But it hasn't been that long since our last dive! (Galapagos) - 26 March 2009

The Galapagos Islands were not originally on our itinerary. I honestly don't even remember them being part of the discussion. But we had such a good time diving Palau on the Aggressor that I thought more diving would be OK (in case you don't know, Jen's the more avid diver). Plus the entire time we were in Palau they kept showing videos and pictures from the Galapagos and it looked spectacular. Hammerhead sharks, seals, even whale sharks - it looked like the dive experience of a lifetime.

So when we got back to land we checked availability on Aggressor's web site and found that there was space for two people on a boat in late March. It turns out that the space was left over from a dive club in Cincinnati that didn't fill the boat, so we were lucky to get on board.

We took the (surprisingly large) plane out to the islands, paid our 100 bucks to enter the islands, and were met by the boat's crew at the airport. It was a little confusing since there are two Aggressor boats operating there and both had departures for our day. Plus, we haven't been the easiest people to contact. It all worked out, though, and we ended up on the boat to get situated and do a checkout dive.


At this point we're both around the 100 dive mark, so we're not novices by any means. All of that diving has been done in warm water, though, so the 7 mil wetsuits were an unpleasant surprise. So difficult to get into and so warm when you're not in the water - I really don't like them.

Per my journal - "Check out dive is a disaster." Neither one of us was comfortable in the wet suits and they wreaked havoc on our buoyancy. Plus the visibility was poor. All in all it was an inauspicious beginning.

Things will get both better and worse, though.

A picture for your trouble - 24 March 2009

Just realized that we did, in fact, go to the Equator, and that I didn't post any pictures. Here you go:

This should make the orienteering merit badge much easier.
I'm glad we visited the Equator, since we were already nearby, but it's not really much to see. Plus, there's some dispute over where the official equator really is. There's the place in the picture, where the big monument is, and then there's the place that GPS says is 0 degrees latitude. We didn't make it to the latter.

This is another one of those experiences (like Easter Island) that's worth an add-on if you're nearby, but not worth a standalone trip.

Revised expectations (Peru -> Ecuador) - 21 - 25 March 2009

Back when we were still in Patagonia I concocted an elaborate plan for our time in Ecuador. After finishing Machu Picchu but before heading to the Galapagos we were going to spend two days whitewater rafting and one day visiting the official equator.

Thankfully these plans never got finalized because we're both pretty beat up after the Inca Trail.

Saturday was spent mostly in Cusco. We shipped our camping gear to Jen's mom because we're done with the living in tents and had a final lunch at the Inca Grill. If one of your questions is "what was the strangest thing you ate on your trip?" then the answer is cuy at the Inca Grill in Cusco.

If your next question is "What's cuy?" then the answer is guinea pig. In a perfect world I'd go on to describe its exotic flavor and how eating guinea pig is one of the standout experiences of the trip. Unfortunately it takes like chicken. You can even pretend that you're eating chicken - at least until you get to the tiny rib cage. That's a little tough to ignore.

After lunch we walked around for awhile just trying to kill time, but finally gave up and headed to the airport for our flight to Lima. Jen and I spent the night in Lima and Jeremy headed back to the real world that evening.

The next day we flew from Lima to Quito, Ecuador. The flight was uneventful except for the constant apologizing of the crew to a gentleman seated in a middle seat one row behind us. It wasn't clear why he merited this special attention until we deplaned and found out he was the Thai ambassador to Ecuador. That coach flight is not going to help international relations.

In Quito we led a very laid-back lifestyle. Breakfast in the hotel, where we gorged ourselves daily and were subjected to the worst song covers in the history of the world. I haven't commented on it before but the use of questionable covers is rampant in South America. In this instance there was a cover of Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" - done by a dude strumming an acoustic guitar. Jen and I gave each other a quizzical look to the refrain of "Baby, baby, how was I supposed to know," and spent the rest of the song in appalled silence. For the record, I did have to look up how to spell Britney's name - it makes me feel a little bit better at least.

From Quito we moved on to Guayaquil to meet up with the folks from the Aggressor Fleet. Guayaquil was also very low-key. We ate at fast food in a mall and even found some English language books for Jen since she refuses to become a Kindle convert.

All-in-all Ecuador is pretty easy for Americans to deal with. The infrastructure is good and they even use U.S. dollars for their currency. They also take U.S. coins, although they have their own coins in the same size but different markings. It may not be the exciting time you picture talking about traveling around the world but at this point it's a welcome respite.

Yep, I still intend to "finish" the blog

Sorry for the delay, there's just a _lot_ happening right now. In fact, we're having to choose between taking the dogs or the wine for our move to California. Just kidding - looks like Doug & Betty will be able to keep charging us a wine storage fee.

We're not going to have internet until Wednesday, so it'll probably be awhile before I get back on track. Sorry.