Out to Darwin´s Discovery

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We have made it to Quito, ready to fly to the Galapagos tomorrow for an 8 day boat trip to visit, I believe, 8 different islands. Since I updated the journal only yesterday, and a request was made for a short entry, this will be brief. After finishing the length process of burning a DVD, almost 4 gb worth of photos, we headed back to our hostel since it was getting dark, stopping along the way for a meal at that Peruvian favorite, Pizza Hut. There seem to be far more American chains in Lima than the rest of South America, with Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut most present. And of course, Starbucks. I decided to go out on a limb and have pizza, hoping for the best digestion possible. Since I had not had anything to eat for 2 days, I was not hopeful. We made it back safely to our hostel, walking the four blocks with great caution since Lima is know for its crime. Miraflores, where we were staying, is the safest area so we were not too worried. Our hostel, which may have taken the lead for best in South America, had a DVD player in the room, which we used to watch ´Wedding Crashers´, packing for our flight as we watched. Funny, though not a work of art, and a bit predictable.

After a good night´s sleep, enjoying the warmer weather and thicker air of Lima, we stashed some gear we didn´t need with our hostel owner, Francis, and caught the cab he called (and had been waiting for an hour) to the airport. Though immigration took quite some time, we had an otherwise hassle-free trip through the airport. The airport tax, though, took us a bit by surprise at $30 US per person. Not sure why that isn´t included in the ticket price, but that´s the way they do it here. The uneventful plane ride was a little over two hours, landing safely back at an altitude of 9,000 ft. Our cab driver gave us a brief tour of the city due to some street that were closed by the police, though the protests of several weeks ago have ceased. The Secret Garden, east of Old Town Quito, was our destination. The hostel is quite nice, in the old colonial district, part of the UNESCO protected area. We got settled and Sara started to feel under the weather, probably due to the rapid elevation gain. A brief rest later, and here we are at the closest internet cafe, half a block away. Instead of heading to a Mexican restaurant in the New Town (three Tex-Mex restaurants in Quito!), we decided to eat at the cafe in our hostel for the night. Let´s hope its good! This might be the last entry for a week or so, as the internet might be few and far between on the islands, so don´t worry too much if you don´t hear from us. Later!

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Photos

Quito at Night
A picture at night from the top of our hostel in Quito. The main church in town in prominant in the photo.

Comments

[John Timberlake]

Galapogos
Have fun. Like to read your comments. If it is a while, I will expect a long one to catch up. Love, Dad

[Nate]

Have fun
Looking forward to hearing about the Galapagos. Very exciting. Really enjoying the entries and especially the spectacular photos! Congrats again on getting NC state! Nate