The Hike from Hell; and toll keepers

 I decided today to hike a volcano (or volcan if you know espanol) about 45 minutes north of Otavalo near a famous lake called Laguna Mohanda.  So I hired a taxi and sped (literally) over very rough roads to the Laguna (some Ecuadorian roads rival those of Costa Rica).  The sky was cloudy but I hoped it would clear.  

Well, it started off with a nice view of the Laguna and surrounding mountains and looked a little promising-

The trail was quite muddy and slippery, but I was hoping it would clear and perhaps be a little better farther on.  Well, the clouds did not so much clear as get lower and worse. 

 Eventually it began to rain, at least until it began to sleet or maybe snow.  I am not sure as I was too busy slipping in the mud and I couldn't see anything anyway.  Of course it was very steep and I had lost some of my acclimization in the Galapagos and so it was pretty arduous.  Finally I stumbled my way to the summit where I got this stupendous view-

Of course, the fun really began on the descent when the rain made the mud just a slippery soup.  It didn't help that I then broke one of my hiking poles while sliding about in the mud.  All this with a shaky back.  By the end I had taken numerous spills and looked liked someone who had just wrestled with a pig (and the pig had definitely won).  

I returned to the parking area and found the taxi driver irritated and pointing at his watch (seeming having little sympathy for my soaking and mud induced state).  He was right of course, as I was over an hour late returning, though I don't know how anyone could do it in the prescribed time, particularly under those conditions.  

As I pondered who was responsible for this utter and complete fiasco- for which I had actually paid to do (talk about adding insult to injury)- I finally settled on someone to place the blame- TRUMP!

On the ride back on this very rough back road, a young man ahead of us on the deserted road appeared out of no where and pulled a small rope across the road, evidently intending to bar our route (though he held the rope in his hand and it was little more than twine).  In any case, the driver stopped, rolled down his window and gave him a dollar and we then motored on unmolested.  It felt like being bothered by some two bit medieval tollkeeper.  

Now off to Amazonia and the jungle for 4 days.  No internet until I return to Quito on Thursday night. 

Otavalo, belts and ponchos

 I returned from the Gs and after a one night stay back in my usual Quito stomping grounds I headed north on Saturday with most of Quito (huge traffic jam because of a holiday here) to famous market of Otavalo (about 2 hours north in normal traffic over the mountains). And in its huge and vivid panoply of colors, it did not disappoint-

As a veteran traveler i am pretty resistant to the usual hawkers of cheap souvenirs, baubles, trinkets and such.  But in this case i did need a belt and thought I might find one at the market.   What I didnt know was that I needed 3 belts and a wallet to boot.   I had thought my wallet perfectly servicable, but the hawker saw  clear defects and pointed out that it was not likely to last the day in the market.  Thank goodness I ran into the helpful street vendor.  

Of course, fresh off my successful gucho horse riding career, I also knew I needed a poncho (as a Clint Eastwood look alike from the Good, Bad and the Ugly) which I figured would fit right in in Boston and so this lady helped me with that-

Though I was not quite sure how I was $100 short at the end of the day, It was fun day at  the bustling, loud, jostling and justly famous market in Otavalo=

Galapagos finis

 Well, my stunning week came to a close with a final relaxing island walk at 530 am befoe heading to the airport.  The G cruises really work to give you your money's worth and you tend to leave pretty tired.   Snorkeling and walks everyday, but I was very happy with my boat and the guide.  They did a terrific job looking after us and I quite enjoyed my Israeli and Jewish shipmates (many from the exotic faraway city of Newton, MA).

Perhaps the best part of the Gs is the snorkeling and amazing variety of aquatic life, but alas I could not capture that with my camera.   Some parting shots of this amazing (but not tropical) place-

The food onboard the Frigata was great.  Some of the best I have enjoyed actually- very healthy with  lots of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Back  to the mainland and Otavalo and its famous Indian market.

Turtles, flamingos, and tortoises

 It wouldn't be the Galapagos without sea turtles and tortoises.  We saw sea turtles while snorkeling, again within an arm's length.   A Go Pro camera, as some in my party had, would have yielded some fantastic pictures, but I only photo'd the one on land that was supposed to be in the water at that time of day (she was misninformed evidently which I can sympathize with as it has happened to me on occasion-

Tortoises seem to take a while to get anywhere and not sure they could beat a hare no matter how many times the hare stopped to goof off-

I always wanted one of those pink flamingos on my lawn, but Diane would strangely never permit.  But seeing the real thing in person was a treat even if not on a lawn where they belong-

Some of the views in the Gs are great.  It is such a unique place-

Homeless Sea Lions, Boobies, and Iguanas

 After  Genovese and Bartolomo, we headed to  Santa Cruz which is inhabited and where lions, sea, lounge about in large numbers 

  It does not seem like that bad of a life.  The alpha male sea lion is huge as compared to the rest - over 500 lbs in many cases- and generally maintains a a harem of about 15-18 females and a large numbers of pesky and ill behaved kids, all of whom he has to guard as the price of the sea lion patriarchy.  Seeing him up close in the water is a  little scary.  He will attack if he thinks his flock in threatened.  I turned around while snorkeling and found one 4' away.  I prefer the pups.  

But sadly there appears to be a growing homeless population amongst the sea lions as we found in Porto Aroyo.  Not sure whether it is because of drugs, lack of education or a general lassitude, but I observed the following hopeless types-

Swimming with sea lions all around you- below, right and left- all within a few feet is a great experience.  The kid sea lions are very playful and curious and will swim right up to you.  

San Cristobal and Espanol Island (Spanish Island for those not as fluent in Spanish as I) offer large numbers of boobies, of the bird as distinct from the foolish human variety (the latter far more numerous in my experience).  There are red-

And blue-

And then what they call NASCAR boobies who do not have any foot distinction.

  As the result of this, they have evidently latched onto NASCAR as their sport of choice and claim to fame and you will see some sporting streaming advertisements for GOODYEAR or MICHELIN or CHEERIOS, etc.  They have to do something to stand out, I suppose.  

There are also pelicans and short haired owls (I guess they go to the barber regularly or aspire to join the Marine Corps) who hunt during the day-

And sundry other birds whose name escapes me as they are not boobies (some sort of bird who hunts at night and thus was snoozing when we walked by)-

And of course iguanas, both the smaller and black marine iguana-

And the larger and more colorful land iguana who were often seen fighting with one another-

And a little scenery thrown in when we shot through the keyhole in our dingy (Kicker Rock in the distance)-