on floors, ice cream and a broom

woke up this morning at 6:00, a bit earlier then usual with no indications that this cold fall Saturday would be eventful.

before 7 am... Tal is playing in the kitchen and decides to pull the plastic tray thingy where various dishes were drying on, something hits Tal, and the rest crash on the floor. i hand the little dish puller to Alla and begin cleaning the floor. one of the ceramic glasses broke its handle, the rest survived.

A few minutes later there is a knock on the door, Babushka and diedushka visit. i am still looking for fragments, when i see something falling in my peripheral vision, and i rush to the front door to help Dina get up off the floor, she tripped somehow, but is unhurt.

Babushka brings a Russian treat for the kids- its a mix of chocolate and cheese. Mattan enjoys it, but some pieces fall on the floor. i clean it...

Tal comes for breakfast and also gets the same treat. i clean the floor again.

Diedushka walks in the kitchen and his knees buckle, he falls on the floor. lucky it is clean! and i am right near by, i help him up and few seconds later he falls again. I help him to the couch and give him some pedialite (juice with electrolites) . its 8:25 and Alla calls the cavalry and has to leave for work.

Cavalry comes and takes him for a check up- it was dehydration - nothing serious - but still worrisome for a while. 

Tal does his morning business and i go change. he is becoming impossible to change, this is one strong baby. I scrape the gift with the diaper and put it on the side but he fights and places his socked foot right in the surprise. with a messy foot, he decides to squirm, turn around, dirty his leg, the change pad cover and possibly some other things. socks to the wash, pad to the wash, baby to the sink. i hope i got all of it. to my surprise, nothing on the floor.

Mattan is eating some cerniki - Russian flower and cheese thingy.- he is eating, but tal decides to take his apart....long story short, i clean the floor.

it's about 9:30 and we finally head out to the gymboree- the kids get to run around in a fairly safe environment, play next to (not with) other kids. since we came late to the cass we stay a little bit extra and watch as they clean the floor between classes.  now they tell me , that since mattan is not registered there, i have to pay a bit...not for me, going back home.

the corn is ready now and Tal takes a pieces, after eating it hungrily, he takes the left over corn and decides to smudge it all over the clean floor, which is not clean any more... i get to do my favorite activity of the day.

 

Tal goes to sleep and Mattan gets a good clean lunch. and I take mattan for a nap.  since Mattan does not sleep, i dont get much sleep either. post nap, Tal, the picky eater, eats bread and cream cheese, gets creamy from chin to both cheeks and nose, and some of the crust and cream hits the floor... will this day ever end.

its around 2:30 PM and i take them to the zoo, what ever happens, our floor will remain clean.

we see the elephant and the flamingos, both are right at the entrance, Tal runs towards the elephants area, and Mattan decides that seeing the tiger is the number one think he really really, reallllllllly wants to. an un-napped child is a fit waiting to happen.. the fit just started. i take Tal and we head towards this number one priority. luck the fence is nearby, both walk on the fence. we pass by the carousel.  i try to focus attention on the path to the tiger, but Mattan has a new number one priority... please............... i really want to. who can argue with that logic.

last year, kids under two could enter free, but no longer, and they increased prices by 25% , these animals. Tal didnt want to go on, and by the end, didn't want to leave the carousel. Mattan selected the Lion and asked me to have tal, sit way over there.  since he can't ride alone, Tal got the horse next to the lion.

back to tiger priority , we walked for a minute, almost made it to actual animals and passed by a snack booth and Mattan now wants ice cream, he really wants ice cream, he really, really really wants ice cream . I tell him, he will get it tonight, but he wants it now... never mind the snack booth is closed... the fit is back in full swing, He is crying so bad for the ice cream and i refuse to give in to these demands, and tell him, no ice cream today,  adding lots of oil to this zoo flame. for several minutes we are in a stand still, while Tal tries to run in all directions. after a while, we begin to go back and reach the carousel once more, Mattan is giving in and wants to play in the play area. i have him do STAR- smile take a deep breath and relax slowly count to ten and he finally relaxes and gets to play for a while. back in control we pass the fence and they go on it. then the tram bus passes, a new number one priority , we get on the tram to the area of cats, apes and others but instead of going in, Mattan leads us to kiddie  slides. they go up and down , then back on the bus down, and finally out- this entire zoo visit, for two hours we only saw elephants and flamingos... on the way mattan passes another snack booth also closed and tries to pry it open, no go. and also discusses his plan of getting his favorite rice (from trader joe's store). two minutes in the car and he is finally asleep.

back at the house, Tal get more corn, he likes corn, but now the mess is on the couch...

I give him apple pieces, i see them disappearing and give him more, excited the picky one is eating.  a few minute later, i spot the remains, which are pretty much all the apple pieces, left on the stairs... back to cleaning.

Alla comes home and Mattan wakes, she gives him cereal, half of it ends up on the floor. at this point, the broom quits.

we're trying to feed Tal soup, and alla asks a shocking requests, feed him on the floor, we sit down, but 101% of the soups goes on the floor.    clan duty once more.

now they are all asleep... i am sitting here, enjoying some ice cream!

cheers from the couch next to a very clean floor,,,, for a few hours more..

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