A Family RTW Travel Adventure

On the public pier in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island, we encountered a slight bump in the road.

At least a half dozen sea lions were blocking our way, lounging on the steps we needed to descend to board the dinghy that would take us to the Cruz del Sur, our home for the next week.

When it became apparent the sea lions weren’t quite ready to give up their resting spot, Hanzel, our naturalist guide, led us to another dock where we were able to board our dinghy.

To travel to the Galapagos is to travel to a alternate universe where sea lions, marine iguanas, giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies rule, and where they have found a way to live in harmony.

After centuries on islands with no natural predators, Galapagos wildlife is ridiculously tame.

Seventeenth and eighteenth century sailors were amused by the animals’ “stupidity.”  They never had to hunt for food on the Galapagos; they simply went ashore and grabbed what they wanted, as if visiting a precursor to the modern supermarket.

The animals never fought back or fled.  They knew no danger.

Today their main annoyance is hundreds of pesky humans constantly pointing a camera their way.  Paparazzi in Patagonia clothing.

Our friends, the Gugel-McPhersons (Gail, David, Cam & Meg) joined us on a nearly flawless GAP Adventures family cruise to these other-worldly islands.

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Banos is the kind of place a person could go to disappear for a while. That’s what American expats Marshia Jackson and Jim Redd appear to have done.

The pair left Chicago in 2004 and bought the Banos B&B Posada del Arte, where we had the pleasure to stay during our visit to this picturesque adventure-filled town.

Jackson and Redd have created a lovely, comfortable B&B which they have filled with imaginative Ecuadorian art.  They recently took over management of Casa del Abuelo, just around the corner.  It too is being filled with local paintings, sculptures and other works of art.

Banos was the third stop on our Ecuadorian road trip.  Every Quiteno we spoke to strongly recommended visiting the place; we’re glad we did.

The small, compact town, surrounded by mountains, is one of Ecuador’s most popular destinations.  It is also the gateway to the jungle - Ecuador’s Amazon Basin.

There are dozens of tour operators offering mountain biking, rafting, canyoning and jungle adventures.

While there is plenty of adventure to be found in Banos, we were in town to relax, so we took in the attraction from which the town takes its name: the steaming thermal baths (banos) heated by the volcano Tungurahua.

After a great dinner and a relaxing night’s sleep at Casa del Abuelo, we went to town’s best known bath, La Piscina de La Virgen.

The baths have three pools of varying temperatures - one cold, another warm and one that reaches nearly 115 degrees - making it a popular spot for vacationing Ecuadorian families.

The murky water (containing chlorates, sulfates and magnesium) is known for its “restorative and healthful properties.”

While there, we mimicked the locals who stood under a cold shower of water diverted from a nearby waterfall, then jumped into the hot pool.

It was the perfect antidote to our bone-chilling night at Laguna Quilotoa.

In fact, the only reason to leave Banos would be another eruption of Tungurahua, the active volcano that looks over the town.

So long as Tungurahua only belches smoke and ash, it’s just another tourist attraction in a town that offers the right mix of adventure and relaxation.

We left the main road at Latacunga, and each successive town we passed seemed smaller, poorer and more primitive.

We were headed to Laguna Quilotoa, a volcanic crater lake that is indisputably one of Ecuador’s most breathtaking sights.

Our guide Patricio drove cautiously along winding switchback turns as we made the ascent to 12,800 feet. It took us nearly two hours to drive 50 miles on poorly paved roads.

We reached the village of Quilotoa at dusk. A tiny village has taken root on the southwest side of the volcanic crater to cater to tourists.  It’s about the only place in Ecuador where the accommodations are actually run by local indigenous people.

Several Quichua families run very rustic hostels - most have no heat and no hot water.  What visitors sacrifice in comfort, they gain in the opportunity to spend time with indigenous families.

But the prime attraction is the crater lake itself, and it is truly an awe-inspiring sight.  We hiked down 800m from the crater rim to the aqua-green alkaline lake below.

But instead of climbing out, we took the easy way back to the rim.  Young Quichua children lead caravans of burros up the steep, narrow paths.  The ride up is harrowing at times - but it sure beats walking.

And considering the altitude, it’s the best five dollars (per person) you could ever spend.

In a remote town high in the Ecuadorean Andes, a small group of indigenas men gathered around a 19-inch color TV watching a crystal clear DVD copy of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, less than two weeks after it was released in the United States.

“It’s global warming.”

Until that moment, our native guide at Cotopaxi National Park had only spoken to us in spanish.  But she had learned enough english to point out the environmental threat to Ecuador’s second highest peak.

Pictures in the national park’s museum clearly showed how far the snows had receded over the past thirty years.

On the day we visited, mountain bikers began their descent of the mountain from a point covered by snow just a few decades ago.

But the snow isn’t the only thing to have disappeared from Cotopaxi National Park.

Twenty years ago, orange-bellied Atelopus frogs were a common sight around Laguna Limpiopungo, near the base of Cotopaxi.  Today they are nearly gone.

Laguna Limiopungo

Scientists have offered several theories to explain the disappearance of the frogs, including a degeneration in air quality and an increase in UV-light levels.

But it was a 2006 study by Nature that largely solved the riddle.  It showed that a fungus was wiping out the frogs - and that the fungus was thriving because of global warming.

I doubt our native guide read Nature, but she knew what was threatening her livelihood - and one of the best hiking and trekking destinations in the world.

With her limited english, I couldn’t tell if what she said next was a question about the climate or the condition: “How does it change?”

A Day In Pictures
Otavalo Day Trip

On Saturday we took a day trip north of Quito to the Otavalo Market and surrounding area.

Otavalo has been a crossroads and market town for thousands of years.  Today tourists from around the world visit by the busload to bargain for rugs, sweaters, jewelry, art and local crafts.

While the market has become a bit of tourist show, it has made Otavalenos the wealthiest, most commercially successful indigenas (indigenous people) in Ecuador.

As we traveled into Ecuador’s northern highlands, the views were spectacular.

The market lived up to advance billing: colorful, vibrant, offering most every product imaginable.

But the Otavalenos were more interesting than anything offered for sale.

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None of us knew what to expect of Quito.  Frankly, I’m not sure I knew it existed before we decided to travel to the Galapagos as part of our round the world journey.  But it has been a beautiful surprise.

Flanked by volcanic peaks, blessed by near perfect weather and home to friendly and helpful people, Quito has proven to be an excellent starting point for our adventure.

We’ve been spending most of our time in Old Town, the historic center of Quito.  It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978.  In 2006 the city completed a massive multi-million dollar restoration program that has revitalized Centro, as the Quitenos refer to it.

Narrow streets, colonial architecture and lively plazas make it a great place to wander.

Here are some of the sights from our first days here.

A view of Quito from our hotel’s rooftop deck.

View from the Plaza Grande.

View from Plaza San Francisco.

Detailed stonework on the La Compania de Jesus.

Conor mets a street performer on the Plaza Grande.

You can see more pictures of Quito here.