Baltra

Leaving Ecuador

I was just getting used to the altitude again, (took 2 days) and now it´s time to go. So yesterday, I played tourist again and visited an enormous park, a little upscale area called Bella Vista (beautiful view) and it is. The highlight was hiking up to Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man), the home and gallery of Internationally known Oswaldo Guayazamin (s/p). He was a deep man and so was his art that evolved from anger to tenderness regarding humanity. It took me 1hr 15min to reach the top of the mountain site, as my calves and buns cramped up the steep incline... it only took 45 min to come down. It was a serious workout! The view was spectacular. The Pinchicha volcano moutains backgrounded the city of homes, highrises, and busy streets.



I came down and had a big bowl of shrimp soup before going to old Quito once more. I was looking for postcards and souvenirs but found a few CDs instead. I have a few hours today before my flight to find a few postcards or my photos may just have to do! I did find a few pairs of earring though...surprised?

All in all, the trip was fantastic and I would do it again, some things better, but for sure, again. Hope you enjoyed the trip with me!....see you manñana!
peace and blessings,
lonnie

Visiting Quayaquil, Manta, Quito again

In the airport, I met up with a couple who were on the earlier plane ride over to the islands. Then I met a couple of sisters from Ecuador who were on the Turtle Bay tour on the island of Santa Cruz, Patricia and Fatima (locals) who were soooo sweet. They helped me score a hotel and taxi. The highlight of Guayaquil is the Malecon 2000, a beach boardwalk filled with eateries, parks, entertainment venues, etc. It was definitely a family spot as there were children and lovebirds everywhere. I took long walks, watched some parades (Independence Day for Guayaquil), checked out some performances, and ate some pretty good food. A local favorite is Ceviche, marinated seafood, very yummy!

The following day, I was invited over to Patricia and Fatima´s house for dinner. The family was lovely and prepared a feast of chicken, boiled potato with cream sauce, and rice. I brought pasteles (sweet bread assortment) for dessert. I got to see the Galapagos photos of the sisters, they were excellent!

The following day, I took a 3 1/2 hour busride to Manta, a coastal city on Ruta del Sol (the sun route) only there was no sun. Nor had there been for the 3 days I was in Guayaquil. I met a sweet young lady seated next to me for the busride, Yesinia. She was so sweet and helped me find a taxi and hotel. She rode to the hotel with me and I invited her to lunch. We had a nice lunch and she went on her way. I took a walk around the city and down to the beach which was lined with eateries. The gray skies and humidity dampened any thoughts of hanging out an extra day in Manta or even continuing up the coast to Esmerelda. That bus wouldn´t even leave until the following evening so I bought a ticket to return to Quito.

I arrived in Quito Tues. night but my luggage didn´t. It was never placed on the bus so I spent the night in a hotel across the street from the terminal. The bus driver was a total sweetheart in helping me locate and get my bags on the next bus. When I went over at 7am, luggage was there and I was able to shower, brush teeth, and change clothes.....Yeh!

After breakfast, I walked to New Quito to look for a room. Most were rented due to a convention but I finally found a cute one run by an Ecuadorian woman who used to live in Torrance (Los Angeles County). The room is clean, with a view of the main street, Amazonas, and in the heart of La Mariscal, a tourist hotspot. I tried a Thai restaurant for lunch...not too good. I tried an Indian restaurant for dinner....not too good. Decided to stick to local dishes and I know where I can get a great bowl of seafood soup for $2 that is excellent!

By the way, my room rates have ranged from $10-$16/night. The average meal has been around $3. American $ are 1:1 and the most commonly used money. In fact, the ATMs spit out USA dollars and I have never seen an Ecuador bill, only coins.

Yesterday, I visited Quito´s Cultural Center and the Musuem of Natural History. I also visited a huge shopping mall which had most of the big designer and brand name stores we have in the States. Today, I think I will play tourist some more and maybe do a lil´earring shopping.

I can hardly believe I´ll be on a plane headed for home tomorrow...so I`m going to stop writing for now so I can remain present and enjoy this beautiful sunny Ecuadorian day!

Peace and Blessings to you all and for all of those who sent me birthday notes, it meant the world to me! Love U Mucho!

How quickly things change

I know I left off preparing to ride a boat over to Isabel and it was a 2hr journey in a boat that crashed into waves of steel, leaving internal organs bruised. I even bashed my forehead into the captains chair in a moment just after the boat glided in air then plowed into a run waves, triples, quads, and half twists! I made it through doing yoga breathing and closed eyed meditation. When we arrived on the island, my guide found me and asked me to identify my luggage, then I promptly sat down on a bench. Carlo said íf you want to rest instead of doing this afternoon´s tours, it´s ok´ and I did. The drive across the island was a tour into micro-climates, hot&dry, cool&wet, tropical humidity and heat...all within 45min.


My room was on a main street with a view of the ocean and the sounds of the ways. I laid down to pass out and a sound louder than the crashing waves, howled,´cockle dudo doooo!´ Are you friggin´kidding? but I was ready and pushed the mute button on ´Chicky´with the stuffing of earplugs, Ha!



After a brief rest, I had a great dinner with my guide and his wife & son, very cute family. The next day, B-day, Road horses to Sierra Negra, the Black Forest. There was me, Carlo, and a couple, Xavier & Patricia. We had a blast laughing and joking for the entire slippery, rainy, muddy horseride and volcano hike. We saw the second largest crater in the world and it was a massive sunken black lava hole...jinormous! We stopped along the way and took in fews of birds, insects, and plants. Carlo recounted the history of the Galapagos Island formation and told us when we were standing over the hot spot...fascinating, as you could feel heat from some spots. The horseride and hike took 5hrs and it was sooooo worth it!



Later, we had lunch then visited a lagoon surrounded by lush mangrove. We saw pelicans, sea lions, crabs, shrimp, iguanas, and turtles....and an eagle put on a show for us! He soared, glided, posed and danced! Áfter a swim, we showered and had a special birthday dinner of lobster, rice, beans, salad, and ice cream. They song the birthday song and toasted the occasion then we left for the disco. There, we danced salsa and meringue and had a cocktail! It was a great day!



Yesterday, my new friends, Patricia and Xavier left so my guide took me to Shark Bay where I saw plenty of sharks resting in shallow, warm waters. I always had to watch where I stepped as the iguanas were everywhere, quiet, still, and undisturbed. Neither were the sea lions which you could walk up to and take photos at close range. We then went to the Turtle conservation sancturary where I saw turtles from all over the Galapagos, from the same family but each has evolved into their own tribe. They were later to be introduced back to where they came from.



I visited ´Muro de lacrimas´Wall of Tears´ which prisoners started building before the government stopped it, as soooo many men were dying as a result to the stones falling on them. Even got to see one of America´s secret military bases and heard stories about that lil´history in Ecuador.



Did a wonderful tour of the island and got to see it from the highest point, which was breathtaking views of jungle surrounded by the sea. I saw a lone pink flamingo, got the photos.



The boatride to leave Isabel was not as turbulent as the one coming over but it was rough...Still, I made it back to Santa Cruz. My tour organizer was a nightmare but the actual guide on the boat was quite a character...lots of laughs and interesting commentary as he boated us around the island and to snokel, hiking, and animal viewing sites. Had a great dinner, now it´s off to bed and heading for the airport tomorrow to visit Quayaquil....stayed tuned and thanks for the birthday notes....wish you were here...

On My first Galapagos Island

I don´t know if you´ve ever had a dream come true but I´m living in mine at this moment! I can hardly believe I´m sitting in an internet cafe right across the street from turquoise waters framed by palm and cactus trees. It is so beautiful here and the locals and tourist are warm and friendly. I´m on the island of Baltra and later this afternoon, headed for Isabella, one of the most special of islands because it´s wild life has been so well preserved. The population is black, indigenous, spanish, chinese, and a small mix of foreigners, mostly europeans so please tell Rodney King, Yes, we all can get along! It´s almost time for me to catch my boat to Isabelle where I will visit Dolphin beach and Flamingo lake! I need to get help to download photos as the camera and downloading stuff from it is all new to me so please be patient.
PS: Don´t do anything stressful tomorrow, it´s a holiday....my Birthday!!!! so send me some love please:-)
miss u and hope all is well in your world.
Lonnieworld

Sunday in Quito

Thinking about you all and yes, wish you were here! All is well in lonnieworld in Quito. Today was somewhat quiet as it is on most Sundays during low season. The weather was perfect, clear, blue, sunny skies. I bought a camera, Yippee! Even met a couple of Couch Surfers, a travelers´connection resource. Felipe owns a cafe near my hotel and he was very sweet and helpful. I got together with Daniela at a internet cafe and she was a delight. We talked for hours and had some laughs too! Met some other cool folks including a 19yo Australian man who I help order breakfast as he didn´t speak much Spanish except Gracias. Still, I was impressed that he´d already traveled throughout Central and S.America over a 6 wk period, hiking, biking, and getting drunk:-)
I visited a couple of travel offices and made plans for my Galapagos Island tour, will know more about what´s available tomorrow. I visited some of the old churches and convents in the historical area where i´m staying. Will do a more formal city tour and visit La Mitad del Mundo (the equator). I´ll keep you posted, until then, keep well and send me a note when you can.

Loving Quito

Hope all is well and wonderful you...I´m loving Quito despite the´getting here´part. Only when I arrived at the airport did I discover I did not have a window seat (as I requested online) but an isle seat. I worried about getting sleep even though I would be ready at 2am depature time. Not only was I in an isle seat, it was in the last row and directly opposite 2 bathrooms? Not only would I not get sleep, I would have ass and funk in my face...oh well. I quit feeling sorry for myself when a young man showed up to take the middle seat (window seat already taken by an older woman who sat ready with blanket and pillow...witch! Anyway, I felt worse the middle-seat man who had no chance of getting comfortable. Thankfully, he was cute, friendly and smelled good so I took a benadryl and hoped he wouldn´t mind me drooling and snoring should it happen. After 6hr of sleepless torture, it was time to change flights in Panama. I was happy to be off the plane but felt weak and lightheaded from exhaustion. Was served a meal on the Panama to Quito flight but felt too out of it to eat. I had a window seat but the flight was just under 2 hrs, and I couldn´t fall asleep, my body was sore all over.



Enough of the whinning already...I arrived in Quito early afternoon and took a taxi to a hotel I booked from the airport. My first impression was that it looked very much like most other latin cities in structures, layout, people, shops, noice and traffic everywhere on narrow streets and sidewalks. I saw mountains and volcanos off in the distances. I chose to stay in old Quito first, very colonial with the cathedrals, cobblestone streets, parks, musicians playing in the plaza, etc. I checked into my room and when I reached the top of the stairs, 2nd floor, I felt breathless and lightheaded...so now let´s add altitude sickness to my issues?



I left for a walk and to get some water and food.Dinner was chicken, rice and veggies for $2 and was delish! I got back to my room too early to sleep so I decided to try and operate the new camera I got only to discover that the saleslady misled me. It doesn´t take photos and videos, only videos. Meanwhile, I have 2 cameras at home, just had a condensation problem with the camcorder. So that means i´ll have to buy a camera here, oh well! There´s so much to photograph especially when I get to Galapagos Islands.



I´ve only seen most of old Quito in the south but on my way to the north where it´s modern. Will keep you posted. Hasta luego,

Lonnieworld

Nubian Gypsy preparing for S.America travels

Every time I hung up the phone yesterday and today, I ended with, '...have a great weekend..' A co-worker happened to be standing near me when she heard me say this. She reminded me that it was kinda early to wish people a great weekend. That's when it hit me...today is only Tuesday, but for me, it was Thursday because I was already in Ecuador, mentally anyway. Oh well, in a few more days, (planets and stars align), I will be there. I'm hoping you'll join me as I keep you posted on what's going on in Lonnieworld!

Peace and Blessing,
Lonnie