Ecuador, Quito

Hello all

Quite an eventful stay here in Quito.
We bused up from Guayaquil through Santo Domingo and onto Quito.
8 hours in a normal bus which didn't turn out to bad. We had kids sharing fruit with us which was kind of cool. They listened to my tablet music which got the thumbs up.
Quito is an Andean city placed in a valley at 2800 metres.
Surrounding Quito, the city had sprawled along the valley floor and upwards.
In 2014 the population was 2.5 million.
Of all the cities we have been to Quito, stands out as the best preserved and cleanest.
In the central historical area the architecture is incredible. They have a massive basillica called Basillica del Voto Nacional. It is of neogothic design.

On Friday we visited the equator.

Pretty self explanatory really. I think all tourists go there and get photographed.

Here is Linda straddling the equatorial line. She likes to have a foot each way.

On Sunday evening just before 7pm we were reading on the bed when we both felt the bed moving. Yes the earth moved. We laid down on the floor either side of the bed just in case. A minute later the house was still rolling around so we got up to see the others in the house. It took a little while for the movement to stop. Unfortunately for many at the epicentre it was a disaster. 

272 confirmed deaths with more expected to be found. Guayaquil was also damaged.

Here is a view over the older part of Quito.
Someone said that Quito is 60km long and quite narrow.
Heading south you drive through a corridor of volcanos.  Very impressive.

Quilotoa Volcano.

Yesterday we took a trip to a famous volcano. It is actually a Caldera.

A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature on large central volcanoes, a special sort of volcanic crater (from one to several kilometers in diameter), formed when a magma chamber was emptied. The depression then originated either in very big explosive eruptions or in erosion and collapse of the magma chamber roof. Ref. Wiki.

The crater is about 3km wide and the altitude is about 3800m. Last erupted in 1280.

The green colour is due to mineralization from the lake floor and hot springs on the side.

On the way to the volcano we stopped at a canyon for photos. There was a Llama tied up to a tree so we quickly snapped a shot. Moments later as young boy came out and asked for 1 dollar. You've  got to be quick.

That's  it for now.

We fly to Bogota today. We are flying rather than busing because the border crossing can be a bit of a drama with luggage checks x 2 and unhappy police checks.

Bye for now

Sam

Galapages Islands

Hello all.
Been a few days since last post but the Internet here is slow so thought I would delay.
The Islands are many and varied with almost unpenetrable cover on most comprising of thorny bush and cactus. The animal life is pretty diverse to say the  least. Linda and I took a tour. We did snorkeling, fishing and bird watching. I've always been keen on bird watching. We saw sea lions, Iguanas, white tipped sharks, massive turtles, rays and more. The diversity under the water wasn't that surprising. We have snorkeled in Samoa, and thought that was better. Certainly more colour. The bird life here is  amazing. The amazing part is how close you can get to it. The variety is also great. When they said we were going to see Boobies, I got all excited. Nasca Boobies, Blue footed Boobies and the red footed Boobies.

Nice example of an Iguana

Iguanas come in two varieties. Sea going, as above and the land lover as below.

The Charles Darwin centre on the Island Santa Cruz is a big deal. We had a look through their work which is pretty interesting. Mainly a conservation organisation with breeding programs for the land tortoise and the mangrove finch.

These guys were having a bit of a tussle over a water bath.

In the town of Ayora there is a fish market. The sea lions would hang around for scraps from the filleting. They are a bit like dogs as they are quite friendly. They smell quite strong. They are the most photographed animal on the island second only to the Pelican.

Well there are many more photos to show but have no room. 

We are in Quito, Ecuador tomorrow  so will update the blog shortly.

Regards

Sam

Lima and beyond

Having been to Nasca, we headed to Lima. Lima is the official capital of Peru with a population of 10 million plus. Very metropolitan and arty in places. Linda and I did a bike tour through the flash areas. Miraflores and Baranco. The ride was flat and very relaxing. Miraflores has access to the Pacific Ocean and there was a good surf running. Heaps of surfers out and lots of surf schools on the beach front with bikini clad learners. Linda dragged me away to a cool looking bar to cool down over a beer.

Here is Linda doing the bike tour stuff

Here is some cool graffiti  art

Lima was pretty relaxing and did a lot of walking on the streets. 

We left Lima to head north to Trujillo.

A small city with the usual traffic problems and lots of sand. 

Off course we visited some archaeological sites just to keep the juices flowing.

Trujillo boasts Adobe structures built some 1600 years ago. 

 We visited the Sun temple and the Moon temple structures. Then we went to Chan Chan. Quite an incredible structure.

Photo showing intact art work from the ancients at the Sun Temple.

My camera died during this trip so no more photos that day. Linda has a few more. We are just about over archaeological  ruins with maybe a couple in Ecuador and Colombia..

Talk later

Sam