Cuenca

We are now in a city called Cuenca, which is in southern Ecuador. Cuenca is considered, by many, the cultural capital of Ecuador. It is a small city, much cleaner, quieter and safer than Quito. The central part of the city is old with beautiful cobblestone streets and of course many churches. The river Tomebamba divides the city between old and new. We are continuing our Spanish studies here. We have taken a couple of side trips including one to Parque Nacional Cajas (Cajas National Park). This park is 45 minutes from Cuenca. The highest point is over 14,700 feet. It is filled with many lakes and incredible flowers and vegetation, most of which we have never seen. It was raining the day we went, which it does most of the time, but nonetheless we had a great day walking through the mud on a fabulous trail.

Food for Thought

We have had a few interesting food experiences. (VEGETARIANS BEWARE - you might want to skip this paragraph.) One of the first was while we were in Mindo (earlier post). We were sitting at a restaurant outside on a street corner. They had a big charcoal-fueled grill loaded with chicken, pork and plantains, among other things. It was a very relaxed and casual place. We noticed they were grilling these things that were long and round to we asked what they were and the owner, we assumed, gave us a taste. They were pig intestines. Save yourself the experience. It is not worth it. Kind of what you would expect, too chewy and a little astringent. No, I did not swallow, just delicately removed it from my mouth and said thank you for the experience.

A major specialty in Ecuador is Cuy, which is guinea pig. (Sorry to our friends’ children who have them as pets.) They get the name from the sound they make when they are alive. With much nerve and help from our friend Chris we endeavored to have the experience of eating one. When they are on the rotisserie they are much bigger than you would imagine and have a much pointier nose than you would expect. It wasn’t bad (says PF), the skin was nice and crispy and the meat, while not a lot of it, was dark and moist. No, it did not taste like chicken, much too gamey to be compared with our little hen friends. I would eat it again but Andy would not.

My (PF) very favorite food so far is also a very popular dish. On the lines of street food, it is called Chancho al Horno - roasted pig. The meat is delicate and succulent with a wonderful roasted flavor. It is sooooo good. It is usually served with what are called llapingachos, which are potato cakes. No, not the kind that are served with sour cream and applesauce on Chanukah but these are thick and fluffy and absolutely out of this world.

I (PF) am beginning to think that the Andean people invented carbo-loading. Every meal, except breakfast is served with at least a double starch. Rice and potatoes mostly, sometimes with corn as well. I was told that this dates back to the time, when to get anywhere the Andean people had to walk so they loaded up on carbs before they made the trek. Sometimes we will even get rice with our pasta, too.

Here are a couple pictures of cuy on the rotisserie and chanco al horno.
http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/FoodAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGsgJe7w-6qqwE&feat=directlink

Zip lines and butterflies

We took a weekend trip to a small town called Mindo, a couple of hours north of Quito. The town is in a cloud forest, an area where the land is frequently blanketed by low hanging clouds. We did what is called ”a canopy” a.k.a. zip lining in the US. OMG it was amazing! The first two runs were more than a "little" scary. We zipped high above the trees along a ten line course. I (Patricia), did not look down, but the view across the trees was spectacular. How do they build these things I wonder??? That was 1½ hours of fun for $10. (You can watch me zipping in the link below.)

Also in Mindo, we went to a place that breeds butterflies. They were beautiful (link below). I fed them with a little mashed banana. One stayed on my hand for approximately fifteen minutes. The guide said the normal time people spend there is twenty minutes. We were there for over an hour and only left so we could catch our bus.

We stayed in a lovely hostel with good food and accommodation. Also, we discovered some yummy chocolate that is made only in Mindo. We didn’t buy enough.

http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/MindoAlbum?feat=directlink

Galapagos - Floreana Island

The visit to Floreana Island was short but the Sally Lightfoot crabs stole the show because of their color and sideways movement across the rocks. In one spot we saw dozens resting on a rock. A big wave crashed into it and over the crabs. We thought they'd be gone and were amazed to see them still there. How do they grip the rocks to keep from washing away?

When I read there is a “greenish” beach on Floreana I was skeptical and thought the guide book was exaggerating the real appearance. But when we landed on the island that morning I could clearly see large sections of green sand. Patricia sifted through the grains and found crystals of the mineral olivine that give it a green hue. (She has a few in her hand in the last picture (link below)).
 (Copy and paste the link.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/4FloreanaAlbum?feat=directlink

Galapagos - Española Island

One of the most amazing things about the animals on all of the islands was that they didn't scurry off as approached or walked near them. Most didn’t move at all. Our guide said we had to keep 6 feet between us and the animals. The pictures of the iguanas (link below) show we had to get off the path to keep our distance. We had to change our path to walk around sea lions, various nesting birds, turtles (and their eggs) and many of the other animals we saw. One day Patricia once started walking toward a sea lion thinking it would be a comfortable log to sit on. But as she got close she was surprised to see it had whiskers and moved.

The iguanas on Española were amazing. It was our first encounter with the blue-footed boobies. Now I know what all the fuss is about. We were there when they were nesting. It was spectacular to be able to witness the mating rituals and the nesting. (You many need to copy and paste the link.)

http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/3EspanolaIslandAlbum?feat=directlink

Galapagos - Santa Fe Island

After our first day of sailing on the water we stopped at Santa Fe Island. I (Andy) had one of the best snorkeling experiences ever! Not long after I got in the water I found myself inside a sea lion play circle. They swam in front of, behind, over and under me. One bit on my flipper playfully. I lingered and watched them glide through the water, turn in one direction then in another direction with grace and efficiency. On land we saw sea lions, iguanas, cacti and crabs. (You may need to copy and paste the link to see the pictures.)


http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/2SantaFeIslandGalapagosAlbum?feat=directlink

Galapagos - Santa Cruz Island

We found the first big animals at the Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz Island. The turtles were amazing!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/1SantaCruzIslandAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCMPbodG1rbqMhwE&feat=directlink

Galapagos - The Fragata

We returned from the Galápagos at the beginning of July. There are 12 major and 12 minor islands in the archipelago. It is more than 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador so the most common way of getting there is by plane. We, like most tourists, visited the islands on a boat. Ours held 16 passengers and seven crew members. The biggest boat we passed carried 90 passengers. The islands are famous, in part, because of the type and variety of animals, their evolution in an isolated part of the world and Charles Darwin’s research there that he wrote about in the Origin of the Species. The park service that oversees the archipelago has very strict rules about the number of people who can visit the islands at any given time, when they can go, the islands they can visit and where they can walk. Here are pictures of the boat: The Fragata.

http://picasaweb.google.com/fourney/Fragata?feat=directlink