Hola from Ecuador!
Quito rocks... The place has a warm, user friendly glow to it. Beds for 6 dollars and meals for 2. The air is cool and crisp (and thin!), Surrounded by volcanoes and thick indigenous culture, life is good. This place is on the must come back to list. Tomorrow I leave for the Galapagos to tune into Darwin´s inspiration, then its to Lima, Peru to see an old friend I met 3 years ago there.
From there its Santiago, Chile to wander the Atacama desert and off to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to meditate at the feet of the great Moai. (and to make a few traditional offerings of course... didn´t forget you Bro!). The great Salt Plains of Uyuni, Bolivia are number two on the list of greatest natural attractions of the world, so of course that is next.
Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America beckons yet again, although the chance of a full climbing team at this point is looking bleak (its off season). From there it is Argentine Patagonia and the birthplace of futbol: Buenos Aires to console the poor locals who dropped out of the world cup. A brief boat ride to Uraguay puts me in position for Iguazu Falls on the Paraguay/Brazil/Argentina border where I plan to hit the final push to Rio.
From there it is Germany for a week to take care of some business and back to South Carolina to see Dad before heading back to Guam.
I´ll keep you guys posted. Hasta la vista Amigo´s... :-)
The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land. ~G.K. Chesterton
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One million years ago, back in 1986...
Buenos Dias!
Mainland Ecuador is a one stop shop of mountaineering, vulcanology, rainforest ecology, traditional culture, incredible music...you know the deal. Its one of those places that earns every tourist dollar and then some. The colonial town of Quito is quaint, but the real rush is climbing to see the tips of the volcanoes poking through the clouds. Step for step it is the best bang for the buck in climbing I know of.
Eager to feel the source of Darwin´s lifetime inspiration, I wasted no time getting to the largest of the islands, Isabela. After hiking around to see the ubiquitous pink flamingos and giant tortoises, I scouted out a horse rental. At sunrise we set out through the mist up the slope of the second largest caldera in the world: Sierra Negra. While we rode, huge rainbow colored insects flew out of the mist, across the path so loudly it redeemed every bad science fiction movie I´ve seen. Huge cows tried to block us but Hidalgo and I were focused... :') We finally got to the summit and the sun punched through the clouds like a two mile wide Pantheon. The floor of the crater was iridescent black with a red streak from an eruption a few months ago, bright yellow sulphur pits with fumaroles spewing gas out in in long narrow plumes. All around were exotic birds and insects buzzing around. In other words, it rocked my world...
The other islands are a maze of evolution. We kayaked and swam around, herding penguins, watching them feed, playing with sea lions, bird watching - Blue Footed Boobies will stare you down dead in the eyes at a distance of a foot! - snorkeling with sharks... we also got some cliff diving in, diving with hammerheads, beach combing with hundreds of iguanas, surfing, and most of all chilling with the locals. We made friends with a local whose father is from Philly, and he showed is all around. The locals were keenly interested in Guam and Micronesia and when you describe it, they really light up and bond fast. There is an immediate understood connection between island people that is like all being on the same frequency and it made me feel instantly at home.
Leaving was sort of sad, but it was time to go and do justice to the most remote location on the planet: Easter Island. Its Lima tonight and Santiago tomorrow. Then off to the ultimate foreshadowing to the Galapagos to see what happens when culture out steps nature and balance.
Hasta Luego and see you soon- Jose
"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." -- Miriam Beard
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So what makes the Galapagos such a legendary place? Its not just the raw beauty of the islands... Lots of places are solitary beach paradises (Micronesia for starters). Many islands have surreal volcanic scenery (Hawaii, Indonesia). Lots of places have diverse wildlife (Amazonia), so whats the big deal right? The Galapagos (Tortoise Islands) are home to the most diversified animals probably in the world. The few species that made it out there had a party to themselves for so long they took on so many forms goes beyond imagination. What you see is called adapative radiation and is the same common stock of animals that come in every flavor and form. Its no wonder Darwin figured it out here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/Galapagos
Capt. Jack Aubrey : Well, Stephen... the bird's flightless?
Dr. Stephen Maturin : Yes.
Capt. Jack Aubrey : It's not going anywhere.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ( 2003 )
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Top ten reasons to go to Ecuador:
1. Sitting at the Galapagos airport waiting to leave, with birds on my shoulder and table trying to steal my food. When I shooed them away they would stare at me with little puppy dog eyes...
2. After corralling a bunch of penguins who were busy hunting a school of fish onto the islet nearby, only to find ourselves surrounded by a hunting crew behind us, calling at us and to each other... or were they laughing?
3. Walking through a park in Quito a few hours before leaving and realizing I was out of pages in my passport, then looking up and the US Consulate was right there. The line was long but I was whisked up to the front and wound up in the back office, talking story and laughing like crazy with one of the consuls over a passport extension...
4. Pulling back into town during the final game of the world cup only to wonder if they evacuated the city. until the minute of the last kick when the whole town was partying in the streets....all night...
5. Trying to take a nap on the beach and an Iguana family strolling right by. When I looked up they all turned and looked at me as if to say "Who do you think you are? This is our turf..."
Lorana Korua,
Jose´ Atua Mancuso |
