June 6: We traveled from Nashville to Lima via Atlanta with no problems or delays. It’s about six and a half hours from Atlanta to Lima. Once there, we went straight to the Grand Faraona Hotel and went right to sleep. The hotel was clean, but nothing extraordinary. Bedtime was about 1 a.m.
June 7: Over the Andes and Into the Amazon Jungle: Our tour group of about 11 people met at breakfast and left for the airport at 7:30. Our flight to the jungle was on a lot bigger jet than I expected – an AirBus 320 that was bigger than a 737. We flew over the Andes, stopped in Cuzco and then headed on to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon rainforest.
From there we took a short bus ride to the Tambopata River and stored all of our luggage except what we absolutely needed for our stay in the jungle. We then boarded long motorized canoes for a two-hour ride to our jungle lodge. They served us a rice-based meal wrapped in banana leaves while we floated along. We saw a few samples of local wildlife on the way, including some caiman, a species of reptile that looks like a crocodile.
We still had a fairly long hike up an embankment to our lodge, and were ready to rest. Our “rooms” were.nice, but simple. There is no electricity here, so oil lamps and flashlights get you around. Our room was about 35 feet by 15, and had two beds and a hammock. It was reeds on the outside wall and wide open air on the opposite one. But it had a private bathroom with a shower (sans hot water), a toilet and a sink. Because the walls were made of reed, everyone could hear what everyone else was saying and doing in their rooms. It is very hot and humid here.
We enjoyed a nice meal of chicken and also vegetable lasagna. We are getting to know our group members, who are from all over – England, Canada, South Africa, Denmark, Germany, etc. Our chief guide is an Hispanic American native of San Antonio who graduated from the University of Texas. She and Connolly hit it off for obvious reasons. Renee, the guide, re-learned her native Spanish watching soap operas.
June 8: A Day in the Humid Jungle, Tarantula Hunting, Etc.: We were awakened at 4 a.m., and had a quick eggs and bread breakfast. We walked back down to the river in the dark and canoed to a stop about 15 minutes away. We were given high boots due to the muddy conditions for hiking. We then had about a 35-minute hike through very heavy rainforest to a lake. We boarded a pontoon boat of-sorts there and did a very slow and often boring bird and wildlife watching tour.
The heat and humidity are indescribable and the length of the walk back to the canoe seemed like forever. Sharon and I crashed in our room for a couple of hours upon our return. We skipped the next outing – a climb to the top of a rickety 100-foot plus tower, but the girls made the climb.
Lunch was rice with pork mixed in. Plus cucumbers and tomatoes. All very good.
The evening excursion was tarantula hunting in the dark. Only the girls and two guys from Oregon were awake enough to go. Two were found, as was a spider that causes paralysis if it bites you. Mary Byrne found that one. Also seen were other small bugs and a quick white tree frog. No outing at this place is routine because you get so hot and sweaty that a shower is needed after every move. There is no hot water, so the showers are invigorating.
June 9: Cuzco: Great City in Thin Air: There was a pre-dawn excursion to a parrot clay lick scheduled, but heavy rains cancelled that plan. So we took our time getting packed and had a leisurely breakfast of ultra-strong coffee, fried bread, scrambled eggs and all kinds of fruit. We then packed, trudged back to the river, rode to a bus stop and took a long ride back to get all our luggage and get to the airport.
The flight from the jungle to Cuzco, which flies over the Andes, is only a half hour, but sure makes a difference in the climate. We went from sweltering to chilly in less than an hour. Cuzco is a very neat place, built at above 10,000 feet by the Incas in 1200. The Conquistadors ripped through here in 1630 and tore down a lot of the Inca structures because they didn’t represent a proper Christian philosophy, and they replaced them with very elaborate churches and cathedrals. But those buildings still have stone Inca foundations.
The resulting city is a hodge podge of cultures and architecture, and is absolutely captivating. The people are very nice, the food has been great and the scenery is terrific. It is surrounded by the mountains and has a feel like no other city we have visited.
The three girls left at 6 a.m. today for their Inca Trail hike. They will hike for four days up what at times will be very steep mountains until they reach Machu Pichu, the Inca city, on Tuesday. We wimps will take a train and meet them there.
The altitude here is a factor, but we are getting used to it. Hopefully, the girls will be able to do their climb without too much trouble. People here chew coca leaves and drink coca tea to prevent altitude sickness. I tried some and it had the effect of strong coffee. Coca is the source of cocaine, but they must do a lot more to it to make it addictive. I didn’t find it all that powerful.
Our dinner was at a nearby restaurant that cooked everything over open flames, which is done often in Peruvian cooking. I had a very good steak.
June 10: We Explore Cuzco; the Girls Hike the Inca Trail: Sharon and I awoke early and started exploring Cuzco. It was an unplanned day for our tour group, so we were on our own. The more we saw of this place, the more we liked it. We stopped at a café overlooking the Cathedral on the town square and had Peruvian coffee while we watched people come and go.
Peru seems to always have some reason for a celebration or a parade, and we saw two on this Saturday morning. A large group of young kids en route to a soccer tournament all marched by, carrying banners and balloons matching the colors of their teams. A marching band led the parade. We couldn’t figure out why they were playing “Anchors Away,” but they were.
We later saw a parade of very young children doing some sort of dance-walk and formation around the square. We visited another plaza in front of St. Blas Church and there were dancers and musicians performing.
We attended the second part of a Mass in Spanish at the Cathedral, and then walked up and down the hills of Cuzco checking out shops and other sights. Vendors were relentless and hard to shake once they became determined to sell something. We bought very little, but were very proud of one acquisition. The guinea pig is considered a delicacy in Peru and fried guinea pigs are served at festive occasions. It is called cuy. We bought a postcard that had Jesus and the apostles gathered around the last supper table with a cooked guinea pig in the middle. The Last Cuy Supper.
I actually got some MP&F work done in the afternoon, then took a nap.
Our tour group, down to six temporarily with the three girls and a father-son team from Oregon gone on the Inca Trail, met for dinner at an Inca restaurant where the servers and managers all dressed in Inca garb. I had grilled alpaca, which was tasty but kind of tough. We went to bed early because Sunday promised to be busy.
June 11: Into the Sacred Valley: We had breakfast very early and boarded a bus for the Sacred Valley, a lush part of Peru where the Incas considered the fertile soil a gift from God. We stopped in a small village called Ccaccacollo, where the staple is weaving and yarn-making. There were several llamas and alpacas running around. Sharon bought a runner for our kitchen table here. The village was way up on a mountain and the drive took us along some narrow roads with nothing to hold us back from very steep cliffs. Gap, our trip tour company, supports this place financially in addition to running tourists through there.
There were other stops for shopping, too, as is always the case on these tours. One of them was in a town called Pisac, where a huge bazaar was set up. It was a nice one for a change. We went to a Mass in recited in Quechua , the native Inca tongue and then went and had coffee while others in our group shopped. .It is actually inaccurate to call these locals Incas, though many people do. Incas were actually the high rulers of that society, kind of like the Pharaohs. The everyday folks are the Quechuans.
Renee, our regular tour guide, stayed back in Cuzco and a Peruvian guy named Percy, a geological engineer by trade, was our guide for the day. He was very knowledgeable and personable.
We stopped at some amazing Inca ruins built into the side of a mountain, and hiked part of the way up to see how they were built. We learned that the terraces you often see built down a mountain by the Incas were actually very elaborate water collections systems filled with stones and connected to trenches that carried water from mountain rain storms to crops. Corn and potatoes were the main crops at this altitude.
We had lunch at some estate in a very small town, and the buffet was awesome. It had all sorts of choices, many of them Peruvian foods like alpaca. I had chicken, alpaca, beef, and a variety of fresh vegetables.
Our last stop of the day was Olantaytambo, a town in the heart of the Sacred Valley which features a collection of ruins that stretch way up several mountainsides. We did a light walking tour of the ruins, with Percy giving us the history and background.
Our hotel, Sauce, was right in town and our room overlooked the Andes and the ruins. It was amazing. We just ate dinner with our group on TV trays in front of a cozy fire near the lobby. It was a chilly evening outside.
June 12: Train Ride to Near Machu Pichu: We met in the lobby at 7:30, had breakfast and walked to the train station. We took the Backpackers Train, which goes past part of the Inca Trail, to the town of Aguas Calientes. We both talked about the girls as we passed the Inca Trail and speculated on how they were faring on their adventure. A guide seated across from us said one of the members of his tour group, a 28-year-old woman, had been in our girls’ Inca Trail trekking group but had quit on the second day because it was so strenuous. So far, our dear ones are still up there.
Our room here at the Hatuchay Tower Hotel in Aguas Calientes is very nice and has a balcony overlooking the Rio Aguas Calientes, a white water river surrounded by mountain peaks. The beauty from that vantage point is almost surreal, although the town is ho-hum.
We are stationed here for the day/night because it is close to Machu Pichu, where we visit tomorrow and greet the girls. The town itself isn’t all that great. It is really a place where backpackers stay going to and from Machu Pichu. But there are some decent restaurants, including one called Indio-Feliz, a French-Peruvian bistro where we had an excellent meal.
I spent part of the day working on a client survey, and Sharon and I went shopping for tee-shirts for the girls that say, “I Survived the Inca Trail” to present to them on their return.
Two of our tour group members – Kim from Denmark and Karen from South Africa – both had birthdays today. We all went out to dinner together and sang happy birthday to them around some lighted apple torts. We have been very fortunate to have great people from all over the world in our group. We all look out for each other, and everyone has a good sense of humor. The Danes, Kim and Pernille, speak great English.
June 13: Up to Machu Pichu to Greet Our Daughters: We arose at 4:45 so we could catch the first bus to Machu Pichu to greet the girls. It left at 5:30 and we were at the gate by 6:10. Renee had told us to go to the Sun Gate to watch for the girls’ arrival. She didn’t mention that this was a very rigorous climb straight up the side of a mountain. There were stairs, so it wasn’t dangerous, but it was a challenge as we climbed hundreds of feet in very thin air. We finally settled at a gate just short of the Sun Gate, and waited. They came rolling in around 7:30, smiling and waving. We hugged and took commemorative pictures.
We were all very glad to see each other, and they were obviously ecstatic about finishing their trek. They said it was the toughest thing they had ever done, and described some of the challenges of conquering Dead Woman’s Pass, the most grueling part of the climb. But they were very proud of themselves for making it the whole way. I think it’s cool that the three sisters did it together and can always recall those four special days together.
We took a quick tour of Machu Pichu, which is a very imposing place in a very imposing setting. How the Incas hauled those blocks of granite up there is beyond me. I know carrying a camera bag was a load for me in that terrain and altitude. The girls seemed very energetic given what they had just been through. They had to awake at 4 a.m. to finish the hike, and seemed ready to keep on exploring when they reached Machu Pichu.
I went back to Aguas Calientes around 1, and the rest arrived around 2. I got some work done and uploaded some photos at an Internet café. Connolly and Ellen joined me there and e-mailed their friends about the Inca Trail experience.
We boarded a crowded train around 4:45 and rode to Olantaytambo, where we switched to a bus and drove to Cusco. We got there at about 8:30. Sharon and I went straight to bed. Connolly and Ellen went out to a trendy Americanized place called Jack’s for some dinner. They raved about the great tasting lemonade there.
June 14: Ruins Around Cuzco: The Catholic feast of Corpus Christi is tomorrow and it’s a big deal all over Peru. But it is huge in Cuzco, comparable to St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago or Boston. Always looking for an excuse to party anyway, the people of Cuzco get started a day early, which is today. One thing that happens is that each of Cuzco’s 14 Catholic churches sends a parade into the town square where the Cathedral is, and near where our hotel is.
Each parade has its own band, banners, etc. Fireworks and music started early, around 8 a.m,., as people awaited the arrival of the churches. Eighty percent of Peru is Catholic, so there is plenty of interest. It’s kind of like Mardi Gras. Although here the “floats” are carried by about a dozen young men, and are usually a statue of the patron saint of their church.
We saw a big Jesus statue, adorned with trinkets at the base. One of the things was a Winnie the Pooh bear, which seemed a little random. The four girls got excellent massages for $25.00. After the parade. There was more partying. This was kind of like TSU’s battle of the bands. Each church’s small band, usually five to eight people, would try to outplay the other church’s band, resulting in a cacophony of horn music. People were dancing a version of the swing or push-pull. The police chief and some of his cronies asked Sharon to drink beer with them, and kiss them. She just kissed the air near his ear, but it seemed to suffice. What a fun, partying bunch!
The next day, the festivities continued.Our problem is that this is the morning our group is scheduled to do a tour of various Inca ruins around Cuzco, but not in it. So we spent the morning climbing on ruins while we could hear all the celebration in the background. We wanted to be where the action was. And after Machu Pichu the day before, we have become pretty snobbish about our ruins. Long story short, we convinced guide Maria to stop after Ruin #3 and head back to where all the commotion and fun was/is.
We checked out the square and saw a band, but not much happening at the moment. So Sharon, the girls and I went to the Monasterio Hotel for lunch. As the name indicates, it is a very old monastery that has been converted to a swanky hotel. It is owned by the Orient Express train people who also own the posh Hiram Bingham train to Machu Pichu (gourmet food, elegantly restored train) and the only lodge right at Machu Pichu, which is also very expensive.
This hotel was really beautiful with elaborate gardens, 200-plus year-old paintings and old, old furniture. The lunch tab was hefty.
I went back to the room for a nap, and then went to work on my report. I skipped going to dinner and got it finished and e-mailed it to Mark. Sharon and the girls went with our tour group to a place that specializes in guinea pig, which I mentioned earlier. Two members of the tour group ordered it and shared it with others. Their verdict – good taste, but too much trouble due to all the tiny bones. Sharon brought me back a ham and cheese sandwich, which I had before bed.
June 15: Driving From Cuzco to Lake Titicaca: Sharon and I woke up early, and had breakfast around 6:15. I checked e-mail and packed. We will miss Cuzco. We boarded our bus for a six and a half hour drive to Puno, near Lake Titicaca. The first half of the drive is beautiful, winding through the Andes along a very scenic river called the Vilcanota. There are flights from Cuzco to Puno, but many tour companies recommend this scenic drive.
We stopped at a very small village after about an hour and took a quick tour of the church there.
The second half of the drive proved to be quite different than the first. The scenery turned to something akin to the American west, with barren hills and little vegetation. We passed through numerous towns where the poverty was very evident, and trash, sewage, dust and clutter were everywhere. The worst of these was a larger town called Juliaca, which is known as the contraband capital of Peru. It started to be a real problem finding a usable bathroom. We stopped three times at service station-type places and all three times the women returned to the bus with a thumbs-down signal.
We finally found a station near our destination Puno, which passed muster – barely. Ellen gave the restroom a two-star rating. While we’re on the subject, let me mention that toilet paper and toilet seats are rarities in Peru. I don’t know what they’re doing and don’t want to know. But only the best hotels and restaurants have these two items. Renee, our tour guide, has been good about warning everyone about what type of toilet situation lies ahead and finding good ones. But today’s trip through the poverty-stricken Highlands section of Peru left few potty options.
We arrived at Puno and saw Lake Titicaca for the first time. Rather unimpressive from a distance, I would say. We checked into the Casona Plaza Hotel right in the middle of downtown, and it is nice. Our room has a king-sized bed and decent lighting, which can be an issue.
Shortly after check-in, the Corpus Christi festivities for Puno went into full swing. There were hundreds of really cute kids marching in a parade, and many bands accompanying them. I watched for awhile, and then took a nap.
This time, the competition seemed to be among schools, and they were really decked out, whirling as they marched, even very young children. Again, there were some random notes, like the three young boys dressed as gorillas leading their class.?! The Peruvians seem to really enjoy all the children. It was really cute.
We went to dinner at an out-of-the-way place Renee knew about. The décor was good, but our food was mediocre. Sharon and I both had Lake Titicaca trout, which I was excited about when I ordered it, but disappointed when I tried it. There was a very fishy taste for something that came from a few blocks away.
June 16: Sailing Lake Titicaca in the Thin, Thin Air: This turned out to be an interesting and fun day for the most part. All of the daylight hours were spent on Lake Titicaca. Bicycle rickshaws picked us up at the hotel at 7:30 and a parade of them took us to the lake about 10 minutes bike ride away. We stopped at a sidewalk market and bought some pencils for the kids we knew we would encounter later. They encourage giving the youngsters on the lake’s islands something, but not candy due to the lack of dental care available.
We boarded a comfortable boat. I’d say it was about 35 feet long and it had a big window-lined cabin with cushions. Lake Titicaca is way up in the mountains – the highest navigable lake in the world – and it was very chilly this morning. I didn’t pack well for all the cold weather we would encounter in the Andes. Lake Titicaca, the snicker-inspiring name from elementary school, actually means “Giant Puma” in three local languages because that is what it is shaped like. How they knew this when they named it, I don’t know. Google Earth would be the only way to tell, given the size of this lake, and it has had that name a long time.
We stopped first at one of 42 floating villages on the lake. The natives take reeds and stack layer upon layer until they literally make themselves an island. If there is a big disagreement within the settlement, they just cut the thing in half and part ways. The bottom layers of reeds rots over time and new layers are constantly being added. It is soft and spongy to walk on. The one we visited had some reed boats, several huts and some cooking areas. There are solar panels scattered around the island, which allows them to have lights and TV inn the huts at night.
We took a short joyride to another reed island aboard one of their reed boats, then our motor boat picked us up and we headed for the island of Taquile. This was a two and a half-hour journey, so we saw plenty of the lake. Once there, we had a big, steep climb up to the village. The altitude of the lake is twice that of Machu Pichu, something like 12,000 feet. It was hard to breathe, and our climb up to the village today was over 500 feet more. Sharon and I stopped a few times to catch our breaths during the steep climb.
We had an OK lunch up there of rice, French fries and lake king fish. Then we hiked across the island, climbing even more before starting an even steeper descent down to our boat, which had driven around the island while we were hiking. I have learned the hard way that hiking in the Andes is a tough assignment. The view from the top before we descended was terrific, and everyone was snapping pictures. The water was almost impossibly blue, like the Greek Isles.
I went to sleep for about two hours in the boat on the way back. The kids played cards and Catch Phrase to pass the time. We made it back to the hotel at about 5:30.
We all congregated at 7 and went to a place called La Choza de Oscar, which specializes in slow-broiled chicken. Our family split a single chicken and couldn’t finish it. But it was very delicious and I would try that place again if I happen through Puno.
June 17: Visiting Lima: We had to be up by 5:30 to be on a bus for the Juliaca (contraband capital) to catch a flight at 9. It was freezing, with ice on the puddles along the road. The airport seemed colder, and someone kept leaving the door open. The flight was on time and landed in Cuzco before we then went on to Lima. Flying in Peru is a very attention-getting experience because you fly right between mountain peaks to take off or land. There is no room for error here.
Lima, where luckily you land from over the Pacific instead of through mountains, was foggy. But we made it in safely and on time. We are staying in the same hotel as the one where we stayed on our first night in Peru. Pretty nice place and good location. We rested most of the afternoon and I uploaded photos to yahoo.com. Sharon and I had a very good lunch at the hotel
Dinner was our last gathering as a tour group. Karen, the South African, had food poisoning and couldn’t join us. The rest of the group went to a place called Rosa Nautica, which literally was in the Pacific Ocean. Built on stilts, it was about 300 yards offshore and therefore right at the crest of the waves. I don’t ever remember being at a seaside restaurant that was so far out in the water. And it was turbulent water. Twice, the waves crashed into windows and spewed water into the restaurant.
The food there was superb. The girls had Argentinian steaks, and Sharon and I shared a platter of scallops, octopus, fish, squid, potatoes, all kinds of stuff. It was great. There was a squabble with the waiter over the bill, but it ultimately all worked out. Overall, it was a memorable evening. We gave Renee her tip and went to bed around 11.
June 18: Travel Day Into Quito: Father’s Day and another day dominated by travel. We awoke at 6:45, had breakfast and took a van to the airport. Check-in was a nightmare, taking almost an hour and a half to get through ticketing, departure tax line, immigration and security. We headed for Quito, Ecuador.
Quito is another one of those white-knuckle landing spots in the Andes, although they are building a new airport in a flat area outside of town. What a concept. I was here about 20 years ago with Gov. Ned McWherter and remembered the scary landing situation, which heightened my concern today. Long story short, we split the uprights between the mountains and landed just fine.
Our hotel, the Rio Amazonas, was a typical Gap Adventures locale. Their selections are always well-run and clean, but locally owned and operated. I like this because you get a better flavor for the local culture than you do staying at a Hilton or Marriott. The hotel was in a trendy area with lots of restaurants and bars nearby. It was a little unsafe-feeling at night, but not real bad.
Sharon and I took some naps, and the girls played with the Internet. We had a meeting of our new tour groups, which is the five of us, South African Karen from our earlier tour and four women from Ottowa who seem very nice. In other words, me and nine women. The meeting covered tomorrow’s gameplan for getting to the Galapagos, storing unneeded luggage in Quito, etc.
The five of us went to dinner to celebrate Fathers Day and chose a Texas-themed steakhouse about a block from our hotel. I had a t-bone that was OK, and everyone seemed to like their food. Connolly liked the fact that they had a UT-Austin Longhorn flag on the wall as part of their Texas theme. But it also had pictures of the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe, whom I had never connected to Texas before this.
Observations about Ecuador vs. Peru: It is far more modern and westernized. While Peruvian women almost all wore the festive and colorful traditional garb, there was no sign of that here. Potty-wise, restrooms had toilet seats and toilet paper by the ton. A very nice difference. I miss Peru’s character and the warmth of those poor people, though. I kind of hope it doesn’t get westernized any time soon, because it is very endearing and genuine.
June 19: Over to the Galapagos: We got up at 6:30, packed into smaller bags to be taken on the ship and stored the rest at the hotel. We had a quick breakfast and headed to the airport at 8:30. Our Quito tour guide did a great job of getting us ticketed and through security in no time.
The flight is on AeroGal. Now I’m traveling with nine women on AeroGal. What next? This actually is short for Aerolinas Galapagos. We landed briefly in Guyaquil, and then re-boarded for San Cristobal, an island in the Galapagos. That flight took about an hour and a half. The weather and scenery in St. Cristobal both were great.
There was some delay as we waited for luggage, paid a $100 per person Galapagos preservation fee, etc. Then we met Samuel, our guide/naturalist/organizer for the trip. He has been doing this for 16 years and seems to really know his stuff, but presents it in a laid-back way. He’s built like a linebacker and has some swagger to him. His English is excellent.
We took a van from the airport to waiting rafts, and then rode the rafts to our ship. Sharon and I were given one of the two cabins above deck, on the second level. Mary Byrne and Katherine, the South African, got the other. Everyone else is below the main deck.
After some introductory remarks and rule descriptions, we again boarded the motorized rafts and headed to a beach on St. Cristobal where we hiked for about five minutes and immediately began seeing sea lions, giant iguanas and some birds. It was really fun and we shot tons of pictures.
We then went “into town” in San Cristobal to shop, use the ATM and sit and watch the scenery. Our 16-member group stayed an hour. After getting back to the boat, we had a quick toast to the crew and passengers and had a great fish dinner with boiled potatoes, broccoli and salad. Strawberries and cream were the dessert. Connolly felt seasick and was not able to join us. We all went to bed early and sailed through the night toward Espaniola, our stop tomorrow.
June 20: Exploring the Galapagos on a Small Ship: The ride during the night was rocky, but I thought it was fun and slept well despite the turbulence. Breakfast was at about 7:15 and consisted of eggs, some kind of processed ham, lots of fresh fruit and bread. We boarded the rafts at 8:30 for our first “wet landing” of the voyage. This merely means you jump off the raft close to shore and wade the rest of the way in. I think the beach where we landed is called Gardener Beach, and it was covered with sea lions. I saw one group of 22 in a space that was about 35 feet in diameter. They just lie down next to each other and sun themselves during the day. They swim and hunt for food mostly at night.
We stayed on that beach and wandered for about two hours. We took the rafts back to our ship, had a snack and then many went snorkeling. I opted out of this, but Sharon, Ellen and Mary Byrne went. They swam with sea lions and saw a bunch of fish. The sea lions are playful and curious, and will swim right up to you, and then dart away.
As cumbersome as they are on land, they are sleek and graceful in the water.Connolly was still feeling seasick and slept.
After they returned, we had a great lunch of pot roast, cauliflower, bean salad, leaf salad, potato pancakes and lots of fresh fruit. There is a full-time chef and bartender among the nine crew members, and they make some really good meals and snacks.
Our afternoon foray was to a different part of Espanola Island, this time to a more volcanic area with lots of black rock and dark rocks that have been worn smooth over the millions of years. There were marine iguanas everywhere, like on top of each other. They are red and black and can be a foot long or maybe more. Very creepy. The cove where we landed for this excursion was like Sea World, with scores of sea lions cavorting and frolicking in the water, doing jumps and was incredibly entertaining. They have no fear of humans, although we were cautioned to keep our distance from the larger, more aggressive male sea lions.
The there were hundreds of red crabs on the rocks. Almost fluorescent in color. They were intermingled with the iguanas and the scene was fitting for a horror flick.
And then there were dozens and dozens of sea lions, many of them babies still feeding with their mothers. You have to be a bit careful because they are said to have a vicious bite. But we walked right up to many of them and they either kept right on napping or just glanced at us.
Our walk this afternoon was long and rocky, probably lasting a couple of hours altogether. We ended first half of the walk at a cliff where there is a thing called the “blowhole.” It is fed from below the water level, then erupts in the midst of a bunch of rocks when a large wave hits the rocky beach. Bottom line is it looks like a whale’s blowhole erupting when it is operating.
Our walk back was a slightly different route that took us past dozens of albatross pairs nesting on the ground. When flying, their wing span can be five feet. Their feet look like they are too big for their bodies. Kind of clutzy.
We returned to the ship at about 6, and I was amazed it never rained while we were on the island. It looked threatening all afternoon after a sunny morning at the other white sand beach. Frigate birds flew along with the yacht, going 8 knots , or 10 mph, almost never having to flap their wings.
Dinner was great once again. We had barbecued chicken, rice, potatoes, salad and all sorts of fruit. Dessert was made from “tree tomatoes,” a pear-looking thing that tastes like a cross between a peach and a pear. It was served in some sort of syrup. I tasted it and it was OK, but I’m not upset that we can’t get tree tomatoes in Nashville.
Connolly was still seasick and missed dinner, but Ellen, Mary Byrne and I played Monopoly. It was the Spanish version and the properties all had new names. St. James Place = Plaza de Santiago, etc. Ellen won. We were in bed by 9:30. Sharon got up in the middle of the night both nights to view the stars, an unbelievable sight, with the heavens chock full of them. They included some that we don’t get in the Northern Hemisphere, such as the Southern Cross.
June 21: Sting Rays, Sea Lions and Other Wonders: The longest day of the year in terms of daylight was packed with activities. Sharon and I were up by 5:45 and on the deck having coffee by 6. The night before was rocky again at times, but I slept well. The ship, as mentioned above, is tailor-made for 16 passengers. There are eight cabins sleeping two apiece. There are four dining tables on the main deck, each seating four. With a crew member for every two people, including a full-time chef and bartender, there is little anyone lacks for.
Breakfast was at 7 and featured pancakes, whole wheat bread, cantaloupe, papaya, kind of a bologna-style meat, fresh cheese and cereals. I have been to South America three times now, and I first thought that their food must be like Mexicans’ since they were south of Mexico. But the food here in general is similar to that at home. Meat, fish, chicken, potatoes, lots of vegetables, nothing very spicy. Sure there’s an alpaca or guinea pig thrown in occasionally, but overall, Americans have no trouble adapting to the menu here.
We left on our motorized rafts at 8 and went to Floriana Island, which had a very different look and feel than the other two we had seen. This is typical across the Galapagos. Despite their proximity, they have totally different environments. We saw a few sea lions, lots of birds and quite a few crabs. We hiked for about 25 minutes and came to a snow-white beach with ultramarine colored water. Wading in, we noticed sting rays about a few feet in front of us. Hundreds of them altogether.
Returning to the ship, we set out for a bird watching tour from the big ship, circling a volcanic island inhabited by frigate birds, albatross, boobies and other species of land-based birds. You could see a few iguanas on the hills, too. This was followed by a 45-minute skorkeling session, where sea lions followed along and all sorts of fish were visible.
Lunch was chicken wings, meatloaf and vegetables. I am enjoying having fresh coffee around all the time. The afternoon featured another wet landing on a different section of Floriana, where a recent drought has left many of the trees barren until next spring’s rainy season. Just mangrove trees, which can live on saltwater, were green and thriving.
Next stop on this busy day was post office island, a place from which Charles Darwin used to send correspondence. The deal here now is that people leave postcards in this oddly decorated informal post office. The cards are in sealed plastic bags and contain no stamp, just a recipient’s name, address and a message. Visitors are asked to go through the cards and see if there are any they can deliver. We sent one to Brown’s Diner, which displays postcards. We didn’t see others for Nashville, so we didn’t help the cause. We want to see how long ours will take to get to Terry Young at Brown’s.
Before leaving the post office area, our raft driver chased a penguin all over, trying to help us get a photo. We saw him rise, dive, dip and turn, but never got a good photo of him. According to our guide, we were incredibly lucky to even see one, because they are not typically near this island. We also saw one that day while snorkeling. Hopefully, Mary Byrne’s underwater camera captured them. Back on ship, we headed for a possible whale-watching expedition as the sun set.
There apparently weren’t any whales to be watched because the sun set without any action. We had a swordfish dinner with broccoli, cauliflower, salad, tomatoes and pears. Very healthy and very good. Everyone was hungry after all the activity. Connolly wasn’t feeling well and didn’t stay with us for long. Ellen went to bed early and we weren’t far behind.
June 22: Seeing the Turtles: It is our last half-day in the Galapagos and we made it count. Up at 5 and packed by 5:30, we had a good breakfast and boarded our landing craft at 6:30. We headed into Santa Cruz, a major island in the chain and probably its most commercial. We then boarded a van for the Darwin Institute, where the giant turtles are studied and protected.
It took about 45 minutes to get there, and the weather changed dramatically. We went from near-desert conditions near the coast to rainforest-type surroundings with heavy mist as we headed inland. We entered the national “parque” gates at about 8 and started a whirlwind tour. Sammie, our guide, showed us young turtles of less than five years that are being housed and nurtured at the institute. After that age, their shells get harder and their chances of survival are greater.
We saw two 80-year old turtles, both huge in size, although the male was much larger than the female, as is always the case. Females are in short supply, partly because illegal hunters would catch and ship the turtles for use elsewhere, and the females are easier to ship because their backs are flat and can be stacked in a ship. So special efforts are being made to grow more females, which they can control by adjusting the temperature of the incubation setting!
The place is laid out in such a way that you can’t get near the special project-related turtles like the young ones. But otherwise you walk among the turtles as you follow a boardwalk-style path.
After our tour it was back to the airport, which is near the boat docks where we landed this morning. The airport is on the island of Baltra and is accessible only by ferry or boat. This airfield was a landing strip for American planes during WW II. One of our landing boats took us there. The airport is open-air and very laid back with a bar/cafeteria and several outside gift and tee-shirt shops. Sharon helped me get a bulkhead seat on the aisle, so I was comfortable on the way to Quito. We stopped for about a half hour in Guilaquil, and they made us deplane just as they did on the way to the Galapagos. No big deal, though, and we continued our trip to Quito.
We are staying at the Hotel Rio Amazonas in Quito again, and it is very nice. We rested for a while and went to dinner with Karen, our new friend from South Africa, at a seafood restaurant about four blocks from the hotel. Sharon and I had a huge tray of assorted broiled shellfish and it was great.
June 23: Quito Exploration and Back to Nashville: Our last day of vacation. Breakfast was good- bacon, eggs, fresh bread and fresh fruit. I downloaded photos and returned e-mails, then helped Sharon get our stuff packed. We thought we would be smart and get to the airport early, request exit row seats with leg room, then return to the hotel before the girls were up and having breakfast.
The problem with this plan is that Delta only flies out of Quito at night, so their ticket counter doesn’t open until 6:30 p.m. So we wasted a lot of time and cab money. The next plan was equally badly executed. We waited for the girls and Karen to get ready, then decided to take two cabs to Quito’s Old Town to go sight-seeing. Their cabs are tiny and three or four is the max passenger-wise. But we never worked out an exact destination except Old Town and our cabs got separated. So we couldn’t find each other. I was with Karen and Ellen and we tried high-profile spots in Old Town like the Basilica and Theater Square. But the others were nowhere to be found.
Long story short, I finally found them back at the hotel and we all gathered for lunch at Theater Square. It was good, but food arrived sporadically. I was done with my salmon, fries and salad before Ellen and Connolly’s pasta arrived. The Mary Byrne’s pork arrived after everyone there was finished. Timing-wise, this has been the day from hell.
Then the girls and Karen headed to a place about 15 miles north of Quito which is supposed to be the exact marker for the equator. Sharon and I, meanwhile, went to visit the basilica, which was beautiful. Quito is very high in the Andes and very hilly, so we did some serious cardio work getting up Basilica Hill.
We all met back at the hotel late in the afternoon, with the girls reporting that the equator trip was kind of a bust – long lines to have your picture taken at a random spot. Then Sharon, Karen and I headed to the airport to get in the Delta line again. (Karen actually was headed to a different airline for her flight to Brazil, then to South Africa.) The girls were going to chill out in Quito, have dinner and head to the airport later. The airport is only about 15-20 minutes from the hotel, and they like the trendy spots around the hotel better than sitting around the airport for hours.
Happy ending: We got in line first and got our exit row seats all the way to Nashville. The girls had dinner in Quito and still made it to the airport in time to get window seats for each of them. And we all got cut-rate admissions to the VIP lounge at the Quito airport, with drinks of all kinds, sandwiches, snacks, free wireless Internet and a TV of our own with shows like HBO and Frasier. Our three-hour wait just became more bearable.
We had an uneventful flight and safe return home on Saturday around 10a.m.
