Las Islas Galápagos, part 2

ISLA BALTRA: AN INTRODUCTION TO PARADISE

Our first day in the Galapagos consisted of an adventure I could never even dream of, and it only got better throughout the week. After getting settled on our lovely boat, we took a walk with our Guide around Isla Baltra, a small island located directly north of Santa Cruz. Expecting to see a couple birds and one or two sea lions, I was not expecting my camera to nearly fill up during the first couple hours spent on the islands. Words can't exactly do Isla Baltra justice, so here come quite a few photographic supplements of our first adventure in the Galapagos:

Swallow-tailed gulls showing some love

Who says lava lizards can't be sassy?

This land iguana was wondering what 

we were doing in his personal bubble.

A male frigate bird showing off his gular sac for us. 

Or maybe for the lady birds.

A juvenile frigate bird, not quite ready to leave the nest.

Just chomping on a snack.

This guy was a pro at posing for the camera.

A blue footed booby, known as the unofficial mascot of the Galapagos

A lava gull joined us in admiring the scenery.

I like to think these marine iguanas were best friends.

Galapagos sea lions seemed to be quite the experienced models.

Too cute for words

Las Islas Galápagos, part 1

I can guarantee that describing my experience at the Galapagos Islands is going to be a challenge without showing a video of my entire week stay there, but I'll try my best. Cruising around the Galapagos in an amazing boat, snorkeling and hiking every day, and seeing the most fantastic creatures can only make me want to do anything to go back. Also, I'm losing my ridiculous tan at an unflattering rate, and would like to keep looking at least semi-Ecuadorean.

I don't think I've ever been so tan.

To start our adventure, we flew directly from Quito to Isla Baltra, also known as North Seymour Island (all the islands have at least one Spanish name and one English name, which isn't confusing at all). We soon arrived at the Santa Cruz, our home in the water for 5 days. It was a gorgeous cruise with more old people than we would have preferred, but it seems it's the thing to do when you're 65 years old and retired. The food was amazing for the most part, minus the weird vegetarian mush at dinner, and I had my fair share of pan de yuca every morning at the breakfast buffet. Also, fresh cheese was provided at every meal, and who am I to turn down delicious cheese?

M/V Santa Cruz, the only boat I've ever been on

that came with chocolates on my pillow every night.

Anyway, along with our cruise we had a guide assigned to our group, who always had to be with us on the islands, by law. Our guide, Edison, was from Santa Cruz and was really knowledgable about all the ecology of the Galapagos. He brought us to all the best snorkeling places, and he seemed to be relieved to be with a group of college students rather than another group of elderly tourists.

Edison and our group in one of the Santa Cruz's pangas.

We visited five of the islands in the archipelago: Santa Cruz, Baltra, Isabela, Fernandina, and Floreana. All the islands had something different to offer, from lush highlands to underwater caves to awesome lava tunnels. My descriptions of all these amazing places only go so far, so I shall try my best to supplement with some of the hundreds of photos I took. There will definitely be more posts to come with more details, but for now, here are some teasers:

 I don't think it's possible for baby sea lions to get any cuter.

We got to go snorkeling inside this awesome cave. 

Just one of the tons of amazing beaches we got to stop by. 

Also, there are tons of sea turtle nests right behind the photographer of this picture!

Carnaval!

So between all of our incessant traveling around Ecuador (so annoying, I know), my group and I figured we should do something for Carnaval. Mardi Gras is really only big in New Orleans in the US, and in other random parts of the world, like Rio de Janeiro. Here in Ecuador, I thought Quito would be teeming with life the week before Lent, but we soon found out everyone deserts the city to head to the coast. Unfortunately, we had just arrived back in Quito from our ten day trip to different parts of the coast, and the long journey was not one we wanted to make right away again just for a day or two. We asked around, and with some advice from our host families, wound up staying Sunday night before Fat Tuesday in Ambato, a small city about 3 hours away from Quito.

Our destination was decided the day before, and getting to the bus terminal we needed in South of Quito was an adventure on its own. I had no idea what to expect, and as poorly planning college students, we soon wound up in Ambato with backpacks and no idea where we were going to stay the night. We walked around quite a bit until we found a semi-crowded area somewhat decorated for Carnaval, and tested a few different hostels until we found a cheap one with almost enough beds for all. The shared bathrooms in this hostel were not exactly ideal, and may have been used for the settings of more than one horror movie. Anyway, it was only one night, and we decided to rough it for the sake of Carnaval in Ecuador.

Soon we made our way through a packed-as-sardines street of Ecuadoreans, who often made use of the weapon of choice for Carnaval - foam sprayed out of a can. The first time we were a little confused, then after the 45th time or so, we realized we were specifically targeted because we were the only gringos wandering around Ambato. We fought through the crowd (with the help of a newly purchased foam weapon of my own) and eventually wound up listening to some live music set up in the street. After hearing a surprising amount of 80s classic rock, we moved on and wandered around more of the foam-filled city. The night ended on an unusual note with a street hamburger served on a hot dog bun. I guess hungry pickers can't be choosers.

Foam defeat.

Foam victory!

The next day we saw more of the city that was celebrating Carnaval, and wound up at the Festival of Fruits and Flowers, which is essentially Ambato's only claim to fame. We saw an awesome mural made of fruit, and went to a museum filled with flower displays. Soon we headed home, with an much-needed stop in Salcedo for the most delicious helados known to man. All in all, Ambato was a fun, very impromptu, adventure in Ecuador!

The only mural around that probably tastes as good as it looks!

The Fish Market

When you hear the words “fish market,” images of nicely filleted tuna and pre-cooked shrimp behind a glass case usually come to mind, occasionally accompanied by a tank full of live lobsters nearby. This is what I expected to see at the fish market in Puerto Lopez, a fishing town a little farther north from Los Piqueros. However, our trip there at 6:30am revealed a totally different kind of fish market, located right on the beach.

In Puerto Lopez, the fishing boats of many coastal residents come alongshore, or send smaller boats in between to bring their catches to the vendors waiting on the beach. Organization leaves some to be desired, as this “market” is basically a conglomeration of small boats, stray dogs, tons of men angling their necks to get a good look at what’s coming from the boats, and local women filleting freshly caught fish on makeshift tables in the sand. Frigate birds fly overhead diving at bins of small fish being carried from the boats to the shore, or aiming for forgotten fish scraps in the sand.

Unfortunately, shark fishing is more popular here than should be legally allowed. I was able to see a thresher shark and multiple hammerheads, none old enough to reach full size. Some of the hammerheads were so young they even had their umbilical cords still attached, but were still harvested for their fins. Shark meat is hardly worth harvesting in Ecuador, but the fins are shipped to Asia for the huge consumption there of shark fin soup. It’s pretty sad to see so many dead sharks on the sands of the beach there, and even worse to see them brutally cut up just for their fins. Hopefully we’ll be able to see some live sharks swimming in the Galapagos, where they are hopefully better preserved.

Los Piqueros

Since Ecuador just isn’t awesome enough, I currently have the pleasure of living on a beach for a week and a half at a lovely hostel called “Hosteria Piqueros Patas Azules,” or Los Piqueros for short (the name actually refers to blue-footed boobies). While I’m not entirely sure in what town the hostel is located, or if it even is in a town, I have learned it’s part of the coastal province “Manabí.” Just up the coast to the north is Puerto Lopez, a small fishing town about a 15 minute bus ride away. Further north is Puerto Cayo, a smaller fishing town with a rather dirty beach. About an hour south is Montañita, an awesome surfing town filled with hostels, seafood street vendors, and tons of surfers. Los Piqueros is fairly deserted, with a mile-long path from the road, and is run by a man who very closely resembles Ernest Hemingway.

Montañita, filled with surfboards and street vendors

Living right on the beach is more than I could ever ask for in Ecuador. Besides working on my tan for a few hours a day, I get to swim, body surf, and explore the tide pools in the rocky outcrop during low tide. The beach rarely has more than a couple other people, and is the perfect place for research and relaxation. We’ve played volleyball almost every day, which I’ve found is a much more suitable sport for me than soccer. The food is also fantastic, and I’ve had tons of delicious seafood, as well as an amazing breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and granola every morning.

My "dorm" for two weeks

Our "classroom" for the time being

Red mangroves located steps away from the shore

At night we usually hang around a bit after dinner to chat or play with the owner’s grandchildren, and we usually indulge in some of the delicious homemade dessert, ranging from milkshakes to pie de maracuyá (the only part of the meal not included in our tuition, but definitely worth the addition to our tabs). One of the best nights here included manhunt on the beach, dodging the blue crabs crawling in the sand, and running between the hammocks hanging on the beach. Afterwards, the owner’s son, who was staying with his family for awhile, built us a bonfire and brought out his guitar. We had a great time singing along to tons of songs, ranging from the Beatles to U2 to our favorite Michel Teló pop song.

Jaime, our assistant professor, took a few of us to a cave near another beach further south. It was pretty difficult getting there, and involved some rock climbing, wading through another cave, and scaling substrate much larger than myself. We eventually wound up at a beach called La Playa Dorada, or “Golden Beach,” aptly named for its beautiful golden sands, flanked by huge orange and gold sedimentary rock on either side. By the time we arrived, the tide was too high to go back the way we came, so we had a nice walk through the coastal dry forest back to Los Piqueros. Despite the thirty or so mosquito bites I accumulated during that stroll, it was really nice to see all the different vegetation and views of the water.

Los Piqueros is amazing, and I wish we could stay here for the rest of the semester. But I suppose I can sacrifice living on the beach for some time in the Galapagos and the rainforest soon to come.

Just a picture of some cows on the beach.

Baños: Not just for Poop

To backtrack a little on my most recent adventures in Ecuador, last weekend I took a trip to Baños with the rest of my crowd. It wasn’t sponsored by the program, so it was a little less organized than usual, considering all the planning was done by a bunch of college kids. As one can imagine, we are a group with short pockets but a deep imagination. Besides the fourteen of us in the BU program, twenty-two of our friends from Wisconsin also joined, and we managed to successfully take over the hostel, and most of Baños itself.

Despite the meaning of the word, Baños is not just a place full of toilets. The name actually refers to the hot springs located there, similar to those in Papallacta, where people flock to enjoy nature’s own hot tubs. In addition to these natural spas, the town has tons of waterfalls, and is located at the base of a fairly large volcano. Nearby is a long river that eventually leads to the Amazon, flanked on either side by gorgeous cloud forests. With all of this located in a fairly small city, there was tons to do, from zip lining to hiking to mountain biking. However, we only had two full days, so we had to make the most of it.

Since we are all broke college kids, money was a bit of an issue. However, Baños is the perfect place for lots of adventure on a tiny budget. For less than $100, I managed:

• A 2 night stay in a hostel, complete with towels and our own bathroom
• A private bus ride for the four hour trip to and from Quito
• An hour and a half white water rafting experience, which included the trip to the river, all the gear we needed, and a delicious lunch in a restaurant on the way back
• About an hour in the hot springs (which was all I needed, especially considering the claustrophobia from so many people there, and how unbearably hot the water was)
• A morning of zip lining, with six different lines through cloud forest mountains, over white water rivers, and whizzing by waterfalls
• 2 delicious meals at the Stray Dog Brew Pub, which had amazing sandwiches and locally made beer; 1 great falafel dinner at Casa Hood, a local restaurant/library with a fun hippie vibe; 2 morning breakfasts of delicious freshly made bread; and finally, 2 fun nights out on the town in the center of Baños with other visitors from all over the world

I would say that’s a pretty good deal for another fantastic weekend of adventure in Ecuador!

P.S. Check out the video below for some firsthand zip lining footage

El Gato Diablo

I am not a person that dislikes animals. Bugs, maybe. Animals, no. After all, I am studying Ecology, which involves its fair share of fauna. I also have the pleasure of having the most adorable dog on the planet, despite her occasional viscousness. However, I am convinced my host mom's cat, aptly named Gris, is the spawn of the devil. I'm not usually a fan of cats, and living with this little guy only serves to reinforce my prejudices. The only cats I've really enjoyed having relationships with were the ones that came with funny captions right beneath them.

Who couldn't love that adorable ball of fur?

In the beginning, it wasn't so bad. Gris kept his distance, I kept mine. We had a mutual indifference towards each other. However, about a week later, he began to show his dark side (which now I'm thinking may be his only side). Occasionally while my host mom was out, I would hear these weird, other-worldly noises coming from the living room. The first time this occurred, I was rather frightened and ran to see what was going on. I soon found out these are just the normal sounds of a devil cat. Sometimes I think it's calling to a mothership full of terrible alien felines. I've never heard anything like it before, and I hope to God I never have to hear anything like it again.

As time went on, Gris began to make his daunting presence known in my life. I found him perched on the keyboard of my laptop once, happily changing all of my previous computer settings. He would hop onto the table while I was eating, which my host mom never really discouraged. Personally, I found it gross, but I didn't feel the need to object as long as he wasn't bothering me. However, Gris started to strengthen his advances. No matter what meal I was consuming, whether early morning breakfast or my solitary dinner around 7:00, Gris was there. From sniffing at my cereal milk to positioning his little cat butt right in my face, Gris became an omnipresent pest. Just this evening I found him waiting on my usual chair, sitting there and just begging me to push him off. Over and over, I gently lower him off the table onto the floor, but he's quite a persistent devil. As my Spanish teacher says, "Weeds never die," (the translation of which I can't quite remember).

Occasionally his tail will wind up in my dish, or he will knock my notes over while trying to scratch himself on everything I own. Gris has transformed the dinner table into his very own fighting arena, his confrontation coinciding with almost every instance of my hunger. Every meal has turned into a showdown, where I carefully guard my juice and food, simultaneously avoiding clawing, rubbing, and intimidating stares. Hopefully Gris will soon realize that I have no desire to be friends nor enemies, and that my only wish is peaceful indifference.

I'm patiently waiting for Gris to wave his flag.

Did I mention my host my has a mangy yappy dog, too?

Cows, Bats, and Waterfalls

This past weekend, we ventured off to La Hesperia, a dairy farm in the cloud forest of Ecuador, about two hours away from Quito. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much more than a few cows and a lot of clouds (I mean it is called the cloud forest). However, after three days at La Hesperia, I can say it was definitely a weekend full of adventures.

It doesn't get too much greener than this.

After a three hour drive through mountains and traffic, we arrived at the foot of what seemed like an easy climb to the farmhouse. Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at the top, dripping with sweat and rain from the steep hike. Okay, maybe it wasn't that grueling, but I was definitely out of breath when I finally made it. Luckily we had a handy guy with a jeep drive up the hill with our bags so we didn't have to lug those all the way. Once we arrived, we had a bit of free time to explore the farm. We wandered a bit, said hello to some cows, and found a bunch of orange trees. Being the curious ecologists that we are, we decided to take one and share it. By far, it was the sourest orange I have ever tasted in my life, and we all immediately spit it out. We then learned our lesson about eating wild fruit before asking someone about it.

Don't be fooled by it's luscious hue.

Since this past weekend was technically an educational field trip, we spent about an hour roaming around the yard of the farmhouse with Kelly and Jaime, our two lovely professors, and talked about various plant families. This mostly prompted us to scream out "SPORE!" and other fun plant terms when hiking the next day. I did learn quite a few plant families, and can now proudly tell the difference between Asteraceae and Melastomataceae (and even more impressive, I can spell them!). We had a lot of free time Friday night as well, which we utilized by playing Bananagrams and Mafia for hours a time. Mafia clearly brought out the best in our group, between countless accusations and scheming.

One of the million bromeliads we always seem to find.

Contrary to popular belief, this guy is not as

cute and cuddly as he looks.

Possibly the cutest little cow anyone has ever seen

Saturday was our only full day in La Hesperia, and we started it off with a bang by waking up to milk cows at 7am. It was an optional activity, but when else am I going to get to milk a cow on a real dairy farm in Ecuador? The farmers there were really nice and showed us how to milk them, which turned out to be really fun. Recently the farmers have started using a pump to milk the cows instead of doing it by hand, which we saw was a lot more efficient. After a delicious breakfast of eggs, bread, and fresh jam, we spent most of the day on a six hour hike through the cloud forest with Kelly and Jaime, where we learned about some more plants and got to see quite a few up close and personal. Jaime caught a snake at one point, which I got to play with, until it freaked me out by trying to slither up my sleeve.

We soon became pros at seed dispersal. Mostly by

throwing the sticky ones onto each other's shirts.

Kelly had mentioned that we would be "crossing a stream" at one point in our hike, and suggested we wear canvas shoes that would dry easily. Little did we know, we would be crossing that same stream multiple times, and even making our way up and through it for a decent portion of our hike. To say the least, I was soaked and covered in mud, but it was definitely worth it. The cloud forest is beautiful, and we saw so many different types of gorgeous green plants. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to swing on the vines hanging from the canopy like Tarzan.

Heliconiaceae, my new favorite plant family

Saturday night was also really interesting, as we got to watch Jaime study the bats he had caught in nets outside the farmhouse. He caught about eleven, and examined and measured each one. We saw two or three different species, including a couple of pregnant females. Some think bats are the cutest things in the world, but I still think they're kind of creepy looking. They do have cool rhino-esque things on their noses, though. We then ended the night with a couple more rounds of Mafia and card games, as per usual for our group.

Cute, right?

Today was left more or less up to us, as we were given about three hours of the morning to roam around the area. After waiting for the rain to clear by playing cribbage, we decided go hiking in search of the waterfall we had heard existed somewhere nearby. We asked one of the farmhands to lead us, but he would only show us where the trail was, and warned us it wasn't very well maintained. We figured we would be fine, and thought nothing of it. Soon we were sliding down mudslides, waddling on our hands and knees over roots and under branches, and doing our best to avoid dangerous caterpillars and fire ants that lurked below. After one mistaken trail, we headed off in a new direction, and found a lovely pool in the stream, where we splashed around for awhile. We then continued on to where we believed the waterfall to be. Proving to be a much more dangerous path than we had thought, we had to use a found rope to repel down one of the cliffs, then reattach it at another location to use again to avoid falling into the rocky stream from the one-foot-wide ledge of the eroding cliff we were walking on. I have to say it was pretty scary, and probably more than a little dangerous, but it was so worth it once we finally made it down. We headed upstream a bit, and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a gorgeous cascading waterfall. It was amazing to say the least, and definitely worth the treacherous hike to get there.

Now just imagine a crazy awesome waterfall

a little ways downstream.

(These are the times I need a waterproof camera)