The Ecuadorian trip was between May 20th and June 2nd, 2015 with Gate1 tour company, our second trip with them. There were 20 in the group with young, recent college graduates to 30, 40 and 50-somethings, all the way to well, us. We landed at the new Quito airport at 10:20 pm with an hour drive to the hotel and a 7:30 am pickup of luggage. So begins the adventure! .
The Equator
When in Ecuador the magical, mystical, mysterious powers of standing on the dividing line between North and South must be experienced. We therefore stopped at a historical park/museum where the attendants demonstrated these extraordinary powers of the equator, including the changes in the swirling of water when draining between the Northern and Southern hemispheres or On The Line (no swirl), and difficulties in walking the equator line, balancing an egg, and more. These effects were as a result of the centrifugal force of the earth’s spinning. What was spinning was the truth by the park guides in playing up to the tourists. It was fun, but for the record only one person in our group questioned it at the time.
The Highlands
Banos
The city is known as the "Gateway to the Amazon" as it is the last big city located in the mountains before reaching the jungle and the other towns located in the Amazon River basin.
We visited a shop where an artist creates beautiful jewelry, statues and other small gifts from the palm nut. It is known as Tagua or vegetable ivory.
Banos is a great place for having a spa day as many places provide facials and massages. Walk-ins are always welcomed, as we were.
Another feature of Banos are its thermal mineral pools heated by the Tungurahua volcano. It is also home to more than 60 waterfalls. Capturing pictures of the storefronts helped me become acquainted with the color and flavor of what was one of the most beautiful cities on our tour.
Rose Farms
Roses are one of Ecuador’s great exports, due to the quality of the roses. Ecuador is the world’s third-largest exporter of cut flowers, 73 per cent of which are roses. It is an industry that employed 103,000 people and generated $837m of business in 2013. It was started in 1991 by the US to promote legal industries such as flower growing as alternatives to drug trafficking in four Andean countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Manteles
Our home for this day/night was Hacienda Manteles, with views of the Tungurahua Volcano and the surrounding landscape.
This is a 100+ yr old home, which became a refuge for the locals from the erupting volcano. The owner even built several smaller apartments on the property to shelter the people from the eruptions. Some tour mates stayed in the apartments, while Marv and I and 3 others were able to stay in the original hacienda. We had a lovely dinner there and afterwards tried to become a little acquainted with the night sky of the southern hemisphere.
Amazonia
The Village
Ahuano is a native village located on an island down river and accessible only by canoe. It is quite primitive outside of having electricity via generator. We visited the home of Carmela, a Quechua Indian woman, who spoke about family culture and demonstrated the making of homemade wine.
Along the way, we came upon a tree covered in butterfly larva. These were large black fuzzy caterpillar-like creatures. I was the only one brave enough (or foolish enough) to feel the fuzzy creatures.
The Hike
Of course, one must take a hike when in a jungle. And what is more fitting than doing it in a pouring rain - rubber boots, deep mud, no clear path, uphill and down, trees new to us, chancing a walk across a suspended bridge, and flying through the jungle on a short zip line basket ride.
To finish the day’s adventure, we rafted on a traditional balsa log raft, winding slowly along the river, still in the lovely rain. It was so intoxicating that Marvin Jumped into the river with his hat and glasses on!
Galapagos Islands
We landed on Baltra, a small flat island, at one of the two airports serving the Galapagos Islands. A short boat ride to Santa Cruz and a 45 minute bus ride had us arriving at Puerto Ayora, one of the two main towns and the prime stop for tourists. It has an excellent harbor and a number of resorts. Progress in the form of building infrastructure is everywhere; new roads, buildings, etc.. Such progress is usually viewed favorably but in the context of the special prestine nature of the Galapagos it is more akin to encroachment. Humans, unfortunately, settled the islands before Ecuador established 97% of it as a National Park. While 97 percent sounds impressive, three quarters of it is on Isabela, the newest island still being formed by active volcanos and the least hospitable for wildlife. One of its volcanos, Wolf Volcano, erupted two days before our arrival.
The hotel’s naturalist thanked us profusely, saying that our presence sent a message to the local residents that it was important for them to protect the environment, i.e., the Galapagos’ ecosystem.
In the Galapagos, we saw many iguanas (black and orange), birds (frigates and boobies), sea lions, shore crabs, herons, pelicans and actual pink flamingos.
The island is a mix of private and national park areas. There is an agreement that the Galapagos turtles are free to roam at will, and we in fact visited a private ranch where we encountered many. Also, note worthy, are several massive sink holes, that are probably ancient volcanic vent holes. Our lodge, Finch Bay, was excellent.
Known as the home of the Blue-Footed Boobies, the Island provides the classic Galapagos “experience”. The indigenous inhabitants evolved without predators and lack an instinctive fear of unknown others. The sense of being accepted was a bit disconcerting, and very cool!
One awestruck sight on the way to North Seymour Island: Hundreds of boobies circle in unison, in the sky overhead, going round and round several times, searching for fish in the water. Then “BAM”! They all slam the water at once to catch their food. It was fascinating to witness.
Known as the home of the Blue-Footed Boobies, the Island provides the classic Galapagos “experience”. The indigenous inhabitants evolved without predators and lack an instinctive fear of unknown others. The sense of being accepted was a bit disconcerting, and very cool!
One awestruck sight on the way to North Seymour Island: Hundreds of boobies circle in unison, in the sky overhead, going round and round several times, searching for fish in the water. Then “BAM”! They all slam the water at once to catch their food. It was fascinating to witness.
