At the eleventh hour we succumb to the overwhelming desire to visit the Galapagos Islands whilst in Ecaudor. We decided on a 5 day 4 night cruise which included visiting the Islands of Baltra, Santa Cruz, Floreana, Espanol and San Cristobal.
Baltra is an uninhabited island containing one of the three airports in the Galapagos and little else. It was used by the Americans in the second world war and today sees the arrival of most of the tourists to the Galapagos. From Baltra we took a small boat to Santa Cruz before being transported to our ship waiting in the harbour. Our first stop was to visit the Giant Land Toritoises located in the highlands. We were struck at this time by just how amazing the micro climates of this island are- on the coast it was 25 degrees with sunny blue skies, in the highlands approx 5 km inland it was slighly cooler but overcast and misty. The majestic Land Tortoises with their bulking frames were a site to behold, going about their daily consumption of grass at a steady pace. We returned to the boat and enjoyed a nice smorgasboard dinner.
Overnight we motored to our next destination Floreana, an island shrowded in mystery regarding a love triangle which to this day goes unsolved. The island is home to an array of brightly coloured crabs, sea lions, flamingos and numerous birds including the world famous blue footed booby, frigate and brown pelican. Following our island exploration we ventured into the waters to be completley overwhelmed by the marine life- swimming amongst sting ray, green turtles and various tropical fish was very surreal. The green sea turtles were particularly friendly and were not fazed with our presence. In the afternoon we explored lava tunnels, the famous galapagos post office, and ended with another snorkel this time having penguins, sea lions and more turtles to keep us company. To end the day we went for an afternoon zodiac ride viewing more blue footed boobies and frigates as well as black tip reef sharks.
Overnight we motored to Espanol Island which for me was the highlight. We had the beach to ourselves as well as 200 sea lions in the morning, swam with massive manta and eagle rays as well as white tipped reef sharks. After lunch we ventured to another spot where we encountered marine iguanas both in the water and on land, blue footed boobies, azteca boobies, a waved albatross colony complete with chicks and the infamous Galapagos hawk- one of the few predators of the island. The scenery was spectacular, the animals were so close and the experience unforgettbale. We ended the trip in San Cristobal, the most populated isand which despite the encroachment of human beings is just as alive with animals as the other islands- again we swam with sea lions and the like- overall a wonderful experience.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Cotopaxi- Smooth Neck of the Moon
Yesterday Morning at 1.30am my mission to climb Volcan Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in Ecuador, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, commenced. Unfortunately my attempt unraveled at approx 5516m a mere 381m from the summit.
Having never attempted a glacial climb before I was still exceptionally happy with my attempt yet bitterly disappointed to have come so close but not reached the summit. The attempt was thwarted by a number of factors including, lack of appetite from the altitude which led to fatigue and a lack of experience in knowing what to expect. Communication difficulties with my guide who spoke only basic English also created problems. At 5516m I made the decision based on safety concerns that we should turn around. Despite everything it was a life changing experience, something I will never forget.
It all started on 2 June when I made the journey from Latacunga to Cotopaxi National Park- we parked the car at 4300m and made our way to base camp situated at 4800m. This required lugging all my gear including cold weather clothing, food and equipment such as crampons up a loose gravel route to the Base camp. The afternoon was spent acclimatising and doing some brief training in ice-snow climbing. This required a climb to 5000m where the ice and snow of Volcan Cotopaxi begins. Sahra was able to share this experience with me and was staying the night at base camp.
Despite trying to retire early to bed a dull persistent headache meant that I had little to no sleep before starting the ascent. At 1.30am we got underway but due to the altitude I found it difficult to take in food and water- at 5400m a moment of fatigue resulted in a trip which could have ended very badly. A short time later at 5516m I decided that in order to make it back safely I needed to turn around and start the 2 hour descent. I arrived back at base camp around 8.00am having missed the summit but avoided all the crevasses which are even more dangerous than they look- I hope the photos illustrate just how unforgiving the climb can be.
Horse Riding in Pululahua Crater
Two days after arriving in Ecuador and doing a bit of sight seeing in Quito, we headed north to the Pululahua National Reserve where we spent two days horse riding in an ancient volcanic crater.
On the first day we met our beautiful horses, Bria and Apache II. Bria was my horse and she was pregnant and didn't really like to move very much (unless she was heading towards food). I was a little bit nervous as we set off for our first day of riding, especially on the steep ascents and descents, so I was glad Bria didn't like moving too fast! Aidan was very relaxed and looked like he had been riding horses his whole life.
Riding in the Pululahua crater was a unique experience. It is the largest crater on the American continent and one of only two inhabited craters in the world. The constantly changing scenery was amazing and in the afternoon the clouds descended into the crater creating an eerie but majestic atmosphere. At the end of our first day of riding we were quite sore and retired to a little hacienda for a 3 course dinner, a jacuzzi and plenty of mojitos!
On our second day of riding I decided to upgrade my horse. This was a decision I came to regret later as my new horse, Tango, had a habit of charging full speed ahead and scaring the crap out of me whenever he felt like it. We rode for almost 3 hours until we came upon ancient pre-inca ruins. When we stopped to have lunch at the ruins a group of wild horses ...... scared our horses which got loose and one of them took off and headed straight back to the ranch. It took us a little while to catch and settle the other horses before we could head back to the ranch. The afternoon ride took us back past areas of traditional Andean agriculture to lush tropical vegetation, passing cloud forests, deep gorges and clear mountain streams.
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