¡Viva Guayaquil!

I got to Guayaquil just in time for their Independence Day (09-Oct) celebration.  Well, really, celebrations - concerts on the Malécon, a parade, speeches, protests - truth be told I´m not 100% on what is for independence day and what was happening because it´s Sunday and the weather´s good but it´s been a fun few days.  And yes, there were fireworks.

This Friday I set sail (figuratively - I´m taking a plane) for the Galapagos Islands.  I am positively giddy about the trip so it difficult for me to even think about anything else at this point (sorry Guayaquil).

Beautiful colonial/modern Cuenca

Cuenca really is a great place to visit - I´m seriously considering doubling back there instead of heading for the coast. While my pronunciation (or pantomiming, maybe both) has improved over the last few weeks, I think I´d benefit from some actual instruction in the Spanish language.  (Yes, it means a third pass thru the Cajas - it´s a nice park. They have llamas).  Besides, if my dad does decide to visit me in Columbia, I expect I'll be seeing their beaches.  Or at least one of the beaches for a really long time :)





Toward Vilcabamba from the hostel restaurant



I´d also have to recommend visiting Vilcabamba.  It´s a great place to hike, go horseback riding, and practice meditation - or so I´ve heard.  I spent the bulk of my time in a hammock reading or playing (sucking at) pool.  My biggest activity was walking to the village from the hostel and that was downhill.  I know exactly how dull that sounds but it was a very pleasant few days. And my first real time with other travellers.  I know we´re around but I always seem to be the only one on the bus. 



In many ways that´s a nice thing - I´m here to see Ecuador, not Europeans - but I can start to feel a bit isolated.  It´s a comfort to meet other folks that quit perfectly good jobs and left the safety and convenience of home to carry all their possessions on the their backs through unfamilar territory.  For me, every trip seems to be a bit harder - I guess because everytime I´m leaving more behind. I´m glad to be going - I love my travelling and backpacking is fun - just less glad to be leaving. 

Oh hammock! How I miss you!

 Every place I stop becomes home.

And southward I go

Basílica de la Virgen de Agua Santa

Baños was an interesting place to visit- it´s a small town but one of the bigger, better connected towns in the area. So in addition to a lot of tourists (especially on Saturday and Sunday) you get people coming in to sell produce, pick up supplies, meet up with friends.  If you come here, you´ll have no trouble keeping busy - you can tour the jungle, hike about a volcano, white water raft, get a massage and eat your weight in rotissierie chicken (I´ve never seen so many chicken places).  That said, you can probably fit everything there is to do into two to three days (unless you aim to camp overnight).  Make it a weekend - things get very quiet on Monday. Also, make sure you come to the right one: Baños de Agua Santa, Tungurahua, Ecuador -- there´s another Baños near Cuenca.

From Baños, I travelled by bus (two actually) to Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador and home to some fine examples of colonial architecture, Incan ruins, a university, and several Spanish-language schools. It´s also a good jumping off point for a visit to Cajas National Park.  (I only arrived yesterday so I really don´t know much about the place beyond what you can read about in a guidebook). I do know however the the human physical limit for bus riding is seven hours. At least that´s mine. Don´t get me wrong- the buses and roads on my journey to Cuenca were in fine condition and I barely feared for my life at all*, but right around hour six I was desparately searching for signs of Cuenca. That said, while you can fly between Quito and Cuenca, I´d recommend the bus - it´s a beautiful country and I think you´d miss out on that from the air. Also, you´d miss cows on leashes.

*Again, Ecuador is very hilly so, should you be blessed with a window seat during your trip you will periodically find yourself winging around a turn about two feet from a fifty foot vertical drop. With no guard rail. Like a guard rail would help. You (like me) may find this terrifying. No one else on the bus will even  notice.

(I´ll post some more pictures when I find better internet).

Live from Quito!

(I never stop being amazed that
people build cities up mountains)

So I did finally make it to Quito. (There was "weather" at Quito airport so my last flight circled a couple of times then got rerouted to Guayaquil - so a little like trying to land at O'Hare but they do the Spanish announcement first, then the English). In practice, only about eight hours off schedule but I slept pretty much all day Sunday.  That last five hours staying awake in the airport just finished me - I am too old to stay up all night.

As is my custom I've spent a big part of the last few days wondering about, looking at pretty buildings and politely (I hope) declining offers to purchase handicrafts.  Quito isn´t as crowded or frantic as, say Bangkok or Mumbai, but the traffic will keep you on your toes.  The bus system is good though - the guidebooks have it right when they say skipping Quito is a mistake.

Below are a couple pictures from the older part of the city: Santo Domingo (well, part of it) and El Panecillo (a hill about 9840 feet above sea level with a sculpture dedicated to the Virgin on top).

(I wanted to go up the hill to get a better look at the sculpture - there are stone stairs going much of the way up, but one of the neighborhood ladies waved me off.  Now that I think about the area a bit, she was right.  I´ve heard a lot of warnings about my neighborhood, Mariscal, - which seems just fine to me - but this was worse and nobody said a thing about it until I was right there).

I am actually writing this my last full day in Quito - I aim to catch a bus to Baños de Agua Santa on Friday.  Also, to sleep indoors while I´m there, so I´m off to make a few awkward phone calls.  (Seriously, learn Spanish if you come to Ecuador). Wish me luck!

And off I go...

Tomorrow I leave cool, rainy Chicago-land for cool, rainy Ecuador.  I am almost packed, almost rested, and almost convinced this is a good idea.  But good idea or not, I've got tickets -- so off I go.


Since I don't have any new trip pictures yet, here's a photo of a silly chocolate lab:

Veni, Vidi...

A mere sixty-odd inquiries as to where I am headed and who packed my bag and I have made it from Israel to Italy. (I don't begrudge the Israelis their airport security - all the startlingly young folks that searched and questioned me were very polite and you don't have to take your shoes off and run them through the x-ray machine). Three days in Rome was just enough visit the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Trevi fountain, and innumerable "Palazzos" (Palazzi?). Not to mention restaurants. I don't feel the need to visit again, but if I ended up there a few days, I wouldn't mind.

Caught an "Alto Velocito" train to Florence, home to me (until my flight to Barcelona) and to more Renaissance art and architecture than you could wave a 6€ panini at. Certainly less bustling than Rome, Florence (at least the areas I've visited in the last ten hours) seems to be a very pleasant and livable city. And (mercifully) the churches don't start the bell ringing until 9am.

I'll post some photos when I find a less secure computer. Cheers!

Time Flies

Wow... so my time in Israel is nearly up. And so soon after I figure out "sign in" in Hebrew.

From Haifa, I spent a night in Nazareth (home of the most excellent felafel in Israel) then based myself in Tiberias to visit Tabgha, Capernaum, and the rest of the Galilee area. The sea itself (at Tiberias) is a bit disappointing- more of a trash filled lake with a (pay to access) gravel shoreline - come to Tiberias for the bus connections to the Mount of Beatitudes. I descended on Jerusalem with every other tourist on the planet - good practice (I guess) for Rome. I hadn't realized how much of the old city would be souvenir shops. Still, it was a thrill to get off the bus and look up at the city walls. Day tripped to Bethlehem on the other side of the "Security Barrier." The checkpoint, while very psychologically intimidating, was no problem. Of course, I'm American - it's not meant to be a problem for me. Straight down to Eilat then on to Dahab (Sinai, Egypt) for some lounging and snorkelling. Then back up to Tel Aviv with stops in Mitzpe Ramon and Ein Gedi. When hiking is not longer enough, try hiking through the desert. I'm so over walking. Especially if it's over rocks while lugging around a gallon of water. With fit Germans. You must have to climb everywhere in that country.

My trips to the Dead Sea went well - but next time I'm bringing safety goggles. You think that water stings on a razor nick try getting splashed in the eyes. It's a very strange sensation to not be able to keep your legs under the water. And your skin does feel just fabulous after a dip. Even after the damage of eight months of poor diet, sleep deprivation and pollution exposure. Maybe I should have stopped at the Ahava factory outlet afterall. Or at least grabbed a chunk of that Dead Sea mud.

Today, I'm back in Tel Aviv where I fully intend to do something besides sit at the beach. I'm counting sitting at an internet cafe as "something" so hurray for me. If I manage a museum tomorrow I'll be all set.

And thanks again to the gentleman from England for the lift back to Jerusalem - enjoy your travels.

Hallelujah! It is the promised land...

Having spent the last week in Israel I am mostly over the shock of being in the first world again. People mind the traffic lights (mostly), the tap water is safe to drink (I think), and you can walk without having to dodge rickshaws or jump open sewers. That said, I still can't make my phone work and I can no longer afford... anything. Of all Tel Aviv's significant and meaningful sights I managed to visit none having spent most of my time asleep, freezing (27C is very chilly when you are accustom to 40C) or at the beach. Fortunately, I escape to Rome from Ben-Gurion so I can have a second 'go' at the city.

Haifa is home base for now. Other than a day trip to Caesarea, I've spent most of my time actually in the city itself - between the Baha'i gardens, contemporary art museums, and Memorial/Independence Day activities it's been a pretty busy few days. Tomorrow I trip out to Acre for the day (if I can work out transport - I'm still working on Shabbat's effect on buses, sheruts, trains, etc) then off to Nazareth on Sunday. (I'm out of 5 shekel coins so I'll have to get back to you later - To sum up: alive and well - just a tad confused - so situation normal).