Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands- Lawrence High Geography Club
Day 1- Quito
Day 1-
Just wanted to let you know that we made it safe and sound to Ecuador and the city of Quito- we had a storm delay in KC but with our safe cushion time in Miami we had no trouble with the transfer- every one had their bags at arrival and no problems through customs- we made about an hour drive into the city had dinner and are in the process of hiking off to slumber land. Our hotel is near the heart of the city and I am listening to the buzzing night time traffic as I type this. Not much different from the cicadas back home- We will hit the road full force in the morning-
We have had a very busy day taking in a few of the sights of quito. We started by waking up- we were able to sleep in until 8:00 if we liked and have breakfast and load the bus by 9:30. No one complained about a bad night of sleep and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.
Our first stop was the Cathedral of Quito- which is the largest in the city. It is not completed to this day- there are a lot of possible reasons for this including costs and chances of being destroyed by earthquake. My favorite reason involves superstition which states the day the church is completed is the day the city will be destroyed by earthquakes. One of my favorite aspects of the church is the construction of the water drainage system. Everyone knows of the gargoyles of the gothic tradition designed to ward off evil spirits but this building uses the native animals of ecuador as the water spouts. In the collection of pictures you will see a couple of the examples of animal spouts.
Our second stop was the old colonial section of the city. UNESCO recognizes it as a world cultural heritage area. We just got a taste of the area- but hopefully the students got a picture of the spanish colonial period- they learned about the 1809 revolution when ecuador broke away from spain. They learned a little bit about the symbolism of the revolution memorial and the national seal. The sights and sounds and hustle and bustle of the people, shops, merchants, traffic, police, buildings and the landscape certainly is a very cool picture. When I get home and work on my blog I will give many more details.
Our third stop was the monastery and church of San Francisco. According to Andreas this is the most important church in Quito. The guide we had that walked us around the grounds showed us an amazing history and collection of art. We were shown all the creative ways in which traditional Incan imagery made its way into the Catholic art. I was stunned by the collection of paintings on alabaster. I think the students enjoyed the room of bright colored paintings that were used to convey stories and themes to the illiterate. A picture is worth a thousand words but when you can’t read the value is much greater still. The church itself was stunning. We entered the choir loft as there was a service in progress and to see the grand nature of the place speaks volumes of the multiple layers of history that brought it to being. The church itself was built on the foundations of an Incan temple. To think about all the blood and sweat that had been spilt in the constructions that have been housed here would fill volumes- not to mention it used to be a high school.
Our third stop was lunch and boy were we ready. We stopped at a small traditional café for some of the best empanadas that I have ever had. They were only a $1.50 each and we could choose between cheese, chicken or beef. I have always had a difficult time with decision making so I had all three. Needless to say I was full and had to take it upon the testimony of the students that the ice cream was good.
Our fourth stop was the equator line. We stopped at a place called The Museo de Sitio Intinan- It was kind of like a disney land for the equator as we played all sort of equator games. It will be fun to study when we get back home to see if a magical line on the ground has special magical powers. The guide here was outstanding as she shared all sorts of interesting information about the entire country of ecuador. We certainly learned that Ecuador is a very diverse country with many things that will kill you or potentially make your life miserable. We made the long trek back to the hotel and will be getting ready for dinner and our next adventure of the day-
Just wanted to let you know that we made it safe and sound to Ecuador and the city of Quito- we had a storm delay in KC but with our safe cushion time in Miami we had no trouble with the transfer- every one had their bags at arrival and no problems through customs- we made about an hour drive into the city had dinner and are in the process of hiking off to slumber land. Our hotel is near the heart of the city and I am listening to the buzzing night time traffic as I type this. Not much different from the cicadas back home- We will hit the road full force in the morning-
We have had a very busy day taking in a few of the sights of quito. We started by waking up- we were able to sleep in until 8:00 if we liked and have breakfast and load the bus by 9:30. No one complained about a bad night of sleep and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.
Our first stop was the Cathedral of Quito- which is the largest in the city. It is not completed to this day- there are a lot of possible reasons for this including costs and chances of being destroyed by earthquake. My favorite reason involves superstition which states the day the church is completed is the day the city will be destroyed by earthquakes. One of my favorite aspects of the church is the construction of the water drainage system. Everyone knows of the gargoyles of the gothic tradition designed to ward off evil spirits but this building uses the native animals of ecuador as the water spouts. In the collection of pictures you will see a couple of the examples of animal spouts.
Our second stop was the old colonial section of the city. UNESCO recognizes it as a world cultural heritage area. We just got a taste of the area- but hopefully the students got a picture of the spanish colonial period- they learned about the 1809 revolution when ecuador broke away from spain. They learned a little bit about the symbolism of the revolution memorial and the national seal. The sights and sounds and hustle and bustle of the people, shops, merchants, traffic, police, buildings and the landscape certainly is a very cool picture. When I get home and work on my blog I will give many more details.
Our third stop was the monastery and church of San Francisco. According to Andreas this is the most important church in Quito. The guide we had that walked us around the grounds showed us an amazing history and collection of art. We were shown all the creative ways in which traditional Incan imagery made its way into the Catholic art. I was stunned by the collection of paintings on alabaster. I think the students enjoyed the room of bright colored paintings that were used to convey stories and themes to the illiterate. A picture is worth a thousand words but when you can’t read the value is much greater still. The church itself was stunning. We entered the choir loft as there was a service in progress and to see the grand nature of the place speaks volumes of the multiple layers of history that brought it to being. The church itself was built on the foundations of an Incan temple. To think about all the blood and sweat that had been spilt in the constructions that have been housed here would fill volumes- not to mention it used to be a high school.
Our third stop was lunch and boy were we ready. We stopped at a small traditional café for some of the best empanadas that I have ever had. They were only a $1.50 each and we could choose between cheese, chicken or beef. I have always had a difficult time with decision making so I had all three. Needless to say I was full and had to take it upon the testimony of the students that the ice cream was good.
Our fourth stop was the equator line. We stopped at a place called The Museo de Sitio Intinan- It was kind of like a disney land for the equator as we played all sort of equator games. It will be fun to study when we get back home to see if a magical line on the ground has special magical powers. The guide here was outstanding as she shared all sorts of interesting information about the entire country of ecuador. We certainly learned that Ecuador is a very diverse country with many things that will kill you or potentially make your life miserable. We made the long trek back to the hotel and will be getting ready for dinner and our next adventure of the day-
Day 2- Market Day in the Andes
Day 2- I will actually start with yesterday afternoon. When we arrived back at the hotel before we went to dinner Quito experienced an earthquake- the epicenter was actually on the coast I believe but we felt a 5.9 quake on the scale. I should not saw we as I missed it- I was out on a walk and didn’t even notice it- this is the second earth quake that I have missed- last year when the bigger one hit lawrence I was out on my bike on a ride- our guide told us these were still after shocks from last years big quake. Other news from last night is that we were able to share Mr. Moos’s birthday last night. I think he enjoyed the singing and cake- and our final news from last night is that Ms Perkins joined the group- she arrived to the hotel after we had all long gone to sleep-
Today was our trip to the andes mountain villages. We saw lots of volcanoes on the trip up- In fact we were following the avenue of the volcanos in route to Otavalo. Otavalo is known as a market town- there are several city blocks filled with trade items- food stuff, food court, animals, weaving and textiles and lots of tourist type stuff as well- my favorite part of the markets is the variety of people manning the booths and doing the shopping- lots of colorful clothing and jewelry- the smells, sights and sounds all stand out- after the market we headed for a lunch stop in Cotacachi- a small town named after a volcano- the town is known for its leather handy crafts- fun fact- legend holds that the town of Cotacachi was formed when two near by volcanos made love- Imbabura with cotacachi- our main experience here was to love the food which included Cuy (guinea pig) which some of the students sampled- we made the long trek home and will be headed to the galapagos in the morning- lots of other things happened today but I will update you later
Today was our trip to the andes mountain villages. We saw lots of volcanoes on the trip up- In fact we were following the avenue of the volcanos in route to Otavalo. Otavalo is known as a market town- there are several city blocks filled with trade items- food stuff, food court, animals, weaving and textiles and lots of tourist type stuff as well- my favorite part of the markets is the variety of people manning the booths and doing the shopping- lots of colorful clothing and jewelry- the smells, sights and sounds all stand out- after the market we headed for a lunch stop in Cotacachi- a small town named after a volcano- the town is known for its leather handy crafts- fun fact- legend holds that the town of Cotacachi was formed when two near by volcanos made love- Imbabura with cotacachi- our main experience here was to love the food which included Cuy (guinea pig) which some of the students sampled- we made the long trek home and will be headed to the galapagos in the morning- lots of other things happened today but I will update you later
Day 3- Off to the Islands
Day 3- we left the hotel at 7:30 to head to the airport- we were able to leave all of our shopping deals at the front desk in a locked room to make our island hopping experience better- I will take hopping over shopping any day by the way- we made our way to San Cristobal island by early afternoon and meet our two naturalists- they immediately took us on a long walk to a secluded bay for an outstanding snorkeling excursion- we swam with sea lions, sea turtles, diving blue footed bobbies and pelicans. One of our guides said that he had never seen the boobies dive in the middle of snorkelers- we stayed in the water for what seemed to be a couple of hours- to cap it off we was baby seals on the beach as we left.- off to the sushi bar for dinner- it was a start to a grand adventure- we also walked through a brief interpretation center- good night and good day-
Day 4- Turtles, Lava Tubes and Sharks...Oh, My!
Day 4- our first real early morning- last night we had a fun after dinner as we walked by a sea lion colony that had the alpha male barking while doing beach patrol- we tried to get to bed early as we had an early wake up but the high octane day I think made it difficult for people to sleep- every one made it down to the pier in time to depart for the day- the ride seemed a little rough but we only had one causality to the sea- (to put it another way we only had one person decide to feed the fish on our way out) The ride took around two hours and we then checked into the hotel and headed up to the highlands to see the giant tortoise in the wild. A few of the farmers in the area have turned their properties over to the concept of eco tourism- they have gave up farming and have allowed the turtles in- the turtles are coming to these places because they love the fruit that falls off the trees- our guide Marcos gave us a treasure trove of information about the turtle and its behaviors. We even had a chance to walk through a couple of lava tubes- when we completed the trail walk we had a fine lunch at the plantation. The choices were fish and chicken- I can not speak for the chicken crowd but the tuna was some of the finest I have ever had.
After lunch we went on a long hike to one of the most beautiful beaches on Santa Cruz- Tortuga Bay. We were able to visit the marine iguanas here as well as snorkel again. The sand bottom and windy conditions made visibility a little challenging as compared to yesterday but a couple of us had a great view of a white tipped reef shark that was rather large- After spending a couple of hours on the beach we headed back to town and had an amazing dinner and speech form our guides and hosts on the islands. They told us of the power of the islands and the role that humans need to take in their preservation not only of the physical but cultural history of the islands. After dinner some of us walked down to the pier to check out the black tipped reef sharks. It was a great day-
I failed to mention Spencer’s great beach art- photos will be included on the blog-
After lunch we went on a long hike to one of the most beautiful beaches on Santa Cruz- Tortuga Bay. We were able to visit the marine iguanas here as well as snorkel again. The sand bottom and windy conditions made visibility a little challenging as compared to yesterday but a couple of us had a great view of a white tipped reef shark that was rather large- After spending a couple of hours on the beach we headed back to town and had an amazing dinner and speech form our guides and hosts on the islands. They told us of the power of the islands and the role that humans need to take in their preservation not only of the physical but cultural history of the islands. After dinner some of us walked down to the pier to check out the black tipped reef sharks. It was a great day-
I failed to mention Spencer’s great beach art- photos will be included on the blog-
Day 5
Day 5- we had an early day again today and a two and a half hour speed boat ride to our next island. Today we are exploring Isabella. After we checked in to the hotel we headed out to our first major activity of the day the volcano hike- We had the opportunity to climb Volcan Sierra Negra. The cone of this volcano is the second largest caldera in the world. The hike required a little effort so we broke into three groups the extreme, the moderate and the reserved climbers. They did well and the site was amazing. The volcanos of the galapagos are all of the shield variety.
After lunch we headed back to the port and ocean for more snorkeling opportunities- again an amazing times were had- I got to be in a a bait ball of sardines as they were being preyed upon by sea lions and sharks- it was so cool- the sea lions would even push out the sharks- the sharks were black tipped reef sharks- even spotted and swam with a spotted eagle ray. Many of the students tried coconuts and squid empanadas . After all the snorkeling we headed off to the main beach for the sun set, marine iguanas, and beach art- oh by the way it is pizza night-
After lunch we headed back to the port and ocean for more snorkeling opportunities- again an amazing times were had- I got to be in a a bait ball of sardines as they were being preyed upon by sea lions and sharks- it was so cool- the sea lions would even push out the sharks- the sharks were black tipped reef sharks- even spotted and swam with a spotted eagle ray. Many of the students tried coconuts and squid empanadas . After all the snorkeling we headed off to the main beach for the sun set, marine iguanas, and beach art- oh by the way it is pizza night-
Day 6- Santa Cruz, The Darwin Center and Lonesome George
Day 6- galapagos- on the road again or in this case on the sea again as we sailed back to Santa Cruz early in the morning- the seas were rough and we had a couple of issues with sickness when we docked- we spent the first several hours in the Charles Darwin Research Station-
We learned about many of their conservation issues including two new projects- one designed to return native vegetation to some of the areas and two) one designed to save the remaining mango wrens- Then the rest of the time was spent basking in the glory of the giant tortoise - we saw several types including several saddlebacks whose name inspired the naming of the islands themselves. We learned about the breeding center for new tortoises and saw several pens of young turtles from different islands- they will all be turned over to their native environments as soon as they are old enough to survive predators. We also had the chance to view the body of the legend of conservation, Lonesome George. His body has been preserved and is behind glass and kept at a special climate that includes a fixed temperature. He is the third major world leader that I have seen under glass- the other two were in Moscow and Beijing- On the way back to the hotel we saw a number of marine iguanas and other wild life near the docks- the fish market was open with lots of lobster for sale- this would inspire a number of our group to go out for dinner tonight- it is hard to believe that this adventure is coming to a close but we will enjoy our last two days- the afternoon was open to more exploring on our own or going on a hike to a special swimming area- our group spilt up and choose both options- I love these kids-
We learned about many of their conservation issues including two new projects- one designed to return native vegetation to some of the areas and two) one designed to save the remaining mango wrens- Then the rest of the time was spent basking in the glory of the giant tortoise - we saw several types including several saddlebacks whose name inspired the naming of the islands themselves. We learned about the breeding center for new tortoises and saw several pens of young turtles from different islands- they will all be turned over to their native environments as soon as they are old enough to survive predators. We also had the chance to view the body of the legend of conservation, Lonesome George. His body has been preserved and is behind glass and kept at a special climate that includes a fixed temperature. He is the third major world leader that I have seen under glass- the other two were in Moscow and Beijing- On the way back to the hotel we saw a number of marine iguanas and other wild life near the docks- the fish market was open with lots of lobster for sale- this would inspire a number of our group to go out for dinner tonight- it is hard to believe that this adventure is coming to a close but we will enjoy our last two days- the afternoon was open to more exploring on our own or going on a hike to a special swimming area- our group spilt up and choose both options- I love these kids-
Day 7
DAY 7- Today was a sad day as we left the islands and headed back to Quito= it was mostly a travel day- we left the hotel at 8:00am and made our way across the island- we passed a pair of large sink holes on either side of the highway- and traveled through several ecological zones- when we got to the end of the road we crossed over from Santa Cruz to Baltra by ferry- just as we arrived we were greeted by a heron and just as we pulled out again by bus up a hill we meet a land iguana crossing the road on a steep section- as this is a place were nature is respected we stopped and rolled slightly down the hill as the iguana completed his journey- what an exciting journey it has been and when we finally arrived in Quito it was about time for dinner- the weather in the city was beautiful with a cobalt blue sky- we have a huge day on Friday as we will enjoy our final day in Ecuador-
Day 8- Volcanoes and Hot Springs
Day 8- hard to believe that this is our last full day but what a day it was- we took a cable car up to a volcano before we left the city of Quito- we got up to an elevation of over 12,000 feet. I have to say the view of the city once we got off of the cable car was breathtaking (literally and figuratively). We walked around the the paths and this was very cool again literally and figuratively (sorry for repeating a bad joke but this happens when my brain is deprived of oxygen. You really do get a sense of the layout of this massive city which is nestled in a tight valley of mountains and volcanos. This city is not all that wide but it stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions- We left the site around noon and headed to a local food court at a local mall- our afternoon activity made the biggest splash of the day as we ventured into the mountain rain forests of the Andes to a beautiful hot springs- we spent several hours here dipping between hot and cold pools- some of us took hikes and pictures but most of us floated in the pools- the water in the cold pool was straight out of the river which means it is melted glacier flow which means it is a tad bit chilly- needless to say most of us stayed away from it until one of us finally broke the ice so to speak- as soon as that was done it became a badge of courage to stay in as long as possible- Garrett stayed in for four seconds while Luke stayed in it for four minutes and not to be out done Pierce and Declan decided to stay in the river water for eight minutes- it was a grand fun time had by all- most of us had trout for dinner and then we made the long sad trip to the airport although I think some of them are ready for their own beds-
PLEASE REMEMBER WE ARRIVE AROUND 9:24 IN THE MORNING AT KCI
PLEASE REMEMBER WE ARRIVE AROUND 9:24 IN THE MORNING AT KCI
