August 4, 2002 - Cuenca, Ecuador
I took a bus to Colca Canyon which some argue is he deepest canyon the world. We went over a snow covered pass and then followed the canyon to Cabanaconde - a small town with great views and no electricity. The next morning me and 70 other people boarded a bus (there were even people on top); luckily I only had a 25 minute ride to Cruz del Condor. I watched condors soaring in the thermals for hours right over my head. I took a bus to Lima a few days later where Nancy and Javier once again spoiled us with large amounts of food. They even gave us a cooking lesson that included ceviche, sweet potatos, and corn (the huge South American variety). Ted, my traveling partner for the last 7 weeks, had to head home from Lima. Nancy, Javier, and Ted waved goodbye at the bus terminal as I headed north for a 24 hour bus ride. It sounds quite miserable, but it is actually not that painful when you take the Royal Class bus. The crazy thing is that I didn't get off the bus from 3PM until 9AM when I had to go through immigration. The seats were similar to 1st class on a nice airplane, and an attendant served us meals. I arrived in Guayaquil, a city full of heat, humidity, and cockroaches. I sorted out some Galapagos reservations and headed up to Cuenca at 8,300 ft. Stone streets. Colonial buildings. Huge catherdals. The smell of fresh bread fills the streets. And everyone is eating an ice cream. I will be here for 2 more weeks studying spanish and living with a local family.
August 9, 2002 - Cuenca, Ecuador
My head is saturated with Spanish. This is a good thing. This week I had grammar class from 8am to 10am. And then I had a converation class from 10:30am to 12:30pm. In each class I was the only student. Then I would walk to my house and eat lunch with the family. Lunch is the big family meal of the day, and everyone has a 2 hour break from 1pm to 3pm. The family has a cook and everyday we had homemade soup and fresh tropical fruit juices with the meal. (There are so many fruits here that are new - 5 different types of bananas I have seen so far.) I usually spent the afternoon in a cafe studying, and ate dinner with the family around 8:30pm. The house I am staying is nice and large. The father is an engineer and university professor. The mom is a high school teacher. They have 4 children (including an engineer, a lawyer, and a university student), 3 of which live at home. One more week here.
August 16, 2002 - Still in Cuenca, Ecuador
Last Saturday, I visited Cajas National Park which is near Cuenca. It is in a glacial valley with over 280 lakes. It reminded me of the south island of New Zealand. We walked around a few lakes lined with little flowers and climbed though fairytale forests. It was beautiful, but very cold and windy. On Sunday, I visited 2 towns nearby that have huge markets. I didn't buy anything, but it was a good day full of people-watching. This week has pretty much been a repeat of last week. Again, I had 4 hours of classes a day at CEDEI. Yo he aprendido mucho en Cuenca, y aprender� m�s en los meses venir.
August 29, 2002 - Galapagos, Ecuador - mystery of mysteries
I spent my first 4 days in Galapagos in Puerto Ayora scuba diving, relaxing on a long white sand beach, and visiting giant turtles. It is a good place to relax, even though it was a little strange to be in the Galapagos spending my evenings salsa dancing and playing pool. (I have developed some theories on this trip: 1. I can not whistle above 8000 ft. 2. I am excellent at pool near the equator.) Eight days ago, I boarded Guantanamera for a boat trip around the islands. Each island individually is beautiful, but what is amazing is how each island is so different. I visited about 9 islands and saw marine turtles, giant land turtles, sea lions, fur seals, flamingos, marine iguanas, land iguanas, and penguins. We visited the mating and nesting areas of blue footed boobies, friget birds, and the albatros. We saw baby sea lions, turtles, and birds less than a hour old. The islands have white, black, red, and brown beaches. I walked on a huge lava flow about 120 years old that looked like the moon, and climbed into a dark lava tunnel. I must have gone snorkeling or diving at least twice a day. I went on 7 dives around the Galapagos. Four were from Puerto Ayora, and 3 were during my boat trip including a night dive. I swam with tons of tropical fish, spotted eagle rays, golden cowrays, marine turtles, sea lions, eels, hammerhead sharks, white tip sharks, and galapagos sharks. One particular dive the strong current sent my flying past about 50 galapagos sharks and about 30 turtles. The boat was nice, the food was delicious, the guide was experienced, and the other passengers were fun. It has been a good time. I am heading back to the continent tomorrow.
September 8, 2002 - Vilcabamba, Ecuador
After 1 month of staying in only 2 places, I have been on the move lately. I visited the Old Town in Quito and saw the oldest church in South America. I stayed in the New Town and enjoyed the gringoland full of internet, Thai food, and bagels. Then I headed north across the equator to the markets of Otavalo. I spent 2 days in the northern hemisphere before returning south to Ba�os. I rented a bike an rode down a valley full of waterfalls. I ended the day in the thermal baths below the active volcano above the town. I spent a few days doing a lot of nothing in Vilcabamba at Madre Tierra in a quiet cabin. Some good hammock time. I had a hair and scalp treatment, contrast steam treatment, total body sea salt exfoliation, vivifying hot clay bath, facial regeneration, and a foot massage. Almost 3 months of dirt was washed away at low South American prices.
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