November 2006 - The Galapagos: Day 11 - Otavalo

It was election day in Ecuador! Everywhere we went there were posters, political graffiti, and people talking about the candidates. We met our guide and driver who were going to take us to Otavalo, a market town about 2 hours North of Quito in the Andes mountains. Our guide started off the drive by explaining all about the elections (see the previous day’s blog), as well as her opinion of Noboa, (“he’s corrupt”) and Correa (“he’s as good as Venezuela’s Chavez”).

Nearly every else who we had talked to in the Galapagos didn’t seem to think it would matter much who won. The general opinion is that each side was just as crooked as the other. Our guide spent a good part of the ride up to Otavalo telling us about the local political issues and she turned out to be quite an activist. I followed along politely for a while, but when she told us that Cuba’s health system was a model we should all follow, and that the US Army had secretly dumped nuclear waste in one of the rivers in Ecuador, she lost me.

Nonetheless, it was an interesting ride as we shared the mountain road with buses packed with people. The route we took up to Otavalo went through a town called Tabacundo, but when we came back, we took a different road, this time through Cayambe. When we got to Otavalo, we found out that there are actually 2 markets there. The food market is where farmers from all around the Imbabura province bring their crops to sell. There are all sorts of fruits, vegetables, and meats (well, dead animals anyway) for sale. Everything looked good, but unfortunately we didn’t eat anything here – our stomachs were getting back to normal.








The other market is the one that most people come to Otavalo to see. It’s the textiles market. We heard that because it was election day, it was very small, but it was still enough to satisfy our curiosity. The stalls here had sweaters, hats, scarves, and all sorts of things made from Alpaca wool, as well as embroidered blouses and tablecloths, jewelry, wood carvings, and other local crafts. I was very happy that we had gotten a guide. At each stand she would tell us whether the prices were reasonable or we should bargain more. After we had shopped enough, we headed to a Spa/Hotel call La Mirage for lunch.




La Mirage serves traditional styled meals, but they are done in gourmet style. Over our delicious lunch of corn on the cob, pork BBQ, avocados, and empanadas, we had time to think our morning in the market. Most of the locals are indigenous people who speak Kichwa (I’ve also seen this spelled Quechua). They wear traditional dress – white “Capri” pants for the men and long blue skirts with lacy tops for the women, and everyone wears espadrilles. It was very enchanting and exotic, and made me feel very far away from home.

I really did feel very foreign in the market. Before we went on this trip, a few of the travel guides that I read mentioned that you should not dress as “a conspicuous tourist.” Given that Eric and I were at least 6-12 inches taller than any one else in the entire town, and the only blondes, I don’t think what we were wearing could have made us stand out any more. However, the people in market stalls were pleasant, and seemed to find humor in trying to find a sweater big enough to fit me – whispering and laughing “muy grande!”

After lunch our drive took us to Cotacatchi National Park, which has a beautiful crater lake surrounded by volcanic mountains. The view was fantastic and you can look down into the valleys with all of the of the lush green farms in the countryside. We went for a short walk, but soon realized that the altitude (about 12K feet) was taking it’s toll, so we headed back to catch our breath and be on our way back to Quito.





On the way back we stopped on the equator for a quick photo op – I’m in the southern hemisphere and he’s in the northern.



We left the Hilton behind to try to get a better sense Ecuador. Instead we stayed in a small hotel called La Mansion del Angel, which had been a private house. It was decorated in a pretty and eclectic mix of Victorian and 1920’s antiques with Angels everywhere. We spent our last night relaxing at the hotel, re-packing all of our bags, and preparing to say good-bye to South America.

November 2006 - The Galapagos: Day 10 Quito

Saturday was our last morning in the Galapagos and the mood was definitely a little sad. However, I think most of the crew were excited to get back home for a few hours before starting to prep for the next cruise. We said our good-byes and waited at the dock for a bus to the airport.

Baltra airport is typical of the other “tropical” airstrips we’ve seen. It’s mostly open with just a roof, but this one also has a little street of shops nearby for those last minute souvenirs. We picked up a map of the islands and headed for the check-in. We had heard that you can get your passport stamped there, but it took some searching, asking, and waiting until the “customs” guy with the stamp arrived. It’s actually a pretty cool stamp with a big tortoise.

We had been told that we could go back to Royal Palms VIP lounge from the first day to wait for our flight. After looking around the sparse terminal, we decided this was a good idea. However, we had to go through the security checkpoint first. When we got there it was closed. Since no flight was scheduled for next hour, they just shut off all the x-ray equipment. We explained that we wanted to go to the lounge, and begrudgingly they turned on the scanner, waited for it to boot up and then let us through.

The flight back to Quito was a little unnerving because it was completely foggy. Knowing that there are huge mountain peaks all around, but not being able to see them is uncomfortable. However, we arrived with no problems and got to hear the strangely phrased landing announcement in English: “Please forget… (unusually long pause)… none of your belongings as you exit the plane.”
We settled in back at the Quito Hilton Colon and were given a warning that no alcohol would be served with dinner. As it turned out, it wasn’t just about dinner. The next day, Sunday, was election day and the entire country was dry from Friday night to Monday morning. Since voting is mandatory, I guess they want to be sure that everyone shows up sober at the polls. Even though we obviously weren’t Ecuadorian, and didn’t have to wake up early to vote, there was no getting around it. No happy hour cocktails. No wine with dinner. No beer after dinner. Nada. We ate at an Italian restaurant and it was very strange to look across the tables and see only water glasses.

On a further note about the elections, we found out how they “enforce” the mandatory voting. When you vote, you are given an ID card with your picture. If you want to apply for a job, get a mortgage or other loan, register a car, etc. you have to present this card. No voting card = no job, no house, no anything. It’s not hard to imagine why they get about 99% voter turn out. I wonder how the elections would turn out differently in the US if we had a policy like this. Then again, maybe it’s better that some people here don’t vote.

We had some time to kill in the afternoon, so we ventured out for a walk in the park across from the hotel. There was a small market of local crafts and people playing volleyball. This was the start of the wet season and pretty soon they daily afternoon rain began. We rushed back to the hotel and spent the rest of the night watching TV for the first time in a week: the highlights included Bullfighting and The Two Towers in Spanish with “Senor Frodo.”

Sorry there are no pictures from this day. More to come!

November 2006 - The Galapagos: Day 9 Seymour/South Plaza

At this point in the trip we had already seen so many amazing things, it was hard to believe that there could be more. We started the morning with a walk on Seymour island where we got a closeup of the frigate birds we had seen flying the day before. On this island they are mostly Magnificent Frigate birds, but there are also Great Frigate birds. The difference is in the eye ring and neck feathers, but I won’t go into the details here. When they are ready to mate, the males inflate a pouch of red skin on their necks to attract females (apparently the bigger it is, the more attractive they are to the ladies). Here’s one of them showing off for us:

After the walk, we went snorkeling and I finally got to see a Moorish Idol. We also saw another White Tipped Reef Shark. However as we followed him, our guide called for us to come to where he was. As we got closer there was another shark about 8 feet long. And then two more. And then more. I saw at least a dozen by the time I arrived, but there were many, many more who started to scatter. Even though they don’t pay much attention to humans, it was very unnerving to be surrounded by them.

After the shark encounter, we continued to swim along the island. I felt a weird scratch on my arm and thought maybe I had brushed against some underwater plant. Then I felt another one, and this time it clearly wasn’t a scratch, but a sharp sting. By the third one, I knew I had run into a bunch of jellyfish. The stings turned bright red and itched for a few hours, but they didn’t hurt as much as I expected. By the afternoon, the “aquamora,” as they are known in Ecuador, were just a memory.

The afternoon was spent on South Plaza Island. Here we saw Land Iguanas, Sea Lions, and Swallow Tailed Gulls. We actually saw some of the gulls mating, which involved a very difficult maneuver where the male has to stand on the female’s back. After seeing that, it’s amazing that these birds are thriving.

Finally, we had our farewell cocktails and dinner back on the boat, complete with cake with an icing shark on it! At our final dinner with the captain, we had discussion about the position of the moon. Here at home, we tend to see a crescent moon as a “C”. However, on the equator it appears rotated as more of a “U”. According to the Ecuadorians, our moon is wrong!

November 2006 - The Galapagos: Day 8 Genovesa

I've been slowing down over the holidays, but now it's back to blogging. I hope you all had a great New Year's celebration! On to the Galapagos.....



For the last two days of the trip, I had been secretly happy that I was not the one who had gotten a stomach bug. I was able to enjoy completely the fantastic meals that our chef had been preparing. The universe saw fit to pay me back and I spent the night curled up with the most intense stomach cramps I have ever experienced. With the help of Immodium (amazing stuff), I was able to go ashore for our morning walk on Genovesa, also known as Tower Island. Genovesa is a crater with one side open, so it forms a bay that is about ¾ of a circle.

The key attraction here are the birds, and we finally got to see the Red Footed Booby. Unlike the Blue Footed or Nazca, they build nests in trees, especially the mangroves here.

I was still recovering so I passed on the snorkeling today. However, after lunch we went for another walk. This time, just 4 of us went ashore and we were the only people on the entire island. We were outnumbered by thousands of Red Footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Red-billed tropic birds, Swallow-tailed gulls, and Great Frigate birds.

Frigate birds are really the pirates of the bird world. We watched as they would follow a booby or gull who had caught a fish. The frigates swoop down on the bird in flight and shake/bump/harass them until they cough up the fish. The frigate bird will catch it in mid air and take off to look for another victim. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but they are very good at it.

When we returned to the boat for dinner, we found that the chef had made us a turkey for Thanksgiving, complete with all sorts of vegetables and side dishes. For me, dinner was just chicken soup, but everyone else seemed to enjoy the holiday celebration. We were all definitely thankful for the afternoon alone with the birds.