Craig and Steph's Land-Based Galapagos Adventure

Arrival in Quito

Most people visit the Galapagos via boat. They eat and sleep on the boat and come ashore for day excursions. Most people don't even know that land-based Galapagos tours exist. Our good friends at Adventure Life offered a multi-sport land-based trip that was very intriguing to us. 97% of the Galapagos is national parkland. Only 3% is populated by humans, most of whom emigrated from mainland Ecuador, locally known as "The Continent". This 3% of land (on four islands: San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabela, and Floreana) comprises farmland as well as small towns whose main income comes from tourism. The problem is that people who stay on boats don't inject much money into the local economy. They don't stay in hotels or eat at restaurants, and the ships even have their own souvenir shops aboard, so many of these cruisers never spend a dime on the islands. Money that could help the locals instead goes to foreign investors who own the boats. When we saw all of this first-hand, we were very glad that we chose the land-based option. We would recommend it to anyone. We saw a lot of the cruise passengers on our flights, and they all seemed to have been seasick, gotten stomach ailments, and/or had bad coughs. We have no regrets about our decision.

I was a bit nervous about my ability to do the multi-sport aspect of the trip, as I had broken my right foot in January. I was in a walking "boot" cast for two months, and was not able to exercise. But my doctor said that as long as I wore sturdy shoes and was careful, everything should be fine and my mobility shouldn't be limited, so we set off on the tour with fingers crossed.

We woke up at 5:30 am, finished up some last-minute details, and left for the airport at 7:45. Steve was kind enough to drive us in, waking up very early on a Saturday morning, and for that we are grateful. When we arrived at Logan, the check-in line was very short and we got through very quickly. We managed to do this trip with only carry-on luggage (which makes it much easier when you go through customs returning to the U.S.). Even though the security line was short, it seemed to take forever. You would think that by now, 6 1/2 years after 9/11, people would be aware that they have to put their shoes through the X-ray machine, separate their liquids and gels, no water bottles, keep your boarding pass in your hand, etc. The TSA folks must get tired of repeating the same information all day long. While waiting in line I heard one poor woman utter the same instructions at least 25 times. No wonder they sometimes get cranky. We ate breakfast at McDonald's (the only time we ever eat fast food is in airports, so it becomes a guilty pleasure). They didn't have the large water bottles that we usually buy for a trip, so we had to settle for smaller ones. I couldn't resist the organic chocolate chip cookies at the kiosk where I bought the water, so I bought two of those as well.

American Airlines was in the midst of a crisis at the time of our trip. Half of their fleet of MD-80's were grounded for electrical inspections and repairs, and over 250,000 passengers had their travel plans disrupted in the week prior to our flights. Luckily, our flights were 757's and were not impacted. Our flight departed on time, but it was miserable. We weren't given the seats which we had chosen online, and we ended up across the aisle from one another. The beverage service took forever, as they were selling food at the same time. It seemed that each and every passenger asked to see the food selections, chose a selection that the flight attendant didn't have on the cart, paid with a big bill for which they didn't have change, and on and on. Why can't they do the food separately? Why make everyone suffer? The flight attendants also played favorites, giving free food and extra alcohol to some people who purchased food, while pretty much ignoring the rest of us. Craig's neighbor had to get up to use the bathroom four times during the three hour flight, so it seemed that we never could just sit and relax. It seemed that everyone had children on the flight yet nobody obeyed any of the rules. During extreme turbulence when the seatbelt sign was on, toddlers were roaming free in the aisles, overhead bins were left open, etc. It was as if none of the other passengers had ever flown before.

The movie was supposed to be "The Water Horse", which we had always made fun of because it looked schmaltzy beyond belief, but it turned out to be "National Treasure 2". We didn't listen to it, but from what we could see, it looked like its sole purpose was to inspire a thrill ride at Disney World. The guy next to me (whose wife was given a free sandwich) ordered a bloody mary, and our flight attendant Breck went to his own luggage and got out a bottle of Tabasco sauce for him to borrow. The bottle was larger than 3 ounces, and we wondered how the liquid/gel rules were different for flight attendants, and why they would have to flaunt it. The couple next to me were a very sweet middle-aged couple, but their cheerfulness irritated me because I found this flight to be miserable. This 3 hour flight seemed longer than our 15 hour flight from New Delhi to Chicago last year.

We landed in Miami at 2:45 pm, and the connecting gate to Quito was announced. When we arrived at the gate at 3 pm, we realized that it wasn't our flight (5:45), but was instead an earlier one (3:40). The earlier flight had not begun boarding yet, so we decided to try our luck getting a standby ticket. The woman at the counter asked if we had any checked luggage, and when we said no, she immediately ticketed us for the flight - two seats not only together, but in the exit row. We were thrilled! I called Adventure Life to let them know about the schedule change, as we had booked a transfer from the airport to the hotel. The Adventure Life staff member on call for the weekend couldn't believe that with all of American Airlines' current troubles, we would actually get to our destination early, and she promised to relay the message to their Quito staff.

Within minutes we boarded the plane, and had three exit-row seats to ourselves. We had ample legroom, cool ventilation, blankets, pillows, etc. Our luck certainly had changed since our previous hop! My mood immediately swung 180 degrees, and I was in the right frame of mind for a vacation. The flight attendants were incredibly friendly and brought our beverages right away. We were fed beef in gravy with mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, bread and butter, and a lemon cookie. The flight lasted 4 hours, and we landed in Quito (1 hour behind EDT) at 6:45 pm.

The airport terminal where we arrived was quite modern, with a long steel and glass corridor. We were close to the front of the immigration line, and it moved quite efficiently. There was a digital screen which displayed which position was open, and a man directed you to that position. We had no bags to collect so we went straight through to customs, where they scanned our bags. Despite the fact that we were 2 hours early, our driver was waiting for us with a sign bearing our names. He was very friendly and introdiuced himself as Angel. He brought us to the van and then realized he had forgotten to pay for parking. He excused himself and literally ran to pay the parking, though we assured him not to rush, that we would be fine in the car.

He chatted with us as he drove us down Avenida 10 de Agosto (which commemorates the date of Ecuador's independence in 1809). He told us that the airport was renovated five years ago, but it causes problems because it is right in the middle of the city, so they are building a new one 30 km away. We asked Angel for recommendations for good Ecuadorian food near our hotel, and he recommended a place called Mama Clorinda.

We soon arrived at the Hotel Eugenia at 7:30, a cute boutique hotel unfortunately sandwiched between a Burger King and a Baskin Robbins. Angel escorted us past the armed guard and into the lobby, and made sure that we checked in with no problems. He told us that we would be picked up by a fellow named Guillermo at 8:15 on Monday morning for our airport transfer. We said goodbye to him and were shown up to our room (210). The hallway and staircase landings were decorated with frosted and stained glass, and flowers sculpted out of metal. Bright bold paintings and a tile mosaic of the city adorned the walls.

Our room was very nice, with Spanish colonial furnishings. It was on the corner of the building, and the view out one window looked directly down on the Burger King drive-thru window. We got settled in the room and tried to decide what to do next. Neither of us was especially hungry,and we both felt unusually exhausted. Usually when we get to a new place, we want to start exploring immediately, but we just didn't have the energy (we would realize later that it was probably due to the altitude.) A double decker party bus drove by the hotel packed with people and the ubiquitous Latin American brass band. This just convinced us that we really weren't up to going out. We decided to just stay in and relax, and wound up watching "Little People, Big World" (or "Personas Pequeñas, as it was subtitled) on their People & Arts channel, and fell asleep at 10:00.

The room was quite chilly (there was no heat in the hotel, and the night was quite cold), but the alpaca blankets were quite warm, so we went from shivering to sweating throughout the course of the night. At around 3:00, we were both awakened by the sound of local drunken club-goers getting a midnight snack at Burger King. It sounded like they were in the room with us. We put in our earplugs and I managed to get some REM sleep and dreams throughout the night, but Craig didn't get very much. We woke up for good at 6:40 am and Craig noticed that Burger King had a sign touting that it was open until 6 am. Lucky us!

Exploring Quito: Mariscal and Old Town

The shower had decent water pressure and the water was warm. Refreshed, we headed out on the town at 8:30 am. We wandered up Reina Victoria, meandering down its side streets. We soon reached a district (Mariscal) which was full of backpackers hostels. It was very picturesque and had an international flair, with little English and Irish pubs, a Swiss-style chalet, etc. The hostels were reasonably priced and many offered private rooms and baths and laundry service. It seemed like it would be a pleasant area to stay. There were many restaurants and cafes around, as well as salsa dancing schools and Spanish-language schools. Being Sunday morning, the streets were pretty dead except for taxis eager for fares. Each one that passed us would toot its horn hopefully. We passed a mural of John Lennon on the side of a cafe which had been named for him. I posed with Lennon for a photo. As we continued up Reina Victoria, we ran into Mama Clorinda, the restaurant that Angel had recommended to us. It wasn't open for breakfast, but we made a note of its location in case we wanted to go there for dinner.

We wandered around, enjoying the quaint tourist district (but realizing that its charming appearance might belie something a little seedier, as signs warned prostitutes and drug dealers that security cameras were in operation). We always enjoy the humorous names for American-esque establishments in other countries, and this was no exception. We passed by "G Spot Hamburgeuesas Originale" and "Uncle Ho's Fresh Asian Food" which had a cartoon portait of Ho Chi Minh done in the style of that famous Che Guevara photograph.

We were getting hungry now, and after much deliberation we decided on a bed and breakfast/restaurant called Magic Bean which had a good number of people enjoying breakfast. As we approached the entrance, a little girl approached us begging for money. Her mother and siblings sat on a nearby corner. It is always hard to say no to children, but teaching children to beg is not the answer to their family's poverty.

We entered the cheerful restaurant's porch, and were shown to a table in the corner next to a propane heater. The place specialized in coffee and fresh fruit juices. I ordered a Nectar of the Gods juice (a tasty mixture of pear and apple) and Craig ordered Apple Ambrosia (apple, pineapple, and strawberry). There is nothing like fresh pure juice, and it really hit the spot. For breakfast, Craig ordered the Huevos Rancheros Magicos (a flour tortilla piled high with two fried eggs, sauteed onions, green and red peppers, refried beans, and cheese). I ordered the French Toast, which was served with sliced fresh fruit (pineapple, strawberry, banana, and orange) as well as a little dollop of whipped cream drizzled with chocolate. The four slices of French toast had a cinnamon flavor, and were cooked to perfection. We had ordered a side of home fries with cheese, and were served a platter of multiple sliced-up potatoes and some separate slices of cheese.

There was so much food that we ate until we were bursting and still had food to spare. We decided that we would give the food to the family begging outside. At least then they could have breakfast. We asked for a to-go container and boxed up a slice of French Toast, a pile of potatoes, and some cheese. The little girl immediately came over to me and pointed at the food. I asked if she was hungry for breakfast and she said yes. I handed her the box and she said gracias and ran it over to her mother. I asked the mother if I could get a photo and she demanded $2, so we looked at her in disbelief and just walked away.

Two college girls came over to us and asked if we would take a tourism survey. We chatted with them, and while we filled out the survey they gave us some suggestions of activities. We told them we wanted to go to colonial Old Town, and they suggested that we go there at night, as the buildings are all lit up and look very pretty. This was something we hadn't known, and we were happy to get the advice. They said that Mama Clorinda did have good Ecuadorian food, if that was what we were looking for. We said goodbye to them, and headed toward the park for the weekend market.

As we approached the park, we saw the Iglesia de Santa Teresita, a gothic church with darkly ornate spires, gargoyles, etc. We admired it from many angles and got some photos. Mass was going on inside, and we could hear the congregation singing. We continued our walk to Parque el Ejido. Just as we were about to cross the street to the park entrance, a woman got our attention and pointed excitedly at Craig. There was a large bright yellow stain on his coat. I worried that it was paint, but Craig knew right away that it was mustard. This is a common scam in Latin American cities which we had read about. People splash you with something and pretend to help you clean it up. While you are distracted, they pickpocket you or steal your bag. We kept our wits about us, thanked the woman (though she was probably a part of the scam herself) and quickly walked over to an open area near a police officer to clean up, where we would have a view of everyone around us. Luckily there was no real harm done that a load of laundry wouldn't fix, but we probably wouldn't have a chance to do laundry until we got home to the States. After cleaning up as best we could with napkins from our pockets and water from our water bottles, we continued on our way to the park, feeling slightly depressed about what had happened. In all of our travels we had never been targeted before (to our knowledge anyway), and a slight sense of disillusionment kicked in.

As we reached the entrance to the park, there was a stone arch and a monument which were both covered with graffiti. Come to think of it, there was a lot of graffiti around the city, which was a shame. Along the front perimeter of the park, many artists were displaying their paintings. These paintings were in a variety of styles, from the very traditional to the very modern and surreal. Some of the more traditional ones depicted local landscapes, and one artist in particular seemed to specialize in paintings of the sun setting behind volcanoes. Another caked on paint to make interesting textures. One artist spoke to us, and he was very nice. There was no pressure to buy; he just chatted and showed us a book from an art exhibition in which his name was listed. Some of the more surreal pieces on display depicted a train in the sky, dropping giant apples and balloons onto a colonial town. It had interesting colors and was very trippy. The art was gorgeous and seemed reasonably priced, but there was no way we could buy something so unwieldy, especially at the beginning of a trip. We enjoyed looking, though.

After meandering through but a fraction of the artists' displays, we turned down one of the many paths to enter the park, which put us in a line of cramped market stalls. Feeling a little flustered after the mustard incident, as it came to be known, we were a little bit overwhelmed at the market chaos. We didn't know what we were looking for. There were lots of nice textiles, but they were very similar to ones we had bought in Guatemala. All of the prices that were quoted seemed exorbitantly high (Ecuador switched from the sucre to the U.S. dollar in 2000, and when something is in your native currency, the ridiculous prices stand out all the more. You don't need to do any on-the-spot math to realize that a little picture made from a couple of pressed leaves isn't worth $12). We like to buy a lot of things and spread money around, but we weren't in the mood to haggle and, apart from a doll at the very first stall we visited, didn't see anything we really needed. So we left the stalls behind and wandered through the park a bit, confident that we would find souvenirs in the Galapagos even if we didn't find any in Quito.

The park was great, and had lots of jungle gyms, swings, and slides for children. Today being Sunday, there were lots of local families enjoying the park, and it was fun to watch. There were some great little pedal-powered cars that kids were riding on the paths, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. We came upon an area right in front of the modern glass exterior of the casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana where there was a large gathering of people holding signs. We tried to figure out their cause by the Spanish signs, and eventually worked out that they were an anti-abortion rally. The requisite South American slightly-off-key brass section played music and some people fell into step behind them. When the State Department tells you to avoid large demonstrations and gatherings, this is exactly what they are talking about, and we decided to keep moving. We sat on a park bench for a few minutes and contemplated what we wanted to do next.

Although it was now mid-day, after our huge breakfast, neither of us were even remotely hungry for lunch. We weren't sure how far a walk it was, but we wanted to head to Old Town on foot, to get a better feel for the city. We walked through some areas where there weren't many tourists, which were lined with businesses which obviously catered to a local crowd. We walked up several steep hills, and were immediately winded. It was now that we realized that the altitude was affecting us, and that probably accounted for our sluggishness and non-appetite last night. Along the walk, we ran into three locals, one of whom was a teenager in white face makeup. He mimed and clowned a bit to make us laugh.

Suddenly the imposing gothic basilica was towering above us atop a hill. Ominous dark clouds were gathering behind it, adding to its gothic appearance. It was absolutely majestic. We walked up the hill and noticed that Mass was just getting out. An enterprising woman was selling empanadas to people as they streamed out the doors. We were getting ready to go inside to check the place out, so we took off our hats. That was all the pigeons needed. No sooner had Craig exposed his head that pigeon poop fell right onto it. First mustard and now this; it was a messy day! We cleaned Craig up and then headed inside.

Baptisms were going on, but visitors were allowed inside anyway. The building was so large and sprawling that you could easily walk around without disturbing the proceedings. We walked around quietly and admired the architecture. The stained glass was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The details of the scenes were so intricate, and the colors were incredibly vibrant. The windows depicted the stations of the cross as well as other well known Biblical stories such as the Good Samaritan. I had never seen anything like it before. The basilica was immense, and we walked its perimeter, marveling at window after window. There were various small chapels tucked into corners. Candles were flickering and there were sheer pieces of cloth draped above religious statues. It was very peaceful. There was a beautiful rosette window that reminded me of the medieval cathedrals of Europe.

After exiting the basilica, we stood on top of the hill (with Craig's head now properly protected by his hat) and looked around. We could see the large statue of the Virgen de Quito in the distance looking down on Old Town. From the basilica we followed picturesque colonial streets downhill to Old Town. The architecture reminded us very much of Antigua, Guatemala, with bright colored buildings with fresh white trim, and wrought iron work surrounding second floor balconies. We stopped in a little store and bought Gatorades for $1 apiece. They also had nice rest room facilities that we were able to use.

We continued down the quaint streets to Old Town. We peeked inside a variety of shops. Some of the store windows contained pirated DVD's, and others toys, clothes, or souvenirs. Again, being a Sunday, there were lots of families in the Plaza de la Independencia, and lots of activities going on. There were small dramatic troupes putting on political skits, and there was an Andean band playing traditional music to a large crowd. We lingered in the square next to a statue for a few minutes, enjoying the music and planning our next move. The song drew to an end and another song started. This one was familiar...were they actually playing "Piano Man" on guitar and reed flutes? Then the vocals kicked in. It was in Spanish, but there was no doubt as to what the song was. Too funny!

A gentleman approached us and started up a conversation, and asked if we would like to hire him as a guide to Old Town. We were enjoying doing things at our own pace. We knew we would learn a lot from him, but we were enjoying doing things on our own. If we had wanted a guided tour of Quito, we would have booked one for this day. We politely said no thank you, and he tried to bargain with us, and said he would only charge $5. It was certainly tempting, but it wasn't really about the money. We didn't want to get locked into anything, and politely declined.

We walked a couple of blocks behind the square, and passed some really gorgeous colonial buildings. We walked by a street musician sitting on the ground playing "El Condor Pasa" on guitar and accompanying himself on reed flutes. We gave him a dollar and took a photo. We walked by the huge imposing Iglesia de San Francisco and its walled convent, South America's oldest church. It had been built in 1534 on the site of an Incan temple. Although we had no real set itinerary for the day, the one must-do for me was the Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus. La Compañia, as it is commonly known, is arguably the most beautiful church in Latin America. We have seen some beauties, so this is no mean feat. Things I had read said that it is open to visitors daily, but that on Sundays the hours are restricted because of Masses. I had read that it was open between 1 and 4 p.m. The afternoon was slipping by; it was now 2:30, and we wanted to make sure to make it. We wandered the maze of streets and it was difficult to tell which building was which. There seemed to be churches everywhere. We thought we had found it, a rather non-descript building from all but the front, which was nicely carved and had a cameo image of the Virgin Mary in the center above the doors. But it didn't seem to be open. We asked a security guard, and after an initial misunderstanding about what he had actually said, we realized that it actually opened at 4 pm, rather than closing then. We were confused, but obviosuly he would know better than we would.

So now, rather than being in a rush, we found ourselves with some time to kill. We wandered up the street and enjoyed the colorful architecture. We came to a yellow archway (El Arco de la Reina) which reminded us of the Arco Santa Catalina in Antigua and the archways in Merida. As we passed through, we could see the Virgen de Quito in the distance framed by the arch. It was gorgeous. Right at the archway was the church of Carmen Antiguo de San Jose.

As we took pictures in the square in front of the church, we saw a man in the distance across the street stirring some sort of food in a large pot. I took a picture of him and he smiled and struck a silly pose. We then wandered down there and went to see what he was mixing. It was a large vat of peanuts. The woman working with him took out a spoon and scooped some out for us to sample. They were warm and toasty and covered in a sugary coating. Absolutely delicious! They also let us sample roasted coconut and some other roasted fruits. Everything was delicious, but we were sold on the peanuts. We had no idea how much anything cost. We bought the largest bag they offered, and it cost only a single dollar.

We went back to the Monasterio de San Francisco. The doors were open and people were starting to congregate for Mass. We entered and walked around the church and sat in a pew for a moment taking it all in. The church was in the process of being restored. There was a very grand pipe organ in the choir loft. The ceiling under the choir loft was gilded. The wall behind the altar was covered with a tapestry that depicted the ornate embellishments which were no doubt being restored behind it. On the altar was a large statue of Jesus bearing the cross, and in an alcove there was a statue of a priest which was holding what appeared to be an authentic human skull. Catholicism in Latin America is definitely darker than in the USA. There were some very old-looking frescoes which were in need of restoration. Walls were made of stone block and there were small cupolas on the roof which let natural light inside. Long thin candles were scattered on the ground, and an archway was decorated with motifs which looked like Celtic knots. There was scaffolding inside as well. I took a church bulletin from the pile, and after a few minutes of enjoying the serenity, we headed back out before the service began. As we walked across the plaza in front of the church, a man came over to us. We weren't sure what he was saying but he offered his hand. Security was watching the whole incident, came over to us, apologized, and led the man away.

We wandered around a bit more and then headed back to La Compañia. It still wasn't open, but there was a crowd of people in a small circle in front of the church. These were mostly locals, and we wondered what had captivated their attention. Squatting on the ground was a young man surrounded by cans of spray paint. He took a blank sheet of poster board, and began a painting. He sprayed the paint in short bursts at a very fast pace. He had a few paper stencils and tore pages from the phone book to dob the paint to create texture. He would use a lighter to ignite the stream of paint coming out of the can in order to make it dry immediately and create an enameled shiny finish on some pieces of the painting. The painting took shape into an outer space planetscape, with an ocean and dolphins jumping. It was amazing to see the painting evolve, and when he was done, it was very impressive that he had created such a detailed work with such crude tools. The crowd was mesmerized. One little girl standing near me started to play hide and seek with me. She was very cute, and I asked her age, which turned out to be four.

When the artist was finished, he gave some instructions to the crowd in Spanish. People took out money, and we realized the brilliance of his business model. He creates a painting in about 15 minutes, and in so doing, entertains the crowd. He then sells raffle tickets for a small amount of money. Many people buy a chance, and then he has an audience member pick a number, and that person goes home with the painting. That way he makes more money than he would ever get for the painting from a single person, and also more than he would get in tips. It is a brilliant business model. The woman who won it was very excited. Then another young woman approached him and commissioned a piece. He asked for a photo and she showed him a tiny wallet-sized photo. He stared at it for a moment, and then returned it to her. He immediately got to work. We had no idea what image she had shown him, but very early on, Craig predicted that it was a forest scene with river and waterfall. As it took shape further, it was obvious that he was right.

At around 4:20, the doors of La Compañia were opened, and a lot of people from the artists' crowd went inside. We followed the crowd and were speechless with what we saw. Almost every surface of the church's interior was gilded in gold. Some of it had been restored and was unbelievably shiny in the display lighting. Celtic style motifs (also in gold) adorned the ceiling. The altar was breathtaking with angels bearing a giant crown, and a portrait of the Virgin Mary. There were golden adornments everywhere. The place was truly awe-inspiring. The church is rumored to contain 7 tonnes of gold leaf. There were lots of security guards at this priceless shrine.

We saw our 4-year-old friend inside and she smiled and waved. People were seated in pews and beginning to pray the rosary. As we exited, we noticed a sign (which had been put up after we were already inside) that said the church was closed to visitors during Mass. We were a bit confused about why the hours were so different than usual, but then we saw a poster which said that this was a special season and Novenas for the Virgin Dolorosa were prayed at 4 pm. We were lucky that we were able to see the church; we wouldn't have gone in if the sign prohibiting visitors had been there at the time, and once we were inside nobody asked us to leave. So after a quick tour, we quietly headed out.

La Compañia had been constructed in the 16th century, and had taken 163 years to complete. The martyr Mariana de Jesus' remains are located at the foot of the altar. She had sacrificed her life in 1645 to save the city's population after 14,000 people died from an earthquake and subsequent epidemics. Immediately following her death, the plagues subsided. She was canonized the Lily of Quito by the Pope.

Though the skies had looked threatening all day, we didn't really get any rain, and now, close to 5 pm, the sun had finally peeked through. We took advantage of the nice lighting to get some more photos. We headed to the Plaza de la Independencia and watched a comedy troupe in white face makeup for a while. A little girl's ball went awry and Craig stopped it and returned it to her. She smiled and said gracias. We weren't quite sure what we wanted to do, and sat on a park bench to think about it. The man who had offered us a $5 tour earlier came by and asked if we had changed our mind. We said that we were just taking it easy. He said "That's ok. You're American. You can't help it. George Bush took all your money." He smiled and walked away, and we got a good chuckle.

Sunset is around 6 pm every day of the year, given that Quito is so close to the equator (sunrise at 6, sunset at 6). It was now after 5:00, and we were basically killing time until darkness, when we could see the city all lit up. We weren't ready for dinner, but we needed to find something to do. We ventured beyond a building's facade and ended up in a typical Latin American courtyard with a fountain. There were several shops, and stairs up to additional levels. On the second level, we saw an interesting display of handicrafts. As we browsed, a young woman offered her assistance, but was not pushy at all. This was Mavic Handicrafts, and they sold a wide variety of items from around Ecuador. We picked up some very cute gifts for very reasonable prices, and were quite glad that we had stumbled upon this place.

We decided we would have a drink while waiting for the sunset, so we headed up an additional flight of stairs to "Hasta la Vuelta, Señor...", which advertised Quiteñan cuisine. We told them we were just interested in drinks, and they sat us at a nice table overlooking the courtyard below. Craig had an Ecuadorian Pilsener, and I had a deliciously creamy pina colada. We were served plain and seasoned dried corn kernels and a very delicious chili sauce to dip them in. We read the menu, which explained how the restaurant got its name: Manuel de Almeida Capilla, a priest at San Diego Monastery, had used the crucified Christ statue on the altar as a ladder for nightly escapes to keep trysts with young women of the village. One night the Christ spoke to him and asked "Hasta la vuelta, Señor?" (Until when, Father?) Almeida replied "Until I come back!" This continued for a while, until on one of his forays outside of the cloistered walls, he spotted a funeral procession on its way to bury his own lifeless body. Terrified, when he returned to the monastery, the Christ asked him again "Hasta la Vuelta, Señor?" Father Almeida never again escaped from the monastery, and grew to be unusually devout.

We stayed at the restaurant until it got dark, and then we headed outside. Old Town was aglow, and it was beautiful. The sidewalks contained sunken lights which lit up te facades of the buildings, highlighting the architectural details. It reminded us of Merida, Mexico at night. The cameo of the Virgin Mary on the front of La Compañia was ringed with blue lightbulbs. Buildings glowed, illuminated by white, blue, and purple light. We could see the Virgen de Quito all lit up on the hill. The ambiance was gorgeous, and there was plenty of security around. Old Town at night seemed pretty safe.

We hailed a taxi (there were decidedly fewer at night and they were busier than this morning). A man and his wife picked us up in their cab. We asked to go to Mama Clorinda on Reina Victoria. They didn't know the place, and we couldn't remember the cross-street. But after a little looking, we were able to find it. He charged us $5, which seemed like kind of a lot for the short drive, but we didn't care. As we entered the small restaurant, there was a young man playing the guitar. We were thrilled that we had found live music. That was a bonus. Well, he finished up his song and then packed away his equipment. Figures. Timing is everything. At least when he walked around the dining room soliciting tips, he skipped us. I mean, we only heard him play for about 30 seconds.

Craig ordered a Pilsener and I had a juice named "Happy Japa". I ordered two empanadas de morocho (beef empanadas) and locro de queso (which had been recommended as traditional ecuadorian food by Angel.). It was a potato cheese soup served with avocado. Craig got Angel's other recommendation: churrasco. Much like Peruvian bistek al pobre, this dish included grilled beef steak piled high with rice, fried eggs, salad, and french fries. When the waiter served us, he answered our thank yous with "buen provecho", a phrase which we learned from Paulina in Guatemala. We smiled as we thought of our Guatemalan "family." The empanadas were different than I had eaten in the past, since they were made from corn and were difficult to cut with a knife. I gave up and ate them by hand. There was a lot of food, and I wasn't able to finish it all. We really enjoyed our meal, and when we were done, we walked back to the hotel.

Our room (210) hadn't been made up, and we realized that it was likely because we had taken the only key with us for the entire day. I wrote in the journal until 10:45 while Craig flipped channels on the TV. There was nothing of interest on, and after watching a few minutes of Courtney Cox's unbearable "Dirt", we shut off the TV and fell asleep. Despite the overcast skies, at this altitude and latitude, we had still gotten a little bit of a sunburn.

Arrival in the Galapagos: San Cristobal

We woke up at 6:00 am, showered, and headed downstairs to breakfast, which was included in our stay. We had fresh orange juice, coffee, fresh fluffy scrambled eggs, watermelon, papaya, and a basket of different types of breads and croissants served with butter and marmalade. We chatted with Elizabeth from Detroit who was extending a business trip to Quito with a little sightseeing. We headed back to the room one final time to go to the bathroom and grab our bags.

We checked out, and at precisely 8:15, as promised, Guillermo arrived to pick us up. He was very friendly and immediately gave us our paperwork for the Galapagos as well as our e-tickets for AeroGal airlines. We had seen an AeroGal office in Quito last night, and we had laughed at the name. "Gal" of course was short for "Galapagos", but it sounded funny in English nonetheless. Guillermo told us the routine for the airport and wasn't sure if our guide would be traveling with us or meeting us on the islands.

When we arrived at the terminal, our guide Sebastian was waiting for us. We hit it off right away. He was my age, had longish hair, sunglasses, and a hat. His entire visage reminded us of that iconic picture of che Guevara as he led us into the airport. Our bags were checked, and then Sebastian checked us in at the counter. We went through security and entered the "departure lounge" (shared gate). I told him that my foot was recently healed from a fracture, and he said that we could play things "by the ear" and that the itinerary was pretty flexible.

Sebastian showed us a map of the islands and told us some preliminary facts. The Galapagos is an archipelago made up of 13 major islands and 120 rocks, islets, etc., 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador and straddling the equator. They are volcanic in origin and are situated over a hot spot in the ocean floor. As the magma escapes through the earth's crust, it forms islands. The movement of the Nazca tectonic plate shifts the islands sotheastward over time, at a rate of 1-2 inches per year. The easternmost islands (San Cristobal, Española) are the oldest, having been formed 4-5 million years ago. The westernmost islands (Isabela and Fernandina) are much younger, at only a million years. As the islands move away from the hot spot, their lava cools down and they are eventually able to support life.

Each island goes through the same stages, so Fernandina is at the same stage now that Española was at 3-4 million years ago. Fernandina is currently over the hot spot, and as such has the greatest number of active volcanoes. As it is so new, it does not yet support much life. Nearby Isabela is 12 times as old as Fernandina, and has much more vegetation and supports many more species, though it still has some active volcanoes of its own. As the islands move eastward over the course of millions of years, they are eroded by wind and waves until their volcanic peaks are flattened. The lack of mountains means that clouds no longer form over the islands, and rain no longer falls. They eventually will join the group of submerged islands in the eastern end of the archipelago. 30 million years from now, the islands that we currently know as the Galapagos will be underneath the sea.

The extreme diversity of ocean life is due to the fact that the cold Humboldt current from the south meets the warmer El Niño current from the north. The cold water is very nutrient rich, and supports much life. The convergence of warm and cold currents means that the oceans here can support warm water creatures as well as cold water creatures (which makes it the most northerly place where penguins are found). Over 500 species of fish can be found in the waters of the Galapagos. The abundance of fish has attracted sea birds to the islands. It is speculated that land creatures floated to the archipelago on "rafts" of plant debris. Reptiles are particularly well adapted for the journey, having thick skin that protects them from the sun and being able to survive on less food and water than other creatures.

The first known discovery of the islands by humans occurred in 1535. Because the species had evolved here without human presence, they had developed no fear of humans, a charactersitic which they still exhibit to this day. The Galapagos is a nature-lover's paradise, as you can get up-close views of the wildlife without disturbing them. Today, not all of the islands are allowed to be inhabited by humans, and those which are have vastly differing populations. The island of Santa Cruz has 20,000 human inhabitants, while San Cristobal has 10,000, Isabela has 2,000, and Floreana has a couple of hundred.

Leaving us to ruminate over these facts, Sebastian headed over to the food counter to get some breakfast. We soon boarded the plane outside and took off at around 9:30. We were given free newspapers, drinks, and muffins with chocolate chips on top. I had Sprite and Craig had orange juice. We would be stopping in Guayaquil, on the Ecuadorian coast. As we approached, we could see how recent rains had caused the river to overflow into its floodplain, and that a lot of fields appeared to be underwater. Sebastian explained that this had been a severe problem. We landed at Guayaquil at 10:25 for a 30-minute stop for refueling and dropping off/picking up passengers. We took off again at around 11:10. We were served a "snack" consisting of lunch meats, cheese, a roll, and a slab of chocolate cake. Yum! And we knew we were supposed to have lunch soon after arrival - we're not used to eating this often! The flight attandants sprayed the overhead bins with strong lemon smelling chemicals, to disinfect everything being brought to the islands.

As we approached the islands, we looked out the windows and saw black and red volcanic coastlines, a few sandy beaches, and green vegetation. We landed on Isla San Cristobal at 11:45. The airport really reminded us of the Hanga Roa airport on Easter Island - a tiny airport on a volcanic island. The lava rock was reddish black. We paid our $100 per person Galapagos entrance fee, got our entry cards stamped, and collected our luggage. There were some very interesting mosaic statues of Galapagos wildlife adorning the airport grounds.

Sebastian made a call and soon a white pick-up truck taxi arrived to drive us the short distance to the Miconia Hotel. The facade of the hotel was very cheerfully painted, and we were led out the back of the lobby into a courtyard. Tropical plants and vines lined a stone pathway to our room. Hammocks hung between small trees, and there was a small swimming pool. It looked like a very nice place to relax. We were shown to room #2. It was a 2-bedroom unit with a little entryway and a private bath. There was a little refrigerator and air conditioning, which were quite refreshing, as it was much hotter here than it had been in Quito. Surprisingly, there was also a television. Sebastian gave us half an hour to get settled, and then we met him in the lobby for an orientation walk around the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

It was amazing how much the town felt like Hanga Roa on Easter Island! There was a street right along the coast. On one side was the beach and the piers, and on the other side were some sleepy hotels, restaurants, and shops. Most were closed, as it was now 12:45, during siesta time. Sebastian explained that they usually open early in the morning and late in the afternoon. During the rest of the day, the tourists are usually on excursions and are not in town anyway.

We walked over to the beach, and could smell a strong fishy odor. Sebastian explained that was the smell of sea lions. We were looking out to sea and nearly didn't notice our first sea lion, who was lounging nonchalantly in the shade of a small building. He took little notice of us, even as I photographed him. We continued on to a small jetty, where a blue footed booby and a great blue heron were sitting on the rocks next to one another. The rocks were alive with Sally Lightfoot crabs. We approached the birds to take some pictures, and they didn't even pay any attention to us. It was amazing - we had heard that animals here didn't fear humans and were quite approachable, but our first-hand experiences with wild animals in the past hadn't let us believe it until we saw it with our own eyes. Now here we were, in town, only on the island for less than an hour, and we were seeing all of this wildlife which we had only ever seen before on television!

We walked down the beach past fishermen and some old boats to the Playa Restaurant. It had a great view of the bay. Craig ordered ceviche mixto with camarone y pulpo (shrimp and octopus) and I had deep fried wahoo with french fries. Salted plantain chips were served with Sebastian and Craig's ceviche, and I munched on a few as well. Sebastian ordered a pitcher of fresh ice cold lemonade which was an incredibly refreshing complement to our beachside seafood lunch. We enjoyed chatting with Sebastian and getting to know him. The mustard and ketchup bottles on the table reminded Sebastian of something. He brought up the fact that he had heard rumors that there was a scam going on in Quito where people would squirt tourists with ketchup or mustard, then under the guise of helping them to clean up, would run off with their bags or wallets. We told him that this exact thing had happened to us yesterday. He couldn't believe it; he had just heard of this tactic. We told him that it is a popular one throughout Latin America, and that we had read about and heard about it in other countries. Because we were familiar with it, we didn't fall prey to it. Sebastian took note of that and said he would need to relay the story to his other guide friends and warn their tourists.

After lunch, we stopped at a store to buy Gatorades for $1.25 apiece. We met Pedro, who was our Galapagos National Park naturalist (required to accompany you when doing activities on the islands). We climbed a flight of stairs to a nice building overlooking the sea where Pedro and Sebastian got our snorkel gear from their storehouse. There was a nice breeze up there, and we took in the view of the bay. To the extreme left was the restaurant where we had eaten lunch. We could see the pier surrounded by tourist boats and fishing boats. Pedro carried the snorkel gear as we walked back down the stairs and along the coast.

We walked down Playa de Oro (Beach of Gold), so named because it used to be covered with extremely fine golden sand, until it began to be used as a location for repairing boats. Now the sand is more coarse and there are several concrete drydocks and boat ramps on the beach. There are plans to replace quality sand here and restore it to its former pristine state. We continued to Bachelor's Beach, the refuge of male sea lions who have lost their harem. Locals were taking in the sun and sand.

As we walked, Sebastian and Pedro pointed out the local flora and fauna. The plant which I mistook for a yellow hibiscus was in fact the Galapagos cotton plant. What we thought were geckoes were actually lava lizards. They were dark green, and the females had bright orange cheeks, which made it appear as if they were blushing. Sebastian pointed out one which had a stubby tail, and explained that they have the ability to detach their tail if it is caught in the mouth of a predator.

We passed the oldest elementary school in the Galapagos, and then the marine biology building of the College of San Francisco in Quito. We saw yellow sulfur butterflies as well as the Galapagos Azul (blue) butterfly fluttering past us. We walked along a raised boardwalk to the information center. After a brief orientation by the curator, we had a self-guided tour. They had exhibits such as a zoetrope wheel in front of a mirror depicting a finch eating a worm. This is related to the evolutionary characteristics of Darwin's finches (different finches evolved different traits on different islands, due to the different conditions they encountered trying to get food). There was also a re-creation of the Floreana Whaler's post office (a place on the island of Floreana where whalers would drop mail, and other seafarers would deliver it if it was destined for one of their ports). There were exhibits and placards depicting the natural and human history of the archipelago. The final room was devoted to a new exhibit depicting the impact of introduced species (including humans) on the islands. There were aerial photos of the islands in the 1960's, 1980's and present-day. It was amazing how much the human settlements had grown in these past few decades, and it is easy to see why the Ecuadorian government has restricted immigration to the islands, and even tourism needs to be strictly controlled. We could have spent more time in this museum, but there was plenty to see for ourselves outside.

We started a hike up to Frigatebird Hill. There was a nice trail through the lava rock. We chatted with Pedro using Sebastian as a translator. We asked if Pedro had been born on San Cristobal, and they laughed and said that he is an endemic species; his family has lived on San Cristobal for generations. We were able to understand some of the Spanish as Pedro was speaking. We and Sebastian also taught him some English words. As we walked I was especially careful of my foot. This was the first time I had walked on rugged terrain since my fracture. The sun was very strong and it was really hot. In several places we came across a thin whitish film on top of the lava rock. Sebastian explained that during the rainy season, rainwater had collected into a puddle. When the water eventually evaporated, this was the sediment that remained.

The last part of the short hike had a series of stairs up to a mirador (lookout) platform. I was incredibly hot and sweaty, and I was drinking a lot of water as well as my Gatorade. When we got to the top we had a gorgeous view of Darwin's Bay below us (where Darwin first set foot in the islands in 1835 at age 26). This used to be the breeding ground of innumerable frigate birds, who puff up red pouches under their chins to attract females. However, in the past few years, the hill has become very popular with tourists, and the frigate birds have subsequently moved a bit further down the coast for their courtship rituals and breeding. This led us to think about the fact that even though tourism is strictly regulated and there are clearcut rules as to what tourists should and shouldn't do, even the best intentions still have an impact on the wildlife, and it must be carefully monitored.

We saw several frigate birds fly by, but the most interesting thing to watch were the blue footed boobies. They would dive from great heights of up to 80 feet to catch fish. The water was clear enough that we could see their trails of bubbles even after they had broken the surface of the water. It was interesting to see when parallax had come into play, because they hit the water at one angle, and once they were below the surface we could see them immediately correct their direction and continue for another 20 feet or so underwater. One did this and we saw him actually come to the surface with a fish in his beak. It was very satisfying to see him achieve his goal. We could see Kicker Rock (also known as Leon Dormido) in the distance rising straight out of the sea. Sebastian informed us that we would be snorkeling there tomorrow, and we were very excited. Craig had even noticed this huge landform from the plane during our descent.

We walked down the steps and down a little trail to Darwin's Bay, where we were expecting to take a swim. Sebastian said that we could snorkel if we wanted to, and of course we did! The lava rocks were very sharp, and I had to be very careful of my healing foot. I used my sarong as a screen to discreetly change my clothes, and we put our snorkel gear on. There was a sea lion on the rocks right next to us, as well as many Sally Lightfoot crabs. We had seen these crabs on TV, and adults usually have a very pretty orange and yellow coloration. As juveniles, they are completely black and blend in with the rocks. As they mature they get bright spots on their black exoskeleton, and then eventually they become yellow orange adults. The ones that we saw here were completely black, and some were black with greenish spots. At first glance they were well-camouflaged, but if you looked closely you could see them everywhere.

We hopped into the water, which was pleasantly refreshing after our walk in the hot sun. It was late in the afternoon and a good part of Darwin's Bay was in shadow, but we were still able to see fish and other sea life. We are used to snorkeling with coral, where you have to be very careful not to touch or bump into the coral. But this was all lava rock, and touching it wasn't a problem. We saw schools of silver iridescent fish with black lengthwise stripes. We saw several black fish with striking bright blue eyes and bright yellow lips. There were others with black bodies, bright blue eyes and bright blue lips. We also saw black spiny sea urchins, and Craig saw an orange sponge attached to a lava rock.

A boat pulled up, and driving it was Pedro's brother. He had brought our kayaks in case we had wanted to use them here at Darwin's Bay. It was so nice of him. But the sun was getting low and we were enjoying our snorkel, so we decided to save kayaking for tomorrow, following the original plan.

The water was not crystal clear, and between the waning dayight and the black lava rock, the visibility wasn't great, but I tried out my new waterproof camera anyway. Its flash allowed me to get some pictures that a waterproof disposable would never be able to get. Pedro pointed out a Pacific green turtle. I saw it as a vague silhouette beneath me. I took a photo that I was sure didn't come out well, and then lost sight of the turtle. We could hear the clicking noises of the fish as they ate underwater. It was a lot of fun and an unexpected treat to be able to snorkel after our hot and sweaty walk. I had a hard time getting out of the water onto the sharp rocks on my delicate foot, and I kind of flopped out of the water like a beached whale. The late afternoon light was golden and shadows were long, and we were able to get some good photos.

There were some Ecuadorian tourists and nature volunteers sitting on the lava rocks here, and two of the teenage boys started talking to Pedro and Sebastian. They tagged along with us as we walked down the path to the statue of Darwin with giant tortoises and sea lions. We got some photos and then walked some more, and came upon a large navy gun which was used in the past to defend the island. We got some photos there and then tried to make it to a particular beach to watch the sunset. But we were moments late, and were still on the trail as the sun set. We had a view of the water through the vegetation and stopped to watch as the sun descended and the sky took on the colors of an impressionist painting.

We walked back to town and could see the boats in the harbor silhouetted against the sunset. This is when it really hit us. We were in the Galapagos. We felt like we were in the middle of a nature documentary. We freshened up at the hotel and bought Gatorades in the lobby for $1.50 apiece. The price was getting higher and higher as we got further from Quito. Our hotel had a gym across the courtyard from our room, and the place was hopping. We wondered if it was the only modern gym on the island, because there were a lot of locals were in there taking aerobics classes and lifting weights, and music was blaring out. Once we closed the door to our room, we could no longer hear it.

We freshened up and then headed out to find some dinner. The pier was lit up with ghostly green lights, and we could see the silhouettes of sea lions in the foreground. We walked near the beach and saw two sea lion pups sitting nonchalantly under a family on a park bench. It was incredibly surreal and we were enchanted. The beach was full of sea lions, as they had all come out of the water for the night. Adults spend up to 15 hours a day at sea, and retun to the beach at night to snuggle into the warm sand and get some rest. The reclining females would occasionally bark or cough. Babies would say "Maaaaap", bleating like lambs, going up to each reclining female in turn. The females would not even move, but if the baby persisted, she would bark at him harshly and he would move on. It turned out that the babies are searching for their mother. Other females turn them away, but when they finally find their own mother, they start to nurse.

We walked the beach a couple of times trying to decide where to eat. We weren't sure whether we'd rather eat indoors or out. No place seemed extraordinarily busy, as if it were the obvious place to be. As we walked around we ran into Sebastian and his friend and fellow guide Felipe. We stopped to chat and they invited us to join them for dinner. We eagerly agreed and they chose a place called Calypso, which was just around the corner from where we had eaten lunch. We sat at an outdoor table. The waiter went through the menu telling us all the things they didn't have. It reminded us once again of our time on Easter Island. Why didn't people just tell you what they DID have? Sebastian and Felipe were amused by the whole thing. They asked if we wanted to split a pizza (but not one with bacon or ham or pineapple, which they didn't have...). We said sure, but doubted whether a single pizza could feed all four of us. They insisted that a "gigante" was as big as the table itself, so we deicded to trust their judgment. They ordered a gigante vegetariano pizza. Craig and Sebastian shared a grande Pilsener, and I had fresh naranjilla juice.

The pizza was very good and we had a great time chatting and joking around. Felipe was very personable and we found his stories quite amusing. Sebastian told Felipe that we had been targeted for the new "mustard scam" and Felipe looked at him blankly. Felipe had never heard of it at all, and was very interested to hear about it, so that he could warn his clients to be vigilant in Quito. That world with all of its problems seemed very far away from here, as local kids congregated at the next table to enjoy pizza. Local families walked the strip now that a lot of the day's tourists had gone back to their boats for the night. One little girl rollerskating around really reminded us of Paola in Guatemala. We thought about Humberto, Paulina, and their five girls, and we wished we had somehow been able to bring them with us, knowing how much the girls would enjoy the animals and their first-ever glimpse of the ocean.

Not only was the gigante pizza large enough to feed four hungry adults, there was a piece to spare. We started to head back to the hotel at around 10:00. As we were passing by the park area near the beach, a yellow-crowned night heron was chasing a butterfly. We saw it catch the butterfly with its beak, and the butterfly kept fluttering its wings. It was amazing to see the drama of nature at such close range. When we got back to the room, I wrote in the journal and we went to sleep at 11:17.

Kayaking, Snorkeling with Sea Lions, Turtles, and Sharks

We woke up at 5:45 am. The sun comes up early here and we had a good sleep, so we woke up refreshed a full 45 minutes ahead of our alarm. We got ready (skipping showers as we would be kayaking and snorkeling first thing today) and headed out to town. The morning light was gorgeous, and we didn't see many people around. We walked through the nicely landscaped park which had a fountain with representations of the various islands of the archipelago. We visited the sea lions on the beach and saw our first marine iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks near the pier. We also saw some Sally Lightfoot crabs, some of which were carrying the carcasses of their own dead. We wondered if they were cannibals or if they were just giving their comrades a respectful resting place. We saw some birds on the beach with long stick legs and long skinny beaks. They were either some sort of stilt or plover.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast at 7:40. The restaurant was on the upper floor, and we had a table with a very nice view overlooking the ocean. It was open-air with a tent-like roof. There was a very pleasant breeze, and the gorgeous weather made us very eager to start exploring. We drank fresh tomato tree juice, which was quite tasty. Despite its name, it is a totally separate fruit from the tomato. We ate scrambled eggs, cheese and ham, and two rolls with butter and jam.

We met Sebastian slightly before our appointed time of 8:30. We went up to get the kayak gear and then headed down to Playa Oro. He said that there was the possibility that Pedro wouldn't be able to make it today because he was taking a naturalist test. If he was unable to make it, his brother would accompany us instead. We had really enjoyed Pedro's company and expertise yesterday, and hadn't had a chance to say a proper goodbye, so we hoped that he would show up after all. Sebastian gave us a quick refresh of kayak safety. As he was demonstrating, there was a slapping noise from the ocean behind him. We all looked and saw some spotted eagle rays swimming, flapping their wing-like fins so that we could see their white undersides. At first I had thought they were sea lion fins slapping on the water's surface.

We got into the hard-sided plastic double kayak, Craig in the back and me in the front. At first the paddling was easy and relaxing. The weather was very warm, and if water ran down the paddle onto you, it was refreshingly cool. We looked up to see Pedro following us in a small motor boat. We were thrilled that he had made it! Behind him was a young man namedOswaldo, captaining the larger and faster Wave Hunter. If we were in immediate need, Pedro was our support vessel, and the Wave Hunter would be our transportation to our next site after we were done kayaking.

We had to head further from shore at one point to avoid some breaking waves. Once that happened, Craig and I were never able to really get back on track. Between the current, the wind in our faces, and our tendency to be stronger paddlers on our right side, we were continually drifting left, away from shore. We passed Frigatebird Hill and could see our viewing platform way at the top, as well as yesterday's snorkel site at Darwin's Bay. We saw the top of a turtle shell crest the water, followed by a little head peeking above the surface right in between Sebastian's kayak and ours. It looked a little bit like that famous photo of Nessie. We saw frigatebirds with fully inflated ruby red throat pouches, along with blue footed boobies.

At one point, the current totally had us in its grip. No matter how hard we paddled, we made absolutely no progress. If we stopped for even a second (to try to take a picture or even hear what Sebastian was calling to us) we actually drifted backwards. We paddled and paddled, but succeeded at nothing but exhausting ourselves. We could see our destination, but it never got any closer. Craig and I were worried that we were burning daylight. We knew there were a lot of other things on today's agenda, and we decided not to waste any more time here. Sebastian gestured to Pedro, and we pulled our kayak up alongside his boat. We climbed from the kayak up onto the larger boat. That was definitely a feat to avoid flipping the kayak! Pedro pulled up alongside the Wave Hunter and we climbed aboard.

Sebatian pulled out some snacks (chocolate!!) and we took the opportunity to refuel our bodies. As we approached Isla Lobo, we could see small sea lion pups frolicking in the water alongside our boat, fully keeping pace with us. Oswaldo stopped the boat and Sebastian announced that we would be snorkeling with the pups here. Our excitement was palpable. Here were a bunch of mother and baby sea lions in their breeding grounds, sheltered from predators. We hopped over the side of the boat into the water and almost immediately we were surrounded by sea lions. Some had already been in the water; others followed our lead and slithered into the water from the rocks.

There were so many of them. They all seemed to want to come over to us to check us out. They would come very close to you, swimming around you in three dimensions. They would blow bubbles into your face, and stare at you with their limpid, lamp-like, Gollum eyes. They were quick and agile, seeming to be on a collision course with you, only to effortlessly contort their body at the last possible minute to result in a near-miss.

Unlike the Caribbean, the water is not crystal clear here. The cool Humboldt Current brings with it organic debris which contributes to the biodiversity of this archipelago. But it also reduces visibility. The sun lit up the water to produce a turqoise glow. At some points the sea lions looked as though they were in front of a blue screen. They glided past submerged lava. They had surprisingly large pointy teeth which they bared when they opened their mouths right in front of your face, as they asserted their dominance. It was a bit startling at times. They nipped at one another in play, and it crossed our minds that although they were being extremely friendly, such a love bite, to a human, looked like it would be quite painful. We kept careful track of our appendages.

At one point I felt something touch my ankle. I expected it to be Craig trying to direct my attention somewhere, but when I turned around, there was nobody there. I think a sea lion had touched me with a flipper. As they swam they sometimes made a gutteral noise which interspersed with some clicks which reminded me of the chattering noises our cat sometimes makes when watching birds out the window. This and the sound of bubbles whooshing past was all that we could hear when submerged.

As time went on, we were less of a curiosity and the number of sea lions in the water decreased, though there were always some around. Pedro dove down deep below them. One sea lion was toying with a sponge. He kept it under his flipper for safekeeping, he would then toss it and wait for it to float to him, catching it in his mouth. Another had a large white shell in its mouth. It was so amazing playing with them and swimming with them. They were so interactive! It reminded me of our mountain gorilla trek in Rwanda.

After about an hour of frolicking with the little guys, we got back onto the Wave Hunter and headed over to the iconic Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido). It was an awesome sight, two sheer rock faces made of compacted ash and rising straight up out of the ocean. There were a few boats next to it and they were absolutely dwarfed by it. As we circled in the boat we saw masked boobies and lava gulls tucked into the craggy rock faces. We put on our snorkeling gear and hopped into the water.

The water was cool in some spots and warm in others, depending on the currents. The temperature differential was quite noticeable to us as we swam. The Humboldt and Cromwell currents bring cold water rich in minerals and nutrients from the south and west. It fuels the growth of plankton which attracts fish which in turn attract sea birds. The cool waters also sustain penguins, which otherwise would not be found as far north as the equator, and sea lions. The Panama current provides warm pockets which sustain the growth of coral, which provides food for fish adapted for warmer water.

The rock walls plunged deep down into the water, and urchins and other creatures were clinging to them. In the sun, the water was clear on the surface. But in the shade of the rock it was black and murky, and a bit disconcerting. Pedro had an eagle eye and would always draw our attention to things we would never notice on our own. He would point to an area and we would strain our eyes to try to see something, and seconds later it would emerge from the shadows. He pointed out a green turtle that totally blended in with the deep green water. As it approached the surface it seemed to materialize out of nowhere. These turtles can swim the 800 miles to continental South America, and can grow to weigh over 400 pounds. They eat so much green algae that their body fat even turns green, which is how they get their name. Pedro pointed in a particular direction, and I swam that way, not knowing what I would find. I saw a Galapagos reef shark below me, and as I studied it in awe, about 10 more appeared and they patroled the area about 10 feet below me. It was mesmerizing.

We wanted to swim through the channel between the two rock pillars, but the current was quite strong. We got back into the boat, and Oswaldo drove us to the far side of the channel. We hopped back out again and swam through from the opposite direction. At one point we saw two sea turtles swimming below us and all of a sudden a Galapagos reef shark swam into the picture. It was surreal, as if we were in a Jacques Cousteau documentary. The shark kept to itself, as did the turtles. We saw some puffer fish, which were black with white spots. They had very bulgy eyes, and when viewed from above they looked very wide and had a bizarre shape. At the surface there were some tiny transparent shrimp-like organisms that would come in and out of focus as we swam.

Unfortunately, throughout all this, the underwater camera refused to work. It was disappointing, as I wanted to get some photos of the reef sharks and turtles. It kept turning itself off and behaving as though it had no battery power. I supposed that I could have used up all of the batteries with the sea lions, but it was too risky to open it up and change the batteries in such a moist environment. Oh well.

After that, we got back aboard the Wave Hunter. I played around with the camera and noticed that none of the snorkeling pictures from Kicker Rock had come out. We were disappointed, but relieved that the sea lion photos and videos appeared to be intact. As we sped back toward Puerto Baquierizo Moreno, we munched on M&M's and enjoyed the scenery. We saw the spray and fin of a whale not far from the boat. Sebastian thought that it was probably a sperm whale. It started to really rain as we approached town. When we got to the pier it was a full-fledged downpour.

We ran back to our hotel room to put on some dry clothes and then met Pedro and Sebastian at the hotel restaurant. The rain was pouring onto the patio. We were seated under the tarp so we weren't getting wet, but the water collected in massive puddles on the floor and we had to watch our bags to make sure they didn't end up submerged.Thehotel staff was sweeping the puddles off the endge of the patio with a broom. Anyone standing out front on the curb would have gotten a big surprise as bucketsful of water would have drenched them. Lunch was Asian chicken and vegetables with rice, french fries, and lemonade, with watermelon for dessert.

The shwoer was brief and was just about done when we were finished eating. It was clearing up as we stoofd outside the hotel while Sebastian found us a cab. We piled into one of the ubiquitous white pickup truck taxis. Sebastian sat in the front and Craig, Pedro, and I squeezed into the back seat. We took a 40 minute ride to Cerro Colorado. Along the way we passed the 3 large windmills of the Galapagos Wind Farm. Sebastian told us that it was a bit of an embarrassment during the grand unveiling of this technology, as it was a completely still day and none of the three were turning at all.

We arrived at the Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, a giant tortoise breeding center. Although giant tortoises have no natural predators, introduced species now threaten their survival. Tortoises are vulnerable to small predators such as army ants and rodents for their first two years of life. Feral goats strip vegetation bare, leaving tortoises with little food. There are programs in place to eradicate the introduced species, but in the meanwhile, tortoise eggs are hatched in the breeding centers.

As soon as we entered the grounds, there was a tortoise right in the path, as if to greet us. This was not a full grown adult, but it was still pretty large. Sebastian pointed out that the tortoise had a concentric ring pattern on each plate of its shell. These markings demarcate the regions of the shell which will grow, indicating that the tortoise is still a juvenile. Rings are no longer visible in adult tortoises. It was our second day on the island, and our first glimpse of the legendary creatures. We marveled at its wrinkly ancient-looking skin.

The tortoise was a bit wary of us and retreated into its shell. It produced a deflating sound as it did this. As we wandered around the grounds on a gravel path, we saw three more tortoises cooling down in the mud. One of them stared right at us. A while later, a tortoise came lumbering through the underbrush. Their footfalls are very soft, like that of an elephant. Their species name is "elephantopus" which reflects their similarities.

We arrived at the area where the babies are kept in shallow trays with cage wire on the top. First we saw the very smallest of the lot. They looked like perfect miniatures, and they would easily fit in your palm. Most of them were stationary, but all of a sudden one started to bite at another's foot. The victim tried to get away, but was wedged in between some others and was facing a wall. He retreated inside of his shell, but this didn't stop the other one from continuing to bite at his shell. His little pink tongue was so cute as he opened his mouth. Finally the victim had enough, turned himself around (it was a tight space so he needed to do a 3-point-turn to get out), looked the perpetrator stright in the eye, and walked away.

We saw some older babies as well, including Genesis, the only survivor from the first batch of tortoises hatched at this center in 2005. The cages protect them from army ants and rodents. After they have reached the critical age at which they are no longer vulnerable to predators, they are allowed to wander the grounds of the breeding center. This particular center has 14 babies and 25 older tortoises. They will eventually be released into the wild, once the feral animals who have been threatening their survival by eating the vegetation are eradicated.

There were educational signs throughout the nursery area. one was particularly funny, showing a caricature of a gender-confused tortoise. It is impossible for people to tell the sex of a tortoise until it is mature (12 - 20 years!) The sex of a tortoise is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. A higher temperature produces females, while cooler temperatures produce males.

We said goodbye to the adorable babies and walked along the path, seeing one more larger tortoise before we left. Then we drove a short way and climbed a set of wooden steps to a Cerro Colorado lookout point. The steps were built into the side of the hill, and they were damaged in spots, which meant we had to watch our step. We could see the coast and the white sands of Porto Chino from the lookout platform at the top of the hill. A cheeky little yellow warbler (which looked rather like the gold finches that we have at home) was interested in us, and almost landed on Pedro. It kept us company for a few minutes while we admired the view.

Then we drove back to town. When we arrived back at the hotel, we said our goodbyes to Pedro, who had been a wonderful naturalist. We went to our room to freshen up, and then headed out for our last evenng on San Cristobal. We ran into Sebastian next door having a beer. He treated Craig to a Pilsener and me to a pina colada. We had a nice chat with him, and when we were done with our drinks he headed over to a friend's house. We went to the few gift shops on the coastal main street. Almost all of the shopkeepers were watching television. Several were watching English language action films, and a cacophony of expletives spilled out of the shops into the still night. We were a bit embarassed by the extreme profanity in these U.S.-exported films as we bought a few small souvenirs.

We then sat at an outdoor table at the "Cafe Bar Tongo Reef". It was a good place to people-watch. Not many foreign tourists appear to stay in hotels on this island, but there seemed to be a fair share of Ecuaadorian families staying here, as well as some locals who were just out for the evening. We saw some good looking burgers at the next table, and decided to each order a burger with fries. Craig had a Pilsener and I had fresh thick naranjilla juice which was served in a very cute little glass pitcher. We were still hungry and decided to order an empanada. This one was very different from the one we had had in Quito. It was like airy fried dough with a bit of cheese inside. It was very good.

After eating, we went across the street to watch the sea lions on their night beach. They completely covered the beach, and it looked very interesting in the glow of the sodium lights. I walked back and forth getting photos from various angles. The mother sea lions were once again lounging on the beach. They would snuggle together, resting their heads on one anther. It was very sweet. The babies would bleast, searching for their mothers. All of the sea lions were very vocal, and Craig recorded them with his mp3 recorder. One sea lion kept getting closer and closer to Craig. It hoisted itself up the step and onto the sidewalk where he was standing. It kept getting closer, but only moved when he wasn't looking. I went over to it, kept a distance, and took some photos. It was curious and we were checking each other out.

Just then a noisy group of tourists came over and startled it. It came closer to me and its whiskers grazed me. Then it retreated. Some smaller babies were up on a sloped part of the sidewalk. The tourists went over there and crowded one in, being very loud and eventually touching its hind flippers. We couldn't believe that they were being so disrespectful, causing the poor baby emotional distress, and perhaps even doing damage by getting their scent on it. We shouted that they shouldn't touch it or its mother might reject it due to the scent. They pretended they didn't hear us, but they at least stopped their behavior.

Despite this maddening distraction, Craig and I continued to be mesmerized by the sea lions, and felt a special kinship with them after our lovely snorkeling experience this morning. We could have stayed there all night observing them. At one point a baby came over to me and tickled my foot with his whiskers. Craig was enthralled by one particular baby which had a racoon-like pattern around its eyes. We could have stayed here all night; enhralled watching these fascinating creatures. But tomorrow morning we would be heading to Santa Cruz island, so at 10:45 we tore ourselves away and headed back to the hotel. We took showers and I wrote in the journal. We went to sleep at 12:03.

Mountain Biking to See Giant Tortoises, Exploring Tortuga Ba

Kayaking in Puerto Ayora, Charles Darwin Research Station

Snorkeling at Puerto Villamil, Tortoise Breeding Center

Horseback Riding at Volcan Sierra Negra, Beto's Bea

We woke up at 6 am and got ready for the day. Sebastian had bribed the kitchen girls with chocolate so that they would have our breakfast ready half an hour early. We had fresh blackberry juice, croissants with marmalade and butter, and fluffy scrambled eggs with bacon bits mixed in. As with every home-made meal from Casa de Marita, it was absolutely delicious. At 7:45, we met Omar, today's naturalist guide. A van picked us up and drove us for around an hour. Sebastian flipped through a newspaper, which had an ad for the Doors playing in Quito tonight. It boasted a photo of Jim Morrison, whom we're pretty sure wouldn't be in attendance. We could see the vegetation changing around us as we moved inland and climbed in altitude. As we approached the volcanic areas, the roads were very washed out, and it was slow going. At one point Sebastian had the driver stop because he heard a vermillion flycatcher. We looked for it in the trees and I spotted it and pointed it out to the group. It was gorgeous with a bright red breast.
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We stopped on a hillside with a beautiful view down onto the island towards the ocean. The lush green vegetation faded into the hazy distance toward the horizon. Hoover the horseman had several horses waiting here to begin our ride further up Sierra Negra volcano. We were introduced to our horses: Craig's was brown with a white patch on his forehead, and his name was Lucero. Mine was a dark ginger color and his name was Chevaro. They were small horses, and we rode through well-worn horse trails carved through the vegetation. The horses had nice temperaments, and didn't really try to stray from the trail or stop to eat all the time, as previous horses we had ridden had done. There was competition however, and my Chavero always wanted to be the leader of the pack. He muscled past the others whenever possible.
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My right stirrup was a bit too short, and my foot (which was delicate from having been broken at the end of January) was getting stiff and sore from the angle. As we neared the top of the volcano, there were gorgeous views of the Isabela shoreline. We passed some grazing cattle. When we reached the
rim of caldera, we could see the entire crater spread out below us. Steam was venting from a far corner, and we were reminded of the fact that this is an active volcano. It was an impressive sight. Omar recounted a story about the most recent eruption in 2005 - when he had led a group up the mountain in the morning, and it had blown that very afternoon.
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we could see the areas which had been affected by its last eruption on the caldera floor below us. The lava was much darker there. In other parts, where the lava was older, vegetation was beginning to sprout up. As we rode around the crater, our horses became excited, and graduated to a comfortable trot and then to a full-on gallop. As soon as another horse came up behind Chevaro, he got that "...and down the stretch they come!" energy boost and just took off even faster. It was exhilirating. I was feeling more comfortable on a horse than ever before, and found myself moving with the horse without holding on for dear life. I trusted Chavero and enjoyed the ride.
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I needed to stretch my foot, so I asked Hoover if he could lengthen my stirrup. Craig's also needed some lengthening, so we stopped and adjusted them, which made a huge difference. Then we continued riding to a hitching post where we dismounted and left the horses with Hoover. Omar pulled out a map of the island and showed us that if we looked north, we could see the part of the island that resembled a seahorse. We realized just how much of the island was pristine and uninhabited by humans. We walked through an area with some amazing old trees. We saw caterpillars on the vegetation and some large spiders in webs suspended across the trail.
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We soon reached a stone staircase followed by a trail through the lava. My foot and ankle were feeling sore and weak from my stirrup, and as I stepped from one piece of lava rock to the next, my ankle couldn't bear weight and I fell. I scraped my arm on the lava and the camera smashed against the lava rock, creating a spiderweb crack on the plastic lens cap, but luckily everything still functioned properly. I was worried about my foot. The fall had hurt it more, and I hoped I hadn't re-fractured it. At least it was the end of the trip, but I didn't want to spend another several months in a walking cast at home.
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Sebastian and Omar were concerned and asked if I wanted to continue. I certainly did want to, as it was gorgeous here and volcanoes are one of Craig's favorite things. They said that we could always split up, but I really wanted to continue on. Sebastian helped to clean up my bloody scraped arm, and we continued on. They pointed out all of the lava formations, including some "silica hairs" - pieces of molten lava which were caught by the wind, stretched, and dried into fine strands as delicate and thin as a hair. I couldn't believe it, nature's own extruder. He also showed us iridescent pieces of scoria. They brought us to a fumerole, a vent in the volcano which lets hot air escape. We placed our hands above it, and surprisingly hot moist air greeted us. As we continued on, we could see the obvious demarcation between different lava flows. On one side were opuntia candelabra cacti, and on the other side barrenness.
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We approached Volcan Chico, passing hardened lava bubbles which had vegetation growing under them and collapsed lava tubes. Everything had a very autumnal color palette...red, black, gray, and yellow. You could smell a slight trace of sulfur in the air. We climbed to the crater of Volcan Chico, and it was quite impressive, a beautiful desolation or a moonscape. Each ridge brought a different view and from the rim you could see Isla Fernandina. Sebastian passed out snacks...mixed nuts and Tango cookies (which were like moonpies). The ground was covered with scree, and I slipped and fell on my rear end while just standing there. I stayed in that spot and ate the rest of my snack, again worried about my foot. But walking it off seemed to have done some good. We walked back again as the sky darkened and it began to sprinkle rain. We passed a group of hikers heading out where we had just been, and we realized that their view wouldn't have been so good because of the clouds. Our timing had been very lucky.
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We got back to the hitching post and mounted our horses for the descent. There was definitely a rivalry between my horse and Sebastian's. I started to take a movie from horseback, and Chavero just took off so fast that I had to grab the saddle horn. I dropped the camera (which was luckily tied to my hat) mid-movie while still recording, so the resulting footage is quite funny. Hoover and Omar stopped for a moment on the ride down, and Craig's Lucero refused to move again until they were behind him. Sebastian and I were considerably far ahead of the rest of our group. When Hoover and Omar were ready, they ran their horses to try to catch up, and Lucero took off at such unbelievable speed to catch up that he caught Craig offguard.
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Sebastian and I met a group of other tourists on horseback (including the Boston couple we had met last night). Sebastian's horse tried to nudge his way through, and there was no way Chavero was going to let Sebastian get in front of him! Chavero muscled through, tangling my leg up with Sebastian. I held on and managed to stay on as he pushed his way to the front of the pack. Sebastian and I both started to laugh, but it was also a reminder that we were merely along for the ride and were at the total mercy of our horses.
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One of the other women's horses had stumbled into a ditch, but she remained calm and there was no harm done. Craig had witnessed this and it had been a little scary. He was very impressed with the woman's composure and the way she handled the situation and managed to stay on the horse. We continued our ride down the volcano, with the horses trotting and running at their whim. But as we reached the bottom of the mountain, our horses were no longer allowed to run, as they might get a foot caught in the rutted mud. Despite a few sprinkles, the weather managed to hold out. We dismounted, thanked Hoover, and headed back to town. Omar had an mp3 player and played America's "Horse with No Name" and Queen's "I want to Break Free," which Sebastian said was an appropriate theme song for my horse.
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We got back to the hotel at 2:00 and had lunch at 2:30: hot squash quiche and oven chicken with rice and palm heart salad. We felt bad because the kitchen staff stayed late waiting for us in addition to coming in early for us this morning. I hope that chocolate Sebastian gave them was worth it! We had a nice chat with Sebastian. Dessert was a fresh caramel fruit cake. We went back to the room and contemplated how to spend our afternoon. We wanted to swim and check out town, but it was quite warm and we were starting to feel tired after our week of adventuring. We ended up staying in the room, enjoying the air conditioning, writing in the journal, and looking through our digital photos. We took showers and got dressed for our last evening in the Galapagos.
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The 7 pm chocolate was delivered to the room, and then we went to dinner at 7:30. We had a salad featuring white asparagas. The main dish was spaguetti con pulpo - spaghetti in a red sauce with chunks of purple octopus. It was delicious! This was the same type of octopus I had had in the ceviche at Finch Bay. We had naranjilla juice to drink, and dessert was a toasted concotion of coconut, condensed milk and fruit. Delicious!! We reflected on our trip, and how we easily could have stayed on Isabela for a few days longer. This island was gorgeous and very laid back. Its slow pace had really suited us after a week of constant activity. We hadn't even gotten a chance to swim at the gorgeous beach right outside of the hotel. We were definitely already thinking about the possibility of coming back to Casa de Marita some day.
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After dinner, we went downstairs to the office, talked to Marita, and settled our bill for drinks and coffee during our stay. Sebastian showed us a video he was putting together from footage he had shot on the islands and we were impressed by how professional it looked. We had planned to spend our last night together at Beto's Beach Bar, and made plans to meet Sebastian there in a little while.
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Craig and I walked out the back door of the hotel and onto the beach. We strolled through the soft, powdery sand by moonlight, and it was quite surreal. We passed the jetty and it seemed that the building at the end of it was a bar, as We could hear some music coming from there. We continued down the beach and saw the tree with bottles hanging from it that distinguished Beto's Bar from the surrounding houses. The bar is the open-air lower level of a beach house built on pylons. The bottom level only had two walls and the rest of it was open to the beach and the sea. The structure was actually built around some tall palm trees (square holes in the construction let the trees grow through to the top floor). Tables were large wooden wire spools, and we chose one on the sand. I immediately took my shoes off and buried my toes.
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American music was blaring. People started to arrive and hang out by the bar. Both locals and tourists mingled here. Sebastian arrived, soon followed by Omar. The boys shared large bottles of Pilsener, and I drank piña coladas. I went down to the water line to try to get a photo back at the bar which was lit by red, green, and blue lights. After a couple of hours, the music changed to a Latin flair and suddenly folks were dancing and the party was in full-swing. We met Alberto, the proprietor. We were having a great time. There was a small outbuilding where the bathroom was located, and a light came on to indicate when it was occupied. We would wait for the light to go off and then head over to use the bathroom, only to find a line of people who had also done the same thing.
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By the end of the night I had had 5 piña coladas, and Omar was egging me on for a sixth."Seis!" he shouted. I told him he was witness (from earlier today) that I fall down even when sober, so it probably wasn't a good idea. We all had a good laugh at that. We stayed until the place closed at 12:45, when Alberto called it a night and sent everyone home. I bought a T-shirt which, after paying the tab, totally emptied Craig's wallet. The piña coladas were not cheap, but I can't help it that I'm allergic to beer!
We walked down the beach back to the hotel and were asleep as soon as we hit the bed at 1:15.

Return to Quito

We woke up at 6 am and got our things packed for the flight back to "the continent." We met Sebastian at 7:30 for a breakfast of juice, scrambled eggs, and coffee, and got a ride to the airport at 8:15. We checked into the tiny airport and sat with a few other passengers while they prepared the phe windows.
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We landed in Baltra and Sebastian checked us in for our 11:00 flight. We said our goodbyes and waited to board. It was incredibly hot at the airport and we waited on a bench in a part that was open to the outdoors. At 10:55 they let us into the departure area, which was closed in and even hotter. We were lucky to find seats and it was absolutely sweltering. At around noon they let us board the flight. The guy next to me refused to put his seat upright. Even when the flight attendant asked him to do it he wouldn't, and made her do it instead. The plane was full of people who had taken sea-based Galapagos trips, and we heard stories of many of them having gotten sick.
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We arrived very weary in Quito at around 4:00 pm. Guillermo the driver met us and we were instantly back to civilization, which was a bit of culture shock. He brought us back to <a href="http://www.eugeniahotel.com/en/about.htm">Hotel Eugenia</a>. We were feeling quite lazy and watched TV for a few minutes. I didn't know if I had the energy to go out and we contemplated eating at the hotel. But we roused ourselves and decided to take a short walk to find someplace nearby to eat and perhaps have a drink.
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On our way down to the lobby, we looked at some of the souvenirs they had on display at the hotel, and decided to buy a small-scale Virgen of Quito statue as well as a few other trinkets. The very friendly and helpful hotel proprietors had me inspect the items and then they wrapped them very carefully in newspaper and gave us a cardboard box in which to carry them. We ran them back up to the room and then headed out on the town.
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We walked around Mariscal and most places were deserted. I think we were out before most places opened, or maybe it was that it was a Sunday night. We found a brick oven pizza place open, but we didn't really feel like that. Craig wanted to go toward Mama Clorinda and check out the happening restaurant next door: La Boca del Lobo. This was a great idea, and we went inside. The place was an old house which had been turned ultra-modern. Glass walls had been added to create a porch overlooking the street, and the decor was extremely funky. Red and blue lights hung inside of bird cages suspended from the ceiling. Oversized portaits hung in huge gilded frames and it looked like something from Alice in Wonderland. It was hip and trendy, yet comfortable and inviting. We got a seat overlooking the street which made for fun people watching. Bagels made of glass hung from one wall, and mosaics of mirror and metal hung behind us. There were propane heaters on the glassed-in porch, as the glass walls stopped several inches from the ceiling.
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The waitress brought us menus that had metal covers and were about 3 inches thick. They had photographs of the food and were in English as well as Spanish. Everything looked so good! As a drink I got a "vainilla sunrise" (Absolut vainilla. grenadine, and orange juice) and it tasted delicious! After poring over the menu several times through, we decided on an appetizer and meals. For an appetizer, we got chicken brochettes which were mini skewers of chicken wrapped in bacon served with warm french bread and dijon mustard. They were delicious and very artfully presented.
For my meal, I got the "ferocious chicken" breast with cream cheese, chives, ham, white wine, and tarragon with french fries. Craig got the Dutch mini filet mignon wrapped in bacon with red wine and mushroom sauce and Dutch potato with ricotta and herbs. It was decadent. We felt that this was one of the best meals we had ever had. We could see Anthony Bourdain coming here as he eats his way across Ecuador. They must have a very talented chef here. The place was packed with people, so it obviously had a great reputation. Although it was a large restaurant, it was in an old building, so everyone sat in small rooms and it felt intimate while still seating a lot of people. Some rooms had regular tables and some had couches. We really wanted dessert but were quite full so we decided to share orange crepes with vanilla ice cream. It was so good!
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At around 9:30, we walked to <a href="http://www.magicbeanquito.com/">Magic Bean&ltgt; to get some pastries for tomorrow morning. The place was pretty dead and we caught the bakery clerk dancing to a Green Day song on the radio. His friend started cracking up and we said we wouldn't tell anyone. We bought apple blackberry muffins with buttercream frosting for the morning. We saw a lot of police around, and signs warning would-be thieves, drug dealers, and prostitutes that there were surveillance cameras in place. Indeed, we noticed a camera on the top of a telephone pole, panning across the streets. An insincere-sounding guy from California tried to beg for money from us. He claimed that he had been robbed, but other tourists told him he had approached them with the same story once before in a different city. It seemed like he was the type of person who was begging from tourists as a way to sustain his own vagabond lifestyle. If we were to give any money to beggars in this city, it certainly wouldn't be to this guy! The streets were pretty deserted, and we felt a bit paranoid as we walked back to the hotel. We packed our bags, and went to sleep.

Departure

We woke up at 5:00 am, took showers, ate the muffins we had bought at Magic Bean last night, and were ready for our taxi at 6. We quickly checked in at the airport where there was no line at all and then went through security. We went to our gate and were hand searched. No food or drinks were allowed at the gate, so I walked down the concourse, drank a Fanta, and brought one back to the gate for Craig. He stepped outside of the gate area to drink it. A large group of about a dozen people who had been on a Galapagos cruise together were seated next to us, and we overheard them recounting some of their exploits. We boarded the plane. It took off on time and we were served a heated ham and cheese breakfast sandwich with plantains on the flight.
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We landed in Miami at 1:50 pm and were through immigration and customs by 2:12. That is unheard of! We had Pizza Hut and Gatorade and did some people watching. Our plane took off on time at 4:05. It was an uneventful flight home, and we landed in Boston at 7:20 pm on Memorial Day.