Behind Wawa Pichincha, the volcano seen from the city of Quito, is Rucu Pichincha, its blown out neighbor.  About a month ago while Betsy was at the beach for a ladies weekend, I drove up to Rucu Pichincha with some folks from the school to check out the caldera.

The weather didn’t cooperate that day and a fierce fog filled the caldera.  A return trip would be necessary to see into it.  All was not lost as a short hike revealed a variety of high alpine flowers and plants as well as several wild horses.

On the way back down to Lloa, the town that accesses Rucu Pichincha, we saw a paragliding lesson taking place. Once in Lloa, we stopped for lunch. Lucky for us, we stumbled upon their annual bull fight celebration. It was a very festive atmosphere matched by great music and food. The bull ring was recessed into the ground so spectators could sit around with an unobstructed view of the action. Literally, anyone could jump down in there. Though the bulls were small and I was tempted, I opted for the safer choice of spectating. Thankfully, no animals were harmed. However, one participant wasn’t so lucky. He thought it would be a good idea to stand on a beer crate and jump over a charging bull. He slipped when he jumped, perhaps because he was wearing casual loafers, and didn’t clear the animal. After getting roughed up a little, he limped away to an awaiting ambulance. One bull was smart enough to make its way behind one of the wooded protector walls surprising everyone, including the participants perched on the once secure wall.

It was a great day with one surprise after the other.

So much has happened since our last post, we are having to go back about a month.

Betsy and I went to Quilotoa, a crater lake about 2.5 hours south of Quito.  We hiked around the caldera, about 10km in circumference.  This was a big accomplishment because it was the biggest test for Betsy’s knee since her surgery.

The next day, we took a short, but steep drive west out of the valley to a ridge.  From around 12,000′ we were told we could see the coast.  Unfortunately, the coast was socked in.  Still, it made for some great photos to be high above the clouds.

For Betsy’s spring break we drove to Puerto Cayo, about 450 KM southwest of Quito.  We were purposely seeking out a quiet place to just sit and do nothing and we found every bit of that there.

The home we rented was a brand new container home consisting of three converted shipping containers across the street from the beach.  We’ve never been in one before and it was pretty neat.

Our days were simple ones: we would get up, have some breakfast, and go out to the beach and set up for a day full of reading, sleeping, and getting in the water.  At the end of the day after watching the sunset we would drive into town for dinner and, on a few nights, watching soccer.

A highlight for me was definitely the lack of regulations. One day, when we drove to the main beach, things were so slow you were permitted to drive on to the beach and right up to the cabana you were renting.  Truly a novelty.

The sunset photos were taken over the entire week.  It was a great trip.

It’s one of those places you see on National Geographic; videos of “only so many of these in the world” species simply going about their daily lives being extraordinary.  You think the close ups and rare encounters are only reserved for film crews.  All of that went out the window when we got to the Galapagos Islands.  It’s all there and in your face and if you’re not careful you will literally trip over one of these creatures.

We (my Dad, Holly, Betsy, and Myself) were on a boat for the entire trip.  It was truly a fortunate experience because there are places you simply cannot reach on a day trip from one of the main areas.  I’ve never “been at sea”, so it was pretty neat.  Much of the travel was done at night, so you wake up to a different, yet somehow familiar scene; a seemingly untouched island that you feel you’re the first to discover.  Often the only hint of man’s interference is a wooden white and black stake driven into the ground delineating where you could walk.  Guides were quick to keep you on track and a reasonable distance from the wildlife.  The management of the entire area was impressive.

Recounting the entire trip day by day and activity by activity would fill many pages.  The itinerary was full to say the least and was not for the casual explorer.  For nearly everyone on our boat this was a once in a lifetime experience and if we were anchored to a place where a specific species/plant/geologic formation existed, by God you were going to see it.  At least that’s what the posted itinerary suggested.  Up early, breakfast, panga excursion to see something, back to the boat, change of clothes, back out to see something else, back for lunch, etc.  Once you bought into the pace it was exciting to keep up and look forward to the next excursion.

Our island itinerary was as follows: D1- Baltra & North Seymour, D2 – South Plaza & Santa Fe, D3- San Cristobal (Pitt Point & Cerro Brujo), D4- Floreana (Post Office Bay & Cormorant Point), D5- Isabela (Elizabeth Bay & Moreano Point), D6- Santa Cruz & Baltra for departure.  I know we did not see everything, but it felt like it.

Birds- Boobies, Gulls, Flamingos, Wrens, Herons, Penguins (yes, penguins), Short-Eared Owl, Cormorants, Frigates, Finches, and others.

Iguanas- Both land and Sea.  Eating, sleeping, fighting, posturing, and scampering.  Different patters, different sizes, different colors, different spines.  It all meant something.

Sea Lions- playing, bathing, fighting, “walking”, nursing, swimming, barking, and posing.  Sea lions especially had no fear of people.  They literally would swim up to and around you to see what you were all about.

Tortoises- There they were, just going about their day.  The only thing that could have been better would be to set up a lawn chair and simply watch them.  Slow, methodical, and sloppy Yoda’s all strewn about.

Sea Life- Scores of fish both large and small.  Colors of the rainbow.  Red, blue, black, yellow, purple, spots, stripes, almost glowing.  Schools…Schools of fish like you read about, all moving at once.  Sort of like how powder moves around you on a deep day.  Puffer fish.  Parrot fish both young and old with different colors.  Sea Urchins, Sea Horses, White Tipped Sharks, Rays, and Sea Turtles.  We even got to see Baleen Whales.  I would say the highlight was snorkeling will nearly all of these at once.  Moving through fish into a school of sharks that were being chased by sea lions.  Unbelievable.

Landscapes- Everything is a volcano.  Some islands are lush and have trees and grass.  Some are dry and have cacti and low bushes.  Some are crumbled piles of lava.  Some islands rise vertically out of the ocean.  Some do not. Lots of ripples, hardened oozes, and, drips.  Very melty.  On our last island we were able to walk down into a lava tunnel.  You can literally point to a feature and dissect it as if it fell out of a textbook.   I felt smarter for being there, even though it was short lived.

One of the anticipated, though not promoted, parts of the trip was being able to see the stars for the first time since I moved to Ecuador.  Since moving here, any time I’ve been out at night there’s been something: light pollution, clouds, rain, the threat of rain, fog, mist, etc.  I saw the Southern Cross for the first time.

Betsy and I are both thankful to have gone and hope to return.  It was special for both of us and we’ll take many things away from it.  There were numerous times we looked at each other wondering if the other saw the same thing.  It was truly amazing.

About two hours northeast of Quito is Otavalo.  Their daily, and much larger weekend market, showcases the best of what the textile epicenter of Ecuador has to offer; scarfs, blankets, sweaters, table coverings, hats, and more.  The most well known items are those made from Alpaca, quite possibly the softest fabric ever.

When we arrived at our lodging, we were excited to find that it was high above Otovallo, complete with panoramic views.  There were farms all around, even touching the property we were on.  In fact, there were some animals on property.

Excited to get out right away, Betsy, Lucy, and I hiked to a nearby waterfall.  You would have never known it was there.

We put a big Saturday together.  First, we stopped by the weekly animal market.  This is a place where farmers buy and sell livestock.  The organized chaos was a sight to be seen.  Though interesting, we were excited to get to the textile market.  Located in the center square of town, the market is a daily occurrence.  However, on the weekends the size of it more than doubles, spidering out on surrounding closed streets.  After row and row of offerings your brain just starts taking in colors and the items almost disappear.  I caught myself needing to actively look for items we wanted to buy rather than aimlessly wander.

After the market and lunch we took our vehicle to Lago Mojado, a high alpine lake at tree line readily accessible by vehicle.  We enjoyed sitting by the lake for a bit.  It felt very much like Colorado.  We also got the opportunity for a little “adventuring” in our vehicle.

Otovalo is another place we look forward to visiting once again.