Colonial Lima

Took a city tour of Lima with our guide, Javier.  We went to the old part of the city and visited some churches and the Arch Bishop's palace. 

 

 

The square has been reconstructed to its colonial glory, and was very impressive.  Many of the buildings had unique looking balconies (apparently in the Moorish style) and were brightly painted.

 

 

 

The highlight was a visit to the catacombs...which are in a church which was built in the 1500's.  There being no cemetery (and the culture did not require one) bodies were buried beneath churches in large and very deep catacombs...it was fascinating...in some graves entire families were found from baby up to father...

 

 

The Basilica was truly beautiful...with many small chapels which have been restored in recent years, and so are very striking indeed.

 

 

  

Wet in Guayquil

After an uneventful flight, from San Cristobal, we arrived in Guayaquil, on the coast.  We stepped off of the plane into dripping humidity and melting temperatures. We were met at the airport by a driver who had been sent by the guest house we were staying in and he told us..."Here in Guayaquil it is hot in the morning, hot in the afternoon and hot all night".  So, we should not have been as shocked as we were...turns out we are here in the rainy season...which is also the scorching hot season...ah we are truly gringos!!!

As we were here only for the afternoon and evening we decided to go to the historic center of the city,  and the driver agreed to take us.  I was the spokesperson as I have a small amount of Spanish...in any case, we ended up at the Historic Park, not at all where we wanted to go...but learned on the way that we could expect rain to start at about 3 and to end sometime in the evening...so...having not a lot of time, the park was what we did. 

It was a park devoted to natural history and to showing the local flora and fauna.  It was very nice with a reconstruction of the main city street from the 1700's.  Sure enough...at 3 o'clock the rain started and it varied from a drizzle to a roaring downpour.  We got very wet indeed.  We wandered through the park for a while and then made our way to a local mall where Paul ate KFC and I something more local...

We were exhausted and so went back to the guest house and stayed there for the night...enjoying the air conditioning.

The parts of the city that we saw were less affluent than the areas we had seen in Quito and admittedly, I felt less safe than I have in other places.  Even at the park, located in the affluent tourist area, there were at least two security guards patrolling the grounds and a security guard at the front gate.  in the mall, most large stores had security posted at their doors, and the mall itself had security at all doors and in the parking garage.
Now we are off to Lima, and I admit that I am looking forward to a bit of down time. although we will be spending some part of our week there making plans for the sacred valley and Machu Pichu...

 

  

Leaving Galapagos

What an adventure we have had...before we came the Galapagos Islands were something I had only heard of...several islands with many animals...now though I have been enchanted...the islands are rugged and barren looking...covered with grey trees, volcanic rock, beaches and cacti...but up close they are teaming with life...birds are everywhere some mating...some having done so already...lizards and iguanas lie in the sun to warm up so they can climb down to the ocean to feed, only to climb up again for a bake in the afternoon sun...giant tortoises are still living on some islands and sea turtles are literally everywhere.  We were lucky to be there when the turtles were mating so we saw them...in the water...stacked one atop the other while males circled nearby awaiting an opportunity...

We snorkeled twice a day and hiked twice as well, and both were great, offering different types of viewing opportunities.  (My foot held up okay, but I had to be very careful with each step).
The snorkeling was fantastic with opportunities to see incredible sea life, to play with sea lions and to look at sharks and stingrays...we saw so much that it is hard to remember it all...
 

 

 

 

 

 

When we left the boat we went to our hotel...a really lovely bed and breakfast called the Casa Iguana Mar y Sol.  It had a lovely cross breeze in our room thanks to large windows and after we hiked to the top of a trail overlooking the town and looking out to the west we fell asleep to the sounds of the sea lions barking in the distance (all animals are protected so sea lions are literally everywhere...sitting on the park benches, lying under and on the boardwalks, curled up in flower beds...they sleep all day...so the night is party time for them I suppose)

Today though we leave it all behind as we head to Guayaquil on the mainland where we will stay for one night exploring the historical centre of town.
 

 

  

The Galapagos

Indescribable...

  

  

New Years in Quito

Bringing in the new year in Quito was an experience indeed...the traditions were very different than what we are used to in Canada.  It is a major celebration continuing into the wee small hours of the night.  The fire works started at 8:00 at night and continued until 1 in the morning...unbelievable...we were in our room and watching the fireworks explode all around us...literally.

Also effigies are made and burned to mark the end of the new year...like celebrations in November in the UK I suppose.  In addition, the men dress as the widow of the new year...stop traffic and get a "donation" from drivers...all in good fun...

We were quite blown away by it all...

A man dressed asthe widow of the new year.

The rope was used to stop cars to seek "voluntary" donations from drivers before they were allowed to pass

Effigies of pop stars and political leaders are burned in the street at midnight