To continue my Ecuadorian adventure, we were back in Quito after three days at Sacha Lodge, a premier lodge in the rainforest of Ecuador. As much as I enjoy the great outdoors, I was happy to be back at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Quito with its large soaking tubs, air conditioning and a wonderful spa center that worked wonders on my sore muscles.
The rest of the group, including Bill Handel, flew in that night and we met them at the airport with wonderful tales from the rainforest, including the sighting of a pit viper (snake) and a wolf spider the size of my hand.
By the smiles on their faces, I’m not sure if they were happy or sad they didn’t go with us to the rainforest.
The following morning we were off for our tour of Quito and the Equatorial Monument. Quito, the capital of the Republic of Ecuador, is a mixture of old and new: centuries old colonial buildings huddle next to modern skyscrapers and fast-food outlets; fashion conscious professionals in suits pass vendors in native costume selling their wares to the throngs of tourists; and shining new trolley’s glide silently by ancient buses that are overcrowded with belching clouds of black smoke.
For all its contradictions, Quito is a beautiful city and blessed with a near-perfect climate year-round. Flanked by the Andes mountain range, Quito actually sits in a valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. After La Paz, Bolivia, Quito is the second highest capital in South America at 9,350 feet.
Today, the population of Quito is over 1.2 million and is divided between the old and new. The northern part of the city is definitely more modern and includes the international and domestic airports, embassies, shopping malls, hotels, banking services, bars, nightclubs and restaurants. The southern area, or Old Town, in contrast, houses various museums, churches, local art galleries, cathedrals, colonial buildings, beautiful plazas and outdoor markets.
The Old Town is definitely more interesting. We meandered down cobblestone streets and pedestrian walkways, going into several of the beautiful old churches and cathedrals.
We stood on the balcony of the Presidential Palace and watched the changing of the guards. We also watched a demonstration by teachers and government workers in the Plaza Grande, in front of the Presidential Palace. My Spanish is a bit rusty, but according to our guide, the demonstration was over higher salaries for teachers. It seems the problems of teachers are the same worldwide.
Next on our agenda was a visit to La Mitad del Mundo--where the “middle of the world” is located. Twenty miles north of Quito is the Equatorial Monument, built in honor of the imaginary line that divides the earth into two hemispheres, north and south.
Near the monument is a wonderful Solar Museum or outdoor museum, called Intinyan, The Path of the Sun. Since there were several young people in our group, Carol Walton, my co-leader and resident naturalist guide, thought it would be much more fun to have some “hands-on” science experiments, rather than just looking at an imaginary line called the equator. Both the adults and the kids had a ball. The first part of the tour included replicas of traditional Quitu, Quichia and Shuar dwellings that show how the indigenous people lived. The “kids” were delighted with the shrunken heads and particularly enjoyed the blowgun demonstration. My favorite part was when we came to the equator and the guide demonstrated, with a sink and a pale of water, how water runs clockwise in the southern hemisphere, counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, and straight down when you’re on the equator. We all had fun with that experiment. We returned to Quito in the late afternoon in time to repack and get ready for our flight to the Galapagos IslandsWe flew into San Cristobal, the easternmost island in the Galapagos, and one of two airports located on the islands.
The guides from our ship, the Galapagos Explorer II, met us at the airport and divided us into groups of 16. Our first stop was the Galapagos National Park Visitors Center. Opened in 1998, the Interpretation Center presents a complete and documented history of the Galapagos, its ecosystems, flora and fauna. It was a great introduction to the islands, and enhanced our excitement about what we would see on the different islands in the coming week.Like a movie production, we arrived at the pier and were greeted by a small group of sea lions. They sat on the pier and we literally had to step over them to walk down some steps, and onto the waiting zodiacs, to take us to the ship. Sea lions are real hams and they gladly posed for the camera--or cameras in this case. It was our first animal sighting and everyone wanted a picture.
We arrived at the ship and the smile on my face said it all. On my last visit to the Galapagos in 1997, I had been aboard the Polaris, an expedition type ship that was very comfortable, but very basic. Our cabin on the Polaris was 106 sq ft. The Galapagos Explorer II is beautiful and the smallest cabin is 250 sq ft.Following a quick tour of the ship, we met with the naturalist guides for our first orientation. After the obligatory safety drill, we set sail. The excitement aboard ship was audible. Our first stop was Ochoa Beach, a white sandy beach on the island of San Cristobal, and the home of a large sea lion colony. This was to be a wet landing, which meant water shoes or sandals. We were also advised to bring snorkeling gear and cameras. Again, we were greeted by a group of sea lions that were as excited to see us as we were to see them. Once in the water, the sea lions viewed us as “playmates” and swam with us, played tag, and blew bubbles in our faces. I don’t know who was more excited, the children, the adults or the sea lions. Everyone had a great time.
Join me next week as we sail to the Island of Espanola and our first sighting of marine iguanas and the colorful Blue-footed Boobies.
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