as a pet! They taste like chicken), many different types of potatoes, corn (Big Corn), pigs, cute ducks, cute rabbits and cute baby turkeys..... dinner took on a whole different twist. Next stop was Pisac to see the Inca terraces and an astronomical observatory. Hit the local market for local handicrafts and then headed up to the mountians to a hacienda for a really good local lunch. Very yummy, pisco sours were quite good and the coca tea made my tongue numb. Nice garden too and there was a really neat small cannon next to to a fireplace that was as tall as I am. After lunch, full of coca tea and deserts, we hiked up to an Inca fortress named Ollantaytambo. There we saw our first Pre-Inca (Princa) Human Sacraficial Alter which was interesting.
Thursday May 1st. Labor Day Holiday through out S. America. Got up early and caught the Peru-rail to Machu Picchu. Arrived about 9:30. Caught a bus that took us up the hill ( 3,000 ft elevation change). Arrived at the sight and proceeded to climb up. Everywhere was up...... god my feet are really really tired. It is a truly amazing sight and very hard to describe in a blog. We are very lucky to be able to be here and to have the energy to climb up all the hills and see the sights. Visited the main square, saw the royal tombs, sacred sundial, condor rocks, temple of the 3 windows and after our ritual buffet lunch, we hike up an additional 1,300 ft to the Sun Gate. Tomorrow we get a 4:30 a.m wake up call and head back to the site for sunrise over Machu Picchu, a once in a lifetime thing to see.
We are having a great time, travel companions have been wonderful, Pisco Sours are keeping us fortified.
Note to Roz - come on down to Peru, tell Frank the plumbing is fine....
Over and out.
Monday, April 28, 2008
We've discovered a new drink....
Ok, we are now in Lima Peru.
Sunday we spent getting back to Quito and pretty much the highlight of the day was dinner at the hotel. Monday, had yet another early 4:00 a.m. wake up call and headed off to the airport for our flight to Lima.
It was a pleasant 2 hour flight on an Airbus via Taca Airline. Arrived in Lima and were met by Sonia and the bus. Toured around the city starting with the main square Plaza de Armas. This square is home to a cathedral, the mayor's office, the Presidental Palace, and many many tanks and police officers. We got to see the changing of the Palace guards and the changing of the police into riot gear. Then it was on to the San Francisco Convento. Built over many hundreds of years starting in the 1500's, its exterior is home to thousands of pigeons. We got to see a really interesting library with books dating back to the 1400's and took a tour of the catacombs where we filed past loads and loads of bones. Estimated 30,000 people were buried under the church. Next stop was a visit to a private house to see one of the largest collection of nativity sceens in Peru. Sounds kinda odd but was really nice. The owner of the collection comes from an well known family in Peru and his great grandfather was President of Peru.
Lunch was at the Malabar, a fairly high end restaurant. It was here we were introduced to pisco, a distilled beverage made from grapes. We sampled a pisco punch and a pisco sour. We were told of a pisco sour drinking contest where 16 pisco sours were consumed in one minute - the winner was given a free cab ride home. The sours were a favorite of Ernest Hemingway.
Tomorrow another airplane ride to the high Andes city of Cusco.
Over and out...
Sunday we spent getting back to Quito and pretty much the highlight of the day was dinner at the hotel. Monday, had yet another early 4:00 a.m. wake up call and headed off to the airport for our flight to Lima.
It was a pleasant 2 hour flight on an Airbus via Taca Airline. Arrived in Lima and were met by Sonia and the bus. Toured around the city starting with the main square Plaza de Armas. This square is home to a cathedral, the mayor's office, the Presidental Palace, and many many tanks and police officers. We got to see the changing of the Palace guards and the changing of the police into riot gear. Then it was on to the San Francisco Convento. Built over many hundreds of years starting in the 1500's, its exterior is home to thousands of pigeons. We got to see a really interesting library with books dating back to the 1400's and took a tour of the catacombs where we filed past loads and loads of bones. Estimated 30,000 people were buried under the church. Next stop was a visit to a private house to see one of the largest collection of nativity sceens in Peru. Sounds kinda odd but was really nice. The owner of the collection comes from an well known family in Peru and his great grandfather was President of Peru.
Lunch was at the Malabar, a fairly high end restaurant. It was here we were introduced to pisco, a distilled beverage made from grapes. We sampled a pisco punch and a pisco sour. We were told of a pisco sour drinking contest where 16 pisco sours were consumed in one minute - the winner was given a free cab ride home. The sours were a favorite of Ernest Hemingway.
Tomorrow another airplane ride to the high Andes city of Cusco.
Over and out...
Sunday, April 27, 2008
We're off the boat but the land is still moving....
We are in Quito right now and on the way to Lima. But while we were in the Galapagos, here's what happened....
Wednesday 4-23. We crossed the equator 4 times. Twice on purpose, once by accident and once as a "course correction". First time was at 2:22:54 a.m. We asked the captain if we could come to the bridge and watch the GPS count down to 0 deg S. He said fine but wouldn't it be better to see it the 2nd time when we crossed at 9:30 a.m??? No, we said, we wanted to be "there" when we crossed the first time. Ok, said the capt, we should cross at 1:00 a.m. We'll call you. So, being the trusting folks we are, we set the alarm, got dressed, and went up to the bridge at 12:45 a.m. We surprised Byron, the 1st mate a bit, he said we still had 14 seconds of latitude left. Come back in about an hour, we'll call you. So, being the trusting folks we are, we went to bed with our clothes on and reset the alarm and went back to see Byron at 1:55 a.m. Byron was surprised to see us so soon again. He set us up in front of the GPS, showed us the maps, gave John a tour of the bridge and was really very nice to two odd tourists who seemed to be fixated on being on the bridge at the exact moment they crossed the equator. Count down began and we got to video the GPS as it counted down to 0 deg S and changed over to North. IT WAS WAY COOL!!!!! Then we went back to bed. We had the Official Crossing of the Equator (north to south) - 2nd time at 9:30 a.m. When you round Isabela you cross the EQ coming and then going back down. Everyone was jammed on to the bridge, pretty much doing what we had done at 2:00 in the morning. We all counted down again, John and Janna and I had a glass of champagne to celebrate the 2nd crossing, and then we all got special certificates showing that we were no longer pollywogs but real shellbacks. It wasn't until much later and after much wine that one of the guides said that the captain crossed the EQ "early" and had to circle around so to speak so he could be in the right spot at the right time.
Island activities included snorkling with sea lions, sea turtles, sightings of flightless cormorants and penguins. Then we cruised off to Fenandina we we did a lava walk and saw lots of marine iguanas and got rained on.
Thursday 4-24. Southern part of Isabela Island. Was very cool as the captain moved the ship around as required to see Bryde whales. Amazing. First there is a big (like really big) air bubble that surfaces, then the whale comes up to breath 3 times. So we got to see this guy about 6 times. Estimate it was 25 to 30 feet long. Island activities highlight included flamingo sightings, a giant tortoise walking down the tourist path, a poison apple tree that bumped off a lot of English and Spanish people before they figured out you can't eat "street food". At one lookout point we called review rock, we saw just about everyone, sea lions, crabs, blue footed boobies, marine iguanas and 3 beautiful rainbows.
Friday 4-25. Floreana Island. This was fun. We landed at Post Office Bay, named because that is where the whalers used to drop off mail. Tourist do it now. You go to the post office, which is a barrel covered with a small roof, open the door and take out the mail. No stamps are required. If there is a post card going to an area near you, you take it and deliver it. We took cards for Lima, Brier WA, Poulsbo WA, and a couple for CT that we are going to send to John's sister.
Island sightings included more rainbows, penguins, a shark nursery, stingrays and our friends the sea lions and marine iguanas. Evening ended with a BBQ dinner and salsa dancing that was viewed by many surrounding ship. It was a very good time indeed.
Saturday 4-26. Espanola Island. More snorkling with turtles, sea lions, sharks, stingrays and trumpet fish. Later in the afternoon we hiked up dried riverbed to see waved albatross. Way Cool. Wing span of 11 ft and for the first 5 years of there lives they live totally at sea. Don't come back to the island until they are ready to mate. Got to see their mating rituals but didn't get to see any bird landings. They are quite comical from what we hear. We also got to see a larger flock of flamingo's and marine iguanas that were colored red and green. It was as pretty as a marine iguanas get. Dinner back on the ship with baked alaska and more salsa dancing. This ship has a really fun crew.
There is more to tell but we are running out of internet time. So we will continue the adventures later..
Over and out.
Wednesday 4-23. We crossed the equator 4 times. Twice on purpose, once by accident and once as a "course correction". First time was at 2:22:54 a.m. We asked the captain if we could come to the bridge and watch the GPS count down to 0 deg S. He said fine but wouldn't it be better to see it the 2nd time when we crossed at 9:30 a.m??? No, we said, we wanted to be "there" when we crossed the first time. Ok, said the capt, we should cross at 1:00 a.m. We'll call you. So, being the trusting folks we are, we set the alarm, got dressed, and went up to the bridge at 12:45 a.m. We surprised Byron, the 1st mate a bit, he said we still had 14 seconds of latitude left. Come back in about an hour, we'll call you. So, being the trusting folks we are, we went to bed with our clothes on and reset the alarm and went back to see Byron at 1:55 a.m. Byron was surprised to see us so soon again. He set us up in front of the GPS, showed us the maps, gave John a tour of the bridge and was really very nice to two odd tourists who seemed to be fixated on being on the bridge at the exact moment they crossed the equator. Count down began and we got to video the GPS as it counted down to 0 deg S and changed over to North. IT WAS WAY COOL!!!!! Then we went back to bed. We had the Official Crossing of the Equator (north to south) - 2nd time at 9:30 a.m. When you round Isabela you cross the EQ coming and then going back down. Everyone was jammed on to the bridge, pretty much doing what we had done at 2:00 in the morning. We all counted down again, John and Janna and I had a glass of champagne to celebrate the 2nd crossing, and then we all got special certificates showing that we were no longer pollywogs but real shellbacks. It wasn't until much later and after much wine that one of the guides said that the captain crossed the EQ "early" and had to circle around so to speak so he could be in the right spot at the right time.
Island activities included snorkling with sea lions, sea turtles, sightings of flightless cormorants and penguins. Then we cruised off to Fenandina we we did a lava walk and saw lots of marine iguanas and got rained on.
Thursday 4-24. Southern part of Isabela Island. Was very cool as the captain moved the ship around as required to see Bryde whales. Amazing. First there is a big (like really big) air bubble that surfaces, then the whale comes up to breath 3 times. So we got to see this guy about 6 times. Estimate it was 25 to 30 feet long. Island activities highlight included flamingo sightings, a giant tortoise walking down the tourist path, a poison apple tree that bumped off a lot of English and Spanish people before they figured out you can't eat "street food". At one lookout point we called review rock, we saw just about everyone, sea lions, crabs, blue footed boobies, marine iguanas and 3 beautiful rainbows.
Friday 4-25. Floreana Island. This was fun. We landed at Post Office Bay, named because that is where the whalers used to drop off mail. Tourist do it now. You go to the post office, which is a barrel covered with a small roof, open the door and take out the mail. No stamps are required. If there is a post card going to an area near you, you take it and deliver it. We took cards for Lima, Brier WA, Poulsbo WA, and a couple for CT that we are going to send to John's sister.
Island sightings included more rainbows, penguins, a shark nursery, stingrays and our friends the sea lions and marine iguanas. Evening ended with a BBQ dinner and salsa dancing that was viewed by many surrounding ship. It was a very good time indeed.
Saturday 4-26. Espanola Island. More snorkling with turtles, sea lions, sharks, stingrays and trumpet fish. Later in the afternoon we hiked up dried riverbed to see waved albatross. Way Cool. Wing span of 11 ft and for the first 5 years of there lives they live totally at sea. Don't come back to the island until they are ready to mate. Got to see their mating rituals but didn't get to see any bird landings. They are quite comical from what we hear. We also got to see a larger flock of flamingo's and marine iguanas that were colored red and green. It was as pretty as a marine iguanas get. Dinner back on the ship with baked alaska and more salsa dancing. This ship has a really fun crew.
There is more to tell but we are running out of internet time. So we will continue the adventures later..
Over and out.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Earth Day on Santa Cruz Island
We made it to the Galapagos. Flew from Quito to Baltra Airport. Interesting landing, short runway but then you drive around awhile before you get to the right side of the island which has the terminal. After we cleared customs, got on to a small bus that took us to the MS Islander. Very nice boat. Started off with a lunch, then swinning around the boat (80 degree water), and an afternoon landing at N. Seymore Island. Little did we know what we would see....
Got off the boat and right away we see, a sea lion pup, marine iquana, and bright orange sally light foot crabs. These animals have no fear, you can walk right up to them. Laws do not allow you to touch them but you sure could if no one was looking. Walked down the beach past the more sea lion pups and their mothers. The low scrub trees were filled with frigget birds. The male frigget bird is the one with the big red inflated neck pouch, wing span of 7 ft. The male builds the nest and then courts the female. There must have been 50 of these birds all in full inflated red glory. We keep walking and now we are seeing blue footed boobie birds. Like big seagulls that have bright blue feet. The male and female court each other by stamping feet and making honking noises. On first trip of 2 hours, we got a really good sense of the amazing things we would see and how unique these islands are.
That night we sailed to Bartolome island. Started out at 6:30 am for the optional Master and Commander Walk (well, actually an uphill boardwalk hike). Part of the film where the doctor sees the French ship in a secluded harbour was filmed on this spot. Our day started with a sea lion blocking the landing, so we cleared that guy off to enable our zodiac to land. Off the boat on to a volcanic island, very little plant life, we walked on a boardwalk up to the top of the hill and it was very very hot. Amazing views.
Got back to the boat for breakfast and then had a snorkeling safety lesson. After that John and Janna got their snorkeling gear and I got an umbrella so I could sit on the beach. They saw some amazing things, sea turtles, hammer head sharks, swam with sea lions and just lots and lots of big and small fish. John is now sporting a pretty good sunburn on the back of his legs. Again it was very very hot. Back to the boat for a shower and lunch, which was traditioal Equadorian foods. Got to take a break for a bit then set sail for the other side of Santiago island. Off the boat for a wet landing, where you jump off the zodiac and your shoes get very wet. Walked inland and saw lots of lava lizards and assorted finches. Turned toward the sea and got to view marine iguanas by the ton..... they like to pile up on each other. The shore had a whole lot of sea lions and pups, and you just walk right up to these critters. We were on a search to find the Galapagos Fur Sea lion which is almost extinct. We have a very good guide named Walter and he did manage to find one for us. Also got to see a seaturtle floating in a gratto before it swam out to sea. We counted 22 sea turtle tracks left by female turtles heading into lay their eggs. Back to the boat for gin and tonics and dinner. We are sleeping really well at the end of the day.
It rained all night as our boat motored to Santa Cruz island. Left our ship at 8:00 am and should be back by 6:00 pm. Internet is very expensive on board so we are at an internet cafe in the town of Puerto Ayora. Today we did the Charles Darwin Research Institute and got to see how they are reintroducing the giant land turtle back to the islands. After that we loaded in to a bus and headed upland for lunch. Before lunch we got to go through a lava tube that started about a quarter mile away from the restaurant and magically ended right by the bar. Beer was pretty good by that time. After lunch we got back in the bus and went on a quest for giant land turtles in the wild. We got very lucky and saw about 8 of them!!! So now we blog and then we catch a zodiac home to the boat for gin and tonics, a shower and dinner. I for one am pooped.
Over and out.
Got off the boat and right away we see, a sea lion pup, marine iquana, and bright orange sally light foot crabs. These animals have no fear, you can walk right up to them. Laws do not allow you to touch them but you sure could if no one was looking. Walked down the beach past the more sea lion pups and their mothers. The low scrub trees were filled with frigget birds. The male frigget bird is the one with the big red inflated neck pouch, wing span of 7 ft. The male builds the nest and then courts the female. There must have been 50 of these birds all in full inflated red glory. We keep walking and now we are seeing blue footed boobie birds. Like big seagulls that have bright blue feet. The male and female court each other by stamping feet and making honking noises. On first trip of 2 hours, we got a really good sense of the amazing things we would see and how unique these islands are.
That night we sailed to Bartolome island. Started out at 6:30 am for the optional Master and Commander Walk (well, actually an uphill boardwalk hike). Part of the film where the doctor sees the French ship in a secluded harbour was filmed on this spot. Our day started with a sea lion blocking the landing, so we cleared that guy off to enable our zodiac to land. Off the boat on to a volcanic island, very little plant life, we walked on a boardwalk up to the top of the hill and it was very very hot. Amazing views.
Got back to the boat for breakfast and then had a snorkeling safety lesson. After that John and Janna got their snorkeling gear and I got an umbrella so I could sit on the beach. They saw some amazing things, sea turtles, hammer head sharks, swam with sea lions and just lots and lots of big and small fish. John is now sporting a pretty good sunburn on the back of his legs. Again it was very very hot. Back to the boat for a shower and lunch, which was traditioal Equadorian foods. Got to take a break for a bit then set sail for the other side of Santiago island. Off the boat for a wet landing, where you jump off the zodiac and your shoes get very wet. Walked inland and saw lots of lava lizards and assorted finches. Turned toward the sea and got to view marine iguanas by the ton..... they like to pile up on each other. The shore had a whole lot of sea lions and pups, and you just walk right up to these critters. We were on a search to find the Galapagos Fur Sea lion which is almost extinct. We have a very good guide named Walter and he did manage to find one for us. Also got to see a seaturtle floating in a gratto before it swam out to sea. We counted 22 sea turtle tracks left by female turtles heading into lay their eggs. Back to the boat for gin and tonics and dinner. We are sleeping really well at the end of the day.
It rained all night as our boat motored to Santa Cruz island. Left our ship at 8:00 am and should be back by 6:00 pm. Internet is very expensive on board so we are at an internet cafe in the town of Puerto Ayora. Today we did the Charles Darwin Research Institute and got to see how they are reintroducing the giant land turtle back to the islands. After that we loaded in to a bus and headed upland for lunch. Before lunch we got to go through a lava tube that started about a quarter mile away from the restaurant and magically ended right by the bar. Beer was pretty good by that time. After lunch we got back in the bus and went on a quest for giant land turtles in the wild. We got very lucky and saw about 8 of them!!! So now we blog and then we catch a zodiac home to the boat for gin and tonics, a shower and dinner. I for one am pooped.
Over and out.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
On the way to the Galapagos
Hola!!
It is Sunday and we are at the airport in Quito on the way to the islands. Got into town 3 hours late as our flight from Miami had a problem with the toilet and we had to get a new airplane..... all other flights went fine. So we got to the hotel at 11 pm, had to be up at 5 am and out the door at 6am. Kinda looks like Shaun of the Dead this morning in the airport lounge.
Beer is $2.00. Ecuador uses the US$$ as local currency.
Everyone is fine but tired. More from the Boat
Over and out
It is Sunday and we are at the airport in Quito on the way to the islands. Got into town 3 hours late as our flight from Miami had a problem with the toilet and we had to get a new airplane..... all other flights went fine. So we got to the hotel at 11 pm, had to be up at 5 am and out the door at 6am. Kinda looks like Shaun of the Dead this morning in the airport lounge.
Beer is $2.00. Ecuador uses the US$$ as local currency.
Everyone is fine but tired. More from the Boat
Over and out
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