ECUADOR!!!!!!!!!!

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Ecuador is the greatest country in the world. I had an amazing time in Guayaquil (the port where we anchored) and in the Galapagos (a two hour flight away). The first day in Guayaquil we pretty much just wandered around the city based on the advice of the assistant dean with who we’ve become friends. We went to an artisan’s market where I bought a bunch of paintings and some other presents for you all (Shannon and Dad: I got you fucking amazing birthday presents, so get stoked). I also got this sweet Ecuadorian style linen shirt that is super light and comfortable with embroidering on the chest. We left and went to Malecon, which means something along the lines of river-front/boardwalk. There’s a gorgeous park, a brick path, restaurants, etc and some statues. I bought some drawings of Che for a couple bucks there. A friend of mine and I wandered around the city after we got separated from our group and went to the Iguana Park which is situated randomly in the middle of the city in front of a beautiful, ornate Catholic church. An iguana in a tree pooped about an inch from my head and it splattered on the concrete next to me. We just walked up and down a bunch of streets with no direction, just seeing the city and different areas; I really enjoy seeing all aspects of the city, not just the tourist or even nice locations. Later in the afternoon we stopped to get a beer and ended up talking to this Cuban play-write who was working on a TV show called Bebidos (drinks) in Guayaquil for the past year. We talked about politics and local issues for several hours and smoked Cuban cigars. Afterwards, we took a tour of a museum on the history of Guayaquil, which is one of the oldest cities in South America. There was a sacrificial alter there where you could see the erosion of the stone due to the amount of blood that had poured off of it. We kept on exploring, trying to find someone we knew, eventually stumbling into this RA we’re friends with and got some dinner on the street for a couple bucks a plate. While we were eating, some children came up with their hands outstretched, and I thought they were asking for money, but Garrett (the RA), understood that they were just asking for his leftover food, which he handed them. I was starving and finished my meal, but we felt compelled to buy them all meals. When we were in Panama, I had turned down some starving children at the insistence of one of my companions, and I felt relieved to have, in some regard, redeemed myself. We walked back down Malecon (the view of the river is really beautiful, and its a nice and safely lit area to traverse), where I bought the worst pizza of my life, which caused my stomach to throw a fit and turn into a vise grip on my internal organs the next morning. We caught a cab back to our ship, which was docked in the industrial port along the river, which apparently is the center through which 50% of US cocaine is exported.
The next morning we left for the Galapagos, though Seth almost missed the bus, and would have if I hadn’t woken him up and made everyone else wait for him. The island we landed on is called Baltra and was the location of the US military base during WW2. There is little wildlife there (some Iguanas, maybe a sea lion) because of the introduction of cats, cattle, and goats by the US military and the geography resembles the Texas/Mexico border with its deserts and low growing shrubberies. We took a bus to a small port where we got on a boat which took us to Santa Cruz where we took yet another bus to the town of Peurto Llurra (That’s an attempt at spelling; it wasn’t written down anywhere that I could find) phonetically porto yurra. On the bus ride to the town, we noticed incredibly different geography as we climbed elevations, ranging from small low lying growth, rocky outcrops, enormous gorges, lush rainforest, huge fields of elephant grass, and some small towns. Peurto Llurra was a small town that was incredibly friendly and safe. Ecuadorians are renowned for their hospitality to strangers and I can attest to the truth of this generalization. We took a tour of the Charles Darwin Research station, where they raise tortoises and reintroduce them to their natural environments, as well as keep previously domestic tortoises. Lonesome George, the most famous tortoise in the world, lives there after he was found living alone on his island in the 60’s, with all other members of his species extinct. I got some amazing pictures while in the Galapagos (about 3-4 hundred I think, and some good videos as well.) The next day we took a boat tour to Plazas Island and Seymour Island. Plazas had very different geography than anywhere else we had been with cacti and small twiggy trees as the exclusive plants emerging from the red dust and rocks. The animals there have no fear and will let you get very close to take pictures, and the sea-lions like to play for you. They look like the best cuddlers in the world, and it was adorable to watch the babies drink from their mothers. The crabs are a bright red with blue bellies and a little bit of yellow, as well as abundant and well contrasted on the black volcanic rocks that define the border between land and water. There are two types of iguanas: land and sea which look very different, but both of which are quite large, up to 6 feet for land iguanas, though that includes a 2.5 foot tail. The iguanas on Plazas might have been up to 4.5 feet, actually, but on Seymour they were 6 feet. Seymour had very different geography yet, and it smelled amazing because of the incense trees that grow there. Catholics in South America burn these branches during mass, hence their name which is something like “holy incense tree.” The booby jokes never got old, and we saw all kinds of boobies: baby boobies, big boobies, white boobies, blue boobies, red boobies, dead boobies, small boobies, fluffy boobies, the list goes on. Boobies come in pairs, though the mother always favors one and the smaller of the two is picked on by the bigger (removing the feathers so it can’t fly, stealing food so it can’t eat, etc) and it eventually kills and eats the smaller of the siblings. Our guide Che Che made this clear in his explanation of natural selection. We went snorkeling and saw a huge manta ray (6-8 feet wing span) and a pair of killer whales when we were on the boat later. The next day we took a tour of the highlands on Santa Cruz where we saw a ton of tortoises and got to wear tortoise shells and play Ninja Turtles. They really are just as huge and impressive as you’ve heard elsewhere. We saw 150 year old tortoises that weighed up to 600 pounds (I’m pretty sure those numbers are right, the guide’s accent was difficult to understand and I’m forgetful anyway.) After the tortoise tour we went through a lava flow tunnel that was about 30 feet high and 20 feet wide, narrowing down to 2 feet high, at which point it was necessary to crawl on your belly.
That’s more or less everything to report from Ecuador. I had the time of my life, got amazing souvenirs (and a bunch of pirated DVD’s!!!), and took some sweet pictures. I cannot wait to come back to Ecuador, especially to see all of the mainland stuff that I missed but I’ve heard about from others. This is one of the nicest and most spectacular places I’ve ever been. I’ve been walking around with an ear to ear grin for the last 5 days, and might continue to do so until I have mid terms and papers due in a couple days.
I love you all,
Stewart Ryan

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