Machu Picchu was amazing. We did lots of hiking and took many photos, which I will share when I return to the states.
Speaking of which, we begin our journey home tomorrow. We fly from Cusco in the morning, spend the afternoon in Lima, and then catch a midnight flight to Houston. I will be back in Indianapolis in time for New Years eve.
At 11,000 feet, Cusco, Peru, takes some getting used to having spent five days at sea level at the Galapagos Islands.
The islands were great. We saw many animals at a very close distance, most of which ignored us. Sea lions, sea turtles, giant torteses, pengins, flamingos, crabs, and iguanias were always close by.
We took many photographs and videos, which I will have to upload when I return to the states in a few days.
In the meantime, we have a whirlwind visit to Machu Picchu. For the rest of the trip, we are not staying in the same location twice.
Time to get back to my coca tea, which is supposed to help us adjust to the altitude.
We spent all of today exploring Quito, Ecuador. At 8:30 a.m., our guide met us at our hotel and we loaded into a van.
Driving in Quito is similar to other South American countries. Traffic laws exist, but they are mostly optional. Right-hand turns from the left-hand lane are the norm. Suprisingly, there is little road rage. Lots of horns, but few taking the craziness of traffic personally.
Once we made it into old town, we set out on foot. We visited plazas, churches, the president´s home, and the like. Our guide was good, offering lots of detail and interesting history about the places we visited.
By afternoon, we headed to the equator. An outdoor museum, we had some fun doing some basic science experiments on or near the equator (latitude 0).
Draining water from a sink worked as expected. In the northern hemisphere, the water circled counter-clockwize. In the southern hemisphere, it circled clockwize. And right on the equater, the water drained straight down. The impressive part was the difference in draining methods was apparent in less than 10 feet on either side of the equator.
Tomorrow, we head to the Galapagos Islands where we will spend five days and four nights aboard a ship, hopping from one island to the next. You likely won´t hear from me until we get to Peru, a few days after Christmas. Happy holidays.
We safely arrived to Quito, Ecuador, after having an unexpected 12-hour diversion to Guayaquil, their largest city.
We were unable to land in Quito (in the mountains) because of heavy fog, so they diverted us to Guayaquil (on the coast). By 2 a.m. we were in a hotel, but had to get up by 7:30 a.m. to catch the next flight. We finally made it to Quito around noon — 12 hours late.
After checking in and enjoying a late lunch, the folks went back to the hotel for a nap. Cameron and I went to the La Capilla Del Hombre, a modern-art museum featuring the work of Oswaldo Guayasamin.
Cameron and I loved the museum, the building, the art, and surrounding grounds.
We then returned to the hotel, met the folks, and went out for dinner. By 10:30 p.m. we were all ready for bed. We start a five-hour city tour tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.
