Wednesday 16th November 2011 - Overcast and cold in morning, sunny in afternoon

I woke up this morning with a sore throat which can only mean I am getting a cold.  Figures given how cold I was snorkelling yesterday.  I’m not the only one either; half the people who went snorkelling yesterday are getting sick.  This morning we had a 3hr walk on Fernandina Island are Punta Espinoza.  I went in Tommy’s group today (but unfortunately still got stuck with Heidi!).  We saw thousands of Marine Iguanas, Sea Lions and their babies, Lava Lizards, Sally ? Crabs, Flightless Cormorants, Sea Turtles, a Sting Ray, Hawks and a Galapagos Racer (snake) as well as different age lava flows.  It is an incredible island and it’s fascinating to think there is life there given that there isn’t much vegetation or any soil for anything to grow in.  Tommy let us sit down near a one month old Sea Lion and it went around to a few people sniffing their shoes.  It was so tiny and so cute.  It had just come out of the water and rolled in sand so it blended in with its surroundings.  We didn’t see its mother but no doubt she was keeping an eye on it.  It then found a piece of seaweed and started playing with it.  It was just great to watch.  The other babies were annoying their Mum’s and again, so cute to watch.  There is always a male on watch to make sure they don’t leave the tidal pools.  One baby was playing with its Mum (annoying her) and then got distracted by a Lava Lizard that was trying to catch the flies (that buzz around the Sea Lions’ eyes) and this baby then started chasing the lizard.  It was so funny.

The Iguanas are fascinating.  They jump in out and out of the water swimming and feeding and then all sit together sunning themselves.  We saw some babies but they were on a different lot of rocks to the adults.  Walking along the sand you have to be careful where you step because there are lizards everywhere and they just blend in with the sand.  Once back on the boat we had 20min before lunch, which was an Ecuadorian buffet.  I sampled a few things but I don’t feel like eating today.

After lunch I headed up to the sun deck with the intention of sorting my photos but ended up falling asleep instead.  We arrived back at Isabela Island and disembarked for a panga ride around Punta Vicente Roca.  Only a few people went snorkelling and I didn’t want to go because I didn’t feel very well.  I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t go but we saw the same as them but from above instead.  The water was crystal clear with perfect visibility.  I gave my compact camera to Tommy who took some absolutely amazing shots of Sea Turtles, Penguins and Sun Fish.  He can definitely use my camera better then I can!  On top of the water we saw the same things.  The Sea Turtles were in the hundreds.  All casually swimming around and resting on the sandy bottom.  It was so good to see.  We also saw some Blue Footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Hobby’s, Pelicans, Cormorants, Fur Seals and lots of Iguanas.  There were a lot of caves along the waters edge and we ventured in to a few of them.  The clarity of water was faultless.  The view of the island was also faultless (it’s the chin of the seahorse shaped island) with volcanoes and tuff cones.

Once back on the boat we started off on a 14hr journey to our next destination in time for tomorrow morning.  On the way we crossed over the Equator and were invited into the bridge to see the navigation system click over to 0 00 000.  In celebration we were given a glass of champagne and sushi.  Afterwards I stood up the front with Tommy and Franklin and they were identifying all the birds we were seeing (there were so many) as well as Sun Fish, Sea lions, Sea Turtles and Whales.  It’s the most wildlife we have seen on the water whilst cruising so far (it’s also the least windy day we’ve had).  Almost everyone has asked for a copy of the photos tommy took, including Tommy as they were really good, so that memory card is doing the rounds at the moment.

Tuesday 15th November 2011 - Sunny, windy, 26⁰C air temp, water temp 15⁰C

Over night we travelled throughout the whole night and awoke to a lovely view of Isabela Island. Today was jam packed with things to do and see.  Got a wake up call at 0600, had a quick snack for breakfast and then headed out on the first panga at 0615 to Isabela Island  and landed at Tangus Cove.  The first part of the walk was littered with sleeping sea lions who were really not at all impressed about being woken up and forced to move off the steps.  As a present they all poohed and peed all over the stairs!  We then went on a 2hr walk up a hill for views over Darwin Lake and the other side of Isabella Island.  It was a lovely walk, not much wildlife but that’s because not much lives in that particular spot, but there were plenty of Liquorice trees..  Javier was telling us that the island of Isabella had goats introduced to it and within a few years the numbers had increased to 250,000.  They were basically eating all the food of the turtles so they caught a few males, sterilised them, attached GPS trackers to them and released them.  Then they tracked them and went out with marksmen and dogs to herd them up and bring them out into the open and then they would shoot them, making sure not to kill the ones with trackers on them.  They successfully managed to eradicate goats from the Island.

On the return to the panga from the walk we had to shoo several Sea Lions who had moved back up the stairs to sun themselves.  Once back on the boat we had 30min to eat a proper breakfast and suit up ready to go Kayaking.  We had an odd number of people for kayaking so I had a single kayak.  Having never Kayaked before I was impressed with my self that I managed to get around the whole of Tangus Cove paddling on my own.  The wildlife was amazing – passed numerous turtles that swim right up and under the kayak and then alongside you, about 10 penguins that kept ducking up and under the water, Blue Footed Boobies, Flightless Cormorants, Brown Pelicans and thousands of crabs lined the waters edge.

After an hour of paddling we had a quick 5min back on the boat ot get ready to go snorkelling.  Two panaga loads of us went out and again, I had the Captain in my panga.  We were warned that the water was cold, but seriously, I wasn’t expecting it to be THAT cold.  We jumped off the side of the panga and almost all of us swore.  It was so cold.  Chris got straight back out again and refused to get back in.  I lasted about 30min before I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore and decided to get out.  It was great snorkelling though.  Swam with about 10 Sea Turtles and watched them feeding on the plants.  Saw Flightless Cormorants fishing for fish and again, lots of fish like yesterday.  But it was just ridiculously cold.  When we got back to the boat, we washed all our gear down and then all the women jumped in the Jacuzzi to warm up and we were given hot chocolates and cheese and mushrooms as a pre lunch snack.  Then it was time for a long hot shower.  And I needed it. 

Lunch was yummy – crab salad and fish followed by a really delicious chocolate and Almond tart with cream.  We had 1 1/2hrs down time after lunch before heading out on the pangas.  We did a tour around Elizabeth Bay on Isabela Island.  We went up some estuaries which were lined with mangroves and spotted lots of sea turtles.  They were bobbing up and down.  We could hear sea lions and then moved right under the mangroves and they were sleeping up on the mangrove roots.  We then motored out to the open sea again and went along the shore line spotting penguins and pelicans before returning to the boat.

Tonight’s pre dinner meeting was about Charles Darwin and his life’s work.  Dinner was outside on the Al Fresco deck.  It was a BBQ and was actually quite pleasant sitting out there.

Monday 14th November 2011 - Sunny, partly cloudy

Had another great night sleep, ate breakfast and then got my gear ready for this mornings outing.  My legs got seriously sunburnt yesterday snorkelling so I made sure I put on loads of sunscreen today.  Again it was the South Africans, Sue and Chris first in line along with me.  We seem to be the first ones off every time, unlike some people who are here purely to chill out on a cruise and aren’t that interested in getting off on land.  We visited Cerro Dragon on Santa Cruz Island with a dry landing.  The main feature of this area is the Land Iguana’s.  They live entirely on land, unable to climb or swim.  Because it’s so dry here at the moment, there weren’t many around but we were fortunate enough to see one lying on the footpath.  I managed to get some good shots of it before it headed off into the bushes.  It was quite large, about 1.5m long, fat and quite yellow.  There were a couple of Mockingbirds as well but not a great deal more in terms of wildlife.  The vegetation and geology on the walk changed as we went up /the hill and the temperature away from the beach were very hot.  I still find it bizarre seeing Prickly Pear growing along the waters edge.  And to see ground finches feeding on the algae on the sea rocks.  The walk ended on a lovely beach with fine yellow sand.  I watched a couple of Blue Footed Boobies diving for food and a Brown Pelican that was hunting as well.  The water is so amazingly clear at this bay and lovely shades of greens and blues, enough to make the underside of the birds’ wings look blue/green.

We returned to the boat and todays snack was chocolate and almond balls with cream – YUM!  I reclined on the upper deck on a sun bed (in the shade…I’m the only one except for the 88 year old Swiss man that sit in the shade) and downloaded my photos.  I sat in the Jacuzzi for a little while, but it’s not the same when you are sitting in on your own (with all your friends!).  And it was set at 36⁰C which was a little too hot (and it was a little too full and I was too short to sit on the seats in it so was paddling to keep my head above water.

Just before lunch we had a demonstration of how to make fish ceviche.  It’s actually really easy and very tasty.  Then it was lunch which was an American theme today – pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream sundaes.  We had a couple of hours to relax after lunch so I had a nap.  Then it was time for the afternoon activities.  I was originally going to just sit on the beach, but Javier told me the deep snorkelling at this particular spot we were at, at Rabida Island was the best.  So I quickly changed into my wetsuit and grabbed my snorkel gear and jumped on the panga.  It now appears that the same standard groups do the same thing which consists of 6 British, of which 4 are travelling together (brothers and their wives and they are hilarious), the South African couple, an American guy and Rose and Jen from Oz.  The water was absolutely freezing but the Captain also came with us because it is such a nice spot.  The visibility was much belter than previous snorkelling trips and you could see about 20m.  We swam with a turtle and sea lions; saw a couple of Marine Iguanas feeding on algae underwater and there were tons of fish – all different sizes, shapes, colours.  It was so beautiful.  There was also a lot of star fish, sea anemones and urchins.  There were quite a few penguins on the rocks above us and a Frigget bird perched on a tree branch (they usually fly for 4 days straight and only occasionally sit on land based things.

Once back on land I had a brief nap before we disembarked and went for a walk.  The sand at this island beach is red.  We walked past loads of sea lions sunbaking on the beach before heading up a hill to a great view on the other side of the island from where we docked.  There were lots of sea birds fishing.  On returning to the beach it was almost covered with sea lions so we had to very carefully manoeuvre ourselves between the incoming tide and the sea lions.  There were so many babies and they are very cute.

Our pre dinner meeting was on the underwater life of the Galapagos.  I didn’t eat much for dinner, just a salad.  I think I have hit my food stuffing intake so have dropped back to what I would normally eat.  At dinner I got stuck next to this Austrian couple.  Paul is ok, but Heidi is a nightmare.  She is one of those people who just don’t seem to get it – any of it!  Her English is fine so it’s not a loss in translation but she is so pushy and almost rude and she is one of those people who just never does what we are told to do.  We ended up having a discussion about Global Warming to which she told me there was no such thing and that there was an ice age 1000 years ago and everything died?!?!  I couldn’t be bothered continuing the conversation so readdressed her husband, who is apparently friends with all the high up people in Austria.  I think they must be an incredibly rich couple, like most of the people on this cruise.  But why is it they are still miserable and complain non stoop.  One British guy was complaining that his cabin wasn’t as good as what he expected.  I think mine is like luxury!  The animals haven’t been in abundance like I was expecting, but some of these people have complained at the lack of animals to see…do they think that because they have paid more for their cruise that they will be guaranteed at seeing more animals?  The guides have been trying to explain why there are fewer animals and the impacts of feral animals on the islands, increased tourism etc. but these people just don’t care – they expect more.  I think the Galapagos is just on their things to do before they die.  Maybe it’s why the guides have been giving me, the Aussie girls and the South African couple so much attention because we want to see anything and everything and think everything we do is great.

After dinner Javier took me up to the top deck and pointed out all the star constellations before the moon came up.  I saw Orian, Pegasus, the Seven sisters, Taurus, Gemini and about 5 others whose names I can’t remember.  I then headed downstairs to my cabin to finally go to bed.

Sunday 13th November 2011 - Overcast in morning, sunny by late afternoon, windy ~24⁰C

I woke up around 0430 – initially I thought I was dreaming that I was on the ferry from Cremorne Point to Circular Quay when I woke myself up and realised I was actually on a boat in the Galapagos.  Was very excited to know I still had a few hours to left to sleep.  Was then woken up at 0630 with our wake up call and was pleasantly surprised by the lovely view of Santiago Island.  Breakfast was at 0645 and from what I gather; I was the only one who had a great night sleep.  Everyone else was complaining about the rocking motion and the noise of the engine.  So I was either really tired, have a room in a great place or generally being on the water doesn’t bother me…I’m hoping its all three or at least the later so I will be prepared for the Antarctic.  Breakfast was your usual full breakfast fair, but I just stuck to the scrambled eggs and toast.  From breakfast we only had a few minutes to grab our stuff and head out to the pangas so we could be taken to Puerto Egas.  We went for a 2hr walk and it was fantastic.  The island itself is quite bare of vegetation, the beach has black sand and there was a lot of lava rocks.  We saw Sea Lions, loads of Marine Iguanas and three Fur Seals.  The rocks were just crawling with wildlife – literally.

We then headed back to the beach and went snorkelling for an hour.  Unfortunately the water was really turbid but saw several Green Turtles, Sea Lions and lots of really pretty fish.  I really enjoyed it despite the visibility.  Everyone else seemed to complain that there wasn’t much to see.  Thankfully wearing the wetsuits made the water temperature bearable.  I was happy that I could remember how to snorkel as it has been so long since I have done it.  And besides, compared to everyone else on this tour, it wasn’t hard to be better than everyone else.

So today I have been asked by about eight different people why I am on this tour.  I think I have bought the ‘standard’ down for some of them.  Everyone seems to know that I am a ranger, although I’ve only told about three people and they all know I live in Central Australia.  I seem to be the topic of conversation, yet I’m not the only one here on my own, and I don’t think I am the youngest, but I think they all think I am younger than what I am.  And they all keep asking me about my camera, even though half of them have the same camera.  I think because I have it set on sequential mode they think I take photos professionally.  All the boat crew know me by name, including the Captain and I have become the person who is used for all the examples – how to wear a snorkel, how to get on and off the pangas, acting like a volcano….you name it – if they need a demonstration, I am it.  I have my room serviced more than anyone else (and I’m hoping it’s not because I am messy) and generally I am pretty much getting anything I want at the moment.  

After snorkelling we headed back to the boat and had an hour to ourselves.  Then it was lunch ‘Italian themed’.  I had three servings!  After lunch we had 2hrs so I headed up to the sun deck and downloaded my photos and took some more of the islands we were passing.  Everyone else was either sunbaking or sleeping.

At 1500 we had a choice between a deep snorkel, a shallow snorkel or going to the beach on Bartolome Island.  I chose the deep snorkel along with about 10 others.  We were dropped off near Pinnacle Rock and just before we jumped in a couple of Penguins swam by.  Again, the visibility of the water was fairly poor.  We snorkelled from Pinnacle Rock around to the beach.  There were lots of colourful fish and a few large Manta Rays.  We saw some more penguins on some rocks – which was a weird sight because just behind them the vegetation were cactuses – not really the two things you would think you would see together.  We got out at the beach wandered along and there were four sea lions at the end of the beach.  We then reboarded the pangas, went back to the boat, changed clothes and then headed straight back out again to do a two hour walk up along a boardwalk to a lookout point.  It would have been a great view any other time other than the time we were there.  We were looking straight into the sun so you couldn’t really appreciate it as much for what it was.  We watched sunset then headed back to the boat.

We had another briefing at 1930 to explain the geology of the Galapagos Islands and then dinner.  Everyone seems to be forming into groups now and I don’t really fit in with anyone and don’t want to keep imposing on the South African couple, but I found a table to sit at.  Basically the Brits have all formed a group, the Swiss another and then there are the South Africans, Aussies and a couple of Americans left who fit in where they can.  The talk around the dinner table was politics (yawn), more questions as to how I heard about this tour and why am I on it, and I can’t remember the rest because I stopped listening to the conversations.  I did find out however that the really old guy is 88 and basically deaf.  We can’t work out who the woman is with him though because she looks about 30yrs younger than he and no one wants to ask if they are married or not.

Tonight for dinner I had smoked salmon, fish, potato bake and vegies followed by the best strawberries and cream I have ever eaten.  After dinner we went out to the stern of the boat and did some Galapagos Island Shark spotting.  I saw three sightings and can only assume that it was the same shark doing laps of the boat.

Saturday 12th November 2011 - Overcast, windy 20⁰C

After being woken up by the guy in the bed next too me at 0130 when he returned back to the hostel and decided to talk on his mobile at length and then tap away on his laptop for about an hour, I had no problems being less that quiet and considerate at 0700 when I got up (the girl in the bed above this guy got up when I did and was about as considerate).  My airport transfer picked me up at 0750 and took me to the airport.  It was a strange process checking in to fly to the Galapagos.  First we had to go through a bag screening, then register with the authorities, then check luggage in and receive a badge with the boat name on it and other documents, then go through another bag screening before getting to the gate.  A representative of the boat gave me the passenger list of the Eclipse to give to the head guide on the Islands.  I had a quick look and only 29 people are on the boat with two other Australians and some South Africans, Swiss, Austrians and the rest British.

We flew via Guayaquil (30min) and had a 40min layover there before heading to the Islands (1hr 40min).  I had an entire row to myself for both flights yet every other row was full.  Apparently there are only 2 flights a day to Galapagos.  Once we landed we had to go through a physical bag inspection and then pay for our national park entry (US$100) and then sign in with our boat.  It was the first glimpse I had of seeing who was on the cruise….lucky me, I am either the youngest or second youngest after the South African couple.  The rest of the passengers are between 50 – 65 with one man who looks about 90!  We met our three naturalist guides who are all male – Javier, Tommy and Franklin.  We were bussed to the boat where we boarded the cruise boat via pangas (dinghy’s).  Once on board we had a briefing of where everything on the boat and shown to our rooms.  Our bags had already been delivered to our rooms by the time we got there.  I have a room to myself with what seems like a king sized bed, nice bathroom and one porthole one level down from the main level near the bow of the boat.  We then had to change into our swimmers and don the bathrobe provided and head on up to be fitted with our snorkelling gear and wetsuit.  We get our own bag to put it all in and a hook to hang it on.  It’s all very organised.

Our first excursion was to Santa Cruz Island to Las Bachas Beach.  We had a wet landing and went for an hour long walk along the beach to a lagoon.  Apparently flamingos are usually seen at the lagoon but today there were not there.  We saw our first Marine Iguanas, Lava Lizard and lots of birds.  We then had a chance to go swimming but I passed on that one – too cold.  The sand here was so fine and white.  It is also a Green Turtle nesting site and there were many turtle tracks and nest depressions.  The guides are really strict with where you are allowed to walk and how close you can get to the animals which is good to see.  They are also very strict when you get back on the boat to be hosed down so you don’t transfer any sand between islands.  It was then free time until our 1930 briefing.  I returned to my room and unpacked all my clothes in the cupboard and had a really nice hot shower!  There was a briefing for tomorrow’s activities at 1930 in the meeting room and I felt a little embarrassed because everyone was dressed up for dinner – suits, ties, fancy dresses, heals and lots of make up!  I didn’t bring any ‘good’ clothes with me and all my clothes are dirty because they haven’t been washed for 2 weeks, so I had to wear the same clothes I did for the flight.  I received quite a few stern looks and a few couples were talking about me – I think they are confused as too why I am on this cruise and not on a more budget one.  After hearing what is on tomorrow we headed into the dining room and had dinner – spicy prawns, salad and rice is all I ate.  I went to bed around 2200.

Friday 11th November 2011 - Overcast with some sunshine

This morning was the same as yesterday’s morning routine.  After breakfast the Mum called me a taxi and I went to the bus stop.  Luckily a bus was passing by at the same time so I jumped on, literally as it didn’t stop with all my bags hanging out the door, found a seat and headed back to Quito.  I went straight back to the Secret Garden hostel and checked in.  I was given the same bed as before I left and the room was full but with a whole bunch of new people.  I grabbed some of the shopping I bought earlier in the week and went to the post office.  It was a lengthy process to send stuff home but I got there in the end.  It only cost a small fortune, but one less thing to worry about for the rest of my trip.

From there I headed straight over to the Presidential Palace and this time got to walk up to the entrance.  I still couldn’t work out how you actually got on a tour so I asked a tour guide that was passing by with two English tourists how you get to go inside.  She told me where to go and what to do.  So I headed over to the other side of the building and through hand signals the two Military Police said I would be on the next tour, which was a 25min wait.  I decided to stay at the front of the line and it started to rain so the MP let me stand inside under cover.  Then they tried to talk to me so I got my phrase book out and they went through the dictionary trying to find things to ask me.  We went through the usual questions: are you married, how old are you, where do you live, and what do you do?  They were quite entertaining; although I think they got into trouble because someone senior came out and ordered them inside.  These two Ecuadorian girls who were in the line with me by that stage were in fits of laughter saying they thought I t was funny watching these two military personnel flirting with the white tourist and then being relieved by two more attentive police who were to police who comes and goes through the gate.

The tour went for an hour and half and it was all in Spanish.  We had to leave our passports behind, go through metal scanners and then had a photo taken on the steps of the Palace.  I had my photo taken with Claudia and her cousin, the two Ecuadorian girls in the line with me.  The Palace has some lovely artefacts in it and is quite grand.  I am fairly certain it is where the President lives.  At the end they gave everyone a copy of their photo.  I let the girls have our copy as it meant more to them than it did to me.

From there I walked to the Basilica and walked up three of the towers.  It’s a fairly narrow walkway in some places and a bit dodgy but it was worth it from the top.  Great 360⁰ views over Quito.  After that, I headed over into the new town area looking for somewhere to eat.  I found a chicken fast food place and after working out on the menu what I was going to have, they didn’t have it when I ordered it.  So I left and kept walking.  The next place I came to was KFC, so I had that.  It started raining quite heavily while I was there so I waited for it to ease off a bit before heading back to the hostel, where I repacked my bag and went to bed.

Things noted whilst in Quito:

1.       There are sunglass shops everywhere, yet I’ve not seen a single person wear a pair of sunglasses;

2.       There are clocks on every building and important street corner, yet not one has the correct time;

3.       Ecuadorians are really short;

4.       It’s a city perfect for people who love fruit juice and yoghurt;

5.       Everyone dresses assuming its going to rain, regardless of how hot it is.

Check link to my pic on zoo website

http://www.quitozoo.org/programas-educativos/programas-de-educacion/amigos-de-la-granja.html

Thursday 10th November 2011 - Overcast morning, heavy rain in the afternoon

I got up at 0630 and got ready.  I went over to the family’s house at 0715 for breakfast.  I don’t think they knew what to give me because I don’t eat yoghurt which is all Ecuadorians eat for breakfast, so I had scrambled eggs, toasted croissants and cucumber and tomato salad.  It was rather filling.  The Mum walked me half way to the Zoo and then the Zoo bus drove past so I squashed in with everyone else.  Once at the Zoo I headed down to Ruth’s office and was met by two of the zoo keepers.  They showed me the food preparation room and collected a whole heap of containers with various animal names on them and then we headed off to some medium sized cats first.  I got to go in the enclosure and take some photos and then photographed the keepers cleaning the enclosures.  We then went to the Andean Bears, Jaguar who was being given some medication by one of the vets (and who then tried to attack me through the door after it was let out in its enclosure), the lions, Galapagos turtles, smaller turtles, wolves and an Andean bear who is 20 years old and no longer on public display.

That took up most of the morning and from there I then went to the hospital and took some photos of the vet cleaning an infected turtle’s eye.  It was a bit hard to photograph given how small it was and it kept trying to hide its head in its shell.  We went via the quarantine area and another area with animals that have been rescued but they can not put on public display so they just live in small cages hidden from public view.  We then went to the nocturnal house which was awesome.  I saw my first ever two toed sloths.  They are so beautiful.  There were also some owls and a possum but all I saw was its tail.  I don’t think they quite get the nocturnal house thing…it was all lit up so everything was sleeping.  From there it was off to lunch – potato soup and rice and fried bananas.

After lunch I went with another keeper to see the Condors and kangaroo but she wasn’t as relaxed as the two guys this morning and wouldn’t let me get any closer to anything than where the public can go.  It started raining so they put the kangaroo away and then I was taken up to the offices.  I started downloading my photos and then headed out in the rain to see what else I could get photos of but ended up just getting soaked through.  The frog enclosure was pretty cool though.  They have these amazing frogs called marsupial frogs.  They carry their babies around on their backs until they start to get legs and then they are left on their own.  I went back to the office and then handed all my photos over.  A lady came in who could speak English and started talking to me and said that everyone wanted to talk to me but because I don’t speak Spanish and they English, I didn’t talk to anyone for two days straight.

I got a taxi back to my homestay house where I changed my clothes and hung out in my room until about 1900 when I went down to the house.  Puno wasn’t there so it was just the Mum and two boys.  We had chicken spaghetti for dinner.  I went to bed not long after.

Wednesday 9th November 2011 - Overcast

This morning I got up super early, put my luggage in storage and headed to Estacion Ofelia on the metrobus.  I then found a bus that goes past the Zoo and it cost all of 55c to get there.  I then jumped in a taxi and managed to get to the Zoo by 0900 where I was met by Ruth, only one of two people at the Zoo who can speak English.  She took me to meet the head of the Zoo Ximena, who then told me what sort of photos they wanted for their website and promotional posters.  Ruth then showed me around the Zoo.  She is an Entomologist and used to work on the Galapagos Islands but now work at the Zoo as a biologist.  The Zoo itself is really quite nice.  Not too big but you can really see that they are trying to make an effort with the enclosures.  All the animals are from Ecuador, mainly confiscated or abandoned animals except a Red Kangaroo and two lionesses which are the draw cards of the Zoo.  It’s a Zoo aimed only at locals and costs $4.00 to get into.

I spent most of the day just wandering around photographing what I could through the bars, stopping for lunch which was an hour long.  It was potato soup and chicken and rice.  Some of the animals are so cute and cuddly although I don’t know what half of them are because I can’t read the signage.  I took some photos of school children playing with the animals in the animal nursery (cows, llamas, guinea pigs, sheep, rabbits and donkey).   

At the end of the day I caught the Zoo bus to my homestay house.  I think the name of the Zoo worker I am staying with is Puno but I’m not really sure.  Only the children were home – two boys about 10 and 8 years old.  They showed me to my room which is huge.  The whole place is huge.  My room is two stories with two single beds downstairs along with an en-suite bathroom.  Upstairs has a double bed.  There are also two dogs – a German Shepard and this little wiry bouncy little dog.  They are both really friendly.

I stayed in my room for a bit and then the boys came and got me and took me down to their house.  It consists of two rooms, one the bedroom where the whole family sleeps in two beds, bathroom and a tiny kitchen.  The boys cant speak English so we watched television for a bit and I showed them some photos from home and they showed me some of their last holidays.  About 1900 the parents got home and we had dinner.  Conversation was hard but we managed a few words, mainly consulting my phrase book to see if we were talking about the same thing.  After dinner I returned to my room up the driveway (which is bigger than their entire house) and went to bed.

Tuesday 8th November 2011 - Cloudy and cool

Once up, I booked myself onto a free guided tour of the Old Town which started at 1100.  It was really good to hear about some of the history of the area and the buildings seeing as I haven’t really been able to understand anything so far.  We started at the Basilica which is on the edge of the Old Town and New Town and Consuela explained all the animal figures that line the outside.  Where most churches have gargoyles, this church has animals of the Galapagos.  She also explained the use of Guinea Pigs – in villages the Sharman uses Guinea Pigs as a way to find out what is wrong with someone who is ill.  He passes a live Guinea Pig across the person’s body and after about 5 min, the GP dies.  He then cuts it open and pulls out all its insides until he finds the organ/s that have something wrong with them and then he knows what is wrong with the person.  Apparently all village people also keep GP in their house near the front door and use them as a way of knowing whether a visitor to the house is a good person or not based on whether the GP squeals.  Having worked in a pet shop for 10yrs, I don’t think I ever saw a GP not squeal the moment someone went near them so really can’t see how accurate this would be.  They also eat GP because it is native to here and is what people had easy access too before sheep, cattle etc.

We then went into an old house and looked at the flooring in the entrance way which had bones in combination with stones laid out like pavers (only tiny ones).  Apparently this is what the wealthy people used to do to protect their houses.  We went to a few more old buildings before heading to Plaza Grande.  Consuela was in the middle of explaining a statue in the middle of the Plaza when we were all pre occupied with a protest that was happening about 100m from us.  We asked her and she said it was because they had just increased taxes so people were protesting out the front of the mayors office.  The next thing we know, there are people running in every direction and we asked her again what was happening and she looked worried for a split second and told us to move a little further back because the riot squad (who were guarding the mayors building) has thrown tear gas out.  So that was a bit of action for the day.

We then headed to a few churches and then to the public library which had a roof top terrace which you could go up too and look out at the view.  In a courtyard below (3 stories down) there was a word spelt out on the ground in red rose petals.  We asked what it said and we were told that it was a marriage proposal, and the groom to be was down there putting the final touches on his layout, including having a basket tied to helium balloons on a long fishing line to bring down to her after he popped the question.  It was really sweet.  We then headed up to Plaza San Francisco where the tour ended.  It rained sporadically throughout the day, but I think that is quite common for Quito.
 

I then headed out to the New Town and found a cinema, but unfortunately I couldn’t communicate with anyone about what movies were in English so I went and checked out McDonalds instead.  It’s the first Maccas I’ve seen around the world that has the exact same menu as Australia.  They also have McHappy Day in November as well.  I thought that was only an Australian thing, but apparently not.  I then headed to a shopping centre and bought some vitamins suggested for sea sickness and altitude sickness and then headed back to the hostel where I tried to repack my bag.  I had dinner in the hostel café (vegie red curry and rice).  To my surprise, I had my first ever hot shower in this hostel and my dorm room filled up with all 6 beds being occupied.

Monday 7th November 2011 - Raining

Had a nice sleep in (another night in the dorm room on my own) and awoke to a rainy day.  I headed down to the Old Town and went straight to the Presidential Palace to see the Changing of the Guard which takes place every Monday at 11am.  Despite the rain, the plaza was full of over excited Ecuadorians.  In amongst dodging umbrellas it was quite an amazing sight.  Not quite on the grand scale of England’s Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, but fairly impressive none the less.  The President, Rafael Correa came out on the balcony and stayed there the entire time.  Everyone was cheering and there were people with banners and lots of young women swooning and lots of old women crying!  It’s apparently quite a big thing for Ecuadorians to see.  Gabi was telling me how popular he is amongst most people (with the exception of the very wealthy) and how he is the first President in about 15-20 years that the people like and haven’t kicked out of office.  He has tried to get rid of corruption, improved education, health, reduced poverty and unemployment and generally trying to bring the country up to first world standards.  It was fairly obvious just how popular he is given how wet I got as did all the people who were there to see him.

From there I headed over to the La Marsical area and had lunch in a cheap, local hamburger place.  I decided to walk there because after yesterdays efforts, I am clearly not as fit as I’d like to be and don’t want to be struggling when I do the Inca Trail and Patagonia.  Walking around relatively flat areas is easy though so maybe I need to walk around the Old Town some more.  For lunch I ordered the Pollo burger which was ok.  From there I tried to find the national Park office but as luck would have it, it doesn’t exist anymore.  Instead there was a travel agency there and I spoke to them about visiting a Park south of Quito but its so complicated on how to get there (combination of bus, hiring a passing by vehicle and negotiating a price (basically like hitchhiking only paying for it) and walking) and I have to book in 24hrs in advance, that I have decided not to go.  It sounded great, but if the rest of this week stays wet, then I can’t see myself enjoying it all that much.

From there I headed to the supermarket and had a look around and then went to some craft market stalls and did some shopping.  It was starting to get cold and dark so I headed back to the hostel.  I had dinner at the hostel for the first time (chicken pie) and it was really nice.  I could have eaten twice as much, but it’s the first dinner I’ve eaten in a week, so I must be getting my appetite back!  I finally heard back from the Zoo with confirmation of me going there to volunteer but am only going for two days now as there aren’t enough days left in the week to go for longer.  So I will be there Wed/Thurs this week.

Another cold shower and a room to myself!

Sunday 6th November 2011- Overcast

Had the whole dorm to myself last night and eventually got up after hitting the snooze button about 4 times and made my way on the trolebus to Terminal Quitumbe.  Once there it took me about 10min to work out where the long distance buses leave from and where to buy a ticket from.  I was fortunate enough to get straight onto a bus to Banos.  Had I been any later I would have had to wait about 2hrs.

It took about 3hrs to get to Banos and the scenery along the way was amazing.  We drove past Cotapaxi, a large conical shaped volcano which was snow capped and through a whole heap of villages with the last 40min descending down into a valley housing the town.  It was just beautiful.  First up I found a place that had chicken on its lunch special.  Great value.  For $2 I had chicken soup (although couldn’t bring myself to eating the actual chicken pieces as they were the bits that you don’t want to eat), main of fried chicken, rice, beans and salad and I passed on the dessert and juice as I was full from the first two courses.  I wandered around the town for a bit and went and looked at some waterfalls just on the outskirts of town and had planned on going on several hikes around town, because on the map, they weren’t that long!

Well, I started on the first walk, a whole 750m to a look out point.  Can’t be that hard right?  How wrong was I?  It was straight up a mountain with a 1:1 gradient and I struggled the whole way up.  It was quite humid and hot in the sun and I was so relieved when I got to the top that I decided that the village that was only another 2km could stay where it was because I wasn’t walking any further!  The amazing thing is that the whole way up this mountain, there were gates to peoples houses.  The walking track was this skinny goat track and there was no possible way a vehicle could get to these homes.  I couldn’t believe people walk this daily to get to and from the town.  Then it all made sense when several horses went by and then I realised how the wealthy people get to and from their houses.  Those who obviously can’t afford a horse, have to walk up and down daily.

The walk back down was much faster, but also a lot harder on the knees.  I slid most of the way down but did manage to overtake some other walkers which made me feel a bit better.  I followed this tiny man carrying a huge sack of potatoes (twice as big as him) all the way to the bottom.  I have no idea how he managed to do it, although he probably does it on a regular basis.

I wandered around the town some more.  Decided not to bother with any other of my planned walks because clearly I was going to struggle and so jumped on a bus back to Quito.  The setting sun over Cotopaxi on the way back was great, although I was on the wrong side of the bus and I asked this girl to take a photo for me and out of 6 photos, only one was slightly less blurry than the remaining five.  Luckily that one had Cotoapaxi in it because the others had only road and trees?!?!  Once back at the bus terminal I jumped on a trolebus back to the Old Town.  I had to change once because I obviously got on the wrong one initially but eventually found my way back to the hostel.

Still haven’t worked out how to make the hot water work, if it does at all!