The coolest place on Earth!

Hey Everyone,

We returned from our week in the Galapagos Islands yesterday and what a week it was! It will definitely be a highlight of our trip and a hard week to top.

We were on board the "Yate Floreana", which was a medium sized yacht built for 16 passengers. Our 14 fellow travelers were all great people from all over the world (the US, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Italy). The captain and crew were also great! The chef was very accommodating of Shaina's gluten intolerance (she often had french fries for breakfast in place of bread!) and Shaina and the Captain were partners for cards (and are the current champions of the boat!).

Our guide (Victor) was an Ecuadorian and has been a scuba dive master and Galapagos National Park guide for 20 years and really knew his stuff, which further enhanced our experience.

Now on to the good stuff.....what did we do and what did we see?? A normal day in the Galapagos had us waking up at 6:45 for a 7:00am breakfast. After breakfast we would prepare for the day's adventures. Normally, we would go for a hike on one of the islands in the morning to see the landscape and wildlife on land. After our hike we would go for a snorkel (sometimes off the beach or sometimes off the zodiacs the crew used to transport us from the yacht to shore) to see what was living in the water off the coast of the islands. Then it would be back to the boat for lunch at noon, a quick commute to another site, and back in the water for the day's second snorkel. After the second snorkel we would go for another hike, and head back to the boat for dinner at 7pm. After dinner, the boat would start a long (often all night) commute to a new island for the next day! The commutes were sometimes a little wavy but luckily (and thanks to gravol) we were able to avoid sea sickness.

Our itinerary had us start at Santa Cruz Island and from there we went to Genovesa Island, the East side of Santiago Island, Chinese Hat Island, Isabela Island, Fernandina Island, the West side of Santiago Island, and then back to the airport for our flight home!

So what did we see? We were very lucky and saw almost everything we possibly could have seen on the islands and we were always amazed at how close we were able to get to all of the animals! On land we saw giant tortoises, marine iguanas, birds galore (red footed boobies, blue footed boobies, masked boobies, owls, petrels, frigate birds, hawks, pelicans, herons, finches, mocking birds, gulls, doves, flamingos and more!), lava lizards, tons of sea lions and fur seals, and even a snake!

In the water we swam with: penguins, marine iguanas, sea turtles, sea lions and fur seals (very playful), lots of cool fish, and a few sharks! From our zodiacs we also managed to see a manta ray, dolphins (very briefly), and we were lucky enough to have a close encounter with killer whales!! It was the closest our guide had ever been to killer whales in his 20 years in the Galapagos! They swam right beside and underneath our boat - very cool.

The islands themselves were also a highlight. There is no place like it! On our route we saw both old and new islands, so it was really interesting to see the difference. On the older islands, enough of the volcanic rock has eroded to make a thin layer of soil. There is more vegetation on these islands, especially in the highlands and where there is more humidity. The younger islands or where recent volcanic explosions occurred, there is a vast sea of black volcanic rock, frozen in the shape of the waves of lava. It feels like you're on the moon! The main vegetation on the newer islands is small lava cactus (a pioneer plant). On the older ones, giant cactus and palo santo trees dominate the landscape.

Our group of 16 with a Giant Tortoise

A female frigate bird with her chick

The killer whales up close and personal! (2 adults and a baby)

Swimming with a sea turtle

Swimming with penguins! (They're so fast in the water!)

Marsh imitating the sea lion

Marine iguanas sun bathing, with a sea lion in the background (her 3 day old pup was playing nearby)

We have great pics of all of the aforementioned but you will have to wait until we get home to see them all (it takes too long to upload pics here).

we had an absolutely fabulous time and would highly recommend to anyone!! (El Capitan gave us his business card if anyone is interested)

We're off to Otavalo now to see the enormous indigenous market tomorrow. Then we're heading south to the central highlands to Latacunga. From there we're going to hike around the Quilotoa loop (a lagoon inside a volcano crater) to get re-acclimatized to the altitude. Then we're going to attempt to climb the Cotopaxi volcano! We're not sure about wi-fi there, so we'll be in touch when we can!

we have a local cell number now if you need to contact us for emergencies

593 - 8 - 345 - 5633

(hopefully that's right, it should be Ecuador's country code, our area code, and our cell #)

hasta luego!

xoxo m&s

Zip-lining in the cloud forests!

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since we wrote a solid post so here we go....

Last week we had Spanish classes for four hours every afternoon with some local sightseeing during the mornings. In our weekly cooking class (included with our spanish lessons) we made "Locro de papas", which is a traditional Ecuadorian soup with potato, onion, cheese, and avocado - yum!

At the end of the week, we were excited about our pending weekend getaway to the cloud forests of Mindo. We got up REALLY early (5:45am) on Saturday met up with our two friends from school (and their 3 friends) and off we went. By 9:30am we were in Mindo! The town of Mindo itself was nothing spectacular by any stretch (it is pretty much there to serve tourists) but the surroundings were beautiful! You are in the middle of a mountain range covered by semi-tropical forest! Plus it was much warmer than Quito - a pleasant change!

The first thing we did after settling into our hostel was ride in a "taxi" (the back of a pick up) half way up the closest mountain to go Zip-lining (zooming across the jungle canopy harnessed to a wire). The views were fantastic and the zip-lines were by far the longest we had ever done. Two of the 10 zip-lines were longer than half a kilometer! Plus the guides were quite fond of helping you explore new ways to make the crossings (See Shaina upside-down in the pic below and Marsh in the 'butterfly')!

After the zip-lining we went back into town to the local "Casa de chocolate" to try some locally made chocolate. Everyone pigged-out on brownies and ice cream! From there we walked to a hostel with an amazing jungle garden/bird watching area! There were humming birds everywhere and even some toucans high up in the trees!

After taking way too many bird pictures we headed back to our hostel (with the sweetest 8 wk golden retriever puppy!!), regrouped, ate dinner in town and called it a night after a long but fun day. On Sunday morning we got up early (in part due to some pesky roosters) and headed back up the mountain to go on a hike to 5 different waterfalls. To get to the trail head, first we had to cross a big valley in this sketchy old trolley cable way above the canopy. The hike and waterfalls were pretty cool.

We headed back to town, grabbed lunch and had a few hours to kill before our bus went back to Quito at 5. We decided to go to the mariposario (butterfly conservatory) and just beat the rain. There were some crazy butterflies there and another Toucan outside the conservatory!

Then it was back on the bus and back to Quito where we have been learning Spanish every afternoon (as per usual) this week. On Thursday we head for the Galapagos! We're very excited! This will probably be our last post until we return from the Galapagos (July 21-28).

Hope everyone at home is doing well! Looks like you're in a heat wave!

Love Marsh & Shaina

just a quickie...

After a rather uneventful week of Spanish class, we're heading to Mindo for the weekend with some friends from school. It 's in the cloud forest and should be pretty cool!

We're getting antsy to leave Quito and see the sights (and warm up!) .. so we booked a trip to the Galapagos islands for Thursday next week! We'll be back to Quito afterwards but probably won't stick around for long.

we'll post Mindo pics when we get back.

happy weekend!

m&s

El Mitad Del Mundo!

After our exhausting mountain climb on Saturday we weren't in the mood for anything too strenuous on Sunday.....so we decided to go to the Middle of the World! (the equator). We hopped on the local bus system and about an hour later (and 22km north of Quito) we were dropped off at El Mitad Del Mundo. At the equator, there is a monument, a few museums, several restaurants and a stage for live performances.

What did we do at the equator? The first order of business was to take the obligatory "I'm in two hemispheres at the same time!" pictures (See below). The next thing was to check out the monument....the monument had a large globe on the top of it and we couldn't help but notice a number of people trying to take the classic "i've got the world in my hands" photo (see below). First we had a good laugh at the idea....but then we decided to try it too (see below).

After the photoshoot was over it was lunchtime. We had a quick bite to eat and then went to check out the stage where there was some live music and dancing. The dance performances were put on by a youth dance group dressed up in full costume (see below). It was quite entertaining! After the formal dance performances were over the dancers grabbed some of the spectators and hit the dance floor. Shaina was lucky enough to be one of those spectators (see below).

After the dancing we decided to head back to Quito and call it a day.

On monday it was back to spanish classes in the afternoon. However in the morning we went for a nice walk through the northern part of the city to El Museo De Guyasamin (Ecuador's most famous painter). The walk provided some great views of the city and mountains and the art was great (we were not allowed to take pics though).

We are in spanish the rest of the week and are planning on heading to Mindo (a town in the cloud forests of the andes) on the weekend.

Love M&S

Marsh with left foot in northern hemisphere and right foot in southern hemisphere

Shaina walking the tight-rope on the equator

The monument and two people taking the "world in my hands" picture.

Shaina with the world in her hands!

The dancers

Shaina dancing!

Climbing Rucu Pichincha

Hola!

Today we climbed our first Andean mountain!

We met up with two girls from Germany who go to our school and took a taxi to the "TeleferiQo", which is a gondola that takes you up the side of the Pichincha Volcano along the west part of Quito (you can see it in the pics above). Quito is at 2850 m and the teleferiQo takes to you 4100 m in about 5 min (2.5 km). Quite a steep climb!

The view at the top in amazing. You can see how you're literally surrounded by mountains and how the city of Quito fills the valley floor (a bit of a silly place for 1.5 million people to live).

From the top of the gondola you can hike up to the top of the mountain Rucu Pichincha (4680 m). This summit really doesn't look that far away; however at elevation it takes HOURS. you have to walk at about half a granny's pace and still your heart is pounding in your chest and you can barely breathe. it's crazy! luckily we've had almost a week in Quito to somewhat acclimatize. You wouldn't want to do this on your first day!

There are no trees, so you get a full view for the whole hike.. except near the peak, we were in the clouds! As you can see in the pics, it was cold up there and we were bundled with toques and scarfs. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we got back but it was well worth it!

The telefeciQo and Quito

Us at the top of the TeleferiQo

View partway up: a mountain chain splitting Quito to the left, farms to the right, and volcanoes in the distance

The peak of Rucu Pichincha in the clouds

xoxo

M&S

Quito Colonial

Hola!

This morning we walked around 'Quito Colonial' or the Old Town. A bit of history: Ecuador became part of the Inca Empire in 1500. The Spanish came in 1532 to it take over. However, the Inca general destroyed the city instead of giving it to the conquistadors. The Spanish rebuilt the city in 1534 and there lots of beautiful colonial buildings that remain in this part of the city.

Above is the Presidential Palace in the Plaza Grande.

Below is the Basilica del Voto Nacional. You can see it in the photos we posted from the hostel terrace as well. It's up on a hill and it's huge. Once inside, there is little regard for public safety and they let you climb up into the towers on super steep and sketchy stairs/ladders (not for those afraid of heights). but wow the view was amazing!

After the morning outing, we hustled back to our Spanish school for our cooking lesson! We made llapingachos - potato and cheese tortillas or pancakes. Served with a beet and carrot salad, avocado slices, beef, chorizo, and freshly made salsa. So yummy! we will definitely be having an Ecuadorian dinner party when we get home!

Our Spanish is coming along, but still lots to learn!

Tomorrow we'll check out the Guayasamin Museum (he's a famous Ecuadorian artist) before school. Then it's the weekend!

more later!

love m&s

views of Quito

views of Quito from the terrace of Secret Garden hostel

Salsa, Spanish and Seafood oh my!

hola amigos!

today we switched hostels and are now in Quito Moderno, in the safer and more tourist area. there are lots of hostels, restaurants, bars and cafes. We had our first private spanish lessons at the Guayasamin Spanish School. There are activities each day for the students - today we had a salsa dance lesson! So much fun! The people here are so nice and friendly!

Tonight we went for dinner in the main plaza for some traditional Ecuadorian food. it was amazing! some shrimp ceviche, potato and cheese soup and a plantain-peanut shrimp stew. We are trying to convince the restaurant to open in Toronto!

Tomorrow we are walking around the old city (Quito Colonial) and then have our Spanish classes in the afternoon. We're getting used to life here - it's pretty fun so far!

There are lots of things we are looking forward to doing around Quito and Ecuador in between spanish classes or on weekends. There are volcanoes to hike, national parks, beaches, jungle etc.

hope everyone had a good day at work! ;)

xoxo m&s

Hola Quito

Hi Everyone.....we just wanted to tell all the worriers that we made it safe and sound to Quito! Today, we are exploring the city and looking for a good spanish school to start our studying.

Quito is a pretty cool place. Its high up in the Andes (2400m) but in a valley surrounded by mountains! Our hostel has an awesome view of the old part of the city from the roof top terrace (where we had breakfast this morning). We´ll upload some pics and write again soon when we have more to tell!

Hasta luego,
Shaina & Marsh

Adios Toronto!

Hello and welcome to our blog on our travels throughout South America. We leave Toronto tomorrow afternoon (ayye!!) and arrive in Quito, Ecuador at 11:30pm.

We'll post as often as we can, and include pictures when internet connections allow us. (word on the street McDs has free wifi so marsh is pumped for plenty of south american nugs n shakes).

check back here often and send us comments or emails us with your own news!

also note that writing is not our strongest skill, so this will be more informative reading than wonderful creative writing. (we are engineers after all).

see you later alligators!

Marsh and Shaina