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Amazing Galapagos and Peru

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
A fabulous and educational trip to the Galapagos Islands and Peru with our daughters. Definitely a trip of a lifetime for our family.
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Welcome to Ecuador

Nov 22, 2008
Quito, Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador (Amy Pelloquin)
Well, we're not in Kansas (or Arkansas in this case) anymore. After months of endless waiting, we arrive in Ecuador. Fortunately, we arrive a day early and get to explore Quito. This is a fascinating city, with surrounding hills covered with endless small colorful houses. We hire a local driver, Patricio, who drives us to a local Saturday market filled with fresh fruit (some a bit unusual) and vegetables, and even fresh seafood (Check out the clever way to haul the fresh crab around). The people are warm and welcoming, and our kids love it. The streets are narrow, crowded, and seem to disappear in front of you as you go down long steep hills. As we head to our next stop, we come upon a local parade, and have a great time watching the colorful costumes and the local dances. Even more exciting is the bike race that we encounter - these crazy guys run their bikes straight down steep sets of stairs from the top of the mountain to the bottom! How can we top our morning? Well, we go to the museum at the equator, and learn that the large impressive monument is not actually on the equator. Not too exciting...but, the actual equator experience next door: unbelievable! All of us are shocked at the difference just stepping one foot either north or south of the equator can make! We watch the water drain in different directions, and how muscle strength differs on the equator and off. My daughter balances an egg on the tip of a nail placed directly on the equator, which was amazing! We then learned how there are fish that climb up your private parts if you pee in the river, and how to shrink a human head (if you're into that sort of thing!) Far more educational for my kids than the science class that they are missing!

On the way to the Galapagos

Nov 23, 2008
Exploring the local market in Quito, Ecuador
Exploring the local market in Quito, Ecuador (Amy Pelloquin)
Finally on the way to the Islands, although we are already pumped up by our surprisingly exciting day in Quito. We are disappointed that we arrive on Baltra late due to a flight delay, but it is amazing on vacation how much more tolerant we are of flight delays. The airport is a small building and baggage claim is a shed at the end of the building. The luggage carts are moved around by hand! We have a great time getting to know some of our fellow travelers headed for the Millenium and all get excited when we have to step over a sea lion to go up the gangplank. We stop at the Tortoise Reserve and get our first sight of the long awaited Galapagos tortoises! We don't even mind the mud and rain as we scramble to get pictures of them before dusk! We then head to the port to board our boat, and realize that we are not the great athletes that we think we are when we struggle to board the zodiac for the first time in large waves! Lots of help from the crew! We spend our first night on board "enjoying" very large waves while we sleep. Our daughter did not fare so well, but was all better by the morning.

Santa Fe and South Plaza

Nov 24, 2008
street parade Quito
street parade Quito (Amy Pelloquin)
Wow. The Millenium is a beautiful boat with a large central area and covered back deck. We meet our fellow boat-mates, some who have unfortunately not yet gotten their sea legs, and hear about the plans for our first day. We hear (for the first time of many!) that some things are 'endemic' to the Galapagos, and understand the importance of this. Santa Fe, our first island, is like an alien world. The unusual cactus trees, not to mention the huge land iguanas that we see, are amazing. And then we see... SEA LIONS! We get up close and personal with some on the beach, who are unperturbed by our presence. We find out that some are big posers for the camera! The big beach master sea lion however, lets us know that we do have limits on his beach! We snorkel and play follow the leader with a friendly sea lion who enjoys copying our spins in the water and pulling on our fins! South Plaza - yet another alien world. (and more sea lions!) The colors of the ground cover are so vibrant and along the paths are smaller bright iguanas. The sea birds along the cliff are amazing to watch and we find a group of 'bachelor' sea lions who bear a remarkable resemblance to a bunch of guys hanging out together on the edge of the cliff. Now back to the Millenium for more great food and company!

Rabida and Santiago

Nov 25, 2008
Dancers in a street parade in Quito
Dancers in a street parade in Quito (Amy Pelloquin)
Up early and time to tour! Rabida has a darker reddish beach and a lake that we learn is so salty that few things live there. We take a boat ride around the island and find a fur seal hanging out in the rocks and nesting pelicans. Best of all is a Galapagos penguin swimming around our boat. Our guide, Jhover, imitates him perfectly and he and the penguin have a lively conversation! The blue footed boobies are dive bombing the water around us, and my head hurts every time they hit the water at mach 2! After riding around the island, we get to snorkel. Wow. The variety of fish and corals rival what we have seen diving elsewhere. The huge schools of tangs are breathtaking when the sunlight hits them as it goes through the water. A huge yummy lunch, and more fun! We arrive on Santiago, and walk around the island. The marine iguanas are our favorites. They lie around in large clumps, and intermittently spit water, which our daughters loved. The brilliantly colored crabs, colorful lizards, and bright yellow birds are a nice contrast to the dark volcanic rock on the beach. We get to snorkel some more, and the sea turtles are swimming all around us. The highlight of the day was a penguin, who zipped through the water like a jet fighter around us. I tried to keep up with him in the water, but felt like a lumbering clumsy giant next to him. He did come right up to me in the water at the end and looked at me through my mask from about 6 inches away trying to decide exactly what I was! After a minute of us floating and staring at each other, he gave a "honk" and swam off!

Bartoleme and North Seymour

Nov 26, 2008
At the equator, Ecuador
At the equator, Ecuador (Amy Pelloquin)
We keep thinking that the trip can't get any better, and are continually proven wrong. Bartoleme is breathtaking: an arid volcanic landscape in contrast with the greener areas and beaches. The volcano tubes are everywhere and my kids are fascinated by how light the volcanic rock is. The snorkeling is again, great. We see literally hundreds of blennies and colorful coral. We would have stayed for hours, but the water is a bit chilly and when our lips turn blue, we have to go in. The Millenium crew is so great, and are there to pick us up as soon as we have the thought to get out. Back to the boat to warm up and eat way too much, yet again. Now we head to North Seymour. A small island to have so much bird life. The magnificent frigate birds with their bright red throats make us feel like we are in a National Geographic film. I have rarely seen adults and children alike so excited about bird-watching! We also have a good laugh at some blue footed boobies that are strutting and showing off. Birdwatching in the Galapagos is easy - just go on the top deck and look up. The frigate birds love to soar overhead and hang out on the boat! The boat also seems to be a favorite place for sea lions to hang out also - they fly out of the water onto the deck of the boat and fuss at us as we step over them!

Bartoleme and North Seymour

Nov 26, 2008
Egg balanced on nail at the equator
Egg balanced on nail at the equator (Amy Pelloquin)
We keep thinking that the trip can't get any better, and are continually proven wrong. Bartoleme is breathtaking: an arid volcanic landscape in contrast with the greener areas and beaches. The volcano tubes are everywhere and my kids are fascinated by how light the volcanic rock is. The snorkeling is again, great. We see literally hundreds of blennies and colorful coral. We would have stayed for hours, but the water is a bit chilly and when our lips turn blue, we have to go in. The Millenium crew is so great, and are there to pick us up as soon as we have the thought to get out. Back to the boat to warm up and eat way too much, yet again. Now we head to North Seymour. A small island to have so much bird life. The magnificent frigate birds with their bright red throats make us feel like we are in a National Geographic film. I have rarely seen adults and children alike so excited about bird-watching! We also have a good laugh at some blue footed boobies that are strutting and showing off. Birdwatching in the Galapagos is easy - just go on the top deck and look up. The frigate birds love to soar overhead and hang out on the boat! The boat also seems to be a favorite place for sea lions to hang out also - they fly out of the water onto the deck of the boat and fuss at us as we step over them!

Isla Lobos and San Cristobal

Nov 27, 2008
shrunken human head
shrunken human head (Amy Pelloquin)
Isla Lobos is truly an island of sea lions. They are EVERYWHERE. You literally have to step over them to get anywhere. We are still excited to see them, but we have seen so many at this point that it's crazy. They are surprisingly loud and roll over and grumble if you disturb them. The pups are also everywhere, and are absolutely adorable when they cock their heads to the side and look at you. We are reminded however of how tough nature can be, as there are many orphaned pups. Our daughters cry when Jhover tells them that they will die as no other sea lion will adopt them. At San Cristobal we visit the National Park Center and learn more about these fascinating islands. We spend the afternoon in Puerto Bazquiero Moreno and enjoy shopping and walking around the lazy town. We especially enjoy buying shirts that say "I love boobies", with a pair or blue feet underneath, for our nephews! A large male sea lion has claimed the steps as his and his lady's sleeping place and we have to find another way down to the water!

Espanola

Nov 28, 2008
Santa Fe
Santa Fe (Amy Pelloquin)
Espanola Gardner Bay is very pretty and different than anything else that we've seen here. The beach is very white and looks alot like Florida, if you don't count the group of sea lions sleeping on it. One of our group lies down in the middle of them and with his prominent belly, and looks right at home! Yea, we get to snorkel again, and this time we see an octapus, a first for us! The kids in the group give us a show before we leave to demonstrate how happy they are and how much fun they're having! We travel to the other side of the island to Punta Suarez, where there are lots of birds. There are masked boobies, blue footed boobies (some with chicks), and we see albatross chicks for the first time. They are fuzzy and so ugly that they're cute. The stars of the show however, are the blue footed boobies. They march in place, strut, and do their showy dance for the lady boobies! We laughed and enjoyed the show! We take a moment to sit and watch a large blowhole from the edge of a cliff while the seabirds dive and wheel in the sky below us. Suddenly a large hawk decides to come hang out next to us. Once again, unafraid of all the people watching him. Amazing.

Espanola

Nov 28, 2008
up close and personal with sea lions
up close and personal with sea lions (Amy Pelloquin)
Espanola Gardner Bay is very pretty and different than anything else that we've seen here. The beach is very white and looks alot like Florida, if you don't count the group of sea lions sleeping on it. One of our group lies down in the middle of them and with his prominent belly, and looks right at home! Yea, we get to snorkel again, and this time we see an octapus, a first for us! The kids in the group give us a show before we leave to demonstrate how happy they are and how much fun they're having! We travel to the other side of the island to Punta Suarez, where there are lots of birds. There are masked boobies, blue footed boobies (some with chicks), and we see albatross chicks for the first time. They are fuzzy and so ugly that they're cute. The stars of the show however, are the blue footed boobies. They march in place, strut, and do their showy dance for the lady boobies! We laughed and enjoyed the show! We take a moment to sit and watch a large blowhole from the edge of a cliff while the seabirds dive and wheel in the sky below us. Suddenly a large hawk decides to come hang out next to us. Once again, unafraid of all the people watching him. Amazing.

Floreana

Nov 29, 2008
land iguana Santa Fe
land iguana Santa Fe (Amy Pelloquin)
We land on a dark greenish beach (wild how different the beaches are on each island) on Floreana and find a great surprise: flamingos. We watch them do some fancy mating love dance in a line (again, showing off for the ladies - theme here?) Our guide tells us how lucky we are to see this dance, as they only do it every few years! We try it out but our legs don't bend the right way! We say bye to the flamingos, and after a hike through somewhat dusty unimpressive trail, we top a rise and there is a beautiful white beach below us. Not only pretty, this beach has mating sea turtles thrashing around in the surf. Our daughters are mortified, but we find it very educational! On another side of Floreana, we find the post office, a wooden barrel to place letters in, and established by the sailors in the 1700's. We had a great time sorting through mail and took several to mail once we got back home. We left a few postcards of our own, and hope that someone will choose them to mail.

Floreana

Nov 29, 2008
The Millenium by South Plaza
The Millenium by South Plaza (Amy Pelloquin)
We land on a dark greenish beach (wild how different the beaches are on each island) on Floreana and find a great surprise: flamingos. We watch them do some fancy mating love dance in a line (again, showing off for the ladies - theme here?) Our guide tells us how lucky we are to see this dance, as they only do it every few years! We try it out but our legs don't bend the right way! We say bye to the flamingos, and after a hike through somewhat dusty unimpressive trail, we top a rise and there is a beautiful white beach below us. Not only pretty, this beach has mating sea turtles thrashing around in the surf. Our daughters are mortified, but we find it very educational! On another side of Floreana, we find the post office, a wooden barrel to place letters in, and established by the sailors in the 1700's. We had a great time sorting through mail and took several to mail once we got back home. We left a few postcards of our own, and hope that someone will choose them to mail.

Santa Cruz Charles Darwin Station

Nov 30, 2008
Lazing in the sun South Plaza
Lazing in the sun South Plaza (Amy Pelloquin)
Tortoise Day. We learn lots about the Galapagos tortoises and are struck by how tourists like us are both a blessing and a curse. The giant tortoises are one of our favorite things on the trip. We laugh at how odd the sight of giant tortoises grazing in fields with the cows are as we drive by. We see the oldest living tortoise at the station, and all the girl tortoises that they are trying to entice him with! We are amazed at how one really large one climbs up a steep set of stairs with more speed than you would ever expect from such a large animal. We can't believe that they let us get up close and personal with them. A truly remarkable experience, and one that we will never forget. Each night on the boat, we all gather and compare our stories and photos. As I was walking down the hall to my room (camera in hand), a sea lion was walking down the hall to join us in the main room! When she saw me, she then turned around and went back down the hall, muttering (sea lion obscenities I'm sure) all the way. We end the day with a wonderful candlelit dinner on the back deck and sadly exchange addresses and phone numbers with our new friends. We stay up late into the night watching a pelican dive for fish off the back of our boat under the lights - just don't want it to end.

Farewell to Galapagos

Dec 01, 2008
South Plaza Island cactus
South Plaza Island cactus (Amy Pelloquin)
The Millenium was a wonderful experience. The crew treated us like family, and my daughters even put up the Christmas tree with them. The food was great, our guide very knowledgable, and the entire week something not to be missed! We even had great snacks every afternoon, and one of the crew helped our daughter work on her Spanish. We sit in the airport and wait for our plane, and are really depressed. A week of exploring, snorkeling, making new friends, and living large on a wonderful boat will be hard to beat. But off to Lima, where we find a cacophony of noise and people outside the baggage claim area when we arrive. Everyone is vying for our attention, and the kids, and us, are a bit wide-eyed. We are so thankful to see our Adventure Life transfer, who whisks us to our hotel for the night.

Cusco

Dec 02, 2008
land iguana South Plaza
land iguana South Plaza (Amy Pelloquin)
The trip to the airport in Lima to catch our flight to Cusco is insane! Loads of traffic, noise, and many of the traffic police wear masks over their noses. We do NOT travel with the windows down here. Arrived in Cusco and know that we are at 10,000 plus feet when we get off the plane! The city is in a valley high in the mountains and there are houses perched high up the sides around the city. We are taken to our hotel, which is near the central area, and it is inviting and wonderful. We get our first taste of coca tea and it really does help with the altitude thing. We meet our guide Boris and he takes us on a tour of Cusco. Another fascinating city. We visit a monastery built on the stone foundations of the Incans, and the history around us is palpable. We stand amazed at the engineering of the Incans as we look straight through 5 perfectly aligned windows in a series of 5 walls. I think that they would be laser level perfect! The examples of stonework are truly hard to believe. They basically cut tubes and 90 degree angles through the middle of the rocks, and by aligning them perfectly, created pipes through the rocks! Boris is invaluable as he points out how the Christians used many of the Incan symbols in the churches and paintings to help incorporate the people into the Church.

Pisac and Sacred Valley

Dec 03, 2008
 Bachelor sea lion hanging out
Bachelor sea lion hanging out (Amy Pelloquin)
We visit Sacsayhuaman on our way out of Cusco and again stand amazed at what these people accomplished. The massive stone walls have withstood earthquakes and conquerers alike and are so tightly fitted that you cannot even put a piece of paper in between them. Next we stop and admire the weaving abilities of the Peruvian women on primitive looms. Wow. Of course we have to buy some! The kids enjoy playing and petting the llamas and alpacas and learning how the wool is dyed. The ride through the Sacred Valley is indescribable. The colors of the Andes in the background, with the blue of the sky and the red of plowed fields makes us all silent as we look around. The people working to plant crops high up the sides of the mountains would inspire the farmers back home! The Andes are stunning - unlike the Rocky Mountains back home, there aren't foothills. They rise seemingly straight up from the valley into the sky and are so green. We travel to Pisac, and begin the first of many climbs! The trails that we take were originally made by the Incans and are a bit scary. Rock wall on one side and cliff on the other side of a 3 foot wide trail. You learn to be very polite when you meet someone going the other way, and hope they let you stay on the inside! We are in awe of a small fountain at the top of the mountain that has been in use since the Incans put it there! We end with a visit to the local market, and of course have to buy more things. We love the community oven where everyone brings their bread to be baked. Next we visit a small village where the school children are going home from school. They share the road with oxen and donkeys returning from the fields. And the fields are worked by hand - we see fields being plowed by oxen, and sown by hand. The scenery is dramatic: The contrast of the steep mountains topped by glaciers as a backdrop for the patchwork of fields. We are again amazed by the intelligence of the Incans as we visit a very large terraced pit in the ground where crops were slowly acclimated to the higher elevations. Next Boris takes us to a salt "plant". The high salinity water runs out of the mountain and is shunted through terraced pools. As the water evaporates, the salt is collected. Really neat to walk around them. We then take a long steep trail down the mountain and meet some very fit senior citizens who are climbing up, carrying large packs, and having a conversation. We feel a bit shamed by our whining about our earlier cilmbing now!

Pisac and Sacred Valley

Dec 03, 2008
Rabida
Rabida (Amy Pelloquin)
We visit Sacsayhuaman on our way out of Cusco and again stand amazed at what these people accomplished. The massive stone walls have withstood earthquakes and conquerers alike and are so tightly fitted that you cannot even put a piece of paper in between them. Next we stop and admire the weaving abilities of the Peruvian women on primitive looms. Wow. Of course we have to buy some! The kids enjoy playing and petting the llamas and alpacas and learning how the wool is dyed. The ride through the Sacred Valley is indescribable. The colors of the Andes in the background, with the blue of the sky and the red of plowed fields makes us all silent as we look around. The people working to plant crops high up the sides of the mountains would inspire the farmers back home! The Andes are stunning - unlike the Rocky Mountains back home, there aren't foothills. They rise seemingly straight up from the valley into the sky and are so green. We travel to Pisac, and begin the first of many climbs! The trails that we take were originally made by the Incans and are a bit scary. Rock wall on one side and cliff on the other side of a 3 foot wide trail. You learn to be very polite when you meet someone going the other way, and hope they let you stay on the inside! We are in awe of a small fountain at the top of the mountain that has been in use since the Incans put it there! We end with a visit to the local market, and of course have to buy more things. We love the community oven where everyone brings their bread to be baked. Next we visit a small village where the school children are going home from school. They share the road with oxen and donkeys returning from the fields. And the fields are worked by hand - we see fields being plowed by oxen, and sown by hand. The scenery is dramatic: The contrast of the steep mountains topped by glaciers as a backdrop for the patchwork of fields. We are again amazed by the intelligence of the Incans as we visit a very large terraced pit in the ground where crops were slowly acclimated to the higher elevations. Next Boris takes us to a salt "plant". The high salinity water runs out of the mountain and is shunted through terraced pools. As the water evaporates, the salt is collected. Really neat to walk around them. We then take a long steep trail down the mountain and meet some very fit senior citizens who are climbing up, carrying large packs, and having a conversation. We feel a bit shamed by our whining about our earlier cilmbing now!

Ollantaytambo

Dec 04, 2008
Rabida beach
Rabida beach (Amy Pelloquin)
What a great name for a great place. More amazing stonework (more climbing!), and we try to comprehend how the Incans moved stones the size of a small room from the quarry that we can see on a mountain top miles away. We walk along more scary trails on the side of the mountain to see storehouses for grain. We talk alot about how in the heck they built so many things high on the side of the mountains. Boris tells us of the Incan techniques to use the sun to determine when to determine the winter and summer solstice, and how the buildings were arranged specifically for this - fascinating, and very clever. Boris points out the carved face of Hunupa on the side of the mountain and the Inca's Face on the side of another mountain. More ridiculous achievements! We spend the night at a great local hotel and enjoy walking around the town. The small canals with running water are still used and, you guessed it - made by the Incans. The people are hardworking, friendly, and very attuned to family. We see the younger helping the old everywhere we look. The highlight of the day is a visit to a local house. The women make dolls to sell to tourists on an old fashioned sewing machine, and there are skulls of their ancestors over the kitchen. Guinea pigs run around everywhere on the floor. My daughters are not happy to find out that they are not pets, but food! We have not yet brought ourselves to try the roasted guinea pig.

Machu Picchu

Dec 05, 2008
Galapagos penguin Rabida
Galapagos penguin Rabida (Amy Pelloquin)
Yea! We are on the way to Machu Picchu. We take the train and travel beside the churning river that runs beside the track. We ogle views of the Andes, glaciers, and hints of ruins that we see in the mountains everywhere as we travel. A group of backpackers about the take the Inca Trail wave at us as we pass. During one stop, we see local workers, including some older men and women, all gather to drink chicha, the local beer. At another stop we buy some beautiful flowers from a woman by the tracks. Boris and my husband look lovely together! At last we arrive at Machu Picchu town and ride a bus up the hairpin turns to the top of the mountain. Again, somewhat scary. We get our passports stamped with Machu Picchu and begin the climb (yes, more climbing!) up to the ruins. Boris laughs at us as we stumble up the steep steps, but he waits patiently for us. Again, WOW. Standing atop the ruins surrounded by the smokey blue color of the sky and mountains around us, and the green of Machu Picchu, we begin to understand why the Incans thought this a spiritual place. There is an intense feeling of being more in touch with everything here that is hard to describe. The ruins themselves are unbelievable and Boris shows us more amazing details about the Incans. At this point, we are overwhelmed with what the Incans accomplished, and are almost numbed by the impossibility of it all. We do find the energy to take a photo jumping (with Boris chiding us that we were going to fall off the mountain - worse than my mother!). We have a great time exploring, even finding a chinchilla hiding in the ruins, and return exhausted to our hotel perched on the side of a hill (and up an endless set of steps, to my husband's dismay). But our hotel is worth the endless steps to get to it, and is like staying in a tree house.

No more climbing

Dec 06, 2008
Galapagos penguin talking to us
Galapagos penguin talking to us (Amy Pelloquin)
We awaken to the sound of rain on our metal roof and the river below us, and we look out of our tree house room to ribbons of mist streaming across the front of the steep mountain in front of us over the town. There go the big plans to climb the ladders on Putucusi (dry ladders were scary enough, we decide to bow out on the combination of heights and wet ladders!) We decide to take an early train back to Cusco to search for gifts, as the legs are very tired. My daughters and I are excited about shopping, but my husband is excited that he does not have to climb any more mountains! Cusco is as great as we remembered it, and we have a blast bartering for sweaters, hats, blankets, paintings (there is an art school there) and other gifts. We think that we will hear, "But es alpaca, senor" in our sleep! Boris takes us to a local out of the way restaurant (that we would have never found behind several sets of doors off the street) and the food was sooo good. We eat way too much, but justify it by all the hiking that we have done. I have to admit that we finally do try the guinea pig. It looks very disturbing on the stick and does not taste like chicken! Boris takes us to a local market and we love the crazy variety of things for sale, including cheese, grains, herbs, fruit, and all types of meat, including beef snouts, and other beef parts! We buy some local chocolate and a good supply of coca tea, my new favorite.

Farewell

Dec 07, 2008
Lava rocks Santiago
Lava rocks Santiago (Amy Pelloquin)
We can't believe that our adventure is over. As we are talking about returning back to "the real world", we almost stumble over a llama on the sidewalk by our van outside the hotel as we are taking our bags out. We reflect on how this sums up this country - a seamless mix of the ancient with the modern. We have so enjoyed this country, and make plans with Boris to come back (after all, I have to buy that handmade bedspread and stock up on more coca tea and chocolate!). We say a fond goodbye to Boris, and head out. Kudos to the Adventure Life staff: every single thing on this trip was exactly as promised, and more. We saw some amazing things, but more importantly, felt like we really experienced the local culture and people of these places, especially Peru. The local guides, especially Boris, added so much to the trip. I won't second guess any recommendations by Adventure Life in the future. And there will be future trips - now we have a bug that we won't get rid of without more traveling! We can't wait to travel again with Adventure Life.

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