Ecuador and Galapagos Islands

March 31 – We arrived in Quito without our luggage after a very eventful day travelling from Cancun. Our flight out of Mexico was delayed, setting off alarm bells that we would miss our connecting flight in Houston. We arrived in Texas with only 25 minutes to clear customs and immigration and get through security and make it to our gate at George Bush International. What ensued could not be repeated in a 1000 attempts. We pushed and cajoled our way through immigration and again through security. With three minutes to spare, we took off in full sprint through the terminal. Alana did not look back and arrived at the gate as they were closing the doors to the plane. The Continental Airlines rep radioed ahead. Ruth arrived next, followed by Tony. All of us were breathless and sweaty as we took our seats. The bags weren’t as quick. We went a day without anything we packed and fretted that the luggage would arrive the next day as we need to depart to Galapagos. About six hours before we had to depart for the islands, the bags arrived to the hotel in the middle of the night.

April 1 – We had a morning tour of old town Quito on a beautiful sunny day. The city is at 9000 feet and is nestled in the Andes Mountains on the equator, resting on a plateau. It is surrounded by snow-capped volcanos. The most recent eruption was 1999. Most of Quito was conquered by the Spaniards in the 1500s, before which the Inca’s destroyed what they had built on purpose before the Spaniards arrived.
Alana loved the huge cathedral that was covered on the inside with gold leaf. It was so detailed that when the church was restored a few decades ago it could only be cleaned using solvent on q-tips.
Although it has near perfect weather year-round and unparallel natural beauty, citizens live with the acute awareness that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions pose a constant threat. You can almost set your watch by the sunrise and sunset as it doesn’t change. Regardless of skin color, citizens and visitors wear sunscreen and hats due to the intensity of the sun.
Contrary to popular thinking in North America, Ecuador is not a violent or dangerous country. We found no threat walking the streets.
In the afternoon, we toured a museum on the equator and straddled the line with our feet. The sun was truly right above our heads and at noon there was no shadow. The museum also housed an exhibit of all the different peoples and cultures that still exist today throughout the country. There are some 25 in four distinct geographical and climatic regions: Amazon, the Andes Mountains, the Coast and the Galapagos. It made it feel that nine days in Ecuador is simply not enough.
Alana appreciated the diversity of native people in Ecuador.

April 2 – We took an early morning flight to the Galapagos via the coastal port of Guayaquil. It is only a 30 minute flight from Quito but Aero Gal managed to serve a full flight drinks and snacks. On the 90 minute leg from Guayaquil to Galapagos, we got lunch and drinks. It makes North American airlines look pretty pathetic. In Galapagos we boarded the M/V Legend with 94 of our closest friends from Europe, the US, South America and Canada. The first person Tony saw stepping on board was none other than former Prime Minister Paul Martin and his wife Sheila. They took a last minute detour on the way back from a conference in Chile. He was impressed we new some Liberals in Alberta, the few that are in the province, including Rob Van Walleghem, who helped him on his election campaigns. We found Paul and Sheila to be very likeable and they left quite an impression on people they met. You could pick out the Canadians by those who recognized him. Within the next hour we met an economist from Ottawa who worked for Martin when he was finance minister. She was surprised as we were to find him on the same ship. Truly a small world.
April 2-6 – Over the next five days we saw most of the islands and had stops on six. What struck us was how diverse the islands were from each other in terms of flora and fauna and marine life. This was due to the age of the volcanic islands and their elevation and climate. The higher islands get more rain fall. The first island we visited was like moonscape with virtually no vegetation or animal life, while another was like a rain forest with mucho plants and animals. Alana’s highlights were:
· Seeing penguins on Bartholme Island, our first stop.
· Getting up close and personal with vegetarian land iguanas and marine iguanas – both very prehistoric looking. She loved how marine iguanas snorted excess salt into the air after eating algae from the Pacific Ocean.
· Being within a few feet of sea lions on the beach, one which almost took a chunk out of one of our group members.
· Playing “The Shark” in the Neptune cabaret show. Ruth played a pirate. Tony hid in the back, posing as the official photographer, but was pulled into the show from one of the actors.
· Touring a volcano inhabit Ted by giant tortoises.
The trip was fascinating and very active. We had little down time. Every morning at 6:45 or earlier we awoke to music and a far too-happy greeting in Spanish and English through the PA system. The rest of the day was quite regimented, leaving us little down time.
We were one of the youngest families on the tour, but had the good fortune of dining each meal with a California family with a son Alana’s age. It was amazing how similar the two are in interests and disposition. They are interested in visiting us during the Calgary Stampede.
Most of the travelers were brave to handle the rigorous land and sea tours, keeping up a good pace hiking and snorkeling. Just getting on and off the pangas or dingys was a workout.
It takes all kinds. We were captivated and amused by the extravagant dress of one family who were surely guessed were Italian with their designer wardrobe. On one hike, the mother wore a poke-a-dot knee length dress with three-inch wedge heels and a floppy red hat. This was on an island with jagged volcanic rock and so many marine iguanas you would easily accidently step on them. Tony couldn’t resist capturing her in a photo. Every meal they wore a different ensemble and sometimes the same thing hiking. Turns out they were from Mexico City.
Galapagos was described to us as a zoo without cages and it lived up to the description. How Darwin was influenced was everywhere. We could see the adaptive changes as moved from island to island. We would highly recommend travel to the Galapagos.