Galapagos

Dear family and friends,

"Prickly pear cactus!  Prickly pear cactus!  My Gahd, I can't believe how much he talked about prickly pear cactus!  We've got millions of prickly pear cactus in Texas," Cecelia started in a whisper but ended with a near squeal to emphasize her dismay that Ruly, our naturalist tour leader, would spend so much time discussing something which is so uninterestingly common in her home state of Texas. 

Cecelia is from Port Aransas on the Gulf Coast, and was apparently unaware that our tour to the Galapagos Islands was intended for more than just folks from her home state.  Or alternately, she may not know that prickly pear cactus does not grow in Canada, England, Norway, and northern United States from whence the other nine of us on the tour come, or that this is a unique species of prickly pear cactus.  In her mid fifties with sun-bleached hair, brightly painted toe nails, and the grooming of someone desperate to look younger - but being resolutely betrayed by the sagging flab bubbling over her belt line - I am not quite sure why Cecelia decided to come to the Galapagos Islands.  With the urbanity of one who has seldom traveled outside Texas, I am quite certain that she has no knowledge that the Galapagos is the crucible of the Theory of Evolution, or as commonly known, Survival of the Fittest Through Natural Selection, as proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859.  Darwin spent less than one month in the islands in 1835, but his extraordinary ability for observation permitted him to identify many different endemic species - that is, they only occur here in the Galapagos - including 14 different species of finches, now known as Darwin finches.  It was his keen observations of how specialized the finches had become in adapting to their particular environment that propelled him to his conclusions of the evolution of species.

The Galapagos Islands, a group of some twenty islands and forty islets, lies 1,000 km off the coast of Ecuador with the equator running directly through it.  The Galapagos were my next stop after flying out of Santiago.  Then an enjoyable flight took me from Quito, the capital of Ecuador, to the airport located on Baltra Island from where I was whisked off to board the vessel Cruz del Sur for a five day/four night tour of the highlights of several islands. 

3 Interesting People

INTERESTING PEOPLE

One of the great things about travel is the interesting people one meets.  Most travelers, as opposed to tourists maybe, are very easy to meet and welcome the opportunity to talk about where they have been, where they are going, and to pass on suggestions for accommodation, tours, eating, etc.  Generally I find it easy to strike up a conversation with folks and I have met many.  But three I have met so far stand out. 

Austria Japan Walking

At the Chilean/Argentina border on the way back from my visit to Torres del Paines, a dusty, barren, out of the way, little spot with just a few houses and a couple of cafes, I couldn't help but notice a young guy striding up to the border control.  He was covered in dust and more than a little tattered looking.  As he walked by me I saw he had a sign on his backpack, something like 'Austria Japan Walking'.  Of course I had to talk to him.  I didn't get his name as we only spoke briefly, but this young guy started out in Vienna more than two years ago.  He has walked across Europe to Lisbon where he caught a flight to Ushuaia, and he is now walking through Chile (he will skip the northern desert), Peru, and Ecuador where he then flys to San Diego to walk to Vancouver.  from Vancouver he will fly to Japan to walk the length of it.  He was perky as hell and sure didn't appear to be bored, or discouraged, or in any way looking like he might quit before he completes his stroll.

Charley from Texas 

Another interesting guy was Charley, a Texas dirt farmer who, having just visited Antarctica, traveled along the same bus route as I did from Ushuaia to Punt Arenas and on to Puerto Natales.  Charley appeared to be in his mid fifties, had a sizeable paunch and a scruffy beard, he wore a baseball cap, checkered shirts, and well frayed pants.  He was traveling without a guidebook which makes me think he could not read, or certainly not well, and that he did acknowledge.  Charley looked less like a traveler than any one I have ever met, American or otherwise.  In fact, as I've traveled, Americans are generally conspicuous by their absence.  I have seen more here in South America than other places, but usually they are young people or those who travel somewhat upscale, certainly more upscale than Charley.  Charley spent his whole life happily living as a stereotypical Texan on his farm near the Mexican border.  September 11 changed all that.  He decided something was wrong with all he had been told and believed; he sold his farm and has set out to learn what the hell the world is all about.  More power to him.  I wish I had spent more time talking with Charley, as he is certainly unique for his peer group in wanting to learn more of the world and how America fits into it.

Nick the Biker

And then there is Nick.  As I was boarding the bus for Punt Arenas I noticed a bicycle and a bunch of well worn cycling gear being loaded on.  Nick Lenzmeier, mid thirties and out of San Francisco had just completed an incredible journey, cycling from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, a trip which took him 20 months and covered more than 33,000km.  He pedaled every inch of the way except for the Darrien Gap in Columbia, which is considered unsafe for armies, let alone individuals.  He was so unassuming about his achievment it was completely disarming.  Almost, 'ho hum, well that's over'.  He did admit that he delayed a couple of days in the city of Rio Grande just out of Ushuaia, as apparently do many other Pan-American cyclists, reluctant to finish, and to having felt somewhat melancholy when he did.  Nick has a great website with lots of excellent pictures if you want to read the whole saga, http://www.the-road-south.com/, about as modest of a name as he could have chosen for such a monumental ride.

I Adore Ecuador

Dear family and friends,

After my visit to the Galapagos Islands, I joined a small group tour for a transverse of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. I met my group in Quito, the capital city. Besides myself, there is a guy from Norway, and seven women, three from Norway, three from England and one Australian. All the others are between nineteen and twenty-five. Our leader, Alex, is a Bolivian guy who grew up in Montréal. As well, we have a tour leader trainee with us. Alex and the trainee, an American guy, are likewise, under twenty-five. I stick out a bit.

I like Alex a lot. He is energetic, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable about anthropology and archaeology, his father being a professor of archaeology at Laval University in Québec City. The archetypical machismo Latino, Alex is handsome with raven black hair, deep brown eyes, and he has the physique of a professional dancer, which he was before becoming a tour leader. He has all the moves. Charming, engaging and considerate, he did complicate the group dynamics a bit, however, by singling out one of the Norwegian girls for special sleeping arrangements from the very first night.

I really liked Ecuador. After Argentina and Chile where there is almost no evidence of indigenous people and limited colonial architecture, Quito, and the other few cities I visited, were a welcome change. And I must add, after Chile, dining is again an agreeable activity with lots of tasty local and international foods available.