on lists, dreams and luggage

As you know i tend to be slightly... nostalgic.

i wrote about this before, as a kid, I had this 1962 cassette that was lost :( . i listened to it quite a lot and took me years to recover, effort complete to the best of my memory.

The recovery effort can be found in a youtube list- see below

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR_Y9679to-jgQLQzy2p8qkmAXWYqlQjC

but why now all of a sudden.

this past Wednesday, I got to witness live- one of the songs on this list. Paul McCartney came to town. Inna got us tickets as a birthday gift (thanks inna). I am a Beatles fan, but not a real Paul McCartney fan beyond the Beatles year. still, on that day i was practicing on you tube to familiar with his other songs and he did not disappoint. the man is 74 year old but took no rest and sang 36 songs.... most shows rarely break 20- over 2 hours, he swapped guitar several times, played on the small guitar thingy- ukulele I think, keyboard and piano both and was very good on each of them. it is not a hard day's night when that is your opening song. I think he had fun out there as well, enjoying the adoring crowds.

he Sang Love me do, the one from my list, my favorite Beatles song 'fool n the hill. hey jude, yesterday and many more- i counted 21 songs i knew and could sing along- i think a record for me in a single show. an awesome show.

my throat was having a difficult time, the day before i took Mattan to the flats to see the beach boys!! only 1 original member is still there, but great show none the less and i am happily singing along while a hugged mattan sits on my lap playing pepe pig on my phone. he couldn't care less about the beach boys but i think he enjoyed being out with me. the river is behind the stage and ships both big and small pass behind and even rowing ships. downtown Cleveland is on the other side shimmering in the red of sunset.  this semi open venue allowed mattan to go up and down the stairs with me following and sit each time in a different section, much to the delight of other viewers.

we left the show just before closing to avoid traffic. this was my 2nd time with the beach boys. a great show.

2 days of sing along, the next day my voice was a bit off, but next week includes a possible surprise. the happy together tour comes again, and i can't wait,..  i've seen the show twice-  the turtles are the main attraction - but each time other bands join - i looked up some of the bands this time, i didnt recall the names but was pleasantly happy to see the songs they sing... more on that next week, when live videos will be uploaded and i need selfies with 5 sixties bands.:)

work is not something i often write about, it is clear to me that i am in the wrong profession. though i am good at testing, but it bores me to death. I guess i can be thankful for having a good stable job, but i want more, my problem was always what is this more, what career would make me happy.

when asked by my boss 8 years ago , what i want to do in five years, i surprised him by answering a writer. since then i am actively writing this blog, but never really wrote a book.

earlier this week, i got a facebook post about a couple who does travel blogging. that is probably my dream job, travel and write- what can be possibly better. the problem, there is always a problem, that that couple has no kids. I love my little baggage and suitcase, but i need to find a way to merge everything. smart facebook, probably from the previous mention, i got a sponsored posting for instructions on how to be a travel writer, i signed up and i am super excited.

I noticed along my history, that i can be very excited, very easy, but just as fast i can lose interest. but Travel and writing combined, how can that bore me?  for a long while 'ive been lost in a sense, career wise, but now i need to test myself, to see if i can pursue my dreams, leave the rut. not as easy as it seems. from what i read, you get paid per word, and most articles are short - 300 words, i dont travel this much to justify switching jobs and even when paid to travel (drooling so much....)  , a baby sitter will become an issue

so , can dreams come true?

hope to find out...

on dogs, street food and humming

I am sitting here at the airport…. booooooo. the john rockets sign is tempting me- shakes and burgers..

this morning , i managed to do a 20 minute stroll in Quito. our perfectly located hotels is 2 blocks from the main plaza. on my arrival, some dude were preaching next to the main statue. this plaza has an interesting structure on each side and one of them is the presidential palace. as i walk by i hear drums. a soldier is drumming and 15 or so soldiers on either side with old style rifle are marching up and down the halls. this seems to be a changing of the guards ceremony. our guide later told me they only change on monday. today is tuesday , i lucked out.

I walked around a bit more enjoying a city that used to be marvelous. most buildings are two stories building, with a shop at the 1st floor and 2nd floor balcony. building have different colors , cream, yellow, pink and the like, with trimmings, statues and other european style design. but it appears a bit run down. After the enjoyable stroll, i returned to the hotel, collected Alla and met our guide lincoln.

45 minutes later we left quito, passing several interesting building, cathedrals, squares and gardens. we reached the Middle of the earth. the line where the equator passes. there is a globe monument, with the equator line up down, not as globes are usually, but incorrectly appear.

the classic photo here is to have a foot on either side of the equator and the globe to appear as you are holding it. we did the same and some other silly things.

now north of the equator, we reached a crater valley. similar to the crater lake the prior day. this crater is 12k circumference. also lush green rim, but no lake here since the other rim is breached , leaving a fertile land. there is a small village in the crater, the only in carter inhabitant in Equador. from here we drove on of another hour till we reached Mindo in the cloud forest. the vegetation here is different, taller trees, thicker vegetation and lots of invisible bear, sloths, pumas, wild pigs and other ones we did not see.

we got a sandwich to go plus fresh mandarin juice which was very good. then , after buying a towel, we drove to the starting point and began hiking the cloud forest. Our excellent guide, explains about the various types of trees, ferns, orchid and more while we pass by lots and lots of pretty butterflies. we pass by two caterpillars. one looks like a stick, perfect camouflage, the other is fuzzy and looks like something you don't want to touch. birds are evasive here, we can't find any of them, the highlight Tucan has gone with the bears and sloths to wherever bears and sloths go… not here.

we passed by several waterfalls, creating pools below. at the end of the path was madras falls, a set of 2 falls back to back. we changed to bathing suits and entered the cold pool, and refreshed ourselves in the water fall. cold and refreshing. we had our lunch sandwich there (bad one), but the crackers were good, then walked back in the jungly trail. Here, perhaps due to the not so good cheese, alla had an emergency, the kind only a towel can resolve...

after 2 hours or so of walking, we reached the other side of the ravine where a cable car would take us the rest of the way. we flew over the canopy taking nice photos and then headed for tubing.

Tubing would be in rio Mindo. we drove by it and the water level was low, seems not great tubing water,  but tubing here is different. one central tube is connected to 6 other tubes all around it, star shaped, creating a sort of raft. the tubes are connected with ropes with the strongest knots known to equadorean nation. we are to sit on the connecting areas between the outer and inner tube , hold on, do another and enjoy. two guides one in front and one in back maneuver the raft. the water is low but this rift is very buoyant and can traverse anything. the water is a bit cold and every splash or dunk in one of the many tiny waterfalls and rapids we feel the chill. the cloud forest is around and we see a heron and a few other small birds and enjoy this 20 minute ride. this was a bit of an abs workout for me.

we showered in cold water and headed for the bird farm.

here, some dude planted plants that humming birds love, and hung feeders and bananas and other food. you just stand there, watching the humming birds drink the nectar and colorful tanager fly by enjoying the food as well. birds chase other birds and fight for food, thought there is plenty for all. beautiful colors and many species a meter away from us and our good zoom camera. 

we got some street food for the road. yummy cheese empanadas, Grilled plantain and Pizza del mara( with shrimp) mmmmm.....

sadly all good things must end and we drove for 2 hours back to the airport, where we now sit in Johnny rockets, with an american classic horrible shake compared to few of the locals one we tried.

we have a few hours to wait, perhaps we can return to Guacamole grill, their shake was superb.

it is time for a trip summation

Best animal sighting of the trip

Gil - family of six eagle rays swimming in formation

Alla - penguins 

Best excursion- 

Gill Snorkeling in Isabella - with seals and rays

Alla: same and the morning hike at Santa Cruz to the clear waters at the cove

Best food

Gil Everything equadorean soup- hard competition between the one after the snorkelling in Isabela to the one in Pappalacta

Alla - the trout soup at the hot springs

favorite place: 

Gil: isabela island

Alla: Isabella Island

worst place

gil and Alla: the airport for 2 days

worst food:

Alla: The dinner in Quito, beans and corn mixed with something else. 

Gil- agreed- with also that horrible tamale..   plus the cord snack Alla bought , terrible after taste. Alla gave some to a dog and he wouldn't touch it.

favorite guide:

Alla: Dario from G-adventures

Gil- lincoln was better...

favorite day on the trip:

Alla: The hot springs and snorkeling with Sea lion 

Gil - i object to Alla's comment since it was not on the same day.  i think Otavalo was best, 2 hikes….   

best shower:

Alla: At the hot springs

Gil -agreed- the rest were wither cold , or cold/hot or no stream ….

Most helpful United representative:

Alla: The lady at Houston Gerri who found the last 2 spots on the direct flight to quito. Thus preventing another delay if we were to fly through Panama City. And Vanessa at luggage claims who personally went to pull our luggage from its holding area somewhere in the airport. 

Gil- what alla said.

Best drink

Gil- shake in quito airport on day 1, mandarin juice in Mindo and the fruit shake Santa cruz

Alla- Orange juice in isabela- a stand at the harbor.

that's it… we hear thunder storms in Cleveland…. 

cheers from Equador, which makes country 62 

mystery 63rd will be in 2017… so many options… :)

on Art, Falcon and leather

I am sitting here in the dark. waiting for first light. 

Yesterday, we woke up a bit later than planned, picked quickly, had some breakfast with plantain and a nice spread and began hiking. the trail leaves the spa and climbs slowly in the rain forest. narrow trail, by a raging river, below massive green peaks. i was a bit fearful of hiking now, since i was dizzy the day before, but i feel ok now, a bit out of breath. the trail crosses the river a few times with narrow bridges where only a rope separates you from being fish food. I see a nice black bird with orange red beak and orange red eye socket, nice. we pass by Llamas and see cows grazing way up on the mountain, crazy hiking cows, they produce only 2% milk.

after an hour we returned to the hotel, short morning stroll only, our driver was waiting for the drive to Otavalo. we drive by Quito and head north, pass mountains. the high areas are foggy and the drive is slow. we pass by an accident site where this night a bus went off road to the ravine below > 100 meter drop. 3 unlucky souls.

the roads are mostly very good, but slow vehicles on it slow the progress. we stop in a place for souvenirs and view of a mountain/ lake combo. Alla gets some hideous snack which she likes. we keep on and reach Otavalo market. this is an indigenous market where the locals sell Alpaca ponchos , blankets, clothes, hats and souvenirs. the alpaca is probably not 100%, but we can't really tell.

i get a couple of tiny things and then go help carry the bags… after some heavy bargaining.

we drive to the a nearby town, i forget the name, where they specialize in leather. we have lunch of fish and potato soup while i dread the possible outcome of shopping in a leather district. but with restraints, the damage was minor and in 20 minutes we left town and headed for cuicocha crater lagoon. 

Imagine a crater, perhaps 1, 1.5 mile in diameter. All beautiful green. in this crater is a lovely blue water lake, in its centers are 2-3 islands, same color green, and and all around the crater are agricultural fields, villages and huge mountains.

the start hiking up the stairs trail at over 10,000 feet. slowly on the rim of the crater. most of the trails is dirt/ rock and that is easier to walk on but the stair are deadly. lucky, not to many of those. on occasion we stop to catch our breaths and take photos of this amazing lake.

the altitude is affecting me and i almost fell into the crater, very steep here. caught my self in the last moment, the whole thing in on camera.

Alla, was struggling as well now. it takes 5 hours to surround the lake, but we have 1.5 hours, just enough to get to to the highest peak at around 3300 meters. the trail gets close the this peak then surrounds it. i make it to the other side, for a different 3 islands view point and see a hawk/ falcon flying above, using thermals and stays in place. got  nice shot of it, then back down. 1 hour up and 40 minutes down. 

when we got down, i didn't see the driver, perhaps the elevation did affect me more than i thought. we walked more down towards the point where boats sail the lake then back up to the agreed point and the driver was now there, he was there before i just didn't see him in his big white mini van, where only 2-3 cars were parked in the parking lot.  i added maybe 0.5 to our trip, so not a big delay. now came the long ride to Quito, 2-3 hours. i napped some of it and enjoyed mountain views. Quito is very large and traffic at night but we finally reach the museum hotel. this is a 2 story building, converted to boutique hotel sucre. with Marble looking pillars, balconies, it is quite the fancy building with statues and large canvas art all around. this feels like a museum. this art can be easily placed in cleveland art museum, these images are much better then monet, manet and some other more famous but much less interesting photos. 

and now i am sitting here in the light (dawn is here) , around all this art in the middle of Quito, need to go pack, last day of the trip awaits.

cheers from a night at the museum.

on bunnies, thermals and doctors

I am sitting here ( i do that a lot lately) on the porch, misty green mountains tower above. thermal pool are steaming nearby and a bunny eats the greenery. it is drizzling just a tiny bit and chilly here at 10,000 feet (3300 meters) above sea level.

yesterday, as soon as we arrived, i felt dizzy, coming from, sea level itself and below it to up here was a bit much and i need to adjust. Alla is fine. we started with lunch, since we worked so hard on the plane and the drive, we felt we needed to get our energy back.

the equadoran  soup is great, fish stew, trout, Yuka, corn, peas and a few other nameless things. very nourishing. i had Pasta with cream sauce and cameron (shrimp), just perfect. Alla is developing an avocado fetish, had it again with chicken and mushroom. the desert chocolate cake was so so. my hot chocolate was divine and i also had coca tea to help adjust. in the background, my favorite hits were playing, back to back, but the music only. still very nice. but thought this wonderful meal i felt the dizziness. we asked the staff what to do, since this is fairly common here and they called a doctor. they have one on staff here. oxygen levels and blood pressure are good, and she gave me anti dizzy medication. worked quickly. we now tried the pools. the one's by the room are warm but not hot, yet relaxing. a while later we headed for the public pools, much larger and some warmer and relaxed. the clouds opened up and stars were visible. an hour later we return to the room, had to get ready for the message. 

Alla had a full body and i had legs and back. nice, a bit painful and i dosed off half way.

after all this work.. we took a light dinner- of this massive hearty soup, with few cups of coca tea and a desert crepe… yummy.

hard day for us…  sleep came quickly

we have a short hike ahead, breakfast and heading to otavalo. cheers from 10000 feet.

On bouncing, star fish and plantains

I am sitting here, for the first time in south america…..   6th continent!!!! 

in the car with our driver Ramiro heading to papallaca, potato land.

Yesterday we checked out, headed for the pier after getting wet suits, boarded a boat and went to a small cove hidden by the rocks. there are lots of tiny islands , somewhat connected, creating lots of protected areas. this area has turtles. as fast as i could i dove straight in. wow, lots of beautiful fish right away. i swim to the other side and see this beautiful blue star fish just sitting there, probably devouring something. a few corals here and there as well. we go to the center of this inner sea and we find them 10-15 sea turtles resting at the bottom 3-4 meters below. we watch them for a long while and i keep swimming solo. it is super easy to snorkel here, with the salt. I see a giant squid…  well giant for a shrimp, it is about 1 meter long, looks like a stick, with the one cool eye. some large fish about, there is one big blue one one bigger green and a large silver fish and it's edges shimmer in the light in rainbow colors. i swim on and find a manta ray, a medium one. this one is a bottom feeder, just staying there, eating of the ground and several smaller fish sorrowed him, munching on left overs. i see the squid again and the silver, green and blue fish and also a tiny blue incredible one. i almost get out and someone yells, marine iguana. i dive back in and swim fast to intercept the swimming lizard, amazing.

we regret not getting a water camera, but our fellow group members took wow shots and we will share them soon.

we returned to the boat and sailed passed islands looking for boobies. first we spotted a couple of penguins, chilling in the sun and later a pair of blue footed boobies. we were dropped on the island of tintorera, walked a bit between jagged lava rocks with fungus on top all i white, hence the island name of white tipped island. there , there is a little channel 2-3 meters wide and 50-80 meters across and inside we see a shark, white tipped reef shark and say wow, and then more and more. this is there resting place. some lay on the ground, sleeping, others swim about, must be 50 of them at least in this tiny area. fantastic. small fish swim by, but we hear these taste badly and the sharks leave them alone. we enjoy the sharks, crabs and iguanas and see more sea lions. 

we return to the hotel to shower and change and had again to isabela grill, for rice, fish, garlic bread and one pine apple piece for dessert- good meal and now water taxi and a speed boat to Santa cruz. now we went straight on the waves , jumping up and down, fun ride all the way for me but Alla was quite anxious. when some of the fellow party members had to pee, a group effort was needed to move them from the bouncing site to the small bathroom next to the bags, quite the joyride. we saw albatross flying by , but the bouncing boat made it impossible to zoom in.

we reached Santa cruz, hopped a water taxi and headed a short, quick bio inspection , check in and now a little shopping time for souvenirs, i obtained a few priceless little miniatures and few other things, we then headed or cake. by the time Alla realized she left a souvenir bag in a shop, it was closed.

we went for dinner. i had the equatoreana pizza. with bacon and Plantain, not bad at all. we walked around more, buying this and that, than walked the pier again and watched a pelican dive in from the pier, gets it's reward and flies back up, while lots of sharks circle below. we then go to a club for a bit of billiard and dancing before we go night night.

early morning i packed quickly, had a mission to accomplish. i walked around the fish market and found a pelican tree, 8-10 of them were napping on this tree, got a selfie and then i saw the biggest turtle you have ever seen,, 2-3 meters tall, enormous , i tripped, fell and somewhat got a selfie with my lags up high. unhurt :)  i returned to the hotel, we had breakfast - i like the fried plantain balls- verde ballon it is called. we took the bus to the ferry, ferry to the bus, bus to the terminal. last minute shopping and a plane to Quito. and galapagos makes 61…

and now sitting here in the car, 2 km away from Pappalacta …

cheers from south america.

on Eagles iguanas and crepes

I woke up early next morning and headed out at around 6 am when the pelicans were feeding. The pelicans fly on the water, rise, then dive down, try to catch something, lay there in the water. at the same time, another 2-3 birds of a different species, fly above the pelican and when they open their mouths to move the fish from the net parts to their throats, these birds try to steal the fish.. when the pelicans land, these birds sit on top of them and wait for an opportune moment . the pelicans fly else where, back and forth and these birds follow them around. incredible.

after the pelican morning feast, we had our good breakfast, went to the pier, enjoyed the iguana's , sea lions and crabs , then hopped the water taxi and then speed boat for 2 hours. we buzzed by tortuga island, witnessed tons of crabs, more sea lions and lots of birds, then reached the largest island of this archipelago, Isabela.

on the water taxi to shore, i already saw one medium sized sting ray , great start. Sea lions and Iguanas welcomed us on shore. we checked in and went to the highlands. 

here lies the 2nd largest volcanic crater in the world. sierra Negra. on arrival the rim was covered in cloud, we began hiking upwards for close to an hour on a nice wide path. we passed some wild flowers and a couple of coastal viewpoints till we reached the rim of the caldera. the whole caldera is black, so a fitting name of this mountain. last eruption in 2005, still fresh and no vegetation is seen below. its hotter there and filled of underground lava tunnels, so we chose not to hike it.. we waited for the fog to clear and managed to get  view of almost the entire 8 by 10 km crater. I told the guide that i believe i've seen larger craters in island, he corrected that this is the 2nd largest shell crater. ahh, important distinction. the largest of this kind, ngorogo is 3 times larger, an mazing place in tanzania.

almost tripped and fell into the crater, lucky someone was there with a camera.

we hiked back down and rode to the "city". few minutes later were were at the beach where 50 to a 100 iguanas were lumped together on rocks. we seem a bit and played beach volley ball. they also had tight rope walking, way up high, a meter or so off the ground. tried to walk for  while, not easy at all, made it half way and more of the top but not to the other side. some locals, jump up and down on the thing, good balance.

Alla had 2 drinks and was a bit tipsy.  we took lovely photos of coastal sunset and returned to get ready for dinner at isabela grill. I ordered langoustine risotto. Garlic bread came first, yummy, followed by the main dish. very good risotto, except some evil mushroom i had to remove - luckily in large pieces. as i am enjoying the dish immensely, i notice that this lobster tastes like chicken, that was so since it really was chicken. someone else ordered chicken risotto and the waiter was confused, and now was very apologetic. 

once again we turned in early for the night.

6:30 we were out the door for a morning stroll, we reached the harbor, passed some crabs, we don't pay attention to them any more and examine the water. just as alla concludes that there is nothing to see here, a Pinguin passes below, so adorable and swims away. we circle the harbor and see two more very close to us, but they are scared and disappear. we keep waling the beach in and around the mangroves, passing many Marine iguanas waiting for the sun to rise.

we reached the main pier where the cute seals were waiting. we saw seal breastfeeding, so cute. we noticed a little boardwalk path and followed it. 3 seals , one at a time were blocking our path by napping on it. one was played out across, I climbed the fence a bit to not wake the poor things. at the end was a beautiful cove. crystal clear waters, crabs up close, fish below and also a swimming marine iguana. wow. that thing can swim, they almost walk on the water.  we decided that this is a great place to snorkel , but no gear with us. we returned to the hotel for breakfast and to rejoin the group. bathing suit on, we returned to the pier and began kayaking. we passed by seals, sea turtles, we saw a couple of blue feet boobies and another pinguin get up, stretch and for a few minutes refuse to dive in, he was in a diving position but not going for it with all cameras pointing at it.

at the end of the tour, a family of 3 seals just waited next to us playing around, the papa seal keeps directing the baby seal what not to do.

then we went snorkeling , lucky at the very same cove from this morning. i dove in quickly. wow, lots of fish species. i seem around the cove , seeings more and more fish and then passed the center where its 7 meters deep and no rocks below, only a handful of fish here and then i see 6 of them. white spotted Eagle rays. these ray are flying underwater in formation. their spots, especially of the young are glowing, their wings flow effortlessly and their tails are a bit longer then their body. they swim slowly and i am easily able to keep up and watch these graceful fish.

at the ramp, the entrance to the cove, a couple of seal are having fun. they come to us snorkelers , "charge" then dive down quickly, they just sit in the water, up side down, head pointing below and stare at us, getting closer, making loopy loops, jump up and down and being adorable. our group also swims below making bubble which we hear they love. most of the group does this the whole time we are there, i join the fun on occasion, since i have yet to see a giant squid of blue sperm whale in this tiny cove. i see the rays again, same family and follow then again. finally it comes, the marine iguana swims from the far side along the edge. i spot it first :) and alert the group, i was warming up a bit , and quickly put the mask on and few of us seem to meet and greet the iguana, but we were not alone, the seal also came. i managed to see the iguana swimming from underneath, so cool. and then the seal comes and tries to nibble at it's tail. we heard later that seals like to do that. i thought it was just annoyed the Iguana took all the attention.

sadly we departed paradise, headed for lunch. I would never go to this sea food place on the beach or ordered what they planned for us. never.  but lucky we went there and had a soup of everything- squid, tuna fish, corn and even Yuka and plantain amongst other unknowns. i was cold and the warm soup hit the spot.  get orange juice, freshly squeezed came with it , and fish for main course. 

on the walk back to the hotel, Alla spotted  crepe place, the crepe was wrapped around a whole banana with chocolate… mmm.

we changed and went back to the highlands, hopped on mountain bikes and rode down the hill, the 1st part was fun and fairly steep , the rest fairly flat but down. we stopped by a pond filled with beautiful flamingos and learn about them a bit, then reach the giant tortoise breading center. this place produces 150 Tortoises a year. they collect the buried eggs and place them in incubators. if you change the legs angle you kill the egg, very gentle things. we saw Giant tortoises of all ages, younger was a cuddly 5 months old. we even saw embryos , 1,2,3,4 months old.  (they hatch at 5 months) then spend 4 months in the ground, eating the egg yolk and breathing from the shaft dug for them.

we returned to town, bakery stop for cinnamon rolls, back to the volley ball beach, but no one was plain today. i walked the beach and saw a big heron. another water bird was looking for food in the shallow water and found something and some other small birds were lurking nearby waiting for a chance to grab the loot. life is awesome here.

Alla was in an internet cafe at the time, supposedly, i went looking for here and found here in … the crepe place, where the wifi was good. we had to have crepes again, before dinner. dinner this time was so so for alla, rice and crabs, i had a good borrito and fish. we considered going for deserts… 

and now i sit here at the hotel, breakfast soon, need to go pack, we are going snorkeling later and today return to Santa cruz. hope to see more awesomeness today.

cheers from Isabela 

 

on turtles, boardwalk and Quinua

I am sitting here, on a little boardwalk overlooking a beautiful beach, this is black lava rock beach, waves are crashing on it, and every few seconds heads of turtles emerge, they are just everywhere. 

Yesterday, we finally made it to the island of Baltra. from the air it appears a desolate place, and appears desolate from the ground as well. we leave the plane and notice the unique trees right away. we enter the terminal, pay the 100$ park fees, and while waiting for the bag i spot my first lizard. we go on the bus to the ferry. few cacti trees are scattered about, and no wildlife, 10 minutes later we reach the ferry from Baltra island to Santa cruz and there, a Pelican flies above. sea birds of all kins fly or dive in the water. 2 minutes on the ferry and another bus on the other side. a slow moving bus.. the coastal desert is quickly replaced with the greenery of the highlands, very dense but low vegitation line.

the bus goes slowly upwards, where the air is chillier, and eventually began to descends and we see the coast line again and the city of porto ayora. 

We notified the tour company of our delay, and were told that they would leave instructions on how to meet the group. when we arrived, the clerk looked at us with negative eyes, no note. we checked in and hear that they will pick us up in 5 minutes. we are starving and don't want to go on an excursion with no food. i dash out to find a quick bite. the pizza place has no ready made pizza. few other stores don't have anything snack worthy. a restaurant nearby has sandwiches. I share my need for hasty food and they begin making cheese basil and tomato (for Alla). some of you know that i gets quite antsy when there is a dead line to meet, i am in a rush and the cook is taking her sweet time. it takes a few minutes to understand what base is.. turned out to be basil. then i watched them slowly, cut a fresh tomato, slowly ripping fresh basil leaves. com'on. i am late and hungry, get the stuff you left laying around all day..  while waiting, Alla calls, the group has arrived and their next destination is …. lunch!

i get the sandwiches and head back, and now we all go to lunch, to some local place.

on the 3 minutes walk to the restaurant, we already see Iguanas, pelicans and seals, the seals just lay there, adorable.

the 1st dish is a basil soup i think, never had that before, yummy.  A tropical type juice is served followed by Tuna. i strongly dislike tuna in a can, that oil is nasty to me, but this fresh Tuna fish is nice with Garlic sauce.  some jelly thing is for desert, i can eat like this every day. in between, we also munch on the sandwich.

recovered, we took the bus and headed for the highlands. first we saw cows with herons, not a real endemic species and then we started seeing them. Huge tortoises! you've seen them on TV but it is unreal when seen up close. massive reptiles. we walk in their natural habitat, see them walk, eat or mostly just lay there, the most odd aspect is their breathing, it is sort of a hiss if you get a bit too close and it is quite scary. we get really close and take great photos. we see them eat grass and guava and hear random facts from the guide, Dario (not nahares).

be careful of ants here. tiny ants, but they do bite…

they also have giant tortoise shells and we full around, get in them and try to move, very heavy, we see a lot of bones and wonder on the strange way they move around, very similar to swimming motion, but when you put the shell on, it seems the only way to move. we try a some sour lemon orange pop sickle and leave this wonderful place.

next we head for the lava tunnels. this is a dormant volcanic area, but underneath are these long tunnels where lava used to flow, when this area was submerged in sea water, this tunnels was one of many chimneys from the earth's core. we hike this tunnel for a while, it is very tall and dark, but lanterns are scattered along the way. next to one of them we see a little green growth, even in the dark with the lantern light, life finds a way,

we return to the low lands, pass a few tortoise crossing signs and go get ready for dinner. I have some free time and go explore looking for snacks, as the next to islands are more remote. i buy water shoes, since i left mine at home and find the supermarket, get some snacks, wait a long time in line, lose track off time and arrive at the hotel 10 minutes too late and the whole group is waiting, awkward.

same as my last G ADVENTURES tour, there is a family of 5 from Canada, aussies, brits, israelies (us) and also a german couple. everyone is very nice and friendly. there is a side street filled with restaurants and every night they close off the street, fill it with tables and chairs. this is where locals eat and lucky so do we. you can order from any place and sit in any place. we order fresh fish with garlic sauce on the grill and a lobster, with rice and fries. we also go to a juice bar, i get Banana and orange shake. Alla gets orange and naranjillo. there is a tomato plant here that is used for juice, it looks like a mango, this naranjillo is from the same family. i tried hers, very good. it was better with the piles of sugar in this drink.

we sit with everyone in another place, most of the group has pizza or burgers while we enjoy the lobster/ fish combo. we chitchat and see Monday night raw on the big screen, my kind of place.

after wards we sample ice-cream and walk to the pier. here, with the pier lights, dozens of reef sharks swim below, so many it feels like a horror movie. they are small mostly, but no one goes swimming. there is also one seal, Fred, he is trained i hear, he sleeps in boats, we see him go up the ramp, lay there on a bench and kind of plays with the adoring tourists.

its bed time, after tow nights of max 5 hour sleep and stress time, early night is what we need. we have free time in the morning and plan to wake up at 6:30 and go hike.

my phone is somehow and hour early and we wake up at 5:30. enjoy breakfast, of melon, water melon, bred and some nice cheese, pancakes and head for les tiegras. at the harbor, we get a water taxi to the other side of the bay and we go by a local trips that passes  few houses and a few marshes, we see lots of lizards, herons, tons of crabs and take photos galore. we pass a big pond of minerals, the ground is white and red, slight sulfur smells, and one fisherman working in the water, he is a bit far and we are unsure of what he harvests. with this remarkable nature all around, i suddenly get an urgent call. it is early, around seven, everything is closed and i have no emergency supplies or a place to go. but nature wants what it wants and i go in between cacti… not the type of leaves you want to use! lucky Alla stole a towel from the hotel. so it you see a random towel in Galapagos, don't go near it.

we continued on this lovely trail and reached los tiegras. and WOW, this place is where the earth's crust split. there is a 10 meter or so gap between the cliffs and as high as 15- meters and in the bottom you have fresh water intermixed with sea water. this natural tunnel of clear water, is just incredible. only us here and we change to bathing suits, ensure no sharks are here. we do see several fish below and we jump in off the ramp to the cold clear water. right away we get out, the fear of the giant squid that must be lurking in the paradise scares us. we go out, go to the ramp, dive in and get out multiple times.

i got new goggles on loan but something is wrong, the vision is unclear, at one point, alla points to something in the water, it is in the shape of a goggle, and i realize i didn't take the speaker of them, which explains the murkiness. we get the speaker out of this pristine waters and take the other one out as well. next dive, something is wrong again, goggles were up side down. the next jump i am finally managing to operate a set go goggles.. most of the fish are gone by now, with our jumps disturbing the water. regretfully we leave paradise, as we hike the cliffs on top, the next couple arrives, they do not fear the giant squid and swim across and we feel foolish. 

we enjoy the cacti, the lovely bay views and the occasional bird and make our way back to the dock, where a water taxi awaits.

—sorry took a break for dinner…. 

it is now morning, and again i am on the little boardwalk, overlooking the ocean. Isabel islands can be glimpsed in the distance, but here on florin its a nice warmish morning.

yesterday with the water taxi we reached the Darwin research station, the water here is shallow and the boat took its time to avoid the perils of the not so deep.

there is no fee, we just walk in to shore, and loads of crabs make way for us, but the Iguana do not give a damn and just lay there. we visit the main hall, where info boards are scattered. we are short on time, but alla must consume every word. i prod her along. we go see the breading areas, but here it is more like a zoo, though it is a re-breading program, so not so bad. the turtles here are big, but smaller then the day before. we don't linger and walk back to town. we pass by more info signs about the local flora and fauna and again i am prodding alla. we reach a place that is a must for alla. a cemetery,  it is nice looking, graves are above ground all in marble, nicely decorated. this is a place for alla since every tombstone is like an info board..she must read it all.

we pass by a few stores and Alla gets a hat. we pass by the fish market and now early, fisherman are coming in with their catch of the day. on this wharf, fish are on display for the restaurants to buy. they are gutted and cleaned, but behind and all around are other visitors. Pelicans, seals and gull are swarming all over the place. the seals come to the carving table, and get chunks of fish from the sellers. gulls try to pry left overs from a chewing seals, pelicans just stare and i can see what they are thinking,  "just, look there for a second: and they are ready to pounce, we saw one of them catch a big fish and the bulge was visible in its stretchy bag thingy.  an mazing experience. we reached the hotel, I took a refreshing shower, checked out. and headed for the supermarket for more supplies.

the group went to the harbor for the biological inspection. here each island is its own protected area. when moving between islands, you are inspected to remove all fruit, seeds and clean our shoes. we do that and watch fred the seal just lay there in a boat.

we go to lunch, garlic fish for me with a shake and some other fish for alla, all very fresh with no pelican bite marks on it.

we board the water taxi to the speed boat and head out to sea. there are two seats on top in front and i go grab them, Alla joins, here on deck it is more bouncy and you can see ahead, for a while we bob up and down. this is calm waters, and I enjoy every bounce, but Alla does not like it and we switch place for below. here it bounces less. i lay on the floor, and take a nice nap, 2-3 hours later we reach floreana.

we, move to the water taxi and go ashore. the crabs are everywhere in their hundreds and six or so seals are resting on the pier, we enjoy filming them and as we head out, i see a large lava iguana, partially red on the rock. it was camouflaging, so beautiful, i stare at it and then the group moves to the side and right there, i didn't even move a step, about 50 of these lizards, just piled one next to the other… 

we get our flippers and goggles, take a vehicle called the goat, to our beach front huts and go snorkeling from that same pier we arrived on.

i go in quickly, the water is cold here, and after  minute, a shark, a big reef shark 1-1.5 meters long just swims below me, freaking terrifying, but he goes on and so do i. we glimpse lots of fish and several more baby sharks. we could see turtles of the pier, in the same area we now snorkel, but they moved on now.  close to the end of our freezing tour, the seals hop off the bay and i see two of them swimming by very fast. it is a frightening experience to snorkel here, since you view is limited and you can't hear much, you look to the side and a shark, or even a fellow snorkeler. if something else was out there you do not see it till you are fish food. i see some sea urchin and more fish before leaving.

we return to the huts, see more turtles bobbing their heads in and out of the water. shower and then dinner. the restaurant owner greets us, this is a really tiny village. we get cream of spinach soup, nice and warm, fried Yuka which was good, rice, fish and i ignored the plate with broccoli. chocolate cake for desert. 

we thanked the chef and return to the huts. this is cloudy day on a dark islands. shame the stars would be amazing, next night perhaps.

it's 8-9 pm, no internet, no tv, pitch dark, so we go to sleep early. i wake up before 5 am. and now i am here on the boardwalk. more snorkeling today, breakfast will be served soon, i am quite hungry. by the time you get this entry, i will likely be on Isabela island or even back on Santa cruz, there is a signal here, but too weak to connect.

cheers from the boardwalk.

…

well, no internet here, i am continuing this entry, once again on the chair in front of the lava lodge. this morning after a good breakfast, we walked for 20 minutes along the beach to a little beach that has sea turtles. we snorkeled right in and there they are, huge creatures, moving slowly in the water, moving their front legs only. so serene. for an hour or so we seem with them occasionally seeing small sting rays and other less noticeable fish. very cold and relaxing experience. we returned to the lodge and headed for a black sand beach. Sea lions and iguanas are taking a nap here and we sat 2-3 meters from them taking photos. if you get a bit too close, they object loudly and in a scary manner. we maintain a safe distance (of 2-3 meters away!) , lunch followed, with a very troubling soup - Quinoa and cabbage, the troubling part is that i ate it, and am still alive.

the rest was rice chicken and ignorable salad. but also pineapple juice and a fruit cocktail.  rest time came, but i chose to walk again to the same beach, now in high tide. the place we rested was now soaked. took photos of birds, crabs and more sea lions and returned to the lodge.  in the afternoon we took the goat truck and headed to the highlands. Dario explained about the history of this island with it's criminal and or crash inhabitants while we gaze at giant tortoises. it was a very short hike with island stories. it drizzled just  tiny bit and fog covered the peaks.

on the way down, we were given sugar cane and cut it to enjoy its sugary content. and now we wait for dinner. this active trip has more food than i imagined and not enough hikes to make up for it, i need a serious hiking trip..

cheers for now from the boardwalk where sugarcane pieces can be found everywhere.

on lines heat and shakes

The Andes from above are remarkable, jagged lower picks, volcanic, strewn with ravines and above the clouds several huge peaks are visible.

we are currently in Guyaquille, in a lay over, this is end of flight 3, where next leg is hopefully heading north west.

yesterday, a minute after finishing the rant blog. the agent came with great news, she had found our bags. joyously we picked them, moved some items to our day packs and that moved on to the check in counter.

the united drop off, told us to go to the special services, to allow pulling the bags in quito. in the line, one agent told us, to pull in quito, we would have to repay, another line agent wanted to send us to the drop off where we just came from. the level of incompetent is sky rocketing. Alla insisted of talking to another agent, that looked more knowledgable. soon we earned that you have to pull in the bags in quito anyway for immigration and you simply dont put them back. no need to pay extra.

we now checked if the flight direct to quito opened up, and luckily someone cancelled and we got the last two sits!!, good news back to back. this flight would leave Houston 2 hours later. it was 11:30 am and now baggage free and somewhat worry free, we hopped on a bus to downtown after strongly considering going to Uncle julio's our favorite Mexican place, but it was a bit far and pricy with the cabs. cool day in Houston, 91 degrees. we asked round and locals pointed us to main street and to a local place, the moonshiners. i had some meal with plantain and some strange thing i don't want to know what it was.

Alla had tacos and  bear. this was a southern place, and ha good quality. recharged, we decided to battle the heat. Alla , due to affect of the bear was barely walking, 2 blocks later we stopped at a place with ice cream , i had some while she napped. main street is nice, but not beyond that, we took some photos of a few sculptures and the biggest wizard hat looking sculpture you have ever seen. on the walk back in the next street we saw a crowd in front of a hotel, clearly waiting for some celeb. the crowd had basket balls , posters and other stuff ot sign on. apparently the US olympic team is scheduled to arrive!!, we waited for the bus at the station right next to the waiting people, hoping for star luck. a bus came, all cameras were pointing, signs in the air, us chants an then a short bold white guy leaves the fancy bus, clearly not a players, a few other staffers leave to the the disappointment of the crowd. we were sweating in the shade, these people are waiting for hours in the scorching sun. finally our bus came and we missed out, but the AC in the bus was perfect. back to the airport, quickly through security, my 6th time i think raising my hands up for the scan machine this trip alone. as we walked to our gate, we passed by a panama city flight delayed for two hours, this was out previous flight, had we not grabbed the last seats, we would have miss the panama to quito connection. real OMG moment. we boarded and 5 hours later landed for the 1st time on south american soil. i was excited, my 6th continent!

At this point i get a notification from United. one of our 4 suitcases did not arrive. most odd since we only checked in two pieces...  

it was close to 11, we quickly passed through customs and Alla was shocked to find out that there is no local currency , they use us$ , and US outlets. since these are the types of things i usually forget or have issues with, it was great, to not need to worry. our bags did wait for us, no issues, not sure what was wrong with that text message.

we got a nearby hotel and went to sleep just after midnight. wake up call at 5:30.

we landed last night and could not see the mountains well, but now they towered above the city, all around, blue skies and a bit chill morning air, felt great. we came for the 6: am shuttle, which was full, we took a cab instead of waiting, stood in line for the galapagos taxes fee. 20$ each, filled the form and had the biological bag scan.

we now tried to get on an earlier flight, since our fellow group travelers will be enjoying a hike in lava tunnels very soon. no luck here. we tried with our own company, the one that flies the other earlier flight, but we gave up on trying with an unrelated company.

after security , no raise your hands machine here. we went by a place called the guacamole grill and sat for breakfast.

the super yummi shake came first, heaven.  then cream of potatoes soup, very rich and then some big ball made of plantain, stuffed with cheese with some spicy sauce resembling chimi churry , but not quite. a perfect meal to start the south american adventure.

we then board the flight to Guayaqulle. the site of the mountains was divine.

we are now close to 40-50 minutes on the plane,

take off damn you...

we hope to make it in time for the kayaking trip...

cheers from seat 22A.