Volcán Tungurahua, Baños, ECUADOR

Early this afternoon I arrived in the village of Baños, 3.5 hours south east of Quito. Baños is nestled among spectacular mountains...and looking over its shoulder is the angry and very active Volcano Tungurahua, which continues to blow dark clouds of black/grey smoke into the atmosphere. In October 1999, Volcán Tungurahua was on red alert and the entire village was evacuated for about 4 weeks. I hope it starts to spew hot lava while I´m here!

Located about 40 km west of Tungurahua is the largest volcano in Equador, Chimborazo and to the north about 80 km is Cotopaxi volcano.

Its Carnival weekend (4 days) in Ecuador, and people are throwing water on everybody...in the daytime. In the evenings, they use aerosol cans with foam -- and the teenage guys just love to cover the girls in foam, yet nobody can escape the foam baths!

Adios!

Mitad del Mundo -- Equator, ECUADOR

Stepped back and forth from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere today at the equator line, just a few kilometers north of the city of Quito. Saw several experiments where it is shown that a bucket of water placed directly on the equator line, flows out without a swirl. Placed a few meters south of the equator line and water flows out clock-wise. Placed a few meters north of the equator line and water flows out counter clock-wise. Also, stand on the equator line, and your muscles are significantly weaker...also, on the line, chicken eggs are very easy to be balanced. Amazing....or did they smuggle with my brain?

Amazon Rainforest, ECUADOR

I returned yesterday from a 5-day excursion into the north western Amazon jungle of Ecuador. Indeed an exciting experience. I flew from Quito into the town of Coca....aptly named after the Coca plant, core ingredient of chocolates and the favoured hot milk drink. From Coca it was a 45 minute canoe ride on the Napo river, which flows into the mighty Amazon River.

Our daily excursions from the beautiful lodge in the jungle took us to nearby lakes, cloud forests, and smaller rivers where we found several birds and animals such as the Capybara, Pecari, Amazon Guinea Pigs, several species of monkeys (woolley monkey, spider monkey, pygmy monkey, and the Capuchino monkey)...and some ocelots in the cages nearby the lodge (all pictures used from other websites without permission but with thanks!).

Now in Quito and on Monday I am going south to the town of Baños to see the active volcano and will visit other villages on my way back to Quito. Back in Quito next Thursday and on Friday I am flying to Bogota, Colombia via Panama City.

Had my daypack slashed yesterday in a crowded bus in Quito but nothing got stolen (thanks to a double bottom bag)...luckily I noticed the suspicious woman and moved away. Got my bag fixed this morning.

Adios!

Galapagos Islands - ECUADOR

A life long dream is coming true!! Greetings from the island of Santa Cruz, part of the famous Galapagos Islands --- 1000km west of the Ecuador coast. Day after tomorrow I am leaving on an 8-day cruise around the islands to check out all the animals and swim with sea lions. Best thing here is that the birds and animals dont fear humans so you can get very close to them. Famous inhabitants here are the huge and old land tortoises, the large marine iguanas, marine turtles, lava lizards, fur seals, sharks, Sally-Lightfoot crabs, sea lions, dolphins, and a multitude of bird species including the pelicans, flightless cormorants, albatross, finches, red and blue footed boobies, frigats, penguins, etc.

A true animal lovers paradise -- I am in heaven.

UPDATED FEB. 17TH
I´m back in Quito on the Ecuadorian mainland. The 11 days on the Galapagos Islands was one of most amazing experiences of my life. The first three days I explored Santa Cruz island and spent an entire afternoon on a new friend´s farm walking with several gigantic tortoises -- many older than 100 years! Spent 8 days on a yacht, cruising between the islands. We mostly sailed at night, some nights only 4 hours and other nights up to 7 hours. Where else in the world can you swim with a huge colony of sea lions -- some coming so close to my face I can feel their whiskers, then I rub their bellies and they return for more! Where else can you walk up as close as 1 meter or closer to wild marine iguanas, land iguanas, hawks, lizards, all kinds of birds (including frigates and blue footed boobies) and gigantic tortoises! Animals on the Galapagos have absolutely no fear of humans - this is what makes these islands so truly amazing!! I will never ever forget my most wonderful close encounters with these animals, and my 950 awesome pics will help to keep the memories fresh for life!

Monday morning I am flying up to Coca and then by boat deep into the Amazon jungle for 5 days.

Adios!

Quito, ECUADOR

I spent almost all day yesteday (my birthday), flying from São Paulo to Panama City and then back south to Quito, Ecuador on Copa Airlines.

My first impressions of Quito are good. A lot more developed than I thought. This morning is cool (12 celcius) but sunny. While Quito is less than 13km south of the equator, at an altitude of 2850 metres some people suffer from dizziness until they´re used to the low oxygen level. So far I have only seen the "New Town". Later today I will explore the "Old Town" which is a UNESCO Heritage site packed with post-Inca Colonial buildings. First I have to plan and book my trips to the remote Galapagos Islands and the Oriete (Amazonian Jungle).

Note that my mobile phone has no connection anywhere in Ecuador (so no SMS messages). All correspondence via email please. While at the Galapagos I will spend most of the time on a boat, and in the Amazon jungle in huts...so no Internet connection either.

Adios!

Pantanal Swamps, BRAZIL

I enjoyed a wonderful time in Brazil just 3 months ago but returned for one reason: To experience life in the vast Pantanal swamps. The size of the swamps is roughly 230,000 sq km and stretches for 1,300 km in length across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay! Four times the size of England. With 650 species of birds, including the gigantic Jabiru stork – the world’s third largest bird, its a haven for bird watchers. (NOTE: None of these linked pics are mine. Credits to these photographers). One evening we drove down a dirt road and saw about 100 caimans in a 50m stretch of road....well, this was only 100 out of the estimated 30 million caimans who live across the Pantanal (a more realistic figure is probably closer to 25 million). All animals are now protected. Sadly, at the peak of the poaching era, in the 1980s, as many as 1 million caiman skins a year were smuggled from the Pantanal. Other animals I saw included the capybara (the world largest rodent), giant river otters, marsh deers, blue macaws, scarlet macaws, toucans, southern screamer, anacondas, southern caracara, pecari, quaties, howler monkeys, armadillos, etc. We also caught and ate piranhas (those flesh hungry fish) which just seems to be everywhere in the marshes, and found fresh jaguar foot prints. Also went horse back riding through the swamps...sometimes my horse was shoulder deep in the water....I had to lift my legs to avoid been eaten by the piranhas! The farmhouse where I stayed is surrounded by hundreds of parrots, macaws, and other colourful birds. Indeed a great experience!!

I can strongly recommend Natureza Farm where I stayed. Hugo, Thiago and the team is wonderful. Write to Luciana (naturezatours@hotmail.com) for more information.

Monday, Feb 6th (my birthday), I´m flying north to Quito, capital of Ecuador. The flight will be on Copa Airlines via Panama City.

Adeus from São Paulo, Brazil