Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 3

Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. Ibn Battuta On the oft chance you missed our previous blog...here's the link. Join us for part two of the Galapagos adventure. Life on a Galápagos cruise offers a great deal of variety. Most of our week was spent taking zodiacs to rather desserted islands for hiking or wandering while observing, enjoying and stalking animals or doing a zodiac coastal exploration of rock formations where the birds, iguanas, and other wildlife enjoyed congregating. It never ceased to amaze us how the animals didn't seem to mind if we came up close. They weren't posing or anything, but there was a sense they had no fear from these weird beings dressed somewhat oddly and so eager to take their photo. Perhaps they simply decided we ... read more

Wow! ….the Journey begins…. The big blue marble we live on contains a plethora of incredible and unique places to visit. Whether it is the topography, the natural wonders, the flora or the fauna, our earth never seems to disappoint. Scientists love to research and speculate how our planet became the way it is in the present day. Of the many places to visit, the Galápagos Islands is an absolute must for those searching for a truly mesmerizing look at species not seen elsewhere. The mention of the Galápagos also brings forward one of the more interesting scientists of the last few centuries…a chap named Darwin. His five-year journey on the HMS Beagle resulted in basically throwing the scientific world on its ear a few decades later when he published the famous “On the Origin of ... read more

We were excited to arrive in Quito, Ecuador as this is the location where our friend and travel companion would join us. Serious excitement as we were getting the band back together! Past exploits placed us in Jordan, Egypt, Portugal, California, and Florida. We travel very well together and had been planning this one for nearly a year. And now the time had arrived…. On the evening we arrived we noticed the streets were crowded and lots of celebrations were going on. We hadn’t realized we were in the middle of Carnival when we arrived. After dinner we took a short walk to observe some of the parades, dancing and celebrations. All of the locals were having a great time. During Carnival they used to throw water on one another. Over time they realized this was ... read more

While I was visiting Dave and Merry Jo in Florida last October, we agreed that we wanted to take an Ecuadorian cooking class. After some online research, we found the Traveling Spoon, and booked a class for our last night in Quito, which was today. We only had a couple of hours in between the mad taxi ride from the Mitad Del Mundo, and the taxi to our class which meant we were still on the go. Not a down moment this trip so far. Since Quito is so large, it required at least an hour or so to reach the class, where we were to meet in front of a local pharmacy. We made it with plenty of time and stood and waited. And waited. By15 minutes past the arranged time, we were concerned that ... read more

To be honest, I am 9,350 feet above sea level in Quito, Ecuador the second highest capital in the world. La Paz, Bolivia takes that honor at around 11,975 feet above sea level. Happily, I did not encounter the effects of altitude sickness in Quito, like I did in La Paz, and Cusco, Peru. Small victories make me happy and my trips so much more enjoyable. Quito is the starting place for my vacation in the Galapagos Islands. I will later learn that it is called an experience in the Galapagos Islands, because as you will see, it was no ordinary vacation. I hope this is enough of a tease that you will check back to read more about this truly beyond extraordinary trip. Flying from Seattle to San Francisco, then overnight to Panama City, with ... read more