Dave & Meredith's Travel Blog

Meredith has already mentioned the shopping and crazy good deals we saw on things like leather and wool. I thought I’d throw in some pictures of the markets plus a few other things we saw around Quito.

It turns out that Ecuador has many volcanoes – over 25 – and quite a few are still active. A popular one to see is named Cotopaxi; it is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. We started the day driving there from Quito, visiting the park’s visitor center, and walking around a small lake at about 12,000 feet above sea level to get used to the altitude. It’s always surprising to go to altitude and feel the effects. Walking seems easy at first but exert yourself just a little more and you’re out of breath. We didn’t collapse though so we decided we were comfortable with it and we pushed on down the road.

We drove up to the end of the road which is a parking area at 15,200 feet. The plan was to hike from there up to a climber’s hut where people who are hiking to the summit start out (that would not be us). The problem is, once we got there, it was snowing hard and the wind was blowing. Sure, we could have done it. We’re hearty people. But we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, right? Up until now, the day had been gray and we couldn’t see the top of Cotopaxi. So given the winds, we decided to wait it out a bit and see if they would blow some of the clouds away from the summit. It worked out, almost. The picture below is us with about the best view of the mountain we had in the background.

It’s amazing to feel the difference in altitude between 12,000 and 15,200 feet. The parking area was on a gentle grade. I walked the downward direction with no problems. But walking uphill back to the car and I felt like I’d been running for 10 minutes!

After Cotopaxi, we had a late lunch and our guide dropped us off at our hacienda for the night. The next morning, we went to a market in a town named Saquisilí. Most people who visit the Ecuador mainland go to a market in a town named Otavalo. We did that as well but the main difference is that Otavalo is targeted at tourists and Saquisilí is meant for locals. There was more food for sale at Saquisilí and the crafts that were for sale were meant to be used, e.g. pottery for cooking. We felt like Saquisilí was a more authentic experience and highly recommend it to anyone who goes to Ecuador.

A woman in Saquisilí market selling pots for cooking and storage.

A woman selling fruit and vegetables at her kiosk.

These round “cakes” are the size of large cheese wheels. They’re made purely from sugar cane juice and taste a bit like light molasses.

I guess when you buy a sheep, it’s like a member of the family. He has a better seat than the others in the back of this truck.

Definitely the place to go if you have a hankering for pig heads.

After the Saquisilí market, our guides surprised us by taking us to a tour of a local rose farm. Many people don’t know this (at least I didn’t) but Ecuador is the world’s second-largest exporter of roses – only Kenya exports more – and most of them go to the United States. We saw all stages of production. We walked through several very large greenhouses where they had a different variety every 3 or 4 rows – who knew there were so many kinds? They then showed us the final stages where they sort them according to stem length, package them, and refrigerate them until shipping. They said they have 12 days from picking a rose to getting it into the customer’s hands at the florist or else it’s too late – the flower is too open.

Roses were in almost every hotel, hacienda, and restaurant we went. Huge bouquets with several dozen at a time were typical. In the US, this would be prohibitively expensive but we were told roses cost about a dollar each down there.

Looking between the rows of roses in a greenhouse.

Blue roses. I thought these were supposed to be real but it turns out they dye them to be that color. The country where they’re most popular: Japan.

A sorting rack in the packaging area. The different heights of each column make it easy to sort stem lengths.

Roses packaged and ready for shipping.

We’re very glad that we chose to spend time exploring the Ecuadorian mainland. It’s hard to say you’ve been to Ecuador if you’ve only seen the Galapagos.

– Dave

A lot of the trip in South America, we’ve been around English-speaking guides, but in Ecuador we’ve had some opportunities to use the Spanish we learned from reading the Lonely Planet Spanish Phrasebook we picked up at the airport on the way here (Dave took German in school, I took Latin, and I’ve had a little bit of Italian in the past, so we are serious gringos here).

Given the low standards set when buying a phrasebook right before arriving to Ecuador (we bought it after the Patagonia part of the trip), I have been feeling pretty accomplished with my use of Español. I am really comfortable ordering food and drinks, telling taxi drivers where to take us, and I was able to bargain at the market we went to on our own (though not as well as the Ecuadorians, obviously. Apparently, after soccer, bargaining is the national sport). Our Patagonian guide Irene would attest to the fact that this is incredible progress given my limitations in Patagonia, where I pretty much knew how to say “Gracias” and “Donde estan los banos?”

Unfortunately, I’ve had two blows to my Ego Español in Ecuador. The first was that it took about 20 minutes and an English-speaking manager to tell the hotel that one of my T-shirts was missing when the laundry came back (don’t worry, they found it the next day!). The second blow happened yesterday when we were picked up by a driver from our hotel in the highlands to return to our hotel in Quito. Our driver spoke no English. It’s an hour and a half drive. It was a pretty quiet drive. And we had a few misunderstandings along the way.

Guess I should stick to food and drinks if I want to keep believing that I’m pretty good at this Spanish thing.

– Meredith

I’m really glad we’ve spent some time in the highlands – we’re getting a good sense of the culture of the Ecuadorian people, the local history, and some beautiful scenery.

We’ve been to several markets and towns where local crafts are produced. I may have bought a few things. My favorite town was called Cotacachi, which is where all the leather goods are made. Historically, these leather goods may not have been of much interest to me (saddles, chaps, etc.). But Ecuador is an enterprising country, and the leather craftsman have significantly expanded their repertoire. We only had an hour in town on the day we came, so I had to focus, or else I wouldn’t have gotten anything accomplished. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to completely ignore shoes and boots. Now you know how hard that is for me!

Fortunately, I was rewarded for my focus and restraint by two leather jackets and three handbags. Oh my God, they are amazing – trendy with incredible quality, and at least 1/5 – 1/3 the price they would be at home. You really should come here.

– Meredith

A quick post to clarify any ambiguity. I saw what one of the emails looks like for people who subscribe to this blog via an email subscription. I noticed that the email form of each post does not indicate who wrote the post. Your rule of thumb should be: if it’s informative, erudite, and witty, that’s Meredith. If it’s analytical, has a list, and/or is a bit dry, that’s Dave. A quick review of recent posts:

Meredith: Conservation, Iguanas, Montezuma, Darwin/Evolution, Geology

Dave: Posts about photo galleries, Typical Day in Galapagos, Unexpected Patagonia

If you ever want to know for sure, look at the web page for the post and the author is listed under the headline.

– Dave

When people talk about the Galapagos, the animals they usually discuss are ones on land such as giant tortoises and iguanas. But we snorkeled every day with good reason: there are many more species underwater. On our first full day in the Islands (our first snorkel), we swam in Darwin Bay at Tower Island. Our guide said we had about a 5% chance of seeing hammerhead sharks and this was our best chance of seeing them on the trip without going scuba diving. So, of course, we saw 6 adults and one baby hammerhead. “Great, Dave!”, you say, “Where are the pictures?”. Since it was our first day and I bought my underwater housing just before we left, this day was the day I brought it in the water without a camera in it to test for leaks. 🙁 Oh well.

Over the course of our trip, we saw many different types of sea life. We saw lots of other sharks (white-tipped reef, Galapagos), sea turtles, and a huge variety of fish. Most fish were pretty skittish but we had a few including a bullseye puffer that were very curious. There were jellyfish too and I had the welts/scratches for a few days to prove it. We saw huge starfish, marble rays, and some coral too although this is not the place to see huge amounts of colorful coral like the Caribbean or Australia. The highlights included swimming with sea lions and having a school of penguins swim through through our group!

I edited a short (under 5 minutes) video last night of some of the things we saw. Click here for a higher quality version and click here for a lower quality one (the latter is better for slow connections though).

We also saw animals on the surface:

Sea Lions relaxing on their backs

Penguins swimming

A Marine Iguana

Sea turtles coming to the surface to breathe

False Killer Whales right next to our boat!

A Spotted Eagle Ray just under the surface.

– Dave

It’s probably not a surprise to you to learn that I am interested in wildlife conservation. On March 13, we got to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, which is in the town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. It is part of the Charles Darwin Foundation, which is committed to the conservation of the Galapagos Islands and its varied wildlife.

Although it’s clear to visitors of the Galapagos Islands that much of the wildlife is not afraid of humans (they just ignore you and go on about their business), there are many things which threaten them, and in fact, several species are now extinct or near extinction. For example, various populations of Giant Tortoise species were decimated by sailors and whalers coming through the islands in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Because tortoises can live for a year without food and water, unlike cows, goats, chickens, etc., they were taken as a long-lasting source of fresh meat for crews of ships that were out at sea for long periods at a time. Many whale populations were also severely impacted during this time.

At the Charles Darwin Research Station, we learned about the programs to help eradicate the threats to endemic wildlife (introduced species like cats, dogs, goats and insects are causing significant problems for birds and reptiles in the Galapagos). In addition, we got to see the Research Station’s programs-in-action to help repopulate various species of tortoises, iguanas and finches. We got up close and personal with giant tortoises which are being studied and many of whom are participating in breeding programs (we saw a few in the wild up in the highlands of Santa Cruz as well). We also got to see baby tortoises which are born at the Research Station (either through the breeding program, or through a program to collect eggs from the various species of Giant Tortoise on the different islands). The babies stay at the Research Station for 5 years until their shells are tough enough to withstand attacks from predators. Then each tortoise is released to the proper island that hosts its particular species to help repopulate it over time.

The visit was outstanding. If you are interested in learning more about the Charles Darwin Foundation, please click here.

Meredith and Dave with Giant Tortoise

I cannot get enough of iguanas. They are amazing. Before the trip, I was really looking forward to seeing both the Land Iguana and Marine Iguana of the Galapagos Islands. Imagine how happy I was to discover that the iguanas are different on the various islands!!! Different colors, different features!

Here are pictures of Marine Iguanas:

Many of the Marine Iguanas we saw had this Black-Grey Coloration

But the Marine Iguanas on Espanola are Red and Green!

And here are pictures of Land Iguanas:

A Fine Specimen From Isabela Island

The Male Land Iguanas on South Plaza Island have Bright Yellow Accents (and the Females love to Eat!)

Santa Fe Has its own Pale-Colored Species of Land Iguana

And our Naturalist Guide, Martin, saved the best part until near the end of the trip. On South Plaza Island (and only on South Plaza Island), a male Marine Iguana has mated with a female Land Iguana and produced hybrid offspring!!! AND WE SAW ONE!!! Here it is:

The Holy-Grail: Hybrid Land/Marine Iguana

It’s the same concept as a mule (which is a cross between a horse and a donkey). The offspring is sterile, so it won’t be able to reproduce. But honestly, how incredible is nature? Is anyone else as excited about this as I am???

I just posted pictures that I took in the Galapagos. I divided them into 3 separate galleries to make it a bit more manageable for you to view them. You can click on these links to view Gallery 1, Gallery 2, and Gallery 3. I’ve also created a new link at the top of the page named “Photo Galleries.” This gives you an easy, direct way to find galleries later instead of searching through our blog posts. Enjoy!

Seriously, I’m not sure what I ever did to him to extract such a horrible revenge. I mean, look at him – he’s so handsome and clearly powerful:

Anyway, I said I was sorry about 100 times and he finally let up. But I missed almost a whole day of activities because of him. Sheesh.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this topic. Lots of people are familiar with Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution. But I don’t think I can write about the Galapagos Islands without at least touching on this topic, because it was one of the places that sparked Darwin’s mind to come up with his groundbreaking theory (he visited the Islands for 5 weeks during his journey on The Beagle). To read more about his journey, click here.

One of the most important reasons why plants and animals evolved differently in the Galapagos Islands than they did in other places is because of the isolation of the Islands. In an earlier post, I talked about the volcanic “hot spot” that created these islands – that means that the islands were never connected to the mainland. In addition, they’re 600 miles away from the mainland, so some of the species that live in the Galapagos arrived by chance. For example, the Land Iguanas here probably arrived via a vegetation raft. Scientists believe just a small population of Land Iguanas arrived here (maybe even just one male and one female). Therefore, the resulting offspring retained the features of that small population (versus coming from a more varied, larger population), and years of isolation created a separate species from the original mainland iguana that arrived here. Scientists think that all the Marine and Land Iguanas that arrived here had a common ancestor, though of course now there are multiple species.

There are different species of the same genus of animals even within the Galapagos Islands depending on the island – different tortoises, different finches, different boobies, etc. Don’t know what a booby is? There are three main types of this sea bird found in the Galapagos. Blue-Footed, Nazca, and Red-Footed. The Red-Footed Booby even has both brown and white variations. Here are some pictures:

Blue-Footed Booby

Nazca Booby (My Favorite Booby)

Most Red-Footed Boobies have Brown Feathers (above), But a Few Have White Feathers (below)

Okay, that’s enough on evolution for today. In order to give equal time to a competing theory, please feel free to click here for information on the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.