Friggin Birds, Sharks, Rays, Penguins and Lions (Sea)

  

The frist 2 islands we visited on our Galapagos trip were Genovesa (named after Columbus' city of origin tho Columbus  never got within 1000 miles of the place) and Bartolomo (named after Bart Simpson in espanol).  I journeyed aboard the Beagle, now named the Frigata, with 15 other intrepid passengers and 6 crew members including our guide, Charly Darwinea.  

Frigate bird is perhaps the most famous, along with the boobies.  It is a big black bird that is everywhere in the Gs and we saw it during mating season when the male showed off its big red balloon 

Genovesa is also one of 3 islands in the Gs north of the equator and so naturally we were on  the lookout for the famous G penguins-

  The number of unique birds on the island were stunning, though it was the snorkeling here and on Bartolomo that stole the show.   The amount of fish and other sea life you see very close- often within 3'-is truly amazing.  It includes hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, white tip sharks, eagle rays, penguins, diamond rays, Tampa Bay Rays, sea lions, puffer fish, and lots of colorful fish yet to be named.  You can literally swim through schools of fish of all colors- black, silver, green, yellow, orange, red, white.blue, purple, speckled, striped- you name it,  It a stunning array of brightt colors.  Alas, I lacked a underwater camera, which some of my fellow passengers had, to record it all, but it was just amazing.  I have been to the Great Barrier Reef and frankly it was not close- Gs wins hands down.  

Bartolomo island is also famous for its iconic Galapagos scenery-

the famous Kicker Rock, though  I didn't see it kicking anything (it is a big dive sport)

There were crabs - the animal, not the human kind- everywhere as you are prohibited from eating them (unlike the unfortunate guinea pig)-

The Snows of Cotopaxi and....injured riding the Ecuadorian Secretariat

 I left Qualitoa and headed Cotopaxi NP and my digs at The Secret Garden, an odd hostel like place just outside the park.  It has been known to host hobbits-

 Cotopaxi is nearly 20k' high and is a stunning volcano-

I chose The Secret Garden not so much because it is a secret- there were dozens of people there and it was quite popular on TripAdvisor- nor because of its garden- all i could see was a composting toilet- but because it offered an array of different types of outdoor activities in and near the park.   But it also had friendly lamas which I had learned to appreciate-

So, fancying myself as a bit of a South American cowboy, I chose horse back riding as an interesting way to see the  park and the volcano up close.  Well, the latter turned out to e true (tho I  forgot to charge my camera beforehand so few pics), but whatever horse back riding skills I had ever had, I had clearly lost.  For some reason they gave me the most spirited horse and during one wild ride bouncing about in the saddle, I fairly badly hurt my back.  That really hurt (still does) and essentially knocked me out for a day and half.  

Today, I did finish  my tour of Cotopaxi by hiking up to the glacier at the base of the mountain.  That had me climbing to about 5200 meters, which is close to 17k'.  My back held up fortunately

The area presented some fabulous mountain views apart from Cotopaxi-

And one more of Cotopaxi-

Tomorrow I head for the Galapagos for a week on a boat and I don't know that i will have any internet connection.  So it may be a week or more before I post again, though I am not sure.   Ecuador is a beautiful and fascinating country, but not necessarily made for blogging regularly.  

Rude Lamas and Unusual Soccer Defense

 While I hiking from Qualitoa to the Black Sheep Inn in Chichilian the other day, we passed by a school where the kids were playing soccer.   While I was never the best soccer coach back in the day, i am pretty sure this was not a recommended goalkeeping or defense-

I think the keeper should always at least be in the field of play.

Hiked along the rim of the Quilitoa crater to the highest point.   With the altitude and a severe blister on my foot (you'd think I would learn by now),  it was not easy, but it did afford great views of the iconic laguna and the surrounding country side-

It is such a drop into the lake below-

Sometimes you are right on the edge.  While I was hiking the rim, I came upon this fellow with a lama-

Naturally, I got it into my head to have my picture taken with the lama to show that I was having an 'authentic' Andes experience.  The native was willing but the lama on the other hand did not take to my authentic idea at all well.    Whether because he did not fancy English or my limited Espanol, he objected and then rudely spat in my face!  It got all over my face, jacket and camera and I can tell you it did not smell well.  If some of the pictures seem a bit blurry, you will know why.  Not all of my authentic ideas work out. 

There are so many farms and plantings so high up in the mountains.  It is hard to capture how high and steep they are on camera-

The grade sometimes must approach 40 degrees or more.  

After finishing my hike in the rain, I took a pick up truck with 2 other hikers from QuiIitoa to another village and then took the bus back to Latatunga which is a mid sized city about 1.5 hours south of Quito.   The 30 minute ride in the pick up cost $2 - how they make any money on this is beyond me- and then the 2 hour bus ride set me back about another $2.  I then hired a taxi to take me to my hotel about 2 miles from the bus station for $1.50.  Keeping all this small change isn't easy!  I stayed in one of the better hotels in Latatunga for $29, but it did include breakfast.  

As you can surmise, Ecuador is pretty cheap.  The pandemic has hit the tourist industry very hard.   There have been few people in my hotels or at the restaurants where I have gone.  It is nice for me, I guess, as it is so inexpensive and there is no issue re availability, but you do feel bad for the innkeepers and others like the Black Sheep Inn.  They have had a very rough 2 years.

The ride from Quilitoa to Latatunga had some really dramatic and sheer mountain scenery- better than most of the pics here- but unfortunately the SRO bus ride prevented any pictures. 

Well, I walked back to my hotel from dinner last night past this nice park and pretty church-

 

I now head to Cotopaxi NP which is about an hour south of Quito and stay at a place called The Secret Garden.  Not sure how much of a secret it is as it is all over TripAdvisor, but it any case it supposed to be great for hiking around the 19k' iconic volcano.  So this is likely my last post until Thursday when I return to Quito and then (Friday morning) fly to the Galapagos. 

Quilatoa and affluent pigs

 I set off this morning with a guide to find the legendary but perhaps mythical lake called by the indigenous folk, Quilota, which means legendary and mythical lake in Kichwi, the native tongue..  At least that is my understanding from my renowned skill with languages.  Disembarking from his pick up truck, we passed a few tourist stands and the information center and set off into the wilds of the remote Andes.  After some days (minutes?) of bushwacking, EUREKA!!!  We found it -

I would imagine it will become quite the tourist attraction now. EWe hiked back to our lodge from Quilatoa which surprisingly was only about 8 miles away.  So, we hiked back there through a small canyon and back to the Black Sheep Inn.  It did not seem so small hiking out of it, but we Quilatoa is over 12k' high.

Along the way, we saw this married couple of pigs who appeared quite affluent as they had a 2 story abode-

Not sure whether Mr. or Mrs pig had the better digs.  

Kissing Lamas and enjoying pets Ecuador style

 They are pretty mask crazy here in Ecuador as I mentioned.  But there are a few exceptions and one seems to be kissing lamas-

I have always like pigs, which includes the smallest member of the pig family,  guinea pigs (spare me the biology stuff- if it is in the name, it part of the specifies as far as I'm concerned including cartoon characters).  But here in Ecuador, they like them so much that they consider them a delicacy.   Ominously,  I spotted this group near a kitchen

Equator, Clowns and Black Sheep

 Unsurprisingly, Quito has some beautiful and old churches, from the gothic to the baroque to those with Moorish influences:

I took a tour from Quito to this crater right near the equator where a volcano, allegedly the highest mountain in South America, blew up 2500 yrs ago.  Exciting no doubt, but the feeling might have been of short duration, so glad I was not around for that. But the crater itself was quite stunning, as consisted of beautiful farmland surrounded by towering mountains waiting their turn to blow up. Sadly, the weather was very cloudy and views were restricted.

Of course Equator is most famous for being on the equator.   There is word for that but it escapes me at the moment, but I did spend some time straddling the hemisheres-

In any case I took a bus today into the Andes backcountry.  The buses took about 6 hours to get me to the village of Chichillian near the famous Quilota Lake perhaps 80 miles from Quito. They set me back $5.80 which seemed  a little stiff to me.  The buses were a bit of an 'authentic' experience (the kind every tourist desires but doesn't really want).  The plan seemed to be to stop at everyone's house along the way (includng mine at the end) where I found a little bit of England in the Andes

at onne point, a clown got on the bus and proceeded to enact some sort of clown act to entertain the locals and one tourist (as far I could tell).  Of course my lack of spanish made some of  the jokes go over my head, but I am not sure how funny he was after watching the tips.  But a unique experience for sure.

Finally ended up my inn for the night- The Black Sheep Inn.   Seemed to fit me where I found:

 A