Bartolome Island

Today we got up early to travel back across the island to take a 2hr (each way) boat tour north to Bartolome Island.

It is an uninhabited volcanic island. The barren, rock landscape seemed more of a desolate moonscape, but as we hiked around we saw a few plants and cacti, tiny lava lizards and some insects. Flying overhead we saw hawks and frigatebirds. We even had our first sighting of Blue Footed Boobies perched on a ledge.

When we went snorkeling in the bay, we saw many colourful fish, crabs and sea creatures.

The highlight of the day, however, were the penguins. There weren't many, but they perched close by on rocks, so we could get some excellent photos and selfies, and swam around in the water with the kids while they snorkeled.

It was a long day, but well worth it to see the unusual landscape and unique Galapagacian creatures.

Darwin Centre

Today we slept in (to 7:30... :-P ).

After breakfast, we took the water taxi to town where we took care of a few errands and explored the shops, working our way to the Darwin Centre.

Along the way we walked passed the Fish Market. There were more animals than humans in line, including a sea lion, many, many pelicans, a crane, and a Marine Iguana.

At the Darwin Centre we saw lots of tortoises - some old and some new (and some old ones making new ones ;-) ). The centre is a research facility used to repopulate the tortoises on the various islands. It was the former home of Lonesome George. It was very interesting and fun to see so many tortoises in one spot.

In the afternoon the kids went swimming at the beach close to our guest house. They saw a sting ray and lots of sea urchins. They also got up close to many marine iguanas while they were climbing on the rocks.

Getting to Galapagos

Our transportation journey began 15 minutes before planned early this morning, when our taxi drivers (we need 2 taxis for the 6 of us) showed up early - not a bad thing.

We went from the taxis to the airport where we were upgraded to First class - also not a bad thing.

Our quick stopover in Quito was ending on a very positive note.

When we landed in the Galapagos airport, we were surprised to learn we had to pay a $100/person (cash) tax, especially after we'd paid a $20/person (cash) tax for the Galapagos at the Quito airport before we left. We grudgingly paid and carried on to the airport bus. The bus took us to the ferry, where they placed everyone's luggage on the roof and shuttled us across a narrow channel. This is where we spotted our first Galapagos wildlife - a marine lizard.

From the ferry, we took another bus that drove us all the way across to the other side of the island (42km). The landscape near the airport was very dry and brown, but when we got to the other side of the island, everything was green and lush. Quite a contrast.

At the bus stop, we were met by our hostess for the next week. We then took the opportunity to take a brief pause in our journey to have some lunch. Afterwards, we climbed on a water taxi for a short boat ride across the small port. From there we followed our hostess along a dirt path until she delivered us to her guest house.

To relax after the long journey, we took a local path to "Las Grietas" (The Crack). The kids were able to swim in this vast crevasse for 5 minutes before they closed it to the public for the night.

At the end of the night we enjoyed Happy Hour at a restaurant over looking the port. Happy to have successfully navigated our way to this remote location.

Peru to Ecuador

Once again we were up early to catch our flight from Cusco to Lima to Quito, Ecuador. Everything went smoothly and no luggage was lost. Yay!

We got into Quito early in the afternoon and explored the area around our hotel.

We had a tour of the Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesús built by the Jesuits from 1605 to 1765. We learned about the history and art of this incredibly ornate church and took in the stunning panoramic views of the city from the roof top.

After a leisurely dinner we headed back to the hotel. We have another early morning to continue the adventure tomorrow.

Chocolate Making Workshop

Since we felt bad leaving the kids out of learning and participating in a local custom, this morning we all headed back to the Choco Museo for a chocolate workshop.

We learned about the history of chocolate and made our own. We started by roasting the cacao beans, shelling them, and finally grinding them by hand. No product of the process was wasted. We made choco tea from the shells and two types of chocolate drinks from the beans. Then we mixed flavours to create our own unique chocolates. It was interesting and entertaining (not to mention delicious)!

In the afternoon we walked up to Sacsayhuaman ("sexy woman"), but were unable to enter the site. We did see some amazing views of the city though.

On the way back down, we wandered through souvenir shops and craft stores collecting the last momentos of our trip to Peru.

Pisco Sour

Pisco Sour

During the day we wandered around Cusco. We had lunch on a balcony over looking Plaza de Armas and watched the plaza activities.

Afterwards we visited the Choco Museo (we will return there tomorrow) and the San Pedro Market, where we bought some fresh mangoes for tomorrow's breakfast.

In the evening, we left the kids to their own devices (literally) in the apartment, and went on a Cusco Night Tour and Pisco Sour Lesson.  We learned more things about the Peruvian culture and heritage and explored the artisan district of Cusco.

We also met some East Coast Americans now living in Cali. But most importantly, we had a Pisco Sour lesson where we got to make and (of course) drink our own concoctions.

It was a lot of fun!

Machu Pitcchu

One of the High Points of our trip (literally and figuratively) began hours before sunrise at 4am. 
We met our guide at 5am and waited in line for a bus up to Machu Pitcchu, arriving almost 2.5hrs later. The steep and narrow route by bus took 25 minutes. 
For the next 3 hours, our guide shared with us the breath taking and fascinating Machu Pitcchu.
Here I will let the images reveal its awesomeness, which still do not do it justice, but are more than words can describe.

Despite the early start and the long waits, today's experience was beyond expectations.