Hola amigos.
Thanks for the replies from many of you regarding our trip.
Many of you have mentioned what a great gift it is to the boys. Others have extended your understanding, indeed sympathy!, for us being with them 24 ...7, and for so many weeks!
Over the last little while, I´ve realized that you are of course both correct. The last 5 weeks of travel have included some of the best moments of parenting that I have ever experienced, as well as some of the most difficult too.
The best moments have often been some of the dinners we have had together...we have had one or two! Sometimes, there have been magical moments when the boys have been totally engaged in our discussions. These talks have been a little like the famous teachable moments of a teacher, those times when we have the students´ complete attention, and interest. The dinner talks with Dylan and Justin at these times have been so sincredible partly because their level of interest has been so vivid, so complete, so different than usual! It has been so satisfying for Gail and I because we feel ...probably incorrectly..at these times that we have more influence in their lives than usual.
I suspect that these moments have presented themselves because the boys have been outside of their normal level of comfort, and of routine, and that the new environments of Peru and Ecuador have stimulated them to think about new questions, and to wonder a little more. Even if I´m wrong about the parental influence, it has been a pleasant change from our habitual norms of our normal patterns of communication with each other!
And yes, there are been moments sharing busses, and one room quadruple hotel rooms, and being with each other so often, where we lose it with each other, and things break down, almost totally. But the positive moments of the trip far outweigh the infighting, and it is all good.
Anyways, enough of my rambling. I´ll ask Gail to send some hard details and photos on our river rafting trip today near Cuzco!
Hope you are well, and have survived the snow.
Best wishes Mike
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Chapter One - And the journey begins...
Many people have been asking about how Gail and her family are doing on their adventure. I suggested to 'blog' their experience through the emails I get from them. I hope you enjoy their experiences and if you want to send them your wishes, you can email Gail @
gsayers@sd43.bc.ca
Feb. 13, 2008 Travel to Seattle from Coquitlam Arrival next day San Jose Costa Rica 6:30 am
Feb. 15 travel San Jose to Cahita (Carribean coast) by bus
Feb. 19 travel from Cahita to Puerto Viejo Carribean coast
Feb 22 travel from Puerto Viejo to Turrialba
Feb 23 River rafting Rio Pacuare
Feb 24 travael from Turrialba to Arsenal La Fortuna, through San Jose
February 24th, 2008
11 days in paradise. 1 day San Jose, 7 days on the Caribean coast, with surfing, boogie boarding, biking and hiking. lots of great food and Reggae. We travelled Cahuita to almost the \panama border then bussed it toTurriable, the rafting center. Did a terrific rafting trip. 30 km with 35 sections of class 3 and 4 rapids. \justin flipped out once and mike once but in kind of fun sections so no problem. Beautiful wilderness terrain all the way down with canyons, deep rain forest and through indiginous peoples lands. 10 hour trip including lunch with 5 hours of it in the raft for a bargain $35 each. We just walked around town and worked our own deal. We are now in Fortuna and staying in a hostel. \Not what you would expect in a hostel. We have our own beautiful room with hot showers, air cond. and big pool, free internet and shuttles to most atractions for $65 per night. We may get breakfast included too. We are going to hike the Arenal volcano trail tomorrow then do the zip lines and end at these natural hot springs. So many tour groups so we are trying to work out something on our own so we can stay as long as we want at each place. Not so humid here which is nice. Kids have loved all the wildlife we see each day and we are half way through checking off our wildlife guide we bought. One yellow palm pit viper is enough though. We are here for 3 days then jeep,paddlejeep to the monteverde national park and will stay for at least 4 days there. Lots of great travellers we have met. nothing planned for our last week which is fine. It is awesome having backpacks and not having to check baggage for plane, bus etc. Bye for now Gail Feb 27 travel from La Fortuna to Santa Elena—taxi boat taxi February 29, 2008 Hi gang, Lots of exciting events in Costa Rica. We re on our last days ....4 nites here in Santa Elena in the CLoud forest then bus to SanJose on Sunday then flight to Ecuador on MOnday. CAn't believe how quick it has gone. We loved La Fortuna, the pool, ziplines, food, and the unimpeded view of the Arenal volcano with steam on our last morning. We left at 2:30 pm on Wed for a jeep, boat, jeep trip (3 hours) to Monteverde region. Arrived to a unique hostel named Pensiona Santa Elena--filled with travellers from all over. Nice to be in a cooler climate and a small town. Great communl kitchen where everyone is very friendly. Great for the kids to see young people travelling for long periods of time and listening to their stories. Justin said when he is older he may not travel a lot because he thinks it might be too expensive but Dylan has already said he will come back but he will stay in one area for a month at a time and maybe go to Nicaragua ( lots of travellers are raving about that country- cheap, safe, and beautiful. It is great to give the kids a broader perspective. We did Extremo Ziplines yesterday (Mike did the coffee tour ). The platforms were at the top of the trees, some were 45 meters up and the ziplines were 100 to 900 meters long! It was awesome but a challenge to step off the platforms and whiz so high up for 1 min or more at a time. We did a long rappel too and a tarzan swing 100meters long swing. We also spent 2 hours at a frog center and had a guided tour. It was so educational. We went back at night and used our flashlight to find the frogs in action. Today we hiked in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest reserve and spotted many birds, 4 kinds of hummingbirds, coati, agouti and a canopy of trees like you have never seen. The kids said they didn't care if we saw animals because they loved the forest so much. We spent an easy 3 hours hiking. We are going to the snake center for a tour this afternoon. All the centers have science students guide all the guests so it is wonderful for the kids. We feel like the stars have b een lined up--all of us are healthy and enjoying travelling and looking forward to many more adventures.
Bye for now Gail
March 2 travel day from Santa Elena to San Jose
March 3 San Jose – Quito March 4th morning Collect plane ticket Coca –Quito for March 10 flight
March 4-6 Tena
March 5 River rafting? River People
March 6 travel to Coca 3-4 hours
March 6th, 2008
In COCO today awaiting 4 hours boat trip down the tributory of the Amazon tomorrow. Great hotel with 3 pool on the river! What a treat after our 5 hour bus ride. mike and I swam laps to get rid of the travel body and the kids did multiple trips down the water slide. Cant believe that this place is $40! We then had a buffet dinner for $4! The kids loved the place as soon as we arrived.......4 spider monkeys climbed up their leg and sat on their back packs and patted their heads. They then noticed the 2 baby coatis and then the 2 parrots started talking. Now to back track. We were sad to leave Costa Rica but so far Ecuador has me thinking that our stay is going to be way too short here. Terrific people, beautiful country and great food and half the price of Costa Rica. The people are beautiful and so healthy and strong looking. Few speak English and we have not been around many tourists on buses and walking around town in Quito, and Tena but we feel very welcome and comfortable. The altitude of Quito hit us after our 12 hour travel day from Costa Rica but it is a gorgous city and we enjoyed hiking around the town and all the way up 40 flights of stairs, and ladders to reach the top of tower in the Catholic Cathedral. What a view in a spectacular building. We stayed in a old hostel in old town Quito. Most buildings were built in the 1500´s. The hostel had a roof top deck which held the restaurant. They had one menu for each meal and you could get beer or wine for $3. The best part were all the other travellers and their stories. We will be returning to Quito later in our trip so after 2 days we left for Tena. A storm and a tight schedule, made us decide to go for a hike and not river raft. It worked out well. The bus ride was 7 hours due to construction, washouts and the fact that the Express Bus picks up people anywhere that they flag the driver down and drops off anywhere too and in any towns he lets 5 or 6 venders circle through the bus too. No hard sellers and lots of beautifully prepared food but it sure lengthened the trip. We had a huge hairy black spider climb onto mikes shoe and a 4 inch beetle on justins sandal within 30 min of our arrival---apparently harmless. Every day is such a fascinating adventure.
Bye for now Gail
March 7 Start of Sani Lodge tour Meeting 12:00 Hotel el Auca Jorge contact or Javier
March 7-10 Sani lodge paid in full
March 10 flight Coca – Quito
March 10 Quito Hotel Secret Garden tell details for March 11, 12, 13
March 10th, 2008
Well Jeff Stromgren and Rene, you are in for an amazing adventure. We just spent four days at the Sani Lodge, found in the Amazon jungle a 4 hour longboat trip from Coca. The boat trip was a beautiful ride down the Coca then the Napo rivers. They are both major tributaries of the Amazon river. Just past where the indigenous people Sani live we switched to a very narrow long boat and travelled 1 hour down a small river, maybe 6 meters across with the jungle canopy covering the sky above. Within 15 min. the Sani guide yells anaconda and the eng. speaking guide at the front spots it sunning itself on a branch just in front of the boat. We slowed the boat and the guya at the front reached into the coil and grabbed it by the head-----lots of wriggling with Dylan and Justin sitting right behind with very large eyes. He then said at 1 meter, it was a baby because they get to 8 meters (mom was probably in the bushes). He said they rarely see them. The kids touched it but it was too strong to hold. He let it go then looked in the trees above and said ¨sloth¨¨. The kids recognized it as a 3 toed sloth because they had seen the 2 toed in Costa Rica. Next there were howler monkeys, mackaws, parrots before we emerged at a beautiful lagoon and saw the palm thatched huts and a dock. I could write 10 pages about the other adventures but I will just tell you a few. Night walk in the black of night to see the nocturnal animals tarantelas, frogs, interesting insects, 6 in. millipedes and the symphony of sounds., fishing with a wooden pole and a piece of meat on a hook and catching 5 pirhannas then eating them for breakfast, birdwatching in early evening in the lagoon from a hand carved cedar canoe and counting over 30 species within an hour with all the colours of the rainbow, going out in that same tippy cedar canoe in the black of night armed only with one guide with a strong flashlight to caiman watch and getting within 1 meter of at least 4 different caiman---as Justin said ¨-- too close for comfort---staring into their huge eyes and admiring their 4 meter long bodies--freaky and surreal that we were really seeing them! We also did jungle hikes, and a hike to a 35 meter tall bird tower to watch the birds from the top of the forest canopy. Our kids learned more about biology, ecology, bugs, plants, animals , other cultures etc in the 4 days with the Sanis than a year of school. Justin was never without a pair of binoculars and he won the blowgun tourney where we wore war paint and fired a 3 meter blowgun (you blow poison arrows at monkeys), at a grapefruit. He hit the target 2 out of 4! The guide said he worked at Sani because he realized that after living in Quito then in Florida for college that he needed to live his life surrounded by nature. The Amazon sure enters your soul. I can see why many never leave and why many tourists continue to come back for more. We have now flown back to Quito for 3 days in a city. First stop laundry, then pizza for the kids, internet, then off to the Galapogas on Friday. Can´t believe how much the kids are learning and how interested they are about everything. When we travelled back to Coca on the longboat we picked up school kids and villagers along the way from tiny jungle shacks-an eyeopener about sc hool for the kids. Bye for now Gail
March 14 Dept. for Galapagos
March 14-March 20 Galapogas cruise (hike, snorkel, explore 6 Islands)
March 17, 2008
Well, we have a half day leave from the 60 ft boat the Yate Darwin. We have had 5 days aboard and it has been amazing. We are walking around town weaving left and right (even before we had the beer with the 3 passengers from Ireland to celebrate St. Patricks day). The seas are calm but 1000 km away from the coast of Ecuador, calm seas on the Galapogas Is. are very rolley, so we do not have land legs right now. The Galapogas Is. are even more spectacular than we imagined and our boat, although small ,has a terrific crew, awesome cook, and a full itinerary on different islands each day. The days always include two hiking excursions on different islands and 1-2 hours snorkling. The other 12 passengers are a great mix of 20 to 79 year olds, all well travelled and filled with so many stories. We have representation from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Poland, USA, Greece, Venezuala and Switzerland. The kids have fit in well too and their enthusiasm and expert ability to spot so much wildlife and marine life has really endeered them to the rest of the gang. They are buying ice cream for 3 people tonight --poker losses and they have learned 5 new card tricks. Just a few highlights so far.......and I am not exaggerating.......Snorkling in clear blue waters and having sea lions jump off the rocks and swim under us, then seeing 2 meter long sharks swim beside us, and following 4 sea turtles for 50 meters, not to mention the bright yellow puffer fish, parrot fish, stingrays, batrays etc., Each night we look at the marine life guide and record a couple dozen new species from our snorkling. Then 2 nights ago, the captain sounded the horn and we went out on deck to look for the dolphins he had spotted. We hoped for a glimpse.....over 500 dolphins jumping and playing all around the boat following us for 2 km and then 30 min later another 200 dolphins from another species. Each island has its own unique ecosystem and unique species of turtles, iguanas, plants and birds. Flamingoes in lagoons,albatross, penquins, and blue footed boobies are so beatiful and most have newly hatched chicks that we have observed up close. We have 3 days left and apparently the snorkling gets better each day---tomorrow marine iguanas, green sea turtles, 7 species of sea stars and then in the afternoon.....hammerhead sharks! We hiked through a 400 meter lava tube under the earth today and looked into 2 volcano craters. We will be sad when the trip ends---what an experience.
Bye for now Gail
March 20 Galopogas – Guayaquil Tame flight in afternoon March 20th, 2008 Sad afternoon in Quayanquil because the Galopagos trip is over. It is nice to be back on land but we really bonded with the 16 people and 5 crew and continued to see amazing vistas, wildlife and sealife. Our last four snorkling trips brought black tipped sharks, another species of sea turtles, marine iguanas eating algae 1 meter below us, 20 penquins diving under us and waddling on the rocks above our heads, and sea lions diving figure 8´s around us. Today we walked on N. Isabella Is. and watched the frigate birds swell their red pouches to entice the females and saw their baby chicks and the biggest land iguanas. We will be leaving tomorrow aft. for Lima Peru. Ecuador is a "must come back" place. So many places we did not get to that we will keep on our list for a return trip.
Bye for now Gail
March 21 Guayaquil to Lima
March 22 Lima to Arequipa
March 23 Bus trip Arequipa – Chivay
March 26 Chivay to Arequipa by bus
March 26, 2008
Well, the fun continues. Some challenges though.....8 days on the Galapagos with minimal sleep,and maximum excursions, then 3 short flights over 3 days then a 3 hour bus trip that took us from 600 meters to 6800 meters in 2 hours and finishing in Chivaz at 3800 meters, ..........we really crashed. I was lucky...the altitude just gave me shortness of breath, and a bit of a headache the first night, Justin...tired, cranky and big headache for a day, Dylan tired, lightheaded and tormenting his brother, and poor Mike got the migraine from hell for 36 hours. Luckily after the first day and a half he felt great and enjoyed the 2 remaining days in the beautiful Andes mountians overlooking the Colca canyon (3800 meters deep at one point) and surrounded by ruins from the Incas, Cardillarons, Aztecs. We stayed in a beautiful hostel at one end of a tiny town, Cabaconda. All the buildings, and the terraced fields down the sides of the canyon were built pre Inca. Because it is at the end of the rainy season, all the fields are in full bloom and green with many different crops. No machinery, only donkeys and alpacas and hard physical labour. The women all wear the brightly coloured traditional clothing and although noone speaks english in town , all smile and return our buenos dias. I love being in the mountains. It is probably the most beautiful location we have visited. Highlights included walking down the old stone paths through the fields with the kids down to the bottom of the canyoun to lie in the natural hot spring mineral pools beside the river then wading into the river to duck into the glacial water before returning to the 35 degree water. We were the only ones at the river but passed lots of farmers along the journey. The 2 hour uphill was a grind. The kids were not impressed and because it was the first morning, none of us could breath well. The kids and I then had a horseback ride through the town and the fields. Small lively horses and a guide that spoke Ketchwa, no spanish or english----kids thought it made the experience even more fun. The guide ran beside us and we weren´t sure what would happen if the horses bolted. Next we walked through parts of the town and met two nine year old boys coming down a steep trail from the mountain leading 5 donkeys piled high with branches. The kids were dirty from their days work. I asked to take their picture--Dylan and Justin really thought about what a day for those boys entailed and the level of responsibility! Their dad took the donkeys back home and I ;charaded¨; that they should wait for a minute...... and I ran back to the room and returned with 2 Canada t-shirts. They lit up. We then saw some girls volleying a old soccer ball on a path and we asked to join. We had fun for about 10 min. We were all laughing and the girls loved it. People are so naturally beautiful, all smiles, a relaxed, caring disposition. Pigs, sheep, dogs, donkeys wander freely but have a home corral at night. Next day, Mike recovered for our 5 am wake up . We hopped on a tour van and had a 7 hour tour of Colco Canyon, Condor la Cruz and a traditional buffet lunch for $10 per person! Condor la Cruz is a spot on the Colco Canyon where the canyon is 2500 meters deep, the snow capped peaks of the Andes tower above steep cliffs and if you are lucky you will see condors. We arrived at 7 am to clear sunny skies and an amazing show from 5 condors effortlessly soaring above our heads for over an hour. They floated to within 10 meters a number of times. Their grace and beauty was breathtaking especially considering a 8 kg , 1 meter tall body and a 3 meter wingspan! We had opportunities to hike along the canyon and to view holes high in the cliffs where mummies were entombed and to continue to see the old ruins from the Incas. What a day! We worried about the 3 hour bus trip back to Arequipa today but apart from the interesting passengers, .... 2 baby alpacas, and a lamb, and the bus hanging on two wheels around a couple of hairpin corners, we arrived without headaches intact. We leave tomorrow for Cuzco---hopefully we have acclimatized and won´t suffer any more altitude sickness. We have 6 days to do some practice hiking so we won´t die on the Inca trail! Found out that the people of the Andes share the churches with the catholics but their beliefs are for the mountains, sun, moon and earth and to live at peace with each of these. I think that that is the spirituality that I always feel when I am in the mountains or in any beautiful natural environment. It soothes the soul and gives comfort. We all love being surrounded by nature and we sure appreciate the beauty and splendor of all we have experienced. Let me know how your spring break was. Hopefully there are signs of spring at home and not more rain.
Bye for now Gail
gsayers@sd43.bc.ca
Feb. 13, 2008 Travel to Seattle from Coquitlam Arrival next day San Jose Costa Rica 6:30 am
Feb. 15 travel San Jose to Cahita (Carribean coast) by bus
Feb. 19 travel from Cahita to Puerto Viejo Carribean coast
Feb 22 travel from Puerto Viejo to Turrialba
Feb 23 River rafting Rio Pacuare
Feb 24 travael from Turrialba to Arsenal La Fortuna, through San Jose
February 24th, 2008
11 days in paradise. 1 day San Jose, 7 days on the Caribean coast, with surfing, boogie boarding, biking and hiking. lots of great food and Reggae. We travelled Cahuita to almost the \panama border then bussed it toTurriable, the rafting center. Did a terrific rafting trip. 30 km with 35 sections of class 3 and 4 rapids. \justin flipped out once and mike once but in kind of fun sections so no problem. Beautiful wilderness terrain all the way down with canyons, deep rain forest and through indiginous peoples lands. 10 hour trip including lunch with 5 hours of it in the raft for a bargain $35 each. We just walked around town and worked our own deal. We are now in Fortuna and staying in a hostel. \Not what you would expect in a hostel. We have our own beautiful room with hot showers, air cond. and big pool, free internet and shuttles to most atractions for $65 per night. We may get breakfast included too. We are going to hike the Arenal volcano trail tomorrow then do the zip lines and end at these natural hot springs. So many tour groups so we are trying to work out something on our own so we can stay as long as we want at each place. Not so humid here which is nice. Kids have loved all the wildlife we see each day and we are half way through checking off our wildlife guide we bought. One yellow palm pit viper is enough though. We are here for 3 days then jeep,paddlejeep to the monteverde national park and will stay for at least 4 days there. Lots of great travellers we have met. nothing planned for our last week which is fine. It is awesome having backpacks and not having to check baggage for plane, bus etc. Bye for now Gail Feb 27 travel from La Fortuna to Santa Elena—taxi boat taxi February 29, 2008 Hi gang, Lots of exciting events in Costa Rica. We re on our last days ....4 nites here in Santa Elena in the CLoud forest then bus to SanJose on Sunday then flight to Ecuador on MOnday. CAn't believe how quick it has gone. We loved La Fortuna, the pool, ziplines, food, and the unimpeded view of the Arenal volcano with steam on our last morning. We left at 2:30 pm on Wed for a jeep, boat, jeep trip (3 hours) to Monteverde region. Arrived to a unique hostel named Pensiona Santa Elena--filled with travellers from all over. Nice to be in a cooler climate and a small town. Great communl kitchen where everyone is very friendly. Great for the kids to see young people travelling for long periods of time and listening to their stories. Justin said when he is older he may not travel a lot because he thinks it might be too expensive but Dylan has already said he will come back but he will stay in one area for a month at a time and maybe go to Nicaragua ( lots of travellers are raving about that country- cheap, safe, and beautiful. It is great to give the kids a broader perspective. We did Extremo Ziplines yesterday (Mike did the coffee tour ). The platforms were at the top of the trees, some were 45 meters up and the ziplines were 100 to 900 meters long! It was awesome but a challenge to step off the platforms and whiz so high up for 1 min or more at a time. We did a long rappel too and a tarzan swing 100meters long swing. We also spent 2 hours at a frog center and had a guided tour. It was so educational. We went back at night and used our flashlight to find the frogs in action. Today we hiked in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest reserve and spotted many birds, 4 kinds of hummingbirds, coati, agouti and a canopy of trees like you have never seen. The kids said they didn't care if we saw animals because they loved the forest so much. We spent an easy 3 hours hiking. We are going to the snake center for a tour this afternoon. All the centers have science students guide all the guests so it is wonderful for the kids. We feel like the stars have b een lined up--all of us are healthy and enjoying travelling and looking forward to many more adventures.
Bye for now Gail
March 2 travel day from Santa Elena to San Jose
March 3 San Jose – Quito March 4th morning Collect plane ticket Coca –Quito for March 10 flight
March 4-6 Tena
March 5 River rafting? River People
March 6 travel to Coca 3-4 hours
March 6th, 2008
In COCO today awaiting 4 hours boat trip down the tributory of the Amazon tomorrow. Great hotel with 3 pool on the river! What a treat after our 5 hour bus ride. mike and I swam laps to get rid of the travel body and the kids did multiple trips down the water slide. Cant believe that this place is $40! We then had a buffet dinner for $4! The kids loved the place as soon as we arrived.......4 spider monkeys climbed up their leg and sat on their back packs and patted their heads. They then noticed the 2 baby coatis and then the 2 parrots started talking. Now to back track. We were sad to leave Costa Rica but so far Ecuador has me thinking that our stay is going to be way too short here. Terrific people, beautiful country and great food and half the price of Costa Rica. The people are beautiful and so healthy and strong looking. Few speak English and we have not been around many tourists on buses and walking around town in Quito, and Tena but we feel very welcome and comfortable. The altitude of Quito hit us after our 12 hour travel day from Costa Rica but it is a gorgous city and we enjoyed hiking around the town and all the way up 40 flights of stairs, and ladders to reach the top of tower in the Catholic Cathedral. What a view in a spectacular building. We stayed in a old hostel in old town Quito. Most buildings were built in the 1500´s. The hostel had a roof top deck which held the restaurant. They had one menu for each meal and you could get beer or wine for $3. The best part were all the other travellers and their stories. We will be returning to Quito later in our trip so after 2 days we left for Tena. A storm and a tight schedule, made us decide to go for a hike and not river raft. It worked out well. The bus ride was 7 hours due to construction, washouts and the fact that the Express Bus picks up people anywhere that they flag the driver down and drops off anywhere too and in any towns he lets 5 or 6 venders circle through the bus too. No hard sellers and lots of beautifully prepared food but it sure lengthened the trip. We had a huge hairy black spider climb onto mikes shoe and a 4 inch beetle on justins sandal within 30 min of our arrival---apparently harmless. Every day is such a fascinating adventure.
Bye for now Gail
March 7 Start of Sani Lodge tour Meeting 12:00 Hotel el Auca Jorge contact or Javier
March 7-10 Sani lodge paid in full
March 10 flight Coca – Quito
March 10 Quito Hotel Secret Garden tell details for March 11, 12, 13
March 10th, 2008
Well Jeff Stromgren and Rene, you are in for an amazing adventure. We just spent four days at the Sani Lodge, found in the Amazon jungle a 4 hour longboat trip from Coca. The boat trip was a beautiful ride down the Coca then the Napo rivers. They are both major tributaries of the Amazon river. Just past where the indigenous people Sani live we switched to a very narrow long boat and travelled 1 hour down a small river, maybe 6 meters across with the jungle canopy covering the sky above. Within 15 min. the Sani guide yells anaconda and the eng. speaking guide at the front spots it sunning itself on a branch just in front of the boat. We slowed the boat and the guya at the front reached into the coil and grabbed it by the head-----lots of wriggling with Dylan and Justin sitting right behind with very large eyes. He then said at 1 meter, it was a baby because they get to 8 meters (mom was probably in the bushes). He said they rarely see them. The kids touched it but it was too strong to hold. He let it go then looked in the trees above and said ¨sloth¨¨. The kids recognized it as a 3 toed sloth because they had seen the 2 toed in Costa Rica. Next there were howler monkeys, mackaws, parrots before we emerged at a beautiful lagoon and saw the palm thatched huts and a dock. I could write 10 pages about the other adventures but I will just tell you a few. Night walk in the black of night to see the nocturnal animals tarantelas, frogs, interesting insects, 6 in. millipedes and the symphony of sounds., fishing with a wooden pole and a piece of meat on a hook and catching 5 pirhannas then eating them for breakfast, birdwatching in early evening in the lagoon from a hand carved cedar canoe and counting over 30 species within an hour with all the colours of the rainbow, going out in that same tippy cedar canoe in the black of night armed only with one guide with a strong flashlight to caiman watch and getting within 1 meter of at least 4 different caiman---as Justin said ¨-- too close for comfort---staring into their huge eyes and admiring their 4 meter long bodies--freaky and surreal that we were really seeing them! We also did jungle hikes, and a hike to a 35 meter tall bird tower to watch the birds from the top of the forest canopy. Our kids learned more about biology, ecology, bugs, plants, animals , other cultures etc in the 4 days with the Sanis than a year of school. Justin was never without a pair of binoculars and he won the blowgun tourney where we wore war paint and fired a 3 meter blowgun (you blow poison arrows at monkeys), at a grapefruit. He hit the target 2 out of 4! The guide said he worked at Sani because he realized that after living in Quito then in Florida for college that he needed to live his life surrounded by nature. The Amazon sure enters your soul. I can see why many never leave and why many tourists continue to come back for more. We have now flown back to Quito for 3 days in a city. First stop laundry, then pizza for the kids, internet, then off to the Galapogas on Friday. Can´t believe how much the kids are learning and how interested they are about everything. When we travelled back to Coca on the longboat we picked up school kids and villagers along the way from tiny jungle shacks-an eyeopener about sc hool for the kids. Bye for now Gail
March 14 Dept. for Galapagos
March 14-March 20 Galapogas cruise (hike, snorkel, explore 6 Islands)
March 17, 2008
Well, we have a half day leave from the 60 ft boat the Yate Darwin. We have had 5 days aboard and it has been amazing. We are walking around town weaving left and right (even before we had the beer with the 3 passengers from Ireland to celebrate St. Patricks day). The seas are calm but 1000 km away from the coast of Ecuador, calm seas on the Galapogas Is. are very rolley, so we do not have land legs right now. The Galapogas Is. are even more spectacular than we imagined and our boat, although small ,has a terrific crew, awesome cook, and a full itinerary on different islands each day. The days always include two hiking excursions on different islands and 1-2 hours snorkling. The other 12 passengers are a great mix of 20 to 79 year olds, all well travelled and filled with so many stories. We have representation from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Poland, USA, Greece, Venezuala and Switzerland. The kids have fit in well too and their enthusiasm and expert ability to spot so much wildlife and marine life has really endeered them to the rest of the gang. They are buying ice cream for 3 people tonight --poker losses and they have learned 5 new card tricks. Just a few highlights so far.......and I am not exaggerating.......Snorkling in clear blue waters and having sea lions jump off the rocks and swim under us, then seeing 2 meter long sharks swim beside us, and following 4 sea turtles for 50 meters, not to mention the bright yellow puffer fish, parrot fish, stingrays, batrays etc., Each night we look at the marine life guide and record a couple dozen new species from our snorkling. Then 2 nights ago, the captain sounded the horn and we went out on deck to look for the dolphins he had spotted. We hoped for a glimpse.....over 500 dolphins jumping and playing all around the boat following us for 2 km and then 30 min later another 200 dolphins from another species. Each island has its own unique ecosystem and unique species of turtles, iguanas, plants and birds. Flamingoes in lagoons,albatross, penquins, and blue footed boobies are so beatiful and most have newly hatched chicks that we have observed up close. We have 3 days left and apparently the snorkling gets better each day---tomorrow marine iguanas, green sea turtles, 7 species of sea stars and then in the afternoon.....hammerhead sharks! We hiked through a 400 meter lava tube under the earth today and looked into 2 volcano craters. We will be sad when the trip ends---what an experience.
Bye for now Gail
March 20 Galopogas – Guayaquil Tame flight in afternoon March 20th, 2008 Sad afternoon in Quayanquil because the Galopagos trip is over. It is nice to be back on land but we really bonded with the 16 people and 5 crew and continued to see amazing vistas, wildlife and sealife. Our last four snorkling trips brought black tipped sharks, another species of sea turtles, marine iguanas eating algae 1 meter below us, 20 penquins diving under us and waddling on the rocks above our heads, and sea lions diving figure 8´s around us. Today we walked on N. Isabella Is. and watched the frigate birds swell their red pouches to entice the females and saw their baby chicks and the biggest land iguanas. We will be leaving tomorrow aft. for Lima Peru. Ecuador is a "must come back" place. So many places we did not get to that we will keep on our list for a return trip.
Bye for now Gail
March 21 Guayaquil to Lima
March 22 Lima to Arequipa
March 23 Bus trip Arequipa – Chivay
March 26 Chivay to Arequipa by bus
March 26, 2008
Well, the fun continues. Some challenges though.....8 days on the Galapagos with minimal sleep,and maximum excursions, then 3 short flights over 3 days then a 3 hour bus trip that took us from 600 meters to 6800 meters in 2 hours and finishing in Chivaz at 3800 meters, ..........we really crashed. I was lucky...the altitude just gave me shortness of breath, and a bit of a headache the first night, Justin...tired, cranky and big headache for a day, Dylan tired, lightheaded and tormenting his brother, and poor Mike got the migraine from hell for 36 hours. Luckily after the first day and a half he felt great and enjoyed the 2 remaining days in the beautiful Andes mountians overlooking the Colca canyon (3800 meters deep at one point) and surrounded by ruins from the Incas, Cardillarons, Aztecs. We stayed in a beautiful hostel at one end of a tiny town, Cabaconda. All the buildings, and the terraced fields down the sides of the canyon were built pre Inca. Because it is at the end of the rainy season, all the fields are in full bloom and green with many different crops. No machinery, only donkeys and alpacas and hard physical labour. The women all wear the brightly coloured traditional clothing and although noone speaks english in town , all smile and return our buenos dias. I love being in the mountains. It is probably the most beautiful location we have visited. Highlights included walking down the old stone paths through the fields with the kids down to the bottom of the canyoun to lie in the natural hot spring mineral pools beside the river then wading into the river to duck into the glacial water before returning to the 35 degree water. We were the only ones at the river but passed lots of farmers along the journey. The 2 hour uphill was a grind. The kids were not impressed and because it was the first morning, none of us could breath well. The kids and I then had a horseback ride through the town and the fields. Small lively horses and a guide that spoke Ketchwa, no spanish or english----kids thought it made the experience even more fun. The guide ran beside us and we weren´t sure what would happen if the horses bolted. Next we walked through parts of the town and met two nine year old boys coming down a steep trail from the mountain leading 5 donkeys piled high with branches. The kids were dirty from their days work. I asked to take their picture--Dylan and Justin really thought about what a day for those boys entailed and the level of responsibility! Their dad took the donkeys back home and I ;charaded¨; that they should wait for a minute...... and I ran back to the room and returned with 2 Canada t-shirts. They lit up. We then saw some girls volleying a old soccer ball on a path and we asked to join. We had fun for about 10 min. We were all laughing and the girls loved it. People are so naturally beautiful, all smiles, a relaxed, caring disposition. Pigs, sheep, dogs, donkeys wander freely but have a home corral at night. Next day, Mike recovered for our 5 am wake up . We hopped on a tour van and had a 7 hour tour of Colco Canyon, Condor la Cruz and a traditional buffet lunch for $10 per person! Condor la Cruz is a spot on the Colco Canyon where the canyon is 2500 meters deep, the snow capped peaks of the Andes tower above steep cliffs and if you are lucky you will see condors. We arrived at 7 am to clear sunny skies and an amazing show from 5 condors effortlessly soaring above our heads for over an hour. They floated to within 10 meters a number of times. Their grace and beauty was breathtaking especially considering a 8 kg , 1 meter tall body and a 3 meter wingspan! We had opportunities to hike along the canyon and to view holes high in the cliffs where mummies were entombed and to continue to see the old ruins from the Incas. What a day! We worried about the 3 hour bus trip back to Arequipa today but apart from the interesting passengers, .... 2 baby alpacas, and a lamb, and the bus hanging on two wheels around a couple of hairpin corners, we arrived without headaches intact. We leave tomorrow for Cuzco---hopefully we have acclimatized and won´t suffer any more altitude sickness. We have 6 days to do some practice hiking so we won´t die on the Inca trail! Found out that the people of the Andes share the churches with the catholics but their beliefs are for the mountains, sun, moon and earth and to live at peace with each of these. I think that that is the spirituality that I always feel when I am in the mountains or in any beautiful natural environment. It soothes the soul and gives comfort. We all love being surrounded by nature and we sure appreciate the beauty and splendor of all we have experienced. Let me know how your spring break was. Hopefully there are signs of spring at home and not more rain.
Bye for now Gail
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