On the Middle of the World and More

Last day, means fit all that is left, in!  

So, we headed for La Mitad del Mundo, or the Middle of the World.  About 20 km from Quito, is that middle of the world, where the northern and southern hemisphere are divided , and where Ecuador gets its name.  As hokey as it is, Lindsay and I  took turns with one foot on the northern and the other on the southern hemisphere. We just had to do it.  

We then made our way to see Oswaldo Guayssamin´s paintings.  He is the most renowned contemporary artist in Ecuador and is famous for his round eyed women and children, and for his paintings of hands.  His hand paintings are huge and blocky and are doing many things: praying, clenching, reaching out, and giving tenderness, to name a few.  They are sad but hopeful at the same time.  There were many paintings from his series, Age of Tenderness and Age of Anger, with many more paintings to see.   Guayssamin´s work is dedicated to the hope of peace for all.    I was not sure what I thought about them, but when I saw them in person and learned more about Guayssamin as an artist, I now love them and am very touched by them. They are haunting, but lovely, and ever lasting in your mind.   I have a great appreciation for him and his work, now that I have gotten to experience it.   

After seeing Guayssamin´s gallery, home and place for all to worship, we went to one of Quito´s big tourist attractions - the TeleferiQo. The 6 person cable car took us up the Volcan Pichincha to reach the top at 4050 meters.   We were in the dark clouds at the top, as we looked down to the city that still had the sun shining upon it.  It was nice to see the city from so high above as I am about to leave this wonderful country.

You Can Call Me Jane

Yes, Jane.  Or Jane of the Jungle!

Lindsay and I just returned from the jungle, one of the 4 regions in Ecuador (jungle, mountains, coast and Galapagos).  And we had another great experience.

Our morning hike included swinging on a vine (hence my name change), eating a couple of plants, wearing a curli-cue plant as earrings, hiking upward and downward and through streams, going through caves with lots of bats, traversing through narrow canyons where you have your back along one wall and your feet on the other as you inch and scoot along, seeing termites and learning about how they can be used as repellent if you squish them all up, eating some ants that tasted like lemon, and seeing beautiful trees, flowers and other plants.  

After we ate lunch and relaxed in the hammocks at the Eco-lodge that provided our tour-guide, we went tubing.  Three huge tubes were roped together to take us (3 passengers and 1 guide) along the Anzu River.  I had imagined we would float lazily along like you would at Kentucky Kingdom, but since it rained yesterday it was more rapid than I thought it would be.  It was a class 3 which was actually perfect and I was glad it wasn´t anything more.  I was told about the catfish that were 1 1/2 meters long and about midway through our trip it started to lightning.  That made me nervous but there was nothing one could do cuz you are out in the jungle!  It was a great ride, making our jungle experience complete.

Well, actually, seeing the tarantula in the Eco-lodge really perfected our trip to the jungle!

(Thank you , Darrell, for making me the hiker and rafter that I am!!)  I was told to not grab a tree or plant if you needed it to catch your balance because there could be some kind of bug, insect, scorpion, etc. on it.  So we were instructed to look first... 

The Incredible Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands are made up of thirteen large islands and over forty small islands, with a  total land area of 7882 square kilometers.  They are scattered across 45,000 square km of ocean, clustered around the equator and are about 960 km from the mainland of Ecuador. The archipelago is volcanic in orgin and continues to be volatile.  The oldest islands are thought to be 2.3 and 6.3 million years old. 

Lindsay and I debated about going and we now know we made the right decision to go.  We took a 3 night/ 4 day boat "Gap Adventure Tour" with 10 other people and had the time of our lives.  We did a lot of research on how to do the trip and learned that you really need to do a boat tour because they take you to different islands and different places on the islands and travel the long distances during the night.  There are 100 boats that offer tours like ours (and longer ones).  We booked our particular tour because it was small and was going to the islands that we thought were the best.    Our boat had 8 cabins that sleep 16, but was not filled to capacity as there were only 12 of us.  Our cabin was similar to ones you see on bigger cruises.  Ours was on the lowest floor and had bunk beds, a storage area and a bathroom.  It was small but fine as you only slept there.  We ate all our meals together at three tables on the main floor.  The meals were good and we were always hungry because of all the activites. The next floor up, had a deck for lounging with 4 lounge chairs, other cabins and a lounge/bar area.  There was a crew of 6-8 people and they took great care of us.

Our guide, Julio, was fabulous.  He always explained our itineraries (wet landings and dry landings) and was very knowledgable about everything concerning the Galapagos.  We had 4 different snorkel excursions (Lindsay and I were the only to wear wetsuits - she IS my daughter!) and many land excursions. Our days were full, started really early and ended at dinner time.  None of us could believe all that we were able to see during this short amount of time.  We were fortunate to see:
sea turtles, Pacific green turltes, lava lizards, Galapagos sea lions, sharks, sting-rays, golden rays and some other kind or rays, Blue-footed boobies, Nazca Bbobies, Galapagos penguins, flamingos, Galapagos mockingbirds, Galapagos doves,  finches, Galapagos flycatchers, marine iguanas, land igunaas, Sally Lightfoot Crabs, giant tortoises, Galapagos Hawks, Darwin finches, frigatebirds and lots and lots of fish.
None of us ever dreamed we´d see such beautiful animals and none of us expected to be so close to these amazing creatures.  We actually swam with the sea lions and giant turtles.  We were  close enough that we could have touched them as they froliced about us.  We even ¨swam¨ with sharks and rays, which spooked me a little.  We walked right next to crabs, sea lions, birds, and iguanas and they didn´t move or scurry away. They have not learned to be afraid of humans, because they have not had reason to fear us.  We found that to be really incredible.  Even the Blue-footed boobies with their babies were not afraid of us.  Nor were the sea turtles that were mating  next to our dingy.  The variety of landscapes were equally as beautiful - mangroves, huge cliffs of black volcanic rock with the Pacific Ocean crashing way upward into the sky through blow holes, beautiful beaches, green covered mountains and others that were brown and black, flat land and hilly land and land covered with huge rocks. 

Lindsay and I still can´t believe how great it was.  It was an experiece of a lifetime and will be one of our top lifetime adventures I am sure!

Cuenca

Urban population of Cuenca proper: 267,000 inhabitants

Altitude: 2500m (8200 ft) above sea level

Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador.

 (According to my teacher, it is the 4th, 

with New York being the 3rd largest city.)

Artesans

These are many talented artists in Cuenca.  

  

                                      

The Women of Cuenca

Many of the women in Cuenca where skirts as you see in the pictures.  They are made out of velveteen in a variety of colors, they are pleated and some have a floral border at the hem.  Many women wear a hat and braid their hair. They wear beautifully woven, colorful shawls made near Cuenca. 

University of Cuenca

Thank you, Fulbright.

Way to go, Lindsay!