Galapagos! Day One (too much to fit into a single blog)

This post is coming a bit late, as I visited the Galapagos with my mom about 2 weeks ago. I knew I would have a lot to say, and just never set aside enough time to sit down and write it. It finally occurred to me, after reading an e-mail from my mom that mentioned she was looking for my blog, that I could do this in installments. Here we go.

2 weeks ago, there was no school on Friday, because of the national holiday, Guayaquil Day. It has been said that in order to travel to the islands from Quito, one would need 4 consecutive days off. I was lucky enough to have a director willing to arrange an extra day off for me, so that I would not miss out on this fabulous experience. My mom actually planned her visit around these days off, so that she could share it with me.

One of the teachers in my 7th grade classroom was nice enough to recommend a travel agency that he had used on his trip. He had taken a cruise, traveling from island to island at night to make the best possible use of his time. I got in contact with Gulliver Expeditions, who were a fantastic choice. Very informative and quick to respond to my numerous e-mails (and English speaking). We discovered that they did have cruises available on the dates I needed, however they did not see all of the islands my mother most wanted to visit. They arranged our flights, a hotel stay, and guided English tours on all of the islands we had requested for a fantastic rate. The prices were much better than the ones my mom had found looking online from the states.

We took the last two seats on a flight from Quito (with a half hour layover in Guayaquil- we never even left the plane) to the island of Baltra early on Thursday morning. Once we landed, we took a free shuttle to the docks, followed by an 80 cent boat ride to Santa Cruz (where are hotel was), and a $1 taxi (actually, all the taxis were white pick up trucks) to our hotel, Verde Azul. We were at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the rest of our day. It was only around 2:30 in the afternoon, but we did not have any tours scheduled for that day. We decided to ask the girl at the front desk for suggestions, we knew we wanted to see either the lava tunnels or Los Gemelos, the twin volcanoes. As I fumbled with my Spanish, we discovered that she could call us a taxi and get us a quick Spanish tour from the drive to 4 places that we were interested in seeing for only $60! The price included transportation, and he would stay with us and answer our questions as we visited each place. What a deal! We jumped on it.

Fist, we saw Los Gemelos. Volcanic craters. Nature had really taken back over. These two "twin" craters were literally across a small street from one another!

With our driver/ impromptu tour guide

amazing, isn't it?

Next, he took us to a refuge site for tortoises. Most of Santa Cruz island is set aside for preservation, people only live in designated areas. The speed limit in the non-populated areas is low because of the tortoises. They are not in the least afraid of people, even when we saw them from the road! We kept stopping to take pictures, but our guide explained that we would be able to get close soon enough. We entered the refuge area and paid a small fee. Tortoises everywhere! They were not even the least bit afraid of humans, although loud noises and touching the animals was forbidden. These magnificent creatures were not fenced in, but conditions (and grazing supply) is optimal for them in the refuge area. I asked if cars were a problem for the creatures, and our driver laughed. I soon saw why. These guys are too large to miss, and they may hurt your car more than your car hurts them!

HUGE!!!

I fit just fine in a tortoise shell.

Next, we went to see a lava tunnel! As lava is moving, the top of the "river of lava" is exposed to air, which begins to cool it. The cool lava hardens, as the hot lava below stays liquid and continues to flow. Over time, "walls" and "ceiling" form. The tunnels created can be large enough to drive semi trucks through! This tunnel was only about 5 km long, although some stretch hundreds of kilometers. We explored for a while, but as the floor got increasingly rocky and uneven, mom decided it was a bit much for her, and she would prefer to conserve her energy for later adventures, so we headed back. There we even mini stalactites forming, but I could not seem to get a good photo.

Next, we went to visit a beach, in an area where flamingos like to frequent. Our driver explained that flamingos tend to migrate to other islands this time of year, but the trip was beautiful nonetheless.

I loved how diverse the islands were. We passed areas where people were growing coffee and bananas just minutes before we arrived at this walking trail and cacti.

Many pretty mangrove trees, but also Manzanillos. the tree of death. Good way to keep visitors on marked trails!

Here one is. There was no fruit, so I asked if the fruit looked like apples (manzana in Spanish). He said they do look a bit like crab apples. That make you sleep. Forever.

This was an area where people could cook on the beach! Under the branches, to hold in heat and keep the people warm during late night cook outs. There were little grills in strategic places.

He actually took us to a 5th location at no charge. A lookout where a person could see all of the island. Unfortunately, it was so foggy that all we could see is what I imagine the inside of a cloud looks like. Oh well, we had a fantastic day, and headed back to the hotel to rest up for our next adventure.

My mom is in Quito!

So, as I mentioned before, my mom has come to visit! She's been a trooper, going all the way to the town of Mindo, in the Cloud Forest just one day after getting in. She had to adjust to the travel, and to the elevation, as we went on an excursion. She was amazing. After a 2.5 hour taxi ride, we checked into our hostel and visited a butterfly conservatory.

All of those are butterfly chrysalis- even the shiny ones, and the leaf-looking ones! The blue-greens with the gold bands are monarchs!

We could even coax them on to our fingers using a little banana. (The way one might coax a bird, by pushing toward the feet, not the wings). These are "owl" butterflies:

There we other various species, which were all breath taking.

If you ever visit a place famous for butterflies, wear bright colors! My read shirt attracted one to my shoulder right away, and another later on.

How beautiful were the wings on this guy?

Straight from the butterflies, we went to Mindo Lindo to see some hummingbirds. The woman there was actually from Germany, so my mom got a chance to hear a language she knew, and I didn't, which must have been a welcome change after being surround by Spanish and having to rely on me to get us around. She kept trying to speak English, forgetting that no one could understand her, which must have been frustrating.
First, we were sent on a hike, which I'm sure would have been beautiful, but was poorly marked and we had to abandon for fear of being lost in the jungle. Maps were posted, but with no "you are here" labels (not the most helpful.) A tree was marked with a number..... The map had letters.

Mom was equally confused: 

We went back to the house to see the hummingbirds. An ornithologist ran the place! Check out all the cool birds:

We went to sleep, and spent the next day hiking to see amazing waterfalls in the jungle. We took a kind of off-putting cable car over a valley in the forest to get to the beginning of our hike.

Mom was excited about where we were going, if a bit nervous about how we were getting there.

The hike was a little strenuous, with some bridges that bounced under our feet and swayed. My mother is almost twice my age (do your own math, she has requested that I don't do it for you :D- love you mom!). She was still adjusting to the thinner air, and has been struggling with back issues. She still hiked up and down some interesting paths without complaint- what's your excuse for not getting out? Not good enough, is your excuse! It was well worth it. See for yourself:

Mom has dubbed Ecuador "the land where none of the stairs are the same." In town, on paths, even in my apartment, none of the stairs are of regulation size, something I have adjusted to, and didn't think about until my mom pointed out that she's always looking down here!

On the way home, we stopped at the equators. How could I let my mother come to Ecuador and not see what it was named for?

Today, she came to school with me. I wish everyone could take their parents to work. She has such appreciation for my choice in handling early adolescent children as my chosen profession, even though the kids here are wonderfully behaved. The kids were so excited to see a mom in class, and my new collaborating teacher was enormously welcoming. It was such a cool day at school.

Mom was in a little pain from the busy weekend. One of my roommates helped set her up with a chiropractor, who recommended a myofascial massage (which his wife provided). This required that mom take a taxi by herself -did I mention that she speaks no Spanish? from school to the chiropractor in the middle of the day. She also decided to go to a bookstore before heading back to the school. I knew she could do it, but I was a little nervous. My mother says this is the first time she's seen the mothering side of my personality first hand. I wrote everything she would need to say to the driver down in her notebook. (Name of the chiropractic office, name of the bookstore, name of the school, all of the intersections, ect.) I double and triple checked that she had the book and we didn't miss anything before sending her off. I also gave her my local phone, and reminded her to call the chiropractor (he's an American, and she has his card) if she got lost. I think I was more nervous than she was. It went smoothly. What an adventure for my mom!

After school, we asked a few teachers for suggestions about where to go for dinner. We were directed to the most perfect place ever, in the historic district. The food was delicious, and the view was like no other.

Stay tuned, those who follow my blog! We leave for the Galapagos on Thursday morning, by far the most anticipated part of my whole study abroad experience.

This blog has been light on the comments. What am I missing at home? Do you miss me? Are you jealous? Co-workers: how are things at the best animal hospital in the world?

Pichincha, teaching and the evil cold

So, I didn't post anything last week. This was mostly because 2 weeks ago, I got a silly cold. It kind of knocked me out, I missed some school and stayed in for a weekend. I am all better now! On the academic end of things, life has been good. I got to teach a whole week with my own lessons to my 7th graders. Things went very well, and I loved the final product the students made. We spoke about the purposes of government, and I was surprised to see how politically minded my students are. They had a lot of opinions when I asked the question "What does the Ecuadorian government do for the people of Ecuador?" So many, in fact, that I changed the question to "What should the Ecuadorian government do for the people of Ecuador?" in order to get my lesson back on track, and talk about why governments exist at all. Despite causing my lesson to take unexpected turns, I found the conversations brought up from asking my students these questions fascinating.

This week marks the beginning of my transition from 7th grade to 8th grade. It is amazing how quickly I can get attached to a group of students, and I will miss working with them. I'm sure I will feel the same way about my 8th graders as we get to know each other. I am also working with a new collaborating teacher. I'm sure she will be wonderful to work with, but I know I will miss Mercedes, my original CT, who is now on maternity leave. I learned a great deal from her, and I know that I am much closer to becoming the teacher I want to be because of the time I had with her. She blew me away, and she was constantly supportive.

Okay, on with the sight seeing. This weekend, the roomies and I went to the volcano! We took a cable car up, followed by a hike (holy cow, the elevation of Quito is nothing compared to what it was like after the cable car, it took many stops to go a short distance.) We hiked to a space where it is possible to rent a horse, and get photos taken with llamas. Kristi and I rode for 45 very pretty minutes, then headed back down to meet the others. In such a beautiful place, we decided to take some photos, and even tried to get a little artsy with them (many "gazing pensively in the distance" pictures were taken). We had a delicious meal back in Quito, then went out for a few drinks. It was a great day, full of roommate bonding. Here are some photos:

There was a theme park just before the cable cars. Theme park on a volcano!

Cars going up!

Ready for my ride!

Though fast and a little bumpy, the ride was amazing!

Look at how Quito sprawls throughout the valley

I love the juxtaposition of country and city

Up in the clouds

You can't beat the scenery

Jessica trying to get a shot

roommate bonding

I told you that we got artsy. I love this shot though

Oh, did I mention that we are high up? There were random satellite gardens in a few places

My horse looks like she's laughing! She's actually trying to convince me to let her eat grass

50 cents for llama photos, they even lend you a pancho and hat

Can you tell they were a little scared?

Out for drinks that night

My mom comes next week! I'm very excited about taking her to Mindo next weekend, and traveling to the Galapagos the following week. You're jealous, I know you are!