Ecuador 2001
I think most people would balk at doing a school trip with their high
school.
We
left soon after school let out for holiday break in December.
I don’t
remember much about the long flight to Quito, but that’s probably for
the best.
As with any good high school trip, we were
shepherded around the city with a tour guide.
I regretfully look back at those
moments, thinking that I should have paid more attention.
Once we
began to get out of the city my attention was finally snagged.
This is what I and my friend, also
named Erin, would be spending some our pesos.
Warm, steamy, doughy
rolls were the perfect bus ride snack.
Now Erin and I could be nice houseguest and bring a dish to share.
Seeing that the bread rolls cost only $0.02 each, we had plenty to
share.
And yes, it does kind of taste like chicken.
The chicken was so large, I could have sworn
that the family killed the prize hen out back.
As we drove south from Quito the land became more
arid and mountainous.
In fact, it was a bit like Colorado’s western
slope.
At over 19,000 ft, this was not Colorado’s western
slope anymore.
As we drove closer to the coast, we stopped for two days
in Banos, Ecuador.
A hilly, wet town, famous for its hot springs.
It
is a cute town with water falls and meandering streets.
Remember folks, the number one cause of death for travelers
is automobile accidents.
After a couple of relaxing days in Banos it was off to the Galapagos.
Upon
landing in the Galapagos, you will go through an extensive custom’s
facility.
Because of the environmental sensitivity on the islands,
Ecuador is very strict about everything that comes through.
After
shuffling our group through customs we traveled to a dock to board our
ship.
Now, this wasn’t a magnificent Norwegian Cruise ship of anything
of that magnitude.
Remember, we’re student travelers.
But there were
flat beds and most of our time would be spent on the islands anyway.
The island’s ecosystems are so fragile that nothing ever grew
back, ever.
As I remember hiking along the various islands, I’m
taken back to the image of large albatrosses.
I remember how shut the sea lions let you get
while they lounge on the soft sand.
They seemed to not even notice the
huge Marine Iguanas sun bathing next to them.
Now, when I say huge
iguanas, I mean that the males can be over 5ft long!
I remember the feeling of the skiffs,
taking us from ship to island and back.
The undulating motion from the
ocean and the blue footed boobies diving in the water.
I can almost
hear the frigates, with their loud calls echoing in my memory.
Now there is a cute
baby animal.
Baby Galapagos tortoises are about the size of an
grapefruit and plod slowly around with awkward steps.
Their much larger
parents seem to move with more intent.
The plight of the Galapagos tortoise breaks my heart.
A sad
example of this is Lonesome George.
He is the supposed last of his
subspecies and already over 100 years old.
I only wonder what sort of
changes he has seen in the world through is old leathery face.
On
New Years Day, we went into a small island town.
We later found out
that this is part of the New Years tradition here.
It
makes me day dream if Lonesome George ever thinks about the years.
If
he could just burn a bad memory or mistake.
But then I think that
animals don’t live that way.
They don’t think about regrets or think
they should have done something differently.
To them, live is the
moments they live.
But I’m sure George is lonesome.
What must it feel
to be the last of your kind?
Can he even know that?
Those sorts
of thoughts never really crossed my mind on that trip.
I found his
presence mysterious and marveled in his size in magnificence.
I laughed
at the sea lions playing on the beach and watched the birds dive into
the ocean.
I got lost listening to waves roll in on the beach and
watching the clouds rolling in over Cotopaxi.
I enjoyed the tastes of
new foods and fresh bread.
I enjoyed traveling around the world with my
friends.
But it is only 11 years later that I think about all of the
rest.
I think about how we represent our countries when we are abroad.
I think about the hospitality of other cultures and how open and kind
everyone from around the world is.
I think about the magnificence of
the planet with its towering volcanoes and isolated ecosystems.
I also
wonder at the magnitude of what it means to visit the last of a species.
To witness something that might never exist ever again.
It’s an eye-opening experience to travel.
It’s a sobering experience to remember it.
*pictures will be loaded as soon as I get around to scanning the images into digital form.
