Puerto Natales, Chile – March 13, 2011

Wow! This one was actually almost ready to go so here is one of the blogs I thought was outstanding.

We left El Calafate at 10 a.m. for our first real day with our new tour group and Peggy. There are 12 of us on the tour plus one guide (Allie), one guide in training (Enrico) and our driver (Andy). Peggy is our vehicle. According to Andy, Peggy is a truck but in many ways Peggy is a bus. Peggy is huge and yellow and we ride on the upper level where there are seats as in a bus for about 36 people. With only 14 of us sitting above we have lots of room to spread out. The bottom part is all compartments accessible from the outside. In there we have our luggage stored each day plus all the paraphernalia for cooking our meals on travel days including tables and chairs. It’s quite a machine to say the least. Just getting into it is a real challenge with the first step about two feet above ground and then five more steps after that. But once inside it’s reasonably comfortable. A bit more heat would be nice but since we all have our winter clothes with us we just keep adding layers. I’m not sure but I don’t think there is any real heat or air conditioning in the bus portion. The air conditioning might not be required in Patagonia but one would certainly enjoy the heat.

We had a two hour drive until lunch, which we made ourselves. Peggy just pulled in beside a tiny service station and out came the tables and stools and containers of food. Everybody pitched in and we soon had tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, avocado, cheese, ham, etc. ready for subs. It was freezing cold and we all just stood or sat around eating. Then we did dishes in cold water so it was all pretty basic but very enjoyable.

About half an hour was on a paved road and the rest was on a bumpy dirt road that had Peggy vibrating continually and even letting in just a tad of dust. We stopped whenever there were sights to be seen and photographed and the sights included flamingoes, ducks, geese, guanaco and rhea (the ostrich/emu look alike whose name I couldn’t remember before). On the domesticated side there were lots of sheep and some cows. The area we were driving through was very flat and dry with some rolling hills and literally no vegetation. Obviously there was enough to keep the sheep happy but not always enough to satisfy the cows. There were a few huge sheep stations along the way and they looked quite profitable. There were always huge mountains in the distant background.

We reached the Argentinean border and all had to go through individually. Once we got moving it was a pretty quick process. The Argentinean border was simply a three-room shack with immigration and customs in the two side rooms and the centre room for customers. There were 15 kilometers between the Argentinean and the Chilean borders. It took us much longer at the Chilean crossing as we all had to get our bags off the bus and carry them across the border, talk to the inspectors, put our bags through the scanners, drop our forms off at customs and then reload the bus. You are not allowed to take any food products (plants, nuts, etc.) into Chile so everything on the bus had to be checked. Anything left over from lunch had to be pitched. They make such a big deal about it that I claimed my M&M peanuts but they said I could keep them. Yippee! The Chilean border office was also just a small building so obviously they don’t get a lot of business at this crossing. If they ever do get a crowd, it will definitely take a long time to get everyone through.

Right at the border crossing, the countryside changed. It became much hillier and greener and the mountains, although still in the distance, were definitely closer. The change was quite amazing but they didn’t settle the border issues down in Patagonia until quite late so perhaps the final decision was just to give Argentina the steppes and Chile everything else. After the border we had less than an hour drive to get to Puerto Natales, a town of 21,000 situated on the Senoret Fjord, part of Esperaniza Sound or Last Hope Sound. Puerto Natales is the gate way Torres Del Paine National Park where we will be spending the next three nights but tonight we are in town. Puerto Natales was once a fishing port and had large meat processing plants for lamb and beef from the surrounding farms. Coal mining at Rip Turbo was also an economic driver. Today the only business seems to be tourism as it is the last stop before the national park. It is a rustic, laid back town and very easy to walk around.

We arrived in the afternoon and almost everyone went for a walk. Of course we did all have to head out and buy some groceries for our lunch the next day in the park and our treats for three days. The grocery store was your typical small grocery store and it was very busy. It also seemed very crowded but that may just have been because of the store layout. There were many displays in the aisles and thus the shoppers tended to get a bit bogged down trying to move around them. It probably also didn’t help having a bunch of English speakers trying to figure out what everything was. We obviously still aren’t that great at translating Spanish. The lineups at the cash register were long and it took quite a while to get through. It sort of reminded me of my local grocery store in that respect.

We went for a quick walk along the shoreline and then down one of the main streets and then across and back our hotel street. It was a Sunday so most stores were closed. The streets were also quite quiet. The main square, which was under construction, had the city hall, cathedral and post office along the one side. The cathedral looks neo-classical in a cream colour with white columns and a single tower. Most of the other stores were restaurants, coffee shops or small retail stores. As in El Calafate, there were also many outdoor gear stores and tour outlets to service those heading into the national park.

The sign on one store says that the town is located at 51 degrees south latitude. There is a walkway along the main part of the beach complete with benches should it be warm enough to ever sit out and enjoy the view. The beach is mostly rocky but there are some small patches of black sand. However, I can’t imagine that the water ever gets warm enough to swim in or the weather ever gets hot enough to sunbath.

We were to go to a local microbrewery for dinner but it too was closed so we just went to a local pizza place. I had a Hawaiian pizza and it was very good. Others had other fare that also was good. Their huge sandwich was huge – about 3 inches thick and just about everything imaginable on it. I should also note that we met Mark, our cook for the camping portion of the trip, at this point in time so we were all being nice to him! After that we all turned in early as our next day was starting very early with a 5 a.m. wake-up call, but there will be more on that and our adventures in Torres del Pain National Park in a later blog.

Well, it certainly didn't take me long to fall behind with these blogs. Our last tour was only 12 days long and I think I am now about 12 days behind. We start a new tour tomorrow so I may never get this last part caught up.

Today is my birthday and I spent it in Buenos Aires on a free day between tours. So what did I do on a rainy day in BA? Well, I did laundry and paid bills and tried to finalize travel arrangements beyond the end of the next tour, and I attended the orientation meeting and dinner with the new group. Hopefully I'll be a bit better at reporting on that tour than I was on the last one.

I will say that Patagonia was great. We had fabulous weather. It was definitely cold at times but on most occasions the sun was shining and the wind was not too bad - although there was one trail where I was literally on my hands and knees from being blown over by the strength of the wind. I will get into more details on that when I complete my blogs, which I have every intention of doing at some point in time. I have them started for Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine National Park, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia. I just need another week off to get them completed.

Anyway, everything is going well here. We leave Buenos Aires tomorrow and head into Uruguay on our way to Iguassu Falls and then on to Sao Paulo and Rio in Brazil. And please note that I haven't been to the falls yet so I am safe and not among those dead or injured in the tourist boat that overturned there this week. The accident was tragic and may affect what we do when we get there but I'm totally in favour of being safe so I'll gladly skip whatever they deem not be safe.

That's all for now as it's almost midnight. Hopefully I'll find time (and internet access) to write again soon.

El Calafate, Argentina & Perito Merano Glacier – March 10-12, 2011

I was caught up with these blogs but now I find I’m already three days behind. We arrived in El Calafate around noon on March 10th and it’s already the evening of March 12th. Oh well, I will do this quickly and hopefully get caught up again before we leave for Torres Del Paine National Park where internet may be questionable.

When we left Buenos Aires early in the morning on the 10th the temperature was already over 30 degrees Celsius (and heading for 37 degrees that day) and very humid so the first thing we noticed after our four hour flight to El Calafate was a drastic temperature change. The high on the day we arrived was 12 degrees and when we arrived it was less than that so the 20 degree (40 degrees Fahrenheit?) drop in temperature definitely caught your attention. The second thing you notice right away is that it is incredibly windy in El Calafate. The wind never stops blowing. It just seems to blow hard or harder. The third thing you notice but much later on is that the air is extremely dry. The cold air, continual wind and dry air are definitely wreaking havoc on my skin. I left a bag of stuff back in Buenos Aires as we end this tour back there and one of the things I left behind was my body lotion. I wish I had it back now!

Now I do have to add that on the 10th and the 11th the sun was shining brightly so that definitely added a bit of warmth to the day. The sun doesn’t set until about 9 p.m. as this is their summer so we even had lots of light for touring around. On the first afternoon we took a taxi to our hotel and checked in. It’s actually a hostel but it’s very nice. The town is small and everything is within walking distance. The population is 8,000 and most of the homes are quite small so the town is very compact. It is on the shore of Lago Argentino or Lake Argentina but in fact they have s safe distance between the town and the lake, I guess in case of flooding. El Calafate was founded by the Argentinian government in 1927 to promote the area and increase its population when the main industry was sheep farming. There is still a large sheep industry in the area with many large sheep stations but the government has had to restrict the number of sheep per kilometer as the little guys were eating all of the grass, of which there is not much to start with. As far as the city is concerned, it wasn’t until the creation of Los Glaciares National Park that the town really grew with tourism as its main economic driver.

As you wander through the main street of town you definitely know you are in a tourist area. Almost everything is on the main street or within the first block off of it. We are probably only talking twenty blocks at the most and yet there are probably a hundred restaurants, cafes or ice cream parlours of various sizes. Despite the competition prices are still high, almost as high as in any large city we’ve been in so we no longer have the really cheap food we had grown used to. Along with the restaurants and cafes you have a few bars, one casino, some grocery stores and corner 7/11s although they don’t call them that. The rest of the stores are retail stores that sell a lot of souvenirs and a lot of stores selling hiking gear. With the national park nearby and the weather being what it is, I imagine these stores sell a lot of warm weather and wet weather gear. The brochure for the national park says the climate is cool temperate with a mean temperature of 7.5 degrees Celsius averaging .6 in winter and 13.4 in summer. The high areas in the park get lots of precipitation but the areas to the east, like El Calafate, are in the rain shadow and get very little rain. On some of the steppes there is not much more than grass and what I would consider sage brush.

Our first afternoon was spent walking around the downtown area. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then continued on with our tour. We went to the National Park office but it was pretty empty. There were some pictures to look at and a few displays but little else on the inside. There were a few exhibits outside as well. It didn’t take long to see the whole place both indoor and outdoor. There is a small church on main street and it was very pretty, albeit very plain, on the inside.

It was getting colder and windier so we decided to head back to the hotel for another layer of clothing. Right next door was the Regional Museum so we went there for a visit. We had a great tour guide who spoke very little English but who was eager to play charades with us until we figured out what she was talking about. The museum has lots of old pictures of the early days of El Calafate including the wagon trains coming to the area. They looked like the usual western movie wagon trains except these wagons had wheels that were taller than a man. There was old farm machinery around the museum and it looked just like the old machinery you see in museums in Canada. The first phone exchange switchboard was on display and the first printing press and other such objects. As well there were displays of plants and stuffed birds and animals from the area so it was good to finally see the name in print for some of what we have been seeing and hearing about. After that we went back to the hotel for a quick break and then went out to dinner. It was a bit more expensive than usual but very delicious.

We went downtown on our second morning and booked a taxi to take us to the caves at Punta Walichu, wait for us while we walked to the cave, and then bring us back into the city. This is an historical sight as cave paintings were found on the cliffs and they date back to 1,800 to 4,000 years ago. The people were much shorter then and the lake has filled the bottom of the caves with stone and sand so the cave is very low in most places. As a result the paintings are very low and almost hidden from view. There were hand prints where the person had put his died hand on the stone and also where the person had sprayed die around his hand that was on the stone. They were faint but once they were pointed out you could indeed see them. There were also some feet prints and some drawings of stick figures of humans and animals. These are the original paintings from this area. There are similar cave paintings in other areas and these have been photographed and reproduced in another section of these caves. Some of these are quite elaborate compared to the local original ones. At the end they also had a replica of how they would have built their homes.

The caves and rocks themselves were fascinating with lots of curves and hollows and cracks and holes. They looked like masses of carved boulders with the carvers trying to make each one more ornate. We were walking right along the lakeshore so it made for a very beautiful setting with the high snow-capped mountains on the other side of the lake. I could certainly see why they would want to live here, especially if there were fish in the lake to eat. The caves would certainly provide them with a bit of shelter from the wind, which would be a blessing in this area. The rock in some places looks very hard with layers and layers of different colours. In other places it looks almost like paper or sand with tiny holes and bubbles in it. That part didn’t look very secure to be living under as it looked like it could fall down or blow away at any time.

We then walked to the Lagoon and on the way stopped at the Centro de Interpretacion Historica. It claimed to explain Austral Patagonian identity. I finally had to look up the word austral as I had been hearing and seeing it so often and it simply means from the south. The museum was all in Spanish and there was lots of reading. However, they had English books to go with the readings so we could follow along wearing a head lamp that they supplied (since some of the rooms were rather dark). The museum started off millions of years ago and explained how South America and Patagonia was formed. It then got into the dinosaurs and they had several life size skeletons on display. Eventually it got to humans in the area and their development. And of course it went through the geology and information about glaciers. The final room was a video on the glaciers and mainly on the ruptures of the glaciers when they were touching the peninsula and the water had to work its way through. The museum was good and very informative but there was way too much static reading for my liking. Seeing the timelines though certainly helped to provide a perspective.

From the museum we went to the lagoon. It is in a very flat area and the wind was blowing fiercely the whole time we were there. We were supposed to see lots of birds around the lagoon and we did see many: ducks, geese, snipe, white swans, black necked swans, flamingoes, chimango caracara, coots, ibis, horses, etc. Okay, so horses don’t quite fit the category but they were there just running free on the one side of the lagoon. At the one end of the lagoon we were at the lake so stopped and took some pictures there. The whole trek only took about an hour but it was so incredibly cold and windy that I’m not sure any of my shots will turn out as I couldn’t hold the camera steady. We couldn’t go all the way around the lagoon because one section was washed out, or at least too soggy. That meant we had to return by the same route but at least it was a nice easy walk and all on level ground.

After the lagoon we walked back into town, had some lunch and then caught the bus to another museum. The Glaciarium was quite a ways out of town but had a bus service (for a fee). It is definitely out in the middle of nowhere but the building is very attractive. It’s a modern construction and all of white. I assume it is to represent the front edge of a glacier and it certainly has the vertical walls and striations to indicate that. The glaciers in Patagonia are some of the largest in the world and they are certainly bigger than anything we have in Canada. I thought our glaciers were big and impressive but these ones are in a totally different league. They are huge and that’s what I remember most from the museum. After the museum we came back into town and went back to the hotel where we had our introductory tour meeting and then went to dinner and bed.

Los Glaciares National Park is 50 km from town and covers almost 4,500 square kilometers with 40% of it covered by ice fields including 13 glaciers. The Perito Moreno Glacier is located at the west end of Lago Argentino 80 km from El Calafate. It is probably the only advancing glacier in the world. While others are shrinking in size, there is so much snow falling in the Andes and feeding this glacier that it has actually been maintaining its size since 1917 when they started keeping detailed records. The front of the glacier is five kilometers wide at a height of about 60 metres. In other words, it towers about 20 storeys above the lake that it empties into. The front of the glacier empties into the Brazo Rico arm of the lake and is very close to the peninsula that forms Brazo Rico. Some years the glacier actually touches the land and that creates problems as it stops the flow of water from Brazo Rico into Lago Argentino and creates flooding. Eventually, however, some water will find a way through the ice and leave a hole making an ice bridge. Eventually this will collapse and the channel will be free and the water will again flow freely. Today there was a small flowing channel in front of the glacier but there certainly wasn’t much of a distance between the land and the front of the glacier, and there was one huge chunk of ice still sitting on the peninsula.

We started the 11th, the first day of our tour, by driving the back roads, and yes they are dirt in Patagonia, to the glacier. We made several stops to take pictures of the scenery and to see animals that appeared such as buzzard eagles, hares, ostrich/emu like birds whose name I forget, etc. We saw several of the sheep stations and had a quick rest stop at one place with lots of sheep and a baby guanaco (another camelid). The place was small with just a couple of rooms and the baby animals roamed around inside. The hot chocolate was delicious but I can’t say the same for their cake which was hard as a rock on the outside. Later we wondered if they had any electric power in the place or if all of the cakes and goodies were cooked in the stone oven that filled a large part of the kitchen. That might explain the burned outer crust. We even stopped at one point just so we could all get off the bus and go taste the berries of the calafate bush. The town is named for the bush or berries. They are small and purple and turned your teeth and tongue very dark. We weren’t allowed to bring any back on the bus because they apparently stain everything they touch. They were tasty but really seedy so I didn’t enjoy them that much.

We started our tour of the glacier by taking a walk from the road down to the lakeshore. Yes, that was definitely the easy part! We wandered around the lakeshore and took pictures of the glacier. At that point we were still about eight kilometers away but it was still quite impressive. Then we had to walk back up to the road. That was only a ten minute walk according to our guide but I certainly took longer and others took even longer. The path was one shovel length in width and there really were no steps or anything. You just plowed your way up by stepping wherever you thought you needed to go. The branches of trees were crossing the path and hitting you at head level and at ankle level. It was definitely an uphill climb but I made so that’s what matters – at least for today. Our new tour group has been together for a while and yesterday they did a 16 km hike up and around the side of Fitz Roy. That I think would have done me in so I’m not sure how I’ll keep up with these guys. However, I’ll worry about that later.

From the walk we took the bus to the main lookout for the glacier and that is a serious of paths and stairs that wander around the front of the peninsula so that you can have a great view of the face of the glacier. There are many viewing platforms or balconies with seats so you can have your lunch and watch the glacier and hope to see it calving. We were lucky and heard a lot of cracking sounds and splashes into the water. We didn’t always see them in time but we certainly did hear them and then got to watch at least the final splash and the resulting waves and icebergs. It really was quite impressive. And the face of the glacier is really amazing with deep crevices and cracks and some streaks of darker colours. Overall the front of the glacier was a lovely shade of whitish blue with darker blue patches. It was a cloudy day and that apparently brings out the blue in the ice. The top of the glacier is very jagged and rough with thousands of pieces of ice jutting up above the main surface. The hard jagged landscape is fascinating.

The glacier flows from the mountains and seems to come from about five directions as it flows down the hillside. The mountains in the background were hidden from view most of the day due to low clouds but the size of the glacier is impressive enough. I don’t remember the exact dimensions but I do remember the guide saying the area of the glacier was larger than the area of Buenos Aires which is home to over six million people so that sort of puts it in perspective. We spent two hours wandering around the walkways, having our luncheon and sitting and watching the glacier.

The last part of our visit to the Perito Moreno glacier involved a boat trip on Brazo Rico to get a closer view. We of course couldn’t get really close but it was good enough to get a better perspective of the height of the glacier. On this cruise we were looking only at the south face of the glacier. From the terraces we were looking only at the middle or east face of the glacier. The north face of the glacier could not be seen from either location so we may only have seen half to two-thirds of the total glacier. The boat trip and closer view just emphasized how cracked and creviced the glacier really is. On the very left side of the glacier there were people walking on the ice as part of another tour. I guess we’ll have to save that experience for another time. From the boat we could also see the large rocks along the shoreline and they were certainly identifiable as having been scraped by a glacier moving over them as they had deep grooves and distinct layers of different colours. It was quite impressive to see. Also impressive were the marks indicating the flood levels when the glacier closed off the channel. It can certainly back up a lot of water when it’s blocked.

I shouldn’t really leave the Perito Moreno Glacier without saying a few words about Moreno the person. He seemed like quite an interesting person and certainly gave a lot of his time and money to the area. He supported numerous projects like schools and day care centres and was very well respected in the local, national and international communities. I’m not sure he was a politician but he certainly seemed to be involved in political endeavours. I don’t know a lot more than that about him but he certainly sounded interesting – perhaps someone to look up later.

We took the main highway home and were back at our hotel around 5 p.m. The whole tour group went out for dinner as a welcome to the new people who joined today (just two of us) and the people who are leaving tomorrow (just two of them). Then we came back and backed to get organized for our journey to Puerto Natales the next day. Okay, I’m now writing this after dinner and I can honestly say that my meal was the best lamb I have ever tasted. They grill the half lamb on a spit over a fire in the corner of a restaurant and then carve it as needed. It was incredibly tender. You could cut it with a fork and it literally melted in your mouth. I also had a Chilean wine which was very nice - a Latitude 33 Chardonnay. Some of the group went out to drinks but most of us came back to call it a night. Tomorrow we are off to Puerto Natales and Torres Del Paine for more adventures.

Santiago, Chile – March 8, 2011

One afternoon and evening is definitely not enough to see the city of Santiago but that was the only time available enroute between Vina del Mar and Buenos Aires. The 10:45 bus from Vina arrived in Santiago at Centro Estacion about 11:30. We boarded the metro with Lynn and Ron heading for the Canadian Embassy to hopefully get their stolen passports replaced. Santa Lucia was our stop and we went to the first hotel which was indeed just a couple minutes from the station but they had no room available so we moved on to the second choice which was a couple blocks away and were more lucky there. This was the first time I’d worn my back pack as a back pack and it worked quite well. I definitely knew I had some extra weight on my back but it wasn’t too bad and I am still moving, which is a good sign.

Santiago was founded by the Spanish in 1541 so there is a strong Spanish or European influence in the building architecture. The current population of the city is over 6 million but it doesn’t feel like that big a city. The metro system is very fast and well organized from a traveller’s point of view except that there are a scarcity of escalators and elevators at the stations I saw. Normally stairs would be fine but with heavy bags I’d prefer not to climb stairs. The bus system is also amazing and there are lots of buses on the street. The airport buses leave every ten minutes and I think the others leave even more frequently. While the metro is faster, it is underground so your view of the city is limited. Above ground you get to enjoy at least a quick view of the architecture and the parks and the streets. The older buildings are impressive but so are the new sky scrapers that can be seen throughout the city so that the old and new are side by side.

The hotel was in the Ecuadorian district on Quito Street so pretty easy to remember. It was sandwiched between the Catholic University and the public University of Chile. Both looked quite large and there were lots of young people around the streets. The one area just below the Metropolitan Park was quite nice with wide sidewalks and all kinds of outdoor facilities. These were packed with students at lunch time. Instead of sitting down and enjoying a leisurely lunch the local food from a street corner kiosk just had to be tasted. A completo is a hot dog or sausage on a bun and smothered in tomatoes, avocado, chili sauce and almost anything else you can imagine including beans. By the time they are finished “dressing” the dog, the bun is piled about an inch over the top and it’s almost wide open. The hot dog itself just seems to disappear in the mix. My version was rather plain when compared to those that the locals were eating but it was tasty. Canada Dry ginger ale was even the drink of choice.

A friend from the Peru trip said the best spot in Santiago was up the mountain on a funicular so that was our first destination. The walk there was very interesting. Part of it was along one of the main streets and part was through the university area. Metropolitan Park is a hill in the middle of the city. There are actually many hills that suddenly appear in the city and from an aerial view they look like green domes all over the city. I don’t know whether they are volcanic or just foothills to the mountains that surround the city. The hill that Metropolitan Park is on is definitely the largest one that I saw in both height and length. The zoo is on this mountain and there are miles of hiking and biking trails as well. The funicular will take you up to the zoo or even further up to the final lookout. It was hazy but the views from the top were still nice. There were no mountains to be seen in the background but the city was at least visible.

At the top of the hill is a large sloped area with benches on each terraced area. This could be used for concerts or church services. I’m guessing that the latter is more probable as the beautiful large white statue of the virgin of somewhere (perhaps San Cristobal since it or the area is called Cerra San Cristobal) is at the top. There is also a small church that is absolutely beautiful. It is made out of a light stone and on the inside there are lovely stone carvings of biblical scenes on the wall instead of paintings or fancy altars. It is a very understated church and yet that’s what makes it so lovely. The statue at the top is lit at night and the virgin looks out over the city of Santiago and protects the city and its inhabitants. There are also several other statues around in various parts at the top and some sections that were not accessible.

There are many parks between Metropolitan Park and the old town, which was the next destination. There were also many monuments and statues. The Meseo de Bellas Artes was a beautiful old building but there wasn’t time to go inside. The stock exchange was a beautiful old triangular shaped building. Other buildings had incredible archways and pillars and carvings at the top. Some of the streets were pedestrian streets, which of course makes them nice to walk down, and they provided lots of stores for shopping. However, the really narrow streets almost prevent you from enjoying the architecture above. This area was incredibly busy around 5 p.m. which I assume must be their rush hour.

The Plaza de Armas is the main square. It is quite large but doesn’t look as large as others I’ve seen because it is broken up with flower gardens and trees and statues and gazebos. At one time this was the commercial, religious, cultural and political centre of the city but things are more spread out now. The main church, Metropolitan Cathedral, is of course on the square. It took over 150 years to build and was completed in 1899. It is an impressive church from the outside and the first thing that hits you when you walk inside is the length. I don’t know how long it is but you could barely see the altar at the other end. The pews were all up the centre aisle. The side aisles appeared to be for foot traffic only and confessionals as there were no pews. All of the aisles were narrow compared to other churches. There were domes over every altar, including those down the side aisles of the church so that was also a bit unusual. There were paintings and decorations over all of the walls and ceilings. It was nice but perhaps a bit too busy for my liking. At the front to the left there was another chapel that was the size of a normal church and it was also very nice. Some guide book said there were many architects involved in the project so there was a real eclectic mix of styles. That may explain some of the differences from other churches.

The old Palace is now the city hall and it was built in the 18th century. The National Historic Museum is located in the original Palace of the Royal Audience. This was also the seat of government until 1846. The central post office building was built in 1882 and used to be the residence of the presidents and governors. All of these are around the main square. Several street entertainers were in the park – a Michael Jackson look-a-like dancing to Thriller, some musicians, a comedian, a politician (I think). There was even a chess competition going on in the pagoda with about twenty matches underway. The participants were all male but were from all ages from teenagers to old timers. Overall it was a very relaxing square and not the usual bare square for the troops and people to gather for ceremonies.

Since 1846 the seat of government has been in La Moneda Palace, or perhaps it’s the residence of the president. There seems to be some confusion on that in the guidebooks. Perhaps it’s just translation differences. Regardless, La Moneda Palace is a beautiful large building on Constitution Plaza. It is a large white stone or brick building of several storeys. There are guards out front and even on top where there appears to be a balcony. People were coming and going through the main archway but we didn’t think the guards would let us pass. The plaza is more open than the Plaza des Armes and has a semi-circle of national flags in front so it looks very official.

The river that runs through the city, the Rio Mapocho, was pretty disappointing. It may just be the time of year but there wasn’t much water running through the channel and it was very dirty brown water at that. The channel was quite wide and deep and it had more garbage and debris in it than water so not a very appealing sight. Perhaps that’s why there were no riverside restaurants or cafes in the area.

The hotel was close to San Lucia, another hill in the area, and there was a beautiful set of curved stairs and old buildings and fountains leading to a fort at the top of the hill. In 1540 this was where the Spanish camped and later built a fort. It all became a public park in 1872. It looked great but by the time we passed it on the way back to the hotel it was 8 p.m. and it was closed. I guess that’s one for next time, along with a lot of other sights yet to be seen in the city.

And this means I’m almost totally caught up on blogs. Flew back to Buenos Aires on the 9th and just had time there in the evening to have dinner and repack for the next adventure. Arrived in El Calafate yesterday and it is definitely chillier down here!!! The Patagonia tour starts tomorrow so we’ll see how I do in keeping up with that one. I’m already behind for yesterday’s touring around.

Vina del Mar, Chile – March 2-8, 2011

The flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile was a quick two hours but with the taxi ride from town and three hours in advance at the Buenos Aires airport plus another hour in Santiago getting luggage and clearing customs and a bus ride to the main station to get the bus for the two hour trip to Vina del Mar plus a tax to the final destination, it really turned out to be a much longer trip and arrival was after midnight.

Ron, a colleague, and his wife Lynn, have a great place on the fifteenth floor of a condo complex right on a beautiful sandy beach with a long promenade all along it. It is definitely not a bad place to spend a little time. The condo building looks a bit questionable when you come in. I actually had to question why Ron and Lynn would live in such a place but they quickly explained. The building was damaged last year in the earthquake that hit further north in Conception, Chile. People were allowed to stay in this building as it was deemed structurally sound but there was a lot of damage and there is still a lot of work going on. Today they were welding on the stairway and plastering in the hallway. There are electrical cords and equipment and materials all over the hallways. There is a lot of material that has been pulled from various locations and it is now piled in the side yard. There are always several people up on the roof working and there are several guys on scaffolding every day and they are plastering and painting and working on the outside balconies. This morning they were outside my bedroom window by 9 a.m., which is when they generally start work. They are pretty noisy so it’s a good thing they don’t start any earlier. Yesterday when we went out the elevator was stuck with someone in it. Luckily there are two elevators so we only had to walk down one floor to catch the other one. Re the earthquake situation, well apparently they still have them on a regular basis and Ron and Lynn have experienced several since their arrival in late January. On Valentine’s Day alone they experienced eight tremors. Personally I’d be quite happy just to skip them while I’m here visiting.

Aside from the workers starting at 9 a.m., mornings are pretty quiet around here. No one really gets going before 10 a.m. But then evenings are quite lively and the normal dinner hour is after 8 p.m. Some of the restaurants don’t open before 8 p.m. and then they stay open until 2 a.m. Shops open at 10 or 11 a.m. and then close for several hours sometime between 1 and 4 and then reopen again until about 8 p.m. The beach sits empty until afternoon and then gets really busy from 5 to 8 p.m. The sun sets just after 8 p.m. but the sunbathers stay out to enjoy every minute of daylight. Then the promenade gets busy and there are people wandering around until midnight or later. I’m not usually up much later than that so I don’t know how long they stay around. This is the first week of school so it is very quiet right now. Apparently during the school break the beach was absolutely packed and the crowds were down partying until well into the early morning hours. Things are much quieter now. I should also add that’s a very “loving” society and there are many demonstrations of affection on the beaches and around town. Someone suggested the reason for this was because they all lived in large extended families so there was no privacy at home. That makes sense I guess but there certainly isn’t a lot of privacy on the beach or on the street corner. I guess it’s just different eyes doing the looking when you’re out in public.

I should also mention that the sunbathers are the main occupants of the beach. There are very few swimmers and just a few that show up with boogey boards, which are mainly to ride along the shallow water at the edge. The beach is very sandy and quite steeply sloped and apparently safe only if you’re in about the first ten to twenty feet. After that you are in danger and the lifeguards or coast guard or navy or whoever is around will send you back to shore. There are lifeguard stands but they are seldom occupied these days. Perhaps they were busier last week. They have ways of telling people to get back to shore anyway. Yesterday the helicopter was out. It will just pass over the area to ensure everything is okay but if someone is too far out it will hover close to the water level and send them back in. And apparently sometimes they have to have someone jump from the helicopter into the water to help the person or people back to shore. I personally will stay out of the water except for maybe sticking my big toe in just to test the temperature.

We are certainly enjoying the Chilean wines with our meals. If you pay the equivalent of $4 for a bottle of wine around here you have really paid a lot. Most cost $2 to $3 and they are great. So far I think we’ve only had one questionable bottle but we certainly didn’t let it go to waste. It was fine to drink but just not as smooth and impressive as the others. We’re also enjoying an occasional pisco sour, which is popular here. Life is tough on these holidays but we try to cope.

On the 3rd we wandered around Vina del Mar. It takes maybe 20 minutes to walk into the downtown area via the beach route. We came back the more direct route and it was much quicker. Of course we were making several stops along the way to check out buildings and scenery and to window shop or even go in. Vina del Mar is of course built up from the ocean but walking through the town it seemed quite level. There are higher places back a bit further from the water but we didn’t go that way. There are lovely squares and gardens, beautiful old churches and other elegant buildings. We went into the Opera House but it is currently closed due to earthquake damage and only the lobby has been repaired so far. We did get a look into the theatre and it is beautiful with orchestra level and balconies and private box seating – all in a light coloured, trimmed in gold, scalloped design around the outside of the theatre. The stage area looked particularly damaged but that may just be where they were storing all the damaged material that was being removed from everywhere.

I think we were on our way back to have lunch at home when we discovered a very small inexpensive restaurant and decided to try it out. We had a salad, a main course and wine for under $5 and it was delicious. The place was packed when we first went in so we went to get some groceries and then came back and there was some space available. Now when I say it was packed that only means that every table and chair was being occupied or at least that there were not enough seats at any table for us to sit. There were several rooms in this restaurant and all of them were small. The first room was the largest and it might have been 10 feet by 12 feet. They probably had tables and chairs enough in there for 12 or 14 people. The next room was much smaller and very narrow so only two tables and four people in there. Another room appeared to seat about six and the one upstairs could do about the same. It was just a tiny little place with a maze of rooms of various sizes and who knows where the kitchen was. It was definitely a local favourite and we could understand why. I had something choclo, which might make you think of chocolate but it wasn’t. It’s actually a very popular corn dish with meat and other ingredients. It was incredibly filling but very tasty.

On the 4th we went to the nearby town of Valparaiso. That involved walking to downtown Vina del Mar again and then catching a small mini bus which cost us about 80 cents. The ride was interesting as it wound around all the little streets of the towns and followed the coastline going up and down hills. People just wave the bus over when they see it coming and the driver hits the brakes and stops for them to get on and then takes off again. The buses run regularly, every couple minutes so you never have to wait long for one to arrive. They get full but if you don’t want to stand you can just wait and catch the next one. On the way back we took the subway. I think that’s what they call it but it really isn’t sub anything. It is a much faster, smoother and more comfortable ride that follows the coast line more directly and doesn’t go up and down the nearby hillsides. Back in Vina del Mar we caught a bus that took us part way, stopped for more groceries and then returned home to a lovely dinner. The dining room in the condo is almost totally surrounded by glass and looking out over the ocean so you really can’t beat the setting.

Valparaiso is a colourful little town. The buildings are often painted in pastel colours of blue, pink, orange, purple, etc. Often one building will have several colours on it – colours that you wouldn’t normally see together but it works. Any bare walls have murals painted on them. There are a lot of artisans in the area so the murals are generally very nice. The locals call these paintings graffiti but they are certainly nicer than any graffiti I’ve ever seen. Because the area is so hilly there are funiculars every so often to help you up or down the hills. There are also lots of stairs and steep streets and sidewalks if you want to walk. We rode. The views from above overlooking the ocean are quite spectacular. We sat in one spot and had a pisco sour while we enjoyed the view. There is a large harbour in the town so there are lots of large ships along the pier and containers piled everywhere. There is also a navy presence so lots of grey naval ships around. And of course there are also some smaller pleasure and tour boats in the smaller harbour.

On the 5th we went to another little town along the coast called Con Con. We definitely wanted to see more of the area but the main purpose of this trip was to eat in a specific restaurant. We left about 2 p.m. and walked into downtown Vina del Mar to look after some things and then caught the bus that runs along the coast through Racena to Con Con. It was a beautiful drive, perhaps half an hour, and the coastline is awesome. In some places there are sandy beaches and in other places there are rocks and rock cliffs with the waves crashing against them. And of course there are the required sea gulls, pelicans and sea lions along the way.

The area is quite built up but many of the new buildings look empty so it seems that they have over built the area. It’s a great place to live and we often discuss the merits of retiring here with the nice weather, great coast line, cheap prices, good wine, etc. The one big drawback is of course the earthquakes and that’s not likely to get any better. Anyway, we got off the bus in Con Con and immediately went to the restaurant to put our names on the list for lunch. It was about 3:20 at that point in time and they said there would be about an hour’s wait. We went for a walk and came back and finally got in around 5 p.m. so the wait was over an hour and a half. People were still lined up when we went in and there were still a few people there when we went out a couple hours later. This restaurant is in every guide book as the best place to eat so it’s very popular. We each had a fish dish and we all enjoyed our meals so it was worth the wait. I think with a pisco sour to start for each of us, a bottle of wine with our meal, a full meal and an aperitif (compliments of the house but we’ll include it anyway) the bill worked out to less than $20 per person. I had sea bass with shrimp and mashed potatoes. There must have been 30-40 little shrimp and a piece of fish six inches wide and almost a foot long. It was delicious, especially with the lemon that they provided. These were not your usual little lemon wedges that we get in Canada but rather huge sections of lemon that were more like one of our full lemons in size. Their lemons are obviously huge.

While waiting for lunch we wandered down to the beach behind the restaurant. It is a sandy beach but there are large rocks in the water. There is a kayak rental place and they have really little kayaks so kids can paddle around in the tiny tidal pools between the rocks and the beach. We looked out over this bay while we had our dinner and there were several children in this area. There were also several older people out farther in the larger kayaks and a few people in swimming. The water is much calmer in this bay than in other locations and the waves are much smaller. The day was overcast again in the morning and early afternoon but the sun finally burned through the mists and came out about 4 or 5 p.m. and it was a really nice day. And with the arrival of the sun more people flocked to the beach.

We also walked along the coast for a bit and there was a large marina with some wonderful looking sail boats. Some of them were out sailing and it looked like perfect weather for it. It might be perfect weather all the time around here as the wind always seems to be blowing. There were a lot of other restaurants in the area and they all seemed busy too, although not lined up like the one we were waiting for. It would be interesting to try them all just to see if the one really is that much better. Their staff were certainly great and the food was great and the price was right so it might be hard to beat.

The road runs right along the coastline and in most places there is only enough room for one building on the ocean side of the road. Most of the buildings are restaurants. On the other side of the road the hillsides rise quite steeply and there are houses and a lot of high rises or condos. Some of the complexes have their own funiculars for their tenants to use. In other cases there are very steep stairs to use. It looked like a very nice area but we did note that it was a long way from the city centre where you would have to get your groceries and then have to carry them back. It’s also a long way from other services that are normally in the heart of a city. The only thing it really had going for it was the local restaurants of which there are plenty, the incredible ocean scenery and a very small beach.

We caught the bus back to Vina del Mar and got off at the end of the boardwalk and walked the final distance home enjoying the sand sculptures along the way and looking at the many artisans and their wares. It was a beautiful evening for a stroll (and we needed the exercise after our large dinners!) and there were a lot of people out enjoying the evening. We stopped at one kiosk and I bought some chocolate covered strawberries that were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately I dripped some chocolate on my top so had to wash it out as soon as I got back to the condo. The rest of the evening went by quickly and soon it was bedtime.

On the 6th we finally saw the sun. The temperature had been nice on the other days but the mornings were very hazy or foggy and it took almost until 5 p.m. for the fog to burn off. Today was much brighter and the sun burned its way through much easier. We took time to walk to the mall and check it out but it looked like any other mall in any location except for maybe having even more ice cream outlets if that’s possible. And yes of course I had to try one. I even bought a pair of running shoes and some socks so I have even more to carry in my suitcase now. The afternoon was spent on the beach with the locals soaking up the sun. Well, actually I was under an umbrella so I wasn’t exactly soaking up the sun but it was still nice and I enjoyed relaxing and reading my book. On the 7th we took it easy again and, since the sun was shining, enjoyed the location to the fullest. Well, some of us did. Lynn and Ron had to run some errands but I can attest to the fact that the beach was wonderful. I think I was trying to soak in and save up as much heat as possible before hitting Patagonia for two weeks.

Over the week we had some terrific evening meals that went on for hours and we were simply at the condo in their dining room that overlooks the ocean and the coastline with the twinkling lights of Valparaiso to the south and Con Con to the north. And the evenings were so warm that we sat with the windows open enjoying the sound of the waves. The condo is perfect for the climate as all the windows easily slide open to let in the breeze and to allow full appreciation of the view. Even the guest bedrooms that are on the side have full floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors and a balcony. It’s a pretty nice condo in all regards – except for the earthquake damage.

On the 8th we got up early, had breakfast and made our way to the train station to go to Santiago. The trip was quite interesting as we got to see some of the interior of the country. It was the same route on the way from Santiago to Vina del Mar but we did that one late at night so didn’t see anything in the dark. Immediately outside of Santiago you get fields of various crops and vineyards. Having enjoyed the Chilean wine so much it was good to finally see some of the vineyards. The soil looks very sandy in both texture and colour but it obviously holds enough moisture for things to grow. At several points we drove through a tunnel. There was a long one at the beginning and it was as hazy as ever when we drove into it and we hadn’t yet seen the sun for the day. When we exited the other end we had beautiful bright sunshine that was almost blinding. It was such a contrast it was shocking. And if you looked back at the hills we had just come through you could see the mist or fog hanging in amongst the hills. From that point on we had sunny weather.

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador – January 30 – February 2, 2011

I am writing this blog way after the trip to the Galapagos so these are just my recollections and thoughts from notes scribbled on a piece of paper. Hopefully it makes sense.

We flew from Quito to the Galapagos Islands very early on the morning of the 30th. That was the first time it was truly sunny in Quito and we finally, from the tarmac as we boarded our plane, got to see the nearby snow-capped volcanic mountains. Literally everyone getting on the plane stopped on the tarmac to take a picture. The mountains, especially Cotapaxi, were very impressive against the bright blue sky.

The Galapagos Islands are located about 1,000 km off the Pacific coast of South America and belong to Ecuador. The archipelago includes 13 major islands and lots of tiny islands and of course they were made famous by Charles Darwin in his theory of evolution. The islands are home to some o the strangest and most wonderful wildlife including birds than can swim but no longer fly, aquatic iguanas, dragon-like lizards and giant tortoises. The islands cover nearly 5,000 square kilometers and are now a national park. The park board maintains and controls the environment of the park and they are very strict about what comes into the area. The interior of our plane was sprayed before we landed and our bags were supposedly sprayed as well.

The airport on Baltra in Galapagos is definitely a small airport. There is one runway and a couple of small buildings around but that is about it. The airport is just a covered waiting area with a few solid walls in the interior. There were lots of people waiting to board planes back to the mainland, which is the only place you can fly to from here. It seemed to take a really long time to get through security but that may have just been due to the number of people getting off the big plane and the number of officer in the small airport. Galapagos is not a different country but the islands are a national park and reserve and it takes time to go through all their controls and collect their fees. The admission price for the park was $100 plus there was another $10 charge for something else as well. I got a Galapagos Island stamp in my passport and I’m never quite sure how these places manage to get away with doing this since it is not an official country stamp. However, it’s nice to have the stamp in the passport so I wasn’t going to argue. Outside the airport there was a market area with people selling their local souvenirs and it was very popular as there was absolutely nothing else to do in the area.

We boarded our bus for the short trip to our boat, the G1, which looked pretty small from the outside. Once we got on board and saw our rooms we realized just how small and crowded it really was. Our room was two bunk beds with about three feet of extra space to the side and at the end. The bathroom was off the end and also very small. The boat holds 16 guests in eight rooms all with bunk beds. There are two decks on the boat with the top deck having two to three rooms on each side, the navigation room at the front and the bar/meeting room/library at the back. The bottom deck has two rooms on each side and the kitchen and dining room at the front. At the back on both levels there is some open deck space and on the lower level there is a pontoon area for getting into and out of the water/dock/zodiacs. The boat was small but it was definitely workable for the time we were on it.

The food on the boat was great and we all ate way too much. Our first meal was lunch and it was a big bowl of soup that was so delicious and filling. And just as you’re feeling satisfied the rest of the meal comes out and it was meat and potatoes and salad and vegetables. This was repeated again at dinner but also with dessert. Breakfast was always big and equally delicious. We could not possibly have gone hungry but still when we returned from a walk or snorkeling there were always quick treats for us to eat, especially at happy hour. I don’t know how the cook managed in the tiny space he had to work in but he certainly did a great job. And the guy serving us also did a fantastic job. The entire crew was great. I don’t think the captain did anything other than captain the boat but everyone else did multiple jobs such as serving food, making up our rooms each day, driving the zodiacs, acting as tour guides, keeping us safe and in the right areas while snorkeling, etc. We thought our days were long often starting with a 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. breakfast but we knew their days were even longer.

The weather was warm on the islands, much warmer than in Quito, but it was also very wet. Somehow the wet didn’t really bother us as we went on our walking tours or went snorkeling or sailed from place to place or just relaxed. Except for a couple of real downpours that occurred when we were on the boat, all other showers dried very quickly.

On many occasions we were treated to wildlife shows right on the boat. Birds would come up and sit right on the side of the boat, especially the pelicans, and the large frigate birds would glide along overhead, sometimes as many as ten of them. The first night the crew left the lights on the boat and perhaps threw some food over board because we had quite a display. It was amazing watching the dolphins, sharks, penguins, pelicans and smaller fish all trying to get a piece of the action. It was hard to stop watching and go to bed that night but we had to because of the early morning. And what you didn’t realize while watching the display from the top deck was that a mass of bugs that looked like large flying ants had gathered on the bottom deck under the lights. That’s where our room was and the door was covered with hundreds of them so by the time we got in the bugs were everywhere. The following morning the crew members hosed down the whole boat to get rid of all the bugs, most of whom were dead by that time. And in the morning there were a couple of sea lions sleeping on the pontoon at the back of the boat but we had to kick them off too.

On one of our walks a little bird came down and sat on someone’s backpack. As we all gathered round the bird jumped to someone else’s shoulder. Then they hopped to someone’s hand while they held a camera. And from there they jumped to the long black lens on someone else’s camera and sat at the end of the black shutter staring into the lens at its own reflection (we assumed). It was very cute and we all had fun watching him watching himself. The animals have no predators here so I guess they feel quite safe getting close to anything that comes by. They also don’t mind if something else comes close to them. On one of our first walks there was a sea lion feeding her very young pup and we were all taking pictures from just a few feet away. On other occasions there would be several pups on the beach waiting for their mothers to return and we could get very near to them. We could not touch any of the animals or take any plants or stones but we could enjoy everything quite up close and personal.

We saw lots of lizards and iguanas including the sea iguana that swims quite well. Only his head is above water and the rest of his body sways behind him just under water. The iguanas like to sun themselves on the rocks to get warmed up so we really had to watch where we were stepping because they sometimes just blended into the rocks and you didn’t even know they were there. But if we got too close to them and they weren’t happy about it they would definitely let us know. Sometimes there would be dozens of them just on one rock – obviously a nice, warm rock.

The red crabs were also quite interesting. Their top outer shell is definitely red so they are appropriately names. The rocks in some pools just seem to come alive with these crabs crawling over them. And it really wasn’t their back that was fascinating to me. When they got up on their big legs and started walking, their undersides were beautiful shades including blue and white so quite spectacular. Apparently these guys shed their shells from time to time as we often found the discarded ones on the beach and the tour guide said they would simply grow a new one. On some of the islands we could see the paths left by the sea turtles coming up to lay their eggs on the beach and some of the huge holes they had dug out for their nests. We weren’t allowed to go too close to those areas.

The sea lions also seemed to be everywhere. When we were near a colony the male would certainly let us know about his presence by bellowing quite loudly. The females and pubs on the beach were ever so much quieter and more enjoyable. The one day while we were snorkeling I had one sea lion right near me and he kept going down into a deep cavern between two rocks and then he would suddenly come shooting out and fly into the air and then back into the water again. I watched him above the water sometimes and sometimes under the water and it was always quite impressive. I’m sure he knew I was there so he was probably just showing up.

That snorkel was the same one where we swam with the tortoises. The snorkel started from shore (sometimes we started from the zodiacs or the boat) and right from the start there were lots of small colourful fish darting all around. Then, not thirty feet from shore, I had a tortoise swimming beneath me and I followed him for quite a while. I like the tortoise speed much better than the sea lion or dolphin speed. I couldn’t keep up to those guys but the tortoise was just fine. Around one of the big rocks was where I first saw the sea lion so spent some time with him. Then when I went back to serious snorkeling I realized I had a shark right under me. That was a bit spooky but he seemed totally disinterested in me and quickly disappeared.

On another snorkel we started from the shore and went out around a point and back again. I was a bit slow off the mark because the current was really strong going into shore and I was trying to go out. It was a cloudy, windy day and the water was pretty churned up so it was harder to see anything. I just couldn’t seem to find a good view. Then I heard someone shout so I looked up and there were a couple of dolphins just about to go past me. I swam toward them and kept up to them for probably all of twenty seconds but it was pretty cool to say I was swimming with the dolphins. Of course they made the swimming thing look quite easy while I was indeed struggling to move at all.

The islands are different in soil and vegetation with the newer islands having much less vegetation. And the islands have different types of rocks and soils depending on whether they were created by a fast cooling or slow cooling lava. Some islands have rocky bluffs down to the ocean and some have sandy beaches – some white and powdery and some back and course. The islands make for wonderful scenery while you are travelling on the boat. I certainly took many pictures so hopefully some of them turned out. And did you know that the Galapagos Islands are growing on the west side, that is all the new islands are appearing on the west side, while the Hawaiian Islands are growing on the east side. (I hope I’ve got that right!) It all has to do with the earth’s plate and how it is moving. It’s the same fault line but it’s to the west of the Galapagos and the east of the Hawaiian Islands.

If I remember our schedule correctly, on the afternoon of the 30th, our first day, we went for a walk on Bachas Beach and then went snorkeling from the beach. On the 31st we went to Chinese Hat (an island shaped like a Chinese Hat) and Bartolome or Bartholomew Islands and had a walk and snorkel on each. The walk on Bartolome was mainly along a wooden pathway and it was quite a hike up to the highest point on the island. There is very little vegetation on the island, just some low shrubs in places, as it is a reasonably new volcanic island. At the top you have a magnificent view of the island itself and of the many surrounding islands. It was quite spectacular and well worth the climb.

On the 1st we were up early yet again and had breakfast at 6:15 so we could get off the boat and start our walk at 6:45. We were in Puerta Egas on Rabida Island which is a very volcanic rock and dark sand island. We saw iguanas, turtles, birds and sea lions on our walk. We also saw a few flamingoes but certainly not as many as we were expecting at the nearby lagoon. It was during our snorkel here, which was in really clear water, that I saw a shark, turtles, sea lions and lots of coloured fish.

We then sailed to Rabida and took a dinghy ride to see the blue-footed boobies and sea lions. There weren’t many boobies but at least we can say we saw them and they really do have beautiful blue feet. The walk was interesting as there was not much vegetation on the island. There were some cactus and some small trees that looked dead. In fact they are dormant for eight months of the year and the moss that was hanging on them helps them survive the dry periods.

On the 2nd we were up even earlier, had breakfast at 5:30 and were on our way by 6 a.m. We docked at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, the main port of the Galapagos. Our bags went off to the airport while we went for a walking tour of the Darwin Research Station. The research station has lots of tortoises including a nursery of little ones who are kept until they are three years old and then released. The little guys are definitely a lot smaller than their giant elders. Some of them are only a couple inches in diameter. By the time they are three years old their shell is hard and they supposedly can survive better. Lonesome George is probably the most famous tortoise as he is the last of his breed. They keep putting females or a related species in his cage hoping he will be attracted but so far George just doesn’t seem interested. They have just put two new tortoises in so there is still hope. Diego is the other famous tortoise and I think his claim to fame was his age. I forget exactly how old he is (not sure anyone knows for sure!) but I think they estimate him to be at least 100 years old. Some tortoises live to be 200 so I guess that means Diego is must middle aged.

From the research station we went to the airport and flew back to Quito. Once back at our hotel we all took our laundry down and started rearranging things for the next leg of our journey. All in all the Galapagos was great and I’m certainly glad I took the time to go there as I probably will not make it again. It’s definitely a very unique and beautiful place.

Quito, Ecuador – January 27-28 & February 3, 2011

Most of this blog is being written at the beginning of March, more than a month after the visit to Quito, but hopefully it will provide some insight into the city and surrounding area.

Quito, located at 2,850 metres about sea level and just 22 km from the equator, is the capital of Ecuador. The city is nestled in a valley flanked by mountains and on a clear day you can see the snow-capped volcanoes around the city. We only saw these on the morning we flew out of Quito so we took pictures from the tarmac. Cotopaxi Volcano, at 5,897 metres, is the second highest peak in Ecuador and the highest active volcano in the world so it’s very impressive when you see it. The old city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site but it wasn’t quite as impressive as other old towns that I’d seen with the same ranking but I think that was just because it was more spread out and didn’t have the usual narrow streets. That probably has something to do with the fact that the other cities, generally in Europe, were much older.

The city was founded by the Spanish in 1534 and now basically has two main sections: the old and the new. Obviously the old historical buildings are in the old city and that is the world heritage site. There are many museums in the city but we didn’t have time for museums as we were too busy seeing the rest of the area. A lot of the older buildings have a distinct Spanish look to them. About 2.2 million people live in the metropolitan area and gas is extremely cheap so there are lots of cars on the road. I think they were paying less per gallon than we were paying per litre for gas. And as you walk around the city you’d swear that the horn was the most valued part of every vehicle. There is non-stop honking all day long.

The first day in Ecuador was spent wandering all over town from about 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. when a heavy rain and thunderstorm hit. The journey went from new town to old town. There were lots of both modern new buildings and beautiful old buildings. There were also a lot of churches and some of them were open. The Basilica is a main attraction and it was quite lovely and very large. It is set on the top of a hill, which makes it look even larger than it really is. The Basilica was built in the late 19th century so it’s not a really old building. Pope John Paul II visited it on 1985, making it a basilica. It is 150 metres long, 35 metres wide, 35 metres high in the centre, 15 metres high in the chapel and the towers are 78 metres high. They are working on the back side of the church restoring it. From the inside everything looks fine. When you start climbing around the upper parts, which you are allowed to do, you see all the work they are doing as you are walking right beside it. In the one part you walk on scaffolding across the ceiling/roof of the side aisle to get from the front tower to the back towers. I climbed almost to the top of all towers but skipped the one just because it was a series of thin rungs on a ladder and my legs were already getting tired from walking and I was getting tired from the extra effort of breathing at 3,000 metres above sea level on my first day. I did make it up the other towers which had access by a normal stairway. The view from the top was great. You could see the whole city below and the hills nearby but the clouds were covering the mountains behind them. Quito is quite large and is now spreading up the hillsides. Some of them were beautiful shades of green as they were still farmland. Others had homes on them and some had heavy residential building.

Right below the Basilica there was a lovely garden built around the steps up to the cathedral – probably a whole city block. Right below that there was a school and there was a lot of cheering coming from the school yard as there was a football (think soccer) game going on. The entire school was enclosed in a high fence and all of the area within the fence and before the buildings looked like a paved playing field that was busy the whole time I was in the area. The cheering came from students standing around the field on the steps of the building and the cheering was loud enough that it drowned out every other sound in the area. That was my first indication that football is rather popular in Ecuador.

Just down the street from the school there appeared to be a market so when I left the basilica I walked over to the market. This was not your typical market for tourists but rather an everyday person’s market. There were many small, narrow streets meandering through the area and there were small shops all along them. However, these were shops that were there permanently, not just temporarily, and what they were selling was quite unique. We saw people doing woodworking and making furniture such as beds and tables and chairs. There were welders who were building new things and repairing things for people. There were hardware stores and people selling sinks and toilets. There were also food places, especially bakeries and fast food kiosks (their type of fast food, not ours), and lots of places to by tools of every kind. It was an interesting walk and there were lots of locals around buying things.

Amongst the old and new buildings around the town there were lots of park areas. One had some art in it and one had some old artifacts that looked like upside down ovens. Another park had some small lakes and people were paddling little boats around them. And others were just patches of green with parks for resting. The streets go from very narrow lanes to large open streets. Crossing is not always easy but I don’t remember whether that was because they didn’t have many crosswalks or whether the drivers didn’t pay any attention to the crosswalks and lights that did exist. I think it was the latter and you just had to be brave and hope they’d stop for you. The old town area was very spread out as far as the buildings one might want to see so it took a bit longer to find the main attractions such as the Palacio Municipal (City Hall), Palacio Presidencia (Presidential Palace), etc. They were both quite large and impressive. In one area we found a huge old building with a large courtyard and there was a photo display of the best photos of 2010 and that was quite amazing. Some of them you really didn’t want to see because of their subject matter while others were absolutely beautiful and some even whimsical.
The Church of the Society of Jesus or the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus took almost 170 years to build from 1605 to 1765. It is baroque in style and contains approximately one and one-half tons of gold. Almost everything in the main aisle of the church except for the pews and the floor and the windows appear to be gold. It was a cloudy day when we were there but it was still very showy. Pictures from sunny days show beautiful shiny gold throughout. The main altar is three tiers of gold and the most of the side altars appear to be gold. Apparently 23 carat-leaf gold was used to gild everything in the church. There are wonderful frescoes and paintings in some parts of the building and they are from the 17th century. The façade is baroque and there are many statues carved on the volcanic gray stone. The church is absolutely beautiful on the ticket and the brochure I have on it. Unfortunately I personally don’t remember much of it. Hopefully my pictures will jog my memory but I don’t have them with me as I write this.

The area around our hotel was called Gringoland for obvious reasons. It was a lot of narrow streets and old buildings but it was also a lot of restaurants, hotels, bars, tourist/travel agents and casinos and it was very much frequented by a lot of gringos including our tour group, which was slowly gathering. Our group met on the evening of the 29th to get instructions for the Galapagos tour and there are twelve of us in total although there will be sixteen of us on the boat. Apparently some were on for a week and we will join them for the last four days.

Trip 1 Outside of Quito to the Otavalo Market

Some of us spent our free day in Quito by taking a tour to the Otavalo Market. Marco, our driver, was great and it was a very small tour so it was good. We drove on the Pan American highway which runs from Alaska to Patagonia. We were on that a lot over our South American holiday! Our first break was at a turn off to a local farm. The driver wanted to buy a cold drink so stopped at a small roadside stand. The amazing thing here was that there were three ladies standing over a barrel cooking something on a stick. Instead of hot dogs they were cooking rats. Despite the fact I knew they were rats, they actually looked very tasty. Apparently it is a delicacy around Ecuador and our driver certainly seemed to like it. He said it was always a treat to go to his grandmothers because she would often give them rat to eat. In this case, they simply skin and gut the rats and run a thick stick through the middle of them and hold them over a fire like a hot dog. You could certainly tell they were rats but when cooked they looked quite delicious. I guess the only drawback is that there are a lot of bones for the amount of meat you get. None of us tried one.

We went to a local farm that is quite large and was once very productive. Now I think it is more of a tourist attraction. We wandered around the farm and saw the old areas and the newer. There were two churches, one that was the original but it got too small so they had to build another one that was bigger. The workers sometimes lived on the farm so there quarters were there. Now these, and some new rooms, are used for tourists who want to come and stay on a farm for a while. It would definitely be a nice place to stay but it’s really out of the way. You’d have to be driving around the country to get here as it’s probably an hour and a half outside of Quito and not near any other major centre. The flowers were beautiful and there were some beautiful birds as well. The local countryside was lovely so it was a very relaxing location

When we got back to the main road we had just a short drive until we reached the equator. We had a quick stop so we could take some pictures but there really wasn’t much to take a picture of. I think they had a line drawn on the ground and a globe with the equator marked through Ecuador. I brought a compass with me on this trip just so I could see how it would react as I crossed the equator. However, I didn’t bring it with me for this day trip so I didn’t get to check anything. I crossed the equator a few times after this and by then I couldn’t even find my compass so that experiment was a flop.

The countryside in Ecuador is absolutely beautiful. There are beautiful rolling hills everywhere and they are wonderful shades of green and very lush and productive. The weather here is great for growing many products and in some areas it is field after field of greenhouses and flowers. Entire hillsides are covered in white and it’s easy to see how important the industry is in this area.

Most of the mountains in the area are volcanoes. Luckily most are inactive but on one side of the city of Quito, there are active volcanoes. Nothing major has happened in decades but the volcanoes are still active. I’ll talk more about one of them later as we did a specific visit to a volcanic crater when we came back to Quito.

We eventually arrived in the town of Otavalo and went to the market. This is the big draw for the entire country as it is a very large market and supposedly all of the tribes from the north bring their goods to the market. The main part of the market is on the main square but then the stalls continue down all the side streets so it really is a large market. There were lots of wonderful local products on display but there was also a lot of other stuff on display like brand name clothes and shoes. That definitely distracted from the native focus of the market. We wandered around for an hour or so and it was indeed very interesting. However, I don’t think anyone bought anything. Many of the locals were in their traditional costumes and they were very bright and colourful. The people were very friendly and it was fun just walking around the aisles.

We then went to another town whose name I forget but it is known as a Leather Town and indeed every store sells leather goods. The products were beautiful and one could have spent lots of money in the area. I just bought one thing and that was a red leather purse that can be worn as a backpack. It looks like really good quality and it only cost me about $30. The town was small and there were only a few streets that we wandered down. Actually we may have only wandered down one street come to think of it. There were some entertainers out on the street though so it was an enjoyable stroll.

Trip 2 Outside of Quito to the Cloud Forest

Marco picked us up at the hotel at 8:30 and dropped us off at the airport at 4:30 so full day with a lot of driving. Our first stop was the Pululahua volcanic crater. We drove almost to the rim and only had to walk a few feet, through a market of course. The crater bottom is basically flat except for a distinct mound in the middle. This mound was left after the eruption much like the bubble you get coming straight up when you drop something in water. The entire crater was a vivid green and the bottom was green fertile farmland divided into many smaller fields like a patch work quilt. It is a long walk down and back up from the crater and the path is not useable by cars. There is a school in the crater so children don’t have to walk in and out every day for school. The others come out about once a week for supplies and I’m sure they plan their trips carefully to ensure they don’t forget anything. Even the building supplies for their homes had to be carried in but they can use pack animals for this. There was a farmer in one of the fields working with an ox and plow. That was the only movement we saw other than for a few people walking up the trail and puffing very little as if they are pretty used to it. And many of them had packs on their backs and would probably be carrying more on their way down. Part of volcano is now producing steam so the 45 families who live in the crater may have to be moved if it actually erupts. It was a nice sunny morning and the view was beautiful. At many times the top of the crater is shrouded in clouds so we were lucky to have a clear morning so we had the great view. When we drove past later in the afternoon the clouds had indeed rolled in.

We continued driving for quite a while to get to the Alambi Reserve which is a cloud forest. The cloud forests are so named because they are always cloudy and rainy so you are often walking through the clouds as you wander along the paths. The continual moisture results in very thick, green vegetation with all sorts of flowers and plants so it is beautiful to see. There was a small house and just off the patio of the house there were about six hummingbird feeders and the whole area was alive with hummingbirds of all different sizes and colours, long and short beaks, and even one with furry white boots. We could have stayed there for a long time as it was so peaceful and entertaining. It was however quite frustrating trying to get any good pictures of the hummingbirds as they were normally moving very fast. There were other birds such as a couple of tangiers who were eating bananas placed strategically nearby and another larger bird that kept appearing high in a fruit tree. This larger bird whose name we never did quite get is very rare and only found in this area so people come just to see it. There is a fast flowing river or stream near the bottom of the property. We went for a short walk through the forest with the owner hacking a path with a big knife as we went. There were several different types of fruit trees, pine trees with strange trunks and sap that they use in fires, and lots of smaller shrubs and plants. We had tea on the patio at the house looking at the colourful humming birds and beautiful gardens to end our visit. Lunch was rather non-existent during the day but some trail mix and chocolate were enjoyed in the car.

On our return journey we stopped at another equator market and this one was much larger than the last one. The equator line was well marked by various interesting markers. There was a globe to explain why the two hemispheres behave differently re the rotation of the earth - something I wish I’d learned in school because I never quite understood the Corlionis effect (or whatever it is called. I just knew the water went down the drain in the opposite direction in the north and south hemisphere. They demonstrated that with a simple sink and a bucket of water. On the equator it went down straight. Two feet over in the south hemisphere it went down clockwise and two feet on the north side of the equator it went down counter clockwise. Personally I find that fascinating (and I hope I have it right). Did you know that you n balance an egg on the end of a nail at the equator? Well some of us can. I managed it on my third try. Of course I couldn’t leave without accomplishing the task! Apparently you cannot accomplish this if you are a couple feet in either direction as the earth’s rotation affects the balance. There were other little tricks as well but I had more trouble figuring out their logic in relation to the equator so I’ll skip those. The exhibition space also included exhibits on the four main regions of Ecuador. There was a building for each group to show the typical homes, dress, animals in the area, musical instruments, burial rites and even head shrinking. And of course there were lots of local crafts for sale. There was also a big stone monument nearby from 18th century when French labeled the equator but they were a tad off so we looked at it from a distance only.

The countryside was again beautiful rolling hills and very green in the higher areas almost to the point of being tropical. The lower areas were very dry and treeless. We stopped at a roadside stand for water and then decided to try some of their corn on the cob. It is very different from ours with big kernels and only partially filled cobs but it was quite tasty and much meatier than ours. We saw goats on the road at one point. They go up the hill every day and back down at night. We also saw cows running down the road with two men chasing after them trying to get them to stop, which was pretty funny. The road is very windy and in the process of being prepared so it’s quite bumpy. We were behind truck for a while going up and others were passing like crazy with curves coming up. Our driver was driving much more cautiously.

In talking about Quito, Marco noted that it is 50 km across Quito and it takes two hours to drive it. They will have a new airport next year. The current one is small and right in city so it’s amazing how close to the buildings the planes must fly now. Marco dropped us at the airport where we had something to eat, checked in, paid our departure tax, cleared customs and got to the boarding gate about 2 hours before our flight so we all sat blogging or writing (3 on laptops and 1 in a journal).

Other tidbits I remember (hopefully correctly):
They have been using the US dollar since 2000
Pay is only $6-700 per month for teachers

Marco works all year round in tourism and stays busy as he works for 3 different companies. He has a wife and two children both of whom are in private university, which just happened to be the one we ventured through by mistake while wandering around town. It is supposedly one of the best in the country and it costs $400 per month. The son is in first-year business and already has a job in place for when he graduates with a salary of $3,000 per month. The daughter is in medicine so will also be making good money. Marco paid $100,000 for his condo and it is 1400 square feet in size and sounds very nice. He says it is now worth much more than that.

The current President is well liked with a 75% approval rating. He is starting his fourth year in a four year cycle. He has made many changes but is unpopular with some because he’s quite authoritarian. However, he is much better than previous government that was corrupt. A friend of Marco’s had a government job under the old regime for only 8 months and went from owning a small apartment and normal car to owning four mansions and several luxury cars. Corruption was everywhere and the rich were not paying taxes. This has changed now and one man alone owes $65 million in taxes. This guy owns banana plantations and many other industries.

Quito is a very concentrated city with just over 2 million people. There are no really high skyscrapers, I assume because of possible earthquakes, but there are some 5 – 10 storey buildings. The homes on the hillsides look very small and close together but they look nice. There is no homeless problem in the city compliments of the new president. Those who are elderly or sick are on pensions. The new president put this policy in place as well. I guess that’s why the people like him. He takes from the rich and gives to the poor.

Okay, that’s all I can remember at this point so I guess that’s it except to say that I really liked Ecuador and would certainly consider returning.

Lake Titicaca – February 11-12, 2011

We left Puno early in the morning for our boat ride on Lake Titicaca. Our guide told us our limos were waiting and when we went out there were a group of tuk tuks waiting to take us to the harbour. That was a fun ride and mainly downhill so at a reasonable speed. There was little traffic so it also seemed quite safe, unlike similar rides in Vietnam!

Lake Titicaca is 8,500 square kilometers and shared by Peru (60%) and Bolivia (40%) and ranges from 3 metres to 275 metres in depth. It is one of the highest lakes in the world at over 3,800 metres above sea level and definitely the highest navigable lake. (The caca at the end of the word is pronounced with a guttural ch sound so it doesn’t sound exactly like caca but the Peruvians joke that the Titi or puma part is theirs while the caca part belongs to Bolivia.) Lake Titicaca is considered the cradle or origin of many civilizations in South America and people have apparently been living in the area for over 2,000 years. Many of the tribes, including the Incas, consider Lake Titicaca their source of origin. Jacques Cousteau conducted an underwater investigation of the lake and found many interesting things. Apparently there are stories of underwater cities, roads and treasures. The lake rises about 80 cm every rainy season but overall is losing about 5 cm per year.

70 million years ago the lake was one deep ocean and sea fossils can still be found on the land now. The islands are tectonic formations where the earth’s movements have forced the ground to rise. The lake is now glacier filled with twelve rivers emptying into it. Although it was once very salty there is literally no salt left in it now. Originally there were no animals on the island but now domesticated animals such as cows and pigs have been introduced to some islands. And in some cases the pigs swam to other islands. There are cats allowed on the islands but no dogs. I guess the cats serve a useful purpose of catching and controlling the rodent population but the dogs are not considered as useful and, if allowed to run wild, can harm the livestock.

The average temperature of the water is 9 degrees Celsius but it may be 7 degrees now. Catfish are a main fish in the area and they can grow as big as 30 cm in length. Trout from Canada were introduced in the 1950’s and kingfish from Argentina were also introduced at some point. While these introductions have been beneficial in some ways, they have also meant that the native fish population is disappearing as the kingfish are eating them. Only fishing boats and tourist boats are allowed on the lake. I don’t remember whether that was a law or whether it was just accepted that no one in the area could afford a pleasure boat so there were none on the lake. The fishing boats only go out at night as they use nets and the fish can see the nets during the day. The first part of our journey out of the harbour was through a dredged channel but the rest of the lake is open.

The boat ride to Tequile Island took about 3 hours. The lake was very calm so the ride was very pleasant. We had a large boat which could have handled about 40 so there was lots of room for the eight of us. It was somewhat overcast and a bit windy so not many people were up relaxing on the sun deck. However, most of us were sitting outside at the back of the boat. The views were very nice with the mainland and several peninsulas and islands within view. There were also occasional water birds entertaining us throughout the journey.

We landed at Tequile Island where we were to have our lunch. Before we could do this though, we had to climb up to the restaurant. It was only something like 500 metres and it wasn’t a terribly steep climb but I still struggled all the way up. Just before the top where the buildings finally started, I really felt sick and had to stop for a while. I eventually made it but this short climb certainly made me question whether I should be doing the Lares Trek. (I mentioned that to our tour guide who said I had to do it now because it was too late to change. In retrospect I should probably have been more forceful but with the help of my friend, Pedro, I made it anyway. Of course that’s all documented in that blog.) Regardless, the start of our 500 metre climb was at 3,820 metres above sea level and the top was over 4,000 metres above sea level so breathing was just a tad difficult for everyone. Along the climb the guide would pick fresh peppermint and have us crush it between our palms and then breathe in the smell deeply. This is supposed to open the airways and it actually seemed to help all of us. It may have just been our perceptions but we didn’t care as long as it made the trip easier.

At the top of the island there was a town square or island square with a city hall, church, market and other surrounding buildings. The locals in their colourful costumes were selling their wares in the market and around the square. City hall is not actually staffed as the mayor and other positions are elected but not paid so the people have to keep doing their other jobs instead of sitting around city hall. The hall and square are used for special occasions though. Elections are held here and everyone from the island gathers together to elect their new officials. The ladies sit on one side of the square and the men stand on the other side. This arrangement is so the men (or the women) don’t try to influence the other’s decision. The official simply picks five or six people as nominees to be mayor and they all happily accept as they have to and because it is a great honour to be nominated. Then the people have a chance to discuss the candidates and then the vote is simply done by a show of hands. Everything is over within an hour or two at the most. Tequile Island is totally autonomous from Peru. Although the government does pay for the teachers who work on the island, the islanders pay no taxes. The 2,000 people on the island are responsible for their own community decisions and their division of work. The education involves two years in kindergarten, five years in primary and normally five years in secondary but few attend school for that long as they are working and getting married so young.

The views from the square were quite spectacular with terraced fields and small homes. The walk ways were stone and the cows and sheep were along the sides. At one point on the way down we actually had a bull coming up rather quickly and unhappily while we were trying to go down. At that point the walkway seemed very narrow! Fortunately for me, a local person came along and got the bull to veer off the path and up into a nearby field. The restaurant was further up above the square and it was very nice with another great view. The food looked great but I just had some soup and bread.

The costumes on the island are very colourful and related to the sex and marital status of the individual. The girls marry at 16 and the boys at 18. Divorce is not allowed. Some outsiders are now coming in through marriage as the numbers of the tribe are dropping. The average age expectancy of the group is 75 so they lead a very healthy life. They actually all work very hard and they have a very fair society or division of labour. The main occupations are market traders, farmers or restauranteurs. You are assigned or choose one or the three and that’s what you do for the rest of your life. The market traders make clothes, other products and souvenirs and sold them to the locals and the tourist. The restauranteurs made and served lunch for the tourists (and locals I suppose). And the farmers work their farms and sell their produce. I thought the farmers had the hardest job but they seemed to all view it as fair. The diet on the island is mainly vegetarian with some fish so very healthy. They have community or island rules and I don’t remember them all but the first three were: don’t be lazy, don’t steal, and don’t lie. The rules seemed very logical and easy to follow but the guide did make some comment about the don’t lie rule being changed or dropped because they were all watching too much western TV and it was influencing their behaviour. Too bad.

The boys on Tequile wear long knit hats that are white on top and coloured at the bottom. They also carry one as well and carry a mirror. They use the mirror to “flash” at a girl they are interested in. The girls also carry mirrors and if she’s interested in the boy she flashes her mirror back. If not interested she covers her face and looks away. And eventually a really interested girl will grab the spare hat that the boy carries. She takes it home and examines it to see if he is a skilled or lazy boy as the men do all the knitting in this society. She fills the hat with water and if it is well knit the water won’t run through and she knows the boy is a hard worker and will be a good provider. If the water runs through then she knows the boy is not a good catch. If the two become serious the young couple and their parents will meet with the shaman who decides if it is a good match. If yes, they live together for six months and then have their marriage ceremony. If it’s not a good match the two are to split up and go looking for a better match. The guide did say that sometimes now if it gets this far and the shaman says no, the couple will leave the island to live together regardless.

Following our lunch, where the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful, we walked down a different route to catch our boat again. (Luckily it was cloudy when we had the walk up or I might never have made it!) We had about an hour ride back towards Puno and stopped at Laquina, a small community on a peninsula outside of Puno. It was here that we were to stay for the night at a local homestay. When we arrived at the dock we were met by a local greeting committee all dressed in their traditional costumes. They even had a band (drum, guitar, flute, …) to greet us and walk us up to the community centre. 85 families live in the community and most of them speak Amaya as their first language and then Spanish. English is not spoken at all so conversations were definitely at a minimum.

Up the hill from the dock we met the people we were to stay with and then continued on to the community centre. Once there we were waiting for something to happen (we weren’t quite sure what!) and decided to have a football game against the locals. That of course would be soccer to us Canadians. Three of the tour members, our tour leader, our local guide and two of the guys from our boat formed the gringo team, which called itself Los Condores (or something spelled like that meaning the condors in Spanish). I was not about to play soccer since I could still hardly breathe while doing nothing so I sat on the side lines and became the cheerleader. Three others from the group did not participate in any way. The locals were really good and had all the footwork and passing moves down pat. Our team was a bit less organized and talented. However, we did have a lot of spirit and put on a good show. Katie started the whole thing by doing her yoga stretches to get warmed up. That certainly got the attention of the opposition who were all male. Then Katie and Amanda decided they’d just pester anyone who had the ball. Finesse was not their strong point but they certainly confused the opposition and caused some major turnovers. While we (or at least I) were busy cheering the opposition team members were scratching their heads in disbelief. We actually managed to score first which was quite amazing. Our three male Peruvian team members were actually quite awesome and carried most of the game. The gringo team members had their moments but nothing that could be sustained. How they managed to run around the soccer field and keep going for the better part of an hour is beyond me. They did have to make some quick runs to the bench to get a quick drink and break and the comments ranged from I can’t breathe to I think I’m going to throw up, and you knew they weren’t exaggerating. However, they regrouped and played on. They were great sports and I know the locals really enjoyed the game. Oh, and the locals actually had substitutes on their team since there were lots of them standing around. Our team didn’t have any substitutes so they had to keep playing through. They lost the game by a score of 4 or 5 to 2 but they certainly won the admiration of everyone in the area, especially me since I didn’t have to play.

Following the game our host families reappeared and they had all kinds of costumes for us to wear. I think I was wearing six skirts of six different bright colours plus several colourful vests over a blouse and wide cummerbund. I also had to wear a small bowler had but it was impossible to keep on my head so I held it more than wore it. The locals did a lively dance demonstration for us to the music of the local band. Then they wanted us to get up and do the same dance with some of them. We definitely didn’t do as well as they did but we gave it our best shot. Luckily they didn’t go on too long so we didn’t all collapse on the spot. After the dance we all separated and headed off with our respective home stay families.

Two of us were staying with Margareta and we began our trek up the hill and around the side of the hill. It wasn’t a long trek but I had to take frequent breaks because of the altitude. And I had to get our host to remove my cummerbund since it was so tight and big that I couldn’t get my breath – at least that was my excuse. We just wandered through the fields and up small paths and eventually the small road for a while. Then we went down into our host farm. Margareta and her 16 year old daughter Rhea live at the home. We thought we were with Margareta all along and it turns out we were with Rhea. I guess we were a bit confused on the introduction. Margareta was only 47 but looked much older. She never left the kitchen except to go to bed at night and she spoke very little English. She had several children who were grown and married with children and who lived elsewhere, mainly in Puno. We never knew where her husband was or what happened to him but he was not in the picture. With a lot of guessing, sign language and our Spanish English phrase book, we managed to have very limited conversation with Rhea. We did this while Margareta cooked our dinner and we just sat and watched. We also discovered that they had a cow and donkey and some sheep and chickens. They also had a cat and kitten that we saw quite often as they were around the house. We definitely heard the donkey in the morning as he was very loud. Some of the other animals we never did see or hear.

Our room was very large with three beds and a table with four chairs. We ate our dinner in our room and Rhea joined us. Dinner was a bowl of soup that was huge and really delicious. It had vegetables and grains in it and was very filling. Following that we had some rice and vegetables. After dinner, Rhea brought us some tea and then she said good night. They went to bed around 7:30 and after that we really didn’t want to move around too much or make too much noise. We talked for a while and then we too went to bed, probably well before 9 p.m. Our hosts were up at 5 a.m. and we were up shortly thereafter. We had to be back at the boat very early so we had some breakfast and then headed off to the dock. Breakfast was some tea and a type of deep fried bread that was absolutely delicious.

The homestead had a stone fence around it and the animal pens were also of stone. Within the inner compound there were buildings on three sides. Our room was on the right and, as noted above, it was quite large. The kitchen and bathroom were on the left side and a larger buildings was at the back but we were never in there so don’t know what was in that building. The kitchen was a small room with a clay stove in the corner. The fire on the bottom was continually fed with firewood that Rhea had to keep cutting and bringing in and Margareta kept putting in the fire. There was a pot on the top of the stove and it was always boiling and it smelled fantastic. The room was always full of smoke. There were a couple of ventilation holes over the stove and I’m sure some of the smoke went out those holes. However, most of it seemed to just linger in the room. Margareta simply sat on a small stool while she worked. Behind her there was a cupboard or at least some shelves that had only a few things on them like flour and sugar. At the other end of the room there was a bench and that is where we sat to talk to Rhea.

Our bathroom looked like any bathroom but there were a few differences. There was very little running water in the sink and no water in the shower. There was a toilet but it didn’t always flush because of a lack of water. However, it worked for the short amount of time we were there and it was certainly a lot better than I thought it might be. And it was far bigger than either of the bathrooms in my condo!

The beds were comfortable. We were worried about being cold but we needn’t have worried. There were many blankets on our beds and they were really heavy blankets. The situation was the same at all of the homestays and we all laughed about how hard it was to even just turn over in bed with the weight of the blankets. Overall we were very comfortable and warm and definitely well fed so we had no complaints about our home stay experience, and it was great to see how the locals lived and what their daily life was like. Being the wimp that I am I don’t think I could handle the life. I am definitely too spoiled and enjoy our modern conveniences (like hot water and flush toilets) too much.

The next morning we headed off by boat for our next adventure. Totora reeds grow in the shallow waters of the lake and they are used by the locals to make almost everything the islanders need. They weave the reeds together and anchor them for islands to live on. As the bottom layers rot more top layers are added. They build their homes with them. They make baskets to carry things in and to cook in. They make the boats they need to get from island to island from reeds and replace them every six months. And of course almost everything they sell is made of reeds including miniature replicas of the items listed above. These are the Uros Islands and the Uros people and this has always been their way of life. They are a very heavy set people but that is to be expected since they get very little exercise due to the fact they live on tiny islands that are very hard to walk on let alone exercise on. They sit and do handicrafts for much of the day. They eat very few fruits and vegetables as they can’t grow them. They eat a lot of fish and a lot of reed parts cooked in various ways. Understandably their life expectancy was much lower than other people we met.

Our boat docked at one of the islands. Several islands already had boats at them. On other islands the people seemed to be working and just ignoring the boats. And on other islands the ladies were all in bright coloured costumes and standing at the edge of the island waving and trying to lure the boats in. I guess the boat captains just choose the one they like best for the day. Our island was big enough for about seven homes. Each home was simply a thatched hut and on the inside it was simply reed floor, ceiling and walls. There were reed mats to sleep on and a raised reed platform that I assumed was the main bed. And of course there were reed souvenirs all around the house that I visited. You were definitely expected to buy something from your host but I didn’t and very few on the tour did. Reeds and fish were the main sources of livelihood but now tourism is very important. The islands all get paid for each visit and probably even for being on call in case needed, and they make money off the souvenir sales and boat rides.

We went for a quick boat ride in their reed catamaran, which seemed very sturdy. It is simply propelled by two paddlers at the back of the boat. And a catamaran really just means two canoes covered by a platform. It was very comfortable and I’m sure the design would serve them well for transporting people and goods around the islands. These days it is very hard for the people to survive on the islands. Despite the fact that this is the only life they have known, they are buying plots of land on the mainland in hopes of eventually moving the community there. We sat around in a circle on some logs (no, not reed chairs) while they showed us various components of their lives. It was interesting but went on a bit too long for my tastes as I was burning in the hot sun. You don’t get a lot of shade trees growing on a reed island so you are definitely open to the elements unless you are in one of the homes.

There were some children around the island when we were there as it is their spring break. The school is also on a floating island and it looked quite nice. Children do their elementary school there and then must go into Puno for high school. There is regular ferry service to and from the mainland so the high school students go back and forth that way. Others on the islands do not go to the mainland regularly but have to go occasionally for supplies. We passed a ferry or two and they seemed quite busy. Apparently the ferries run regularly so there is always access. We also passed a few boats where the people appeared to be fishing and a few where the people were collecting reeds.

Once back in Puno we returned to our hotel – by minivan this time, not by tuk tuk as the journey was up hill all the way. And the rest of the stay in Puno is already documented in the Puno blog so I guess that’s it for this one except to note that the people who live at a high altitude like this actually get a similar kind of altitude sickness when they visit places that are at sea level. I didn’t know it worked both ways but I guess it makes sense that it does.