the 24th, travel to Peru

We had a 2:30 wake up call for a 7 AM flight and I got up very grudgingly. But as usual, Juan Carlos knew what he was doing. We left the hotel at 3:30 and got to the airport about 4:30. This new airport was built farther from Quito, the old one was wedged between a mountain range and the city. They are building a new road that will cut down on the travel time. When we got to the airport there was a huge crush of people waiting to check in. We got in a very long line of people who needed to check bags. There was one person working that line and it was moving very slow. The lines for people with only carry on had 2 people working and was going pretty fast. The people in our line were fussing and fuming. Then about 5:30 some folks with 6 AM flights tried to push ahead and I thought a riot was going to break out. A man who had waited in line and missed his flight flipped the script and was yelling and cursing.  About 6 AM they put 2 more people on our line and it moved pretty  fast. You have to go through the duty free shop to get to the gates but we got there before they started boarding. Finally they called our flight and we headed out. I was 1\2 way down the gangway when a lady from the gate came running after me calling  my  name. Seems I had been selected for a random drug  check.  My  first  question was,  will they hold the plane? "Of course,  miss  lady,  please follow me". So, out of the gate area and down into the bowels of the airport. I identified my bag, showed my passport and opened my bag. Guy #1 pawed thru my stuff, checked my passport, checked my bag for false sides or bottom, put a sticker on it and said okay. So, then we went outside to a second area, where there were soldiers and dogs. First, the dog has to pee pee so they send him off about 200 yards to some grass and wait for him  to come back to sniff my bag. I know he smelled cat, I don't know if that's what set the whole thing off or not. So, Mr Soldier says, open the bag. He starts taking things out, opening little bags, looking at my toiletries. I just bought a pair of scissors yesterday in the Old Town and I'm thinking I'm going to lose another pair. No, he checked the bottle of unopened  water and then pulled out my lock box. The key was in it so no problem, just some meds and small things I had bought because I had transferred my Peruvian money to my money belt last night. So, Mr S checks my passport, fills in a form and has me sign it, then puts all my carefully packed stuff back in my bag in a big wad 

Then the airline lady and I head back into the terminal, I have to put all my carry on stuff back through Xray, then back to the gate and down the jetway. They have already closed the plane hatch and are getting ready to close the indoor hatch. I yelled, “No Salee por favor”, which I hoped meant don't close that m-f-ing door til I'm  on that m-f-ing plane. Luckily for me there was one other man with me who also had his bags searched and he spoke Spanish. I didn't understand anything except, no me culpa. It looked dicey for a minute. The people on the jetway were looking at each other blankly, then one woman started talking into her radio, then they started tapping on the window in the hatch of the plane. We waited and finally they opened the hatch and let us on the plane. I told Margaret what had happened and that I hoped they hadn't been too worried. Well, they hadn't even noticed I was missing. That was VERY reassuring. Evidently my roommate had never heard of the “buddy system”. 

After I sat down and started getting my stuff organized I realized that my boarding pass for Lima to Cusco had somebody else's name on it. Luckily our Go Ahead tour guide for Peru was meeting us in Lima and he was able to sort that out with no problem.

July 22nd

Monday the  22^nd, good  bye  to the Galapagos  Up at 6:15,  checked bags in the hall  by  6:30. Go Ahead took  care of  handling  the  bags all the way to Quito, which  was  very  nice. We  took only our carry  ons by dingy to  Santa  Cruz and got  on  small buses to see  the  giant  tortoise  preserve. Santa Cruz has some private property, part of the 2%  of  the  islands that is not national park. We saw a few homes and some small farms. The farmers grow some  crops  and raise cattle, pigs and  chickens.   I noticed some trash along the road and saw 2 dogs. The whole island is a preserve for  the  tortoises  and  no fences  are  allowed.  The  reserve  is  in the  highlands  and  because  of  the  cloud cover  it is much wetter than the coast. In fact we drove thru  a  light  shower and  the  trail  was wet. At  the  preserve we saw 5 or 6 tortoises, in one small  pond. Indira said they were all males because the females are off laying their eggs. The females come and  mate,  then  walk for about 2  weeks to the  drier  lowlands, dig a nest, lay from 3 to 6 eggs, bury them , then maybe  walk back  to mate  again. They  may  lay  up  to 4  clutches  of  eggs  in a  season.  But  they  don't  care  for the  young. Once they  are  hatched they fend for  themselves, their major predators  are  feral  mammals  and the  Galapagos Hawk.   Those that survive to maturity will return to the same areas as their mothers to breed. The highlands are very green and lush, I  saw  several different types of flowers and lots of vegetation. In the same area we went into a lava tube, sort of a natural tunnel formed by a river of lava hitting ground water and cooling on top but continuing to flow under the crust due to the heat of the magma. There were bones to look at and 3 big tortoise shells we could climb into and have our pictures taken. We had a small owl on top of the stalls in the bathroom. Back on the bus, I don't know if it was the radio or a tape but the driver was playing the Dead. I asked him "quien es?" but he didn't know.

Then we took a ferry back to Baltra, flew to Guayaquil, had a short lay over and then flew back to Quito. The ship was nice, the crew did everything to make us comfortable, all the excursions were well organized and we saw a lot. But, I will be glad to take a good shower and sleep in a big bed tonite. Tomorrow a lot of the group is going on a bus tour to a volcano, but I opted out. I need to get away from all these people for a little while. Hope to blog, rest, organize for Peru and maybe get a massage.

Sunday the 21st

It`s the 21st and tomorrow my wonderful neighbors and friends are moving to Hideaway Hills. Kimberly and Lance are such good people and have been like family to me. I will miss them terribly but know that this move is something they have wanted and will be a kind of fresh start for them. The pictures of the house on line are amazing, the house is only 5 years old, has lots of room and amenities. It sits on 2 and 1\2 acres of wooded land. There`s a big fenced in yard that Annie will love. I hope to see them from time to time but know it will never be the same. How many times did I run next door for help with a sick or stray animal. Lance built my computer and fixed my other electronics many times. They were so generous to share their dogs with me. Poe and Stella were the best and Annie has started to know and trust me. All good things must come to an end. I don't know if it's easier this way, to not be there to watch them go or if it will be harder to come home and they'll be gone.  Life lesson, enjoy what you have while you can.

 This morning we went in the dingies to Espinosa Point on Fernandina Island. A dry landing but onto wet volcanic rock. I'm so glad I bought a walking stick and dragged it along. There were some tidal pools where we disembarked then we walked a little way in and the ground became sandy. We saw a blue heron, lots of Sally lightfoot crabs, some sea lions, a cormorant on a nest, a turtle in the water and BUNCHES of marine iguanas. Unbelievable, they are the same color as the volcanic rock so in spots you have to be careful not to step on them. There were large groups everywhere, just hanging out, warming up so they could get in the water to eat the algae. Indira told us that only the males dive into the water. The females and juveniles wait til the tide goes out and eat the algae off the exposed rocks. After they are in the water they sneeze out the salt to avoid getting too much salt in their systems. Fernandina is the youngest of the Galapagos Islands, considered the best preserved and only pristine island in the world. This means it has no introduced species on it, only endemic flora and fauna. There was also a partial skeleton of a whale here. The guides said the carcass was found on the beach and looked like a baby born prematurely or possibly a stillborn. Someone decided to move the  bones  from  the  shore  up  to  higher  ground  and  reassemble the  spine.  The guides said  they  usually  don`t  do  that  type of  display  but  decided not  to  remove  it.  There  was  also  a  skull  of  a  sea  lion  and  one  of  a  bottle  nose  dolphin. Indira  showed  us  the  remains  of  a marine  iguana  and  explained  that  the  land  iguanas  and  lava  lizards  have  round  tails.  The  marine  iguana`s  tail  is  more  flat,  resembling  an  eel,  and  that  he  uses  it  to  propel  himself  thru the  water.  We  saw  pineapple rinds,  orange  and grapefruit peels  on  the  beach.  I was surprised because until  then  I  had  not  seen one bit  of trash.   Indira  said  that  the  boats  are  allowed  to  dump  a certain amount  of  organic materials into  the  ocean  and  sometimes  the  currents  bring  it  on  shore.   If the  guides see  a  lot  of  material  or  any  trash,  they  notify  the  park  service  and the  rangers  come and  pick  it  up.   I  am  very  thankful  for  all the  work the  guides and  rangers  do  to  protect these  islands  so  we can  visit  these  wonderful   places.  We  finished  the  morning  with  snorkeling,  I  saw  several  sea turtles,  sea  urchins  and different types  of  fish.  The haze  burned  off  and  the  water  was  more  clear  than  yesterday  which made  visibility  much  better.

Sunday afternoon: Vicente  Roca Point  on  Isabela  We  took  the  dingy  out  and  cruised along the  coast  at  Vicente  Roca Point.  The  rock  face  is  very  interesting geologically,  at  one  point  you  can  see  ash  traveling  on top  of  volcanic  rock. We saw dykes, long lines that were fissures that later  filled  with  lava.  We  saw  turtles, sea  lions, fur seals, a  manta ray jumped up for us,  penguins on  the  rocks, iguanas  and  crabs.  Also  blue footed  boobies,  cormorants,  frigates,  and noddies.   This place is  unimaginable unless you see it for yourself.