The Basics

Hola a todos!
This blog is going to be something of a smörgåsbord, since I have been in the Galapagos the past week and have lots to tell. I'll start with the basics.

Mi Familia
Lali and Gonzalo are my host parents--they are very sweet, rather classy, fast speaking (for Ecuadorians) short people. They have 4 grown children, one of whom, Tamara, lives on the top floor of this house with her husband Gonzalo and little Benjamin, age 1 1/2. (Note: pronounced ben-ha-Meen). The other kids, as well as brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews all live in Quito, and family get-togethers are big and happen often. (I missed one the Sunday I left for Galapagos--que triste!)

Comida
Sopa, or soup, is Ecuador's specialty. I have been told there are more than 365 types of soup, so I should expect to have a different one every day. It is served as a first course at lunch, the biggest meal of the day, followed by a more substantial dish that seems to always include rice. I have had chicken soup, soup with impressive amounts of cilantro, a green soup (probably a cream of broccoli and other vegetables) to which we added handfuls of salted popcorn, tomato soup, and more. Tonight I had an orange or salmon colored soup with little chunks of what seemed to me to be bread. I was wondering if it was french toast soup, because the bread seemed to have an odd texture, and it tasted a little of cinnamon--and as I was scarfing down my french toast it occurred to me that the little bread pieces were more likely seafood, possibly squid. I really don't know what it was but for the rest of the meal my mind kept returning to images of squid, and how my stomach would react to tentacles, even cinnamon flavored tentacles, and I'm sorry to say I only ate a few more bites before taking up my rice and chicken.

Galapagos
For a better idea of what the islands are like, read the short chapter on Galapagos in Charles Darwin's book The Voyage of the Beagle. You would think that these islands would be tropical, being on the equator, but the majority of them are extremely dry and savage looking, resembling photos from the Mars Lander more than anything. In fact, in Darwin's time, the general consensus was that the Galapagos Islands were hellish. Of course it's a different story today...and come on, the baby sea lions are so cute!
Still, eight days of traveling to the different islands is very hard to sum up, so I will direct you to some of my photos. (I'll upload more later, it's a lot of trouble really). I will say, one of the high points on the boat was the night we had a bbq on the top deck. After most of the people had retired downstairs, a small commotion grew at the table next to us. It was the 30th anniversary of this Italian couple, sailing with their two grown kids. They were stereotypically Italian, complete with a boisterous storytelling. The daughter translated the story of how they met and fell in love, and concluded with champagne all around (ick) and a round of group photos that I am proud to be featured in. A late night of dancing was the perfect end to the evening. I am reminded of a line from Six Days, Seven Nights--"It's an island, baby. If you don't bring it here, you won't find it here." This was very true of the Galapagos: though they are a nice place to visit, to be sure, my trip was really wonderful because of the people that came along and just being able to share a trip with new friends.

here's the link to the slideshow:
http://s336.photobucket.com/albums/n349/arwalton/?albumview=slideshow

First Impressions

Quito:

This is a city whose skies wake up clear and turn ominous after lunch. It is a city where airplanes look bigger than you remember, and everything seems to be urgently lazy. Simplicity means less rules, and traffic is kept extremely simple. It is bachelor city, where every street has tiny crowded food shops, every corner has a dog and every sign has a stain. It is loud; honking is the beat to every other incessant sound of accelerating engines, barking dogs and screeching breaks.
But it is also a hidden city. The house I live in is a jewel in an ugly metal box--though I can look out my window to the METROCAR: Servicio Autorizado garage that squats just in front of a tall mass of offices, apartments and Mussolini-type architecture, all tangled together in thick power lines, I can easily forget it and feast my eyes instead on the deep blue walls and ornately carved mohagoney furniture that graces my room. The house is very classy, on the inside, so that I am almost out of place--perhaps I am glad for METROCAR.
The same goes for the ACLAS building, which is disguised as another grubby gate on a chaotic street. Inside the gate it is white and dark blue with balconies and and a garden, a charming old Ecuadorian villa with hints of summers in Greece. Besides these, there is Pichincha, the enormous volcano that pops in and out of view when you least expect it. It seems to be the grandfather of the city. It has a presence that is felt like the ocean is felt in California--an anchor and a disciplinarian and a map and also the prettiest thing around.
I hope this paints a picture of Quito similar to what I have seen so far.
Hope all is well in the states!!
And today,