Galapagos (part 2)

The parade of amazing creatures, with their unusual adaptations to this highly unusual place, continued! We saw land iguanas...

...a flock of gorgeous flamingoes...

...the third in the triad of the Booby family (blue-footed, Nazca, and now red-footed boobies)...

...and so many water sightings that I don't have pictures of. More sea turtles, a hammerhead shark, a reef shark (one of those swimming right beneath me while I snorkeled), the most amazing pin-cushion sea stars with an incredible variety of colors, pufferfish, a marble ray, and dozens of other brilliantly colored fish that I don't know enough to be able to name. Here's a pic of a baby sting ray in shallow water, at least.

This is (we were told) the most famous viewpoint in the Galapagos, and it was a brilliant day when we stopped there to hike to the top of the hill.

So lucky to share this experience with my sweet parents.

And I'll leave you with one of the most famous Galapagos sights: the giant tortoise. This one the species from Santa Cruz Island. I mean, come on. Too amazing.

And too soon, my Ecuador time is over. Wish I had another month here. But the coming month is earmarked for a new country/new adventure. Stay tuned for Peru!

Galapagos (part 1)

I knew I was excited to go to the Galapagos, but what I've learned since I got here is that I didn't actually know enough about the Galapagos to be as excited as I should have been. This really is an incredible place that has no problem living up to the hype. WOW.

There have been some incredible beaches that we've stopped at for hikes, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, and just strolling.

But mostly, of course, it's the wildlife that steals the show. I really cannot describe to you how ridiculously many sea lions live here, and how cute they are.

Then there are the marine iguanas, a truly strange and amazing creature that has developed these crazy adaptations (such as: going in the water to eat algae and not needing to breathe for up to an hour at a time) to live here.

One of my absolute favorites so far has been the Waved Albatross; we got to see them doing their hilarious, endearing mating dance as well as taking off over the ocean.

And then there are the Boobies. Pics of red- and blue-footed ones to come, but these guys weren't too shabby either. I especially love watching them dive-bomb the water as they search for dinner.

The color of these omnipresent crabs against the black volcanic rock of the islands is so festive!

And then there's the vegetation. Even the cacti have evolved into this weird gigantism version--they look like they have trunks!

And I don't have an underwater camera so can't show you a clear pic, but I've not only seen dozens of sea turtles from the surface, but while snorkeling I've gotten to swim along with a couple of them. Completely breathtaking, and not just because of the surprising coldness of the water.

This is really just the beginning. More to come. This place is unbelievable.

Quito

Phase One (of 3) of this two-month adventure is over, and I have nothing but good things to say about wandering Ecuador for three weeks with old and new friends, backpacker-style.

And now, Phase Two has begun--Phase Two being a two-week, organized tour of the Galapagos and Machu Picchu with my parents and really close family friends/honorary parents from Australia. These four loved ones have arrived in Quito, where I met up with them for a full-day, whirlwind tour of the big city.

We took the Teleferico up Pichincha volcano to the east of the city and had a nice walk around up there at 13,000+ feet.

Lovely lupines up there.

Then we went to the hilltop where the Virgin Mary statue overlooks the city, and where a bunch of Ecuadorian families were sweetly hanging out and enjoying the holiday (All Souls Day) weekend.

And the views of the city were pretty spectacular.

From there we headed down into Old Town and toured around to see sites such as the President's Palace and the Franciscan cathedral.

Lastly, we went north of the city to the Equator exhibit, which had llamas...

...and all kinds of cultural exhibits and equatorial pseudo-science tricks, which were fun but silly. So weird that a year ago right now I was at 90 degrees south, and now here I am standing at 0 degrees, in two hemispheres at once, with my parents.

From here we head to the Galapagos, where I'm not sure how much internet I'll be able to access for the next week. So don't be disturbed by a delay before the next post. I'll be back...

Mindo

Ahh, Mindo. What a lovely, sweet little town (in the cloud forest a couple of hours NW of Quito).

Stayed at this amazing place that had a hummingbird garden off the breakfast deck.

Also amazing: the walking paths through the jungly forest behind Casa Amarillo, all the way up to the viewpoint back down to Mindo.

And most photogenic: a visit to a butterfly sanctuary.

Misahualli

From Banos, D and I headed east toward the Amazon, stopping at the edge of the jungle. The regional center of Tena had a feeling not quite like anywhere else I've ever been. Probably because I've never been to the Amazonas. It was pretty thrilling.

We continued a bit on past Tena to the much smaller hamlet of Misahualli and spent a couple of days there wandering pretty much every single street of town...

...getting bitten by bunches of sandflies, appreciating some amazing butterflies and moths...

...and visiting (and swimming in) some nearby waterfalls (Cascadas de Latas).

Made me itch to go to the Amazon for real on this trip. Which actually might happen. We'll all have to wait and see....