The Last Day

Perhaps because I had spent so little time exploring the main land, Ecuador was surprisingly easy to leave. As we got closer to Miami, my sense of wistfulness increased. I finished my copy of The Motorcycle Diaries minutes before we landed in Miami. I started a conversation with my spanish-speaking neighbor, knowing that this may be the last opportunity I had to practice the language for awhile.

From the air, it was easy to see the perfect rows of nearly identical houses surrounded by groomed yards, complete sidewalks, and paved streets. During my trip, a man had told me he loved America because "It was perfect." At the time, I thought it was an odd comment. I still don't know if he was being sincere or sarcastic, but from this viewpoint I knew what he had meant.

After landing, it was strange how quickly I reverted to my role as the entitled American. When it took forever for our luggage to arrive, rather that waiting patiently, knowing that it would come eventually, I went to customer service demanding to know what was taking so long. In the security line, rather than waiting for my turn, knowing that the plane wouldn't leave without me, I told the guard I had a tight connection and was ushered to the front of the line.

My impatience only grew when we got to Dallas. There was a storm and all of the departing flights had been delayed. I couldn't afford a delay! I had been planning, since before I left on this trip, a surprise party for Rod. This day, a Friday, was two days before his birthday and three days before he thought I would be home. I had planned on arriving in Salt Lake at 8:15, Nici would be picking up a cake and then picking me up at the airport, people were showing up at my house at 8:30 (Jess, who I had given a spare key before the trip, and Carrie, would be there to let them in), and Rory was supposed to bring Rod back to the house at nine. The flight from Dallas to SLC was the longest of my life!

In the end, everything worked out perfectly. Though my flight was delayed an hour and the airline lost my luggage, I still managed to get home before Rod. We had turned out all the lights, but forgotten to shut the front door. We could hear Rod outside, concerned that he was being robbed. When he flipped on the lights, the shocked look on his face was priceless! He hadn't suspected a thing. =) It was a great night!

Day 93: Quito, Ecuador

I wish I could say that my last full day in South America was filled with excitement. It wasn't. In fact, I didn't even go to see the sights that Quito offered. Instead I spent the day running errands to prepare for my trip home. In the morning, while my friend Jenn (from the Galapagos trip) was busy at her volunteer project, I decided I was in dire need of a pedicure. My feet had been horribly mistreated in the last three months. While I was at the salon, I decided an eyebrow wax wouldn't be a bad idea either (in my neverending quest to keep the weight of my pack down, I had left tweezers at home). Unfortunately, the spanish words for wax and dye are very similar. The aesthetician had used the lightest color she had, but because the salons in Ecuador deal mainly with dark-haired people, I ended up with eyebrows about five shades darker than my sun-bleached hair. I left looking like Groucho Marx.

For lunch, I treated Jenn to a typical Ecuadorian meal. I knew it would be my last three-course meal for $3. Then we met up with our friend Esteban (one of the guides we met while staying in the Galapagos) and his cousins. They took us to an indigenous market, where I hurriedly tried to buy souvenirs for friends and family.

My last night in South America was not a wild and crazy blowout, but instead a relaxing dinner of wine, cheese, fresh bread, and fresh fruit, followed by an attempt to watch our bootlegged copy of Syriana.

Photos from Isabela

After we finished our tour, Jenn and I decided to extend our trip. We spent another day in Puerto Ayora. With the assistance of our new friend, Dario, we found a local hang out spot: Las Grietas, a hidden gorge with a large salt water pool for swimming. The next day we took a boat to the largest island in the Galapagos, Isabela. Besides visiting a couple of lagoons with flamingos and another giant tortoise breeding center (these are getting a little old now), we also took a horseback ride to visit Volcan Sierra Negra and did some kayaking at the Tintoreras.

Volcan Sierra Negra is the world´s second largest volcanic crater. It erupted last year so most of the bottom was a new black lava field, but around one edge there was still some lush green foilage. My horse was Macando, which I thought was fitting since I just finished reading A Hundred Years of Solitude. In that book, Macando is the name of the city that remains hidden from outside influences and death for several lifetimes only to later be exploited by gringos, enjoy a brief moment of prosperity, and, eventually, to be abandoned.

To get to the Tintoreras, we launched our kayaks off the longest beach in the Galapagos and kayaked past the fishing boats temporarily captained by sea lions and a rocky area where penguins hang out.

The Tintoreras is a shallow canal where about thirty or so large white-tipped sharks hang out to eat. We couldn´t swim in the canal, but we snorkeled near its entrance. There were still a lot of sharks in this area. It was pretty cool seeing such a large concentration of sharks in one area. That night we walked along the beach under the nearly full moon and enjoyed a couple of drinks at the beachside bar, Betos.

The next morning, we caught a breathtaking sunrise before catching the only boat back to Puerto Ayora. I missed my scubadiving appointment, so Jenn and I went to Turtle Bay to catch some rays and do some (more) snorkeling. While sunbathing under a tree, Jenn got shat on (twice) by the famous Darwin finches. The second time it was minutes after she had switched me places. =) That night we had a sub-par sushi dinner at the Red Mangrove before meeting friends at Cafe Limon.

On my last full day in the Galapagos, I went scubadiving at Masquera and Seymor Norte. Both were beautiful dives with loads of fish. I also saw a lot of moray eels, a garden eel, a school of spotted rays, and, from a distance, one hammerhead shark. In the afternoon, Jenn and I walked around town and watched the sunset from the Darwin Center beach. We headed down the Malecon to watch the even more impressive moonrise. We spent our last night, surprise, at Cafe Limon. It was a slow ending to what has been one of the most amazing trips of my life.

Photo of a Frigate trying to attract a mate

Day 8 - Today, the last day of the tour, we visited North Seymour, a frigate mating colony.

Photos of snorkeling with turtles, penguins, and the view from the summit of Bartolome

Day 7 we climbed to the summit of Bartolome for amazing views of Santiago, Sullivan Bay, and Pinnacle Rock. Later we snorkeled with lots of turtles and some penguins. The sunrise and sunset were especially awesome today. This was my favorite day of our "cruise"!

Photo of Rabida and Iguanas at Santiago

Day 6 we visited the beautiful red beach of Rabida and then the lava field of Puerto Egas, Santiago, where we got our first glimpse of the fur sea lions and the sea iguanas feeding on the algae.

Photos of Charles Darwin Center and Hanging out in Santa Cruz

Day 5 - We spent the whole day in Santa Cruz. First we visited the Charles Darwin Center, research and breeding program for giant land tortoises. Next, we went to Parte Alta to see the giant tortoises in the wild and to visit a lava tunnel.

Photo of Flamingos at Punto Cormorant and dolphins on the way to Santa Cruz

Day 4 we visited three places on or near Floreana: (1) Punta Cormorant, home of a bright-pink flamingo colony; (2) Post-Office Bay, a mailbox where passengers from each boat that stops picks up and delivers the letters addressed to people who live near the passenger (no stamp required); and (3) Devil´s Crown, the circular remains of a volcano and a great place for snorkeling.

Some bottlenosed dolphins joined us for a couple of miles on our way to Santa Cruz. We partied it up on the main island that evening at a Gringo Bar Cafe Limon.

Photo of blue-footed boobies and sunbathing with the sea lions at Gardner Bay

Day 3 - We went to Puerto Suarez on Española, which is home to a blue-footed booby nesting colony and, after scuba diving at Gardner Bay, we laid out with the sea lions.

Photo of Snorkeling with the sea lions at Santa Fe

These are photos David took (my camera isn´t waterproof) of us snorkeling with the sea lions in Santa Fe. They seemed quite curious about these strange creatures that couldn't flip over and propel themselves quickly through the water. Several times I found myself face-to-face with one looking at me very inquisitively.

Photo of the Aida Maria and a crab on Bachas

Day 1 - We met in Baltras, boarded the Aida Maria, and headed to Bachas, an island with a beautiful white beach, land iguanas, and colorful crabs.

Day 68-80 Somewhere on the Galapagos Islands

If I had to pick one word to describe the Galapagos . . . surreal. Luckily, for me anyway, I am not so limited. The last two weeks have been the most amazing part of my trip. I know I probably say that in every entry, but the Galapagos really does stand out from the other things that I´ve done. I´ll spare you from a detailed description--it would take a novel to describe this trip--but every day in the last two weeks I have enjoyed incredible sunsets and sunrises; sailing in clear aqua water; and snorkeling/swimming/diving with sharks, turtles, sea lions, rays, and/or penguins.

Here are some of the highlights:

The first time we went snorkeling--I found myself swimming with a whole school of angel fish. I was floating along, taking in the moment, when the fish scattered. I looked over and there was a four- or five-foot white-tipped shark. Though I knew that it was harmless, I froze. It looked too much like a shark from Jaws. Before I had time to recover from my initial shock, a sea lion buzzed by on my rights side, then another on my left side, chasing the shark away. Suddenly I was surrounded by sea lions, who seemed to be just as curious about me as I was about them. One approached me and cocked his head to the side as if he were trying to figure out what was this strange creature. The others were flipping and twirling and basically teasing us about our limited swimming abilities.

Laying out on Espanola at Gardner Bay--There were so many sea lions and they would waddle up to where you were laying and just plop down beside you.

Animal watching--Every day we would walk on at least one new island. It never ceased to amaze me how unafraid the animals were. Birds, iguanas, sea lions, land turtles, lava lizards, you name it, they would walk right up to you.

The view from Bartolome--Bartolome was by far the most beautiful island we visited. Though it didn´t have as many animals as some of the other islands, from the summit you could see the lava field on Santiago, Sullivan Bay, and the other beach near Pinnacle Rock.

Cafe Limon--Though the music was horrible, every time we went there (only 3 times) we had a great time.

Snorkeling at Las Tintoreras on Isabela--After a long day riding horses to Volcano Sierra Negra (the world´s second largest volcanic crater) and sea kayaking, it was very refreshing to go snorkeling especially in a place with so many sharks. I swam past at least four very large white-tipped sharks.

Scubadiving at North Seymour--This was a great dive along a channel. I saw a LOT of moray eels, a garden eel, several spotted rays, and, from a great distance, a hammerhead shark.

The People--I made so many great friends on this trip. It made it that much harder to leave the island.

For the curious, here are the places we visited:
Day 1-Baltra and Bachas
Day 2-Islas Plazas and Santa Fe
Day 3-Española (Puerto Suarez and Gardner Bay-scubadiving!)
Day 4- Floreana (Punta Cormorant and Post Office Bay), the Devil´s Crown, and Santa Cruz (Puerto Ayora)
Day 5- Santa Cruz (Charles Darwin Center and Parte Alta)
Day 6 - Rabida and Santiago (Puerto Egas)
Day 7 - Bartolome (summit, pinnacle rock, Sullivan Bay)
Day 8 - North Seymour and Baltra (this is the part where I was supposed to return to Quito, but I changed my flight and spent an extra 5 days in the Islands). Return to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz and check out Las Grietas, a gorge with a salt water tide pool at the bottom.
Day 9 - Isabela (Laguna Flamenco and longest beach in Los Galapagos)
Day 10 - Isabela (horseback ride to Volcan Sierra Negra and Volcan Chico, sea kayaking to Las Tintoreras to see the shark canal, snorkeling near the shark canal)
Day 11- Santa Cruz (Turtle Bay)
Day 12 - Scubadiving at North Seymour and, after returning to Santa Cruz, the Charles Darwin center beach.
Day 13 - Goodbye Galapagos.

Day 63-66 - Guayaquil, Ecuador

Well I finally made it to Ecuador. Now I´m kicking myself for being in such a rush. I´m in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador, but there is not much to see or do here. I should have spent an extra day in Cusco, a day in Lima, or a day on the beaches near Trujillo. My flight to the Galapagos Islands leaves on Sunday so I don´t have enough time to really go elsewhere before then.

There is some decent shopping here, but that is probably a bad idea given the dent the trip to the Galapagos is going to put on my credit card. I hate to admit it, but I do enjoy eating at familiar fast food establishments such as KFC and Dunkin Donuts. Also, I have been watching a lot of movies on cable. I feel like I´m wasting precious vacation time. This is the first time since I started the trip that I have had absolutely nothing to do.

BTW-I´m going to be in the Galapagos Islands for 8 days. I arranged the trip through the fabulous Detour Destinations. I will probably be incommincado for the near future.