My compliments to Grayline tours

One of the hardest decisions to make when traveling is what to do when you get there.  Do you explore on your own or use a tour company?  Well, it depends.  On our trip to Ecuador where language was an issue, we decided to use a tour company, but which one?  I’ve used Grayline for several other tours and learned that they have a presence in Ecuador, so I went with them.  The tours were wonderful.

Our first tour was a City and Equatorial Tour.  Here, we toured by bus and foot the wonderful cathedrals and churches of the city, including there Notre Dame and the famous San Francisco.  Several, we were able enter and marvel at the architecture and ornateness which belie the wealth of the country.  Throughout the tour, we are getting a history lesson.  We conclude the city part of the trip with a spactaculous view looking down on the old city.  While not part of the equator trip itself, our guide took us to the actual location of the equator in addition to the equator monument.  At the actual location is a small museum (and fee) where there are experiments and archaeological digs.

We also used Grayline to visit the Indian market Otavalo.  We took a private tour, because group tours are only offered certain day.  Along the way to Otavalo, we made several stop at local markets and scenic outlook.  While the day that we visited the market was not busy, it seemed not to deter the vendor.  This is a must visit place in my opinion, even if you don’t like to shop.  After Otavalo, we visited a small town known for its leather goods.  Advice … take a lot of money, while the products are not expensive by United States standard, you really get caught up in the bargaining.

The last tour was  to Cotopaxi and an hacienda.  While we had no intentions of climbing the volcano, the natural beauty of the area is incredible.  We were lucky in that we got to see the snowy tops of the volcano.  Because the day was somewhat clear, we drove to the base parking lot for climbers.  This was not part of the tour.  You better be adventurous and trusting.  A good part of the drive is quite foggy and the rode is curvy and not paved and there are no guard rails!  A word of caution for those who suffer altitude sickness … I thought that my head was going to explode.  The choice of hacienda was excellent.  Too bad it was raining.

Last word, while we could have explored these places on our own, there were lots of places on each tour where we stopped that we would not have known to do.  Also, we learned a lot about the history and culture of the places we visited.  Our guides made the experience personal and enjoyable.  All were professional and seemed to like their jobs.

Galapagos Islands or bust …

Okay, we have been in Quito for three days and the temperature has been cool and it has rained periodically, but that’s okay, because we have gotten to see much … the old colonial city, the Otavalo Indian market, and other small towns.  The churches and cathedrals in the colonial part of the city are absolutely magnificent and ornate.  The most unfortunate aspect of Quito and the surrounding cities is the poverty and the conditions in which a lot of indigenous people live.  We have come across few beggars, most people are either trying to see some craft like scarfs or phone plans where you buy according to how much you plan to talk … seriously.  The city is also a bit dirty, but the poverty was the worst. 

After three days in Quito, we depart for the Galapagos Islands, where only one of the two airports are working … the one on Baltra.

So, we arrive at the Quito airport on our fourth day for our flight to the Galapagos Islands and waited and waited and waited.  After waiting at the airport for four hours we finally board the plane to fly to Baltra.  I have to admit that the airport process was one of the worst that we have ever experienced [which I will blog about later], but we finally arrived in Baltra about two hours after we were supposed to arrive.  I fully expected that we would miss our cruise ship, the Explorer II. 

The wait … totally worth it!  More to come …

Welcome to Quito, Ecuador

Well the countdown to Ecuador is over, we have arrived.

We flew through my favorite airport, Atlanta, actually that is my least favorite.   We were delayed one hour!  That’s a blog for another day.   As I said we are in Quito, enjoying our holiday.

Our first full day, we toured the city and visited the equator monument and the actually location of 0 degree lat and long.  There is a natural history and living science museum are the real equator site.  What a fun way to start our trip.

The monasteries and churches in the colonial part of the city is worth the visit, not to forget the history behind city.

Other than some light rain and cold weather, what a nice day.

Quito, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador … two days to go

This Wednesday we will be in Quito, the capitol of Ecuador.  Ecuador has never been on my radar … until I learned that the Galapagos Islands belong to the country, but there’s a lot to see and do in Ecuador too … at least that is what I have read. 

Like most of South America, and the rest of the world, Ecuador was colonized by the Europeans and has a lot of European influenced architecture, but the country also has a rich culture and history too.  Ecuador is in the Andes and the Amazon.

One of the tours we will be taking from Quito visits the equator monument where you can stand on both the northern and southern hemisphere.  We also will get to learn about the culture of Ecuador, influenced by Europeans and indigenous people.

While food is often a symbol and representative of culture and I am usually interested in how other people live … I am not trying the roasted guinea pig!

World Heritage Centre list of world sites … hmm

I have to admit that I am sometimes traditional, sometimes I am not, but as a travel enthusiast, I always grapple with where I want to go next.  One of my main reasons for traveling is the cultural value.  The world is much larger than my backyard, i.e., the southeastern United States.

The World Heritage Centre publishes a list of World Heritage sites around the world that are based on culture, nature, and a mix of the two.  While a disproportionate number of sites appear to be in Europe, at least according to their map, the list certainly contains world treasures that we should protect.  I believe that the list may suggest some bias on the behalf of the “Deciders”, but the list continues to grow and hopefully will become more diverse.

Currently there are 851 properties on the list of which 660 are cultural, 166 are nature, and 25 are both cultural and nature.

So far I have visited the following sites and would include each one on my world heritage list

Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay (1979, 2007)

Palace and Park of Versailles (1979, 2007)

Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) (1985, 2007)

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims (1991)

Paris, Banks of the Seine (1991)

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae (1986)

Acropolis, Athens (1987)

Archaeological Site of Delphi (1987)

Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (1988)

Monastery of Batalha (1983)

Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon (1983)

Monastery of Alcobaça (1989)

Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church (1987)

Tower of London (1988)

Everglades National Park (1979)

Independence Hall (1979)

Redwood National and State Parks (1980)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1983)

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (1987) ^#

Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1987)

Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (1989)

 Galápagos Islands (1978, 2001)

 City of Quito (1978)

 Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (1996)

 Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn (1996)

 Historic Centre of Vienna (2001)

 Historic Centre of Prague (1992)

 Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec (1995)

 Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue (1987, 2002)

(Yellow diamonds () are cultural sites, Green circles () are nature sites, and Red circles        () are nature sites in dange.)

Hawaii for the holidays

If you have been to Hawaii during Thanksgiving or Christmas, you will understand that it is quite an experience, especially if you are from the United States’ east coast or south.

We arrived Thanksgiving day and had a non-traditional dinner that is no turkey, no stuffing, and no cranberry sauce or relish.  That was okay, we’ve done that before.  [See our holiday tag].  What seemed so unusual for us was the Christmas decoration on palm trees and the 80 degree weather, at least on Honolulu, Oahu.  I’m sorry, but Santa in shorts looks funny.

Interestingly, Hawai’i (The Big Island) wasn’t decorated like Honolulu, Oahu.

Excuse me, please stop talking to me

Please stop talking to me, I am pretending that I am reading and I am traveling with someone else who I am also pretending that I am talking to, but you keep talking to me.  Don’t you realize that I am trying to be aloof and dismissal and that I am condescendingly pretending to be interested in what you have to say …

What caused that rant from an otherwise calm placid person?  Well, I should start from the beginning.  Okay, we were traveling home from Zurich and we effortless made it through security.  Now, the story begins.  We found a nice quiet spot near our gate and occasionally talked to each other.  Then what seemed like a million middle aged and retirees seemed to surround us where we hear all about their travel experiences.  That was just merely mildly annoying.

Here’s the disturbing part of the trip.  We board the plane without incident and take our seats in a two seat row.  Then a very talkative lady takes her seat in the next row to us.  I made the mistake of smiling back at her … and then the talking began. 

She is a traditional healer from the United States who has lived years in Europe most recently Switzerland.  I think that she told me how long she has lived there and how many countries she has visited … no exaggeration.  She is also fluent in several languages including German.  So, I say “how interesting.”  This was a mistake too.

But, I pick up my magazine and pretent to read … this did not deter her.  Then I learned how many clinics she has integrated her healer practices.  Mistake number two, I mentioned that I work at a university medical center.  Then I learned the full extent of healing skill.

Then I get a gift, she starts nodding.  I think, good, I’m free, free at last.  False alarm, she wakes up and starts talking again.  She is traveling to the west coast, i.e., California to “interview” a potential client to see if she will work for the clinic.

I swear that she must have talked for half the flight.  I have never been so happy to land at Dulles as this time.

Some people just can’t take a hint … next time I may say, “Excuse me, please stop talking to me.”