An amazing trip to Machu Picchu and an up close and personal tour of the Andes

In the words of David Geis (Academic Dean Summer ‘07), “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

Okay, so maybe Dickens wrote that first but those are the words I found on a card that was left for me on my cabin door last night. I have to admit, it is the best way to articulate my time in Peru. It started out wonderful (Machu Picchu is amazing), peaked somewhere in the middle (Nate proposed) and slowly eased its way to down right miserable by the last day (a 17 hour drive back to Lima). Let me start from the beginning.

We docked in Callao, Peru on Tuesday, July 24th. Like every other port we had our diplomatic briefing before anyone got off the ship. This was a briefing like no other. On my previous voyage we had the “don’t buy drugs” briefing (Malaysia), the “don’t be shocked by the poverty” briefing (India) and the “don’t let anything out of your sight” briefing (Brazil). This, well, it was all three wrapped into one. I must admit I left a little shell shocked and a lot relived that I was heading immediately to the airport to begin the highly anticipated trip to Machu Picchu. This was the must see/do for the summer. I really didn’t care what else came along for the other ports but Machu Picchu was my mission. We booked our tickets/hotel months ago and good thing. It was Dia de la Independencia this week and everything was booked solid.

Our trip started out great. Nate, Lisa, Tania and I grabbed a cab and headed to the Lima airport. We flew to Cusco where we stayed the night prior to taking a train to Machu Picchu. Getting to Machu Picchu was going to take some work and we were okay with that. We roamed around Cusco, which is a beautiful city. We explored the Incan Wall, an incredible architectural feat (stones carved perfectly to fit on one another without mortar or any other support) and had a fabulous dinner.


Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early (4:45am) and headed out of Cusco by train for Aguas Calientes, the train stop for Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes began as a location for backpackers who hiked the Incan Trail into Machu Picchu to stay the night prior to taking the train back to Cusco. Over the years it has developed into a small tourists town complete with hotels, artisan shops and a pizza restaurant in front of you at all times (I never did find out why pizza…every place sells it, even the high end joints). We arrived in Aguas Calientes and checked into our hotel. Wow! When we started making the reservations back in March everything was booked. As I mentioned, we were visiting Peru during their week of Independence celebration and it was packed. We ended up splurging and getting a junior suite. Truth be told, we just wanted a room and that is what we found. Our room was spectacular.
It was on the top floor of the hotel (which looked out into the Andes with a river running in front of it) and we had the corner room. We had two walls that were all glass (top to bottom) and an enormous balcony. I ran around the room like a little kid at McDonald’s Playland for a few minutes and then the excitement to see Machu Picchu won out.


We met back up with Lisa and Tania, grabbed a bite to eat (pizza, of course) and caught the bus to Machu Picchu. The bus ride up to the ruins takes a switch back road to what seems to be nowhere and 25 minutes later you emerge at Machu Picchu. It is stunning even from the road. I have to be honest, I don’t know the last time I was this excited inside. I was having a hard time sitting still on the bus and then as we turned a corner and the stone structures came into view I almost squealed. Nate just kept laughing at me. I’m sure my five year old self was totally apparent. We entered the park and stood in awe. It is so much more amazing in person than any picture can do it justice. It is huge! And the peak in the distance (Wayna Picchu) towers over the ruins.

Often referred to as the “Lost City of the Incans”, Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 by a Yale archeologist. In the Quechua language Machu Picchu means “old peak”. Machu Picchu was built in 1450 but was abandoned about 100 years after it was constructed. When the Spanish invaded Peru many of the Incan treasures were destroyed but Machu Picchu was never discovered because it is not visible from below.

Before hopping the bus in Aguas Calientes Nate bought a book on Machu Picchu and served as our guide. It was great having all the history and knowledge at our finger tips. We spent almost four hours at Machu Picchu the first day. It was sunny out and the sky was perfectly blue. It was a magical day but we didn’t get to see everything. We were taking our time absorbing what a wonderful place it was because we knew we’d have the next day to continue exploring. We descended back down the mountain to our hotel, had an unremarkable dinner (which was par for the course in AC) and went to bed early. Most tourists come in to Aguas Calientes on the morning train, visit Machu Picchu for a couple of hours and then train back to Cusco all in one day. I just can not imagine only being at Machu Picchu for a few hours so I was so relieved we decided to take a night in Aguas Calientes. It also afforded us the luxury of being on the mountain after the trains had left. The crowds had thinned out and it was a little more peaceful.


The following morning we woke at 4:45am again and caught one of the first buses up to Machu Picchu for sunrise. This was also the plan of every other tourist staying in Aguas Calientes because the line for the bus was enormous. We waited our turn, got on the bus and drove back up the mountain. This time Machu Picchu was covered in mystical clouds and you could hardly see anything (thus no sunrise). The clouds came and went all morning long and it provided for a completely different feel than the gorgeous sun filled day before. After watching the ruins play hide and seek in the clouds for a while Nate and I venture down into a lower part of the city that we had not visited the day before. There wasn’t a soul down there. It was amazingly empty and quiet and we just stood there for a while. It was then Nate told me had had brought me a present. I naively asked, “from where?” and his response was “home”. Before I knew it he had produced a small ring box before me and I stopped frozen. He said my response was funny but honestly I was telling myself, “remember, these could be earrings”. I opened the box and sure enough an engagement ring sat inside it. Engaged in Machu Picchu…are you kidding me! I was already on top of the world and now he was proposing. It was the most beautiful setting and of course, I said yes.

Shortly after Nate proposed we met back up with Lisa and Tania who were thrilled for us. Seeing their excitement made the whole thing that much more fun. We calmed ourselves down and decided it was time to conquer the scarily high mountain, Wayna Picchu. In looking at pictures of Machu Picchu I was always aware of the tall peak in the distance but never knew you could hike it. As a person who is scared of heights I debated this adventure for a while and then decided what the heck. They only allow 400 people up the mountain a day and we were there early enough to make the cut. We stood in line for over an hour (this was not the most efficient operation as each hiker has to sign in and out and they use the same book and gate for both directions.) Frustrated, cold, wet and mostly excited we made our way through the sign in process and started stepping. I’m not sure how many steps it is to the top of the mountain but my legs will tell you it was a lot. The “stairs” were actually stones (some more sturdy and wide than others) that went basically straight up the mountain. There was a bit of a zig-zag but nothing like a normal hike where you switch back as you ascend. At each break (and I needed them at an elevation of over 9,000 feet) I would look down to make sure I would be able to hike back down without totally freaking out. Going up was not a problem because you are looking at the mountain in front of you. Coming down, was another story. There were a couple spots where you look at the step below your feet and just beyond was the edge the mountain. The only time I really looked back and thought “I’m not sure I can come down this” was so close to the top and there was no way I was going to stop there. I eventually made it up the first landing and gradually edged my way to the middle of the platform. Nate, being the adventurer that he is (and not suffering from vertigo like I do) continued up to the highest rock on the peak and loved every minute of it. After watching the clouds move back and forth over Machu Picchu and taking in the gravity of it all we began our descent. The first few “stair cases” were tricky for me. I relied on Nate’s hand and looked into the rocks for stability. After that I was just fine getting down. I think everyone was a bit surprised that I did so well given the intense fear of falling that I have suffered from my entire life (high dives, no thanks). We spent another short while at Machu Picchu and then headed back down to Aguas Calientes to catch our train back to Cusco.

The train ride was uneventful and we returned to Cusco for an amazing meal at an organic restaurant we saw the first night there. Everything they brought out was absolutely delicious and it was the end to a perfect trip. We retired early (we were exhausted) and finally got a very full night sleep. We met up with Lisa and Tania the next morning to find there was an Independence Day parade taking place right outside our hotel. After taking a leisurely stroll around the Plaza in Cusco our driver, Edwin, who had been transporting us to/from the airport/train came by to pick us up and off we went to the airport.

This is where all hell broke loose.

We arrived in plenty of time for our 11:55am flight. As we approached the check-in counter a student came up to me frantically asking for help. A friend of hers had a problem with her flight and they were worried that if they stayed to help they would miss their flight. I went over to calm her down and see what needed to be done. She was there without a flight, no money and her credit card was stolen. As this was happening I looked up and saw Nate was one away from the counter so I told her to hang on and went back to the check in counter. Preoccupied, we took our boarding passes and quickly went back to the student. I pulled as much money as I could out of the ATM, went back to the counter and bought her a plane ticket for the next day. We then went upstairs to catch our flight only to find out that our flight was moved up by 20 minutes (we didn’t know this because we were mid crisis management) and we had just missed our flight. UH! This was the beginning of a very long day/night.

I can tell you right now my description of the events will not do them justice but here goes. After numerous attempts at getting a straight answer from LAN Peru (just as bad as LAN Chile in my opinion) we gave up and went to a travel agency. They were able to book us on a 10:30am flight the next morning for a mere $500 but that would mean Nate would miss his flight back to the States. We could not find anyone at TACA Airlines to talk with about Nate’s flight the next day out of Lima and decided not to risk it so we’d just take a bus back to Lima. We quickly found out that the bus takes 25 hours from Cusco to Lima because you must wind through the Andes almost the entire way (over 11,000 feet to sea level) and let’s face it, buses are just slow. So that option was out. We knew our driver was coming back to the airport with Lisa and Tania so we waited in the parking lot for him and asked for his advice when arrived. Edwin rose to the challenge and stepped in to save the day. He helped arrange for a car and a driver to take us to Lima. It would be a very long night but we would be back in time for Nate’s flight. This entire time we had been consulting with another couple who was in a similar situation and they decided they were also in for the car ride back so we shared the expense (thank god, it was not cheap!) and headed to the Avis rental office.


This began the city tour for an ATM because they only took cash. We walked around and finally found an ATM. As I put my card in I didn’t have a lot of faith that I could get any money out since I had already just taken money out for the student. Sure enough I was denied. Nate was a fast thinker and performed two withdrawals back to back as quickly as he could and it allowed him to take out twice the allotted amount. Thank God! Back to the Avis rental we went and after another 45 minutes or so we met our driver and began the long and very uncomfortable trek back to Lima.

I believe this drive deserves a little time in print and then I may never talk about it again. Picture this…a Toyota Corolla, 5 adults (I’m by far the smallest) and the windiest road you have ever seen in your life. I am not exaggerating when I say we took S shaped turns for the first 10 ½ hours. I must admit the mountains were beautiful but I would highly recommend seeing them from above if you’re ever in Peru. I had the distinct pleasure, as the smallest, of sitting on the hump in the back seat for the entire ride. We made one stop for dinner and a couple bathroom (if that is what you want to call the hole in the ground I paid to use on five occasions) stops and before you knew it (HA! 17 hours later) we were at the Lima airport to pick up our luggage, which we were told was put on the flight we missed. We waited for the LAN luggage office to open only to find out our bags were in Cusco. After coordinating to get our luggage on the next flight to Lima Nate decided to check into his noon flight while we were there (we weren’t having great luck so why chance it) and we went back to the ship to shower. Forty five minutes later we were driving back to the Lima airport where Nate boarded his flight sans luggage and I waited for the bags to arrive. We enjoyed a romantic lunch for two at the McDonald’s in the airport (our original plan of returning to Lima Friday and enjoying dinner at a fancy restaurant to celebrate our engagement was a distant memory) and I sent Nate off through security to fly back to San Francisco.

The good news (yes, one must find the little victories in life) is that our bags arrived when they were supposed to and I made my way back to the ship with two very full backpacks of dirty clothes. I threw our bags in the cabin and went to find anyone I knew for moral support. Thankfully, I walked into lunch to find some of my close friends all sitting at a table. Their warm welcome and big hugs made it all better somehow. And to put everything in perspective, one of kids (she’s 5) on board the ship (Ro/Mel, it was Emma Zavala) took a picture of Nate and I on the train home from Machu Picchu the day we got engaged and she had printed it out for us and came running up and said she had an “engagement picture” for me. It was very cute and perked me right up.

The rest of the day was spent on the ship. There was no way I was going anywhere. I continued to tell people I was going to take a nap but that never happened. Tom (Asst. Dean) saw me and said he wanted to have a congratulatory drink at 10pm in the Faculty Staff Lounge. I said, “great, I’ll be there” not knowing how incredibly exhausted I would feel at 10pm. There were a couple of times I tried to go to bed and everyone kept saying “just have one drink”. So I went up to the lounge and low and behold Tom had collected all the faculty and staff and had ordered dessert and champagne for a celebratory toast in my honor. It was very sweet. Our Executive Dean gave a toast and everyone was very excited. I’m sorry Nate missed our first engagement party. I lasted through one glass of champagne, one plate of fruit drizzled in chocolate and almost passed out right in the lounge. I excused myself and finally went to bed around 11pm.

WHAT A WEEK!!!!

Rapa Nui and more!

Unfotunately, there were a number of "issues" in Chile and I have been kept extremely busy the past three days. I haven't added an exact number up but I would venture to guess I've doled over 150 hours of dock time. I will be happy when we're in Peru. Just keep your fingers crossed that I will not be as busy between Peru and Costa Rica. Due to my schedule I asked Nate to guest blog about our time in Chile. I figured it's his last chance since he will be departing after our trip to Machu Picchu. Don't get too used to his writing style because you'll be stuck with my basic recounting for the next four countries.
-AD


Yesterday we completed a whirlwind visit to Chile and more notably Easter Island. We awoke before dawn last Monday morning and made our way to the 7th deck of the ship to watch the sunrise over the port city of Valparaiso. Unlike some of our previous ports we were afforded the luxury of stepping off the gangway and alighting essentially in the middle of downtown.

Unfortunately Monday was a Chilean holiday and nearly everything in town was closed. After wandering around lost for the better part of the morning we managed to convince the local ATMs to cough up some cash (our first five attempts were foiled because we failed to notice the ‘Foreign Customers Press Here’ button) we took an ascensore (like an elevator but outside) to the top of the hill overlooking the city for a bite to eat at an extremely well regarded local restaurant. Despite lofty recommendations none of us particularly liked the food and so we hopped a train to Vina del Mar in search of greener pastures (read: the mall, which we discovered was the only thing open).

We ran our few necessary errands and then wandered aimlessly, becoming crankier and crankier at being relegated to this infernal place on our first day in a foreign city. Finally we threw in the towel and decided to go see the new Harry Potter movie to kill time – abbreviated but pretty good by the way.

The next morning we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 3:00 am in order to organize our trip to Easter Island (Rapa Nui to locals), catch a bus to Santiago and hop our five hour flight. An anecdotal note of interest: The airline Lan Chile possesses all the powers of a monopoly as it is the only one that services the tiny island located 2200 miles off the Chilean coast. As we discovered, they model their customer service plan after the military dictatorship of General Pinochet with sweeping tactics that include revoking previously confirmed reservations at random and refusing to swap seats between customers interested in allowing their more desperate friends to take their spots. As they dutifully explained ‘their computer doesn’t allow them to do that’. Suffice it to say one day before we were set to depart they informed us they had over booked the flight and twenty of our sixty total passengers had been bumped. Twenty. Through some miracle of foresight the ship’s local tour agent immediately snapped up the remaining seats in Business class so many of us who were fortunate enough to be spared actually managed to travel in style… Still, many potential travelers were very, very disappointed. Anyway, if you visit Chile, you’ve been warned.

After an arduous morning of travel we arrived on the tiny island at just about mid day. We were greeted by our local tour guides who immediately hurried us into buses for transport to the hotels. At something like 178 square kilometers, Rapa Nui is exceedingly small and on the way to the hotel, our driver managed to give us a tour of downtown -exactly one block long- in about a minute and a half.

Some cultural education: The huge sculptures Easter Island is so famous for are called Moai and they normally stand between 15-40 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 60-120 tons. They’re constructed as representations of dead Polynesian tribal chiefs’ souls and are generally erected on a funeral platform called an ahu. These ahus can house anywhere from one to fifteen moai and there are over 800 moai total on the island.

After straightening out a few logistical details with the tour guide we first visited the site of three ahus overlooking the ocean, one with a solitary moai, one with 5 standing and one completely destroyed. The massive statues are truly impressive to behold, particularly with the crashing surf in the back ground. For our first historical nibble it was pretty tasty.

Next we visited one of four currently dormant volcanoes on the island. A stroll to the highest point on the crater revealed a small village of stone houses overlooking jagged ocean cliffs, once the site of an important local competition. Only the strongest tribal warriors were selected to take part. These warriors were forced to descend the cliffs on foot and swim two miles through shark infested waters to a craggy rock jutting from the ocean nearby. Once there they needed to search for and retrieve the egg of a frigate bird and return (through aforementioned sharks) to ascend the island cliffs where they started making sure to transport the egg undamaged. Many died in the attempt. The first warrior to successfully present the egg to the overseers earned accolades for his tribe and his chief was crowned king of the island for a year. For his troubles the warrior was then rewarded with a bride who had been confined to a cave for three months to lighten her skin. (As we all know, fair skin = purity, therefore I am the purest SOB on the face of the planet) and they immediately began producing babies in order to strengthen the gene pool. Fascinating.

That night we went to a local restaurant for dinner and drinks and over desert cocktails were treated to a fantastic display of traditional dancing complete with body paint, fierce expressions, scanty costumes and enthusiastic percussion.

The next morning we again awoke before dawn (3rd day in a row) and were driven to the Tangariki ahu, a massive, fully reconstructed platform with fifteen Moai statues overlooking large ocean cove, where we watched the sun rise. It’s difficult to describe the experience adequately. One moment you’re wandering around, tripping over yourself in the dark and cursing the shrill call of the crowing roosters nearby and the next you are struck dumb as you watch a long row of these massive, primitive statues emerge magically from the darkness, surrounded by haze and mystery and strangeness. As you try not to get distracted by taking 18 billion pictures, you watch the morning sky unfurl in orange, purple and gold. Really unbelievable. One of the most amazing things I have ever seen. One can almost hear the chantings and mutterings of ancient holy men as they watched the sun rise over their people.


Recovering from our wonder over a continental breakfast we then visited several other ahus in various stages of disrepair that were no less impressive. By noon were arrived at the crater of another volcano, this one the site of the rock quarry where the moai were made before they were transported to the various ahus dotting the coast. Another unbelievable site. The quarry is home to more than 400 moai in various stages of construction. Many are complete while some have yet to be hewn out of the mountain side. Over time, Mother Nature has begun to reclaim them and erosion, wind and sediment have left many of them partially buried or sprouting from the earth at impossible angles. We spent nearly two hours exploring and hiking to the peak of the volcano where we were rewarded with a view of the entire island and I mesmerized Anne with superb feats of agility while teetering over nearby precipices.

Next it was off to visit the famed ‘magnetic stones’ which were viewed by Rapa Nui people as sources of power because of their unnatural smoothness and strange energies. (When a compass is placed on their surface it promptly goes haywire. Way cool.) A late lunch by the beach, beautiful but otherwise unremarkable and it was back to town for some exploring and shopping. Anne and I broke away from the group to watch a spectacular sunset at the first location we had visited. Long shadows and vivid colors reflected off the water made only slightly less enjoyable by the grip of people who inconsiderately piggy backed off our idea. Another dinner at a local restaurant and it was to bed after a long and magnificent day. The next morning we flew back to Santiago, hopped a bus to Valparaiso and relaxed. On the last day in port we wandered the hills of Valparaiso through narrow, winding streets and neighborhoods of colorful houses, visited one of Pablo Neruda’s nautically inspired homes, sipped Chilean wine, sampled street vendors’ fare and watched another sunset.

Next stop: Peru!

Aren't fundraisers great?

Hi everyone,
Just returned from Easter Island (more on this later, I promise). We are spending our last day in Chile tomorrow and so far it's been great. I just downloaded some pictures and there are some good ones in there. I thought I would share my two favorites...

Okay, not my favorites of the entire voyage but these are pretty funny. I told you about the Arabian Sea's winning synchonized swimming team. Well, they agreed to do a charity photo shoot to raise money for Students of Service (the shipboard service program) and here are our photos. Originally, Nate donated his money but wasn't going to take a photo. We talked him into it and they guys thought it would be funny to have me off to the side looking jealous. The good news is that I didn't actually know what jealous looked like so I put my hands on my hips and rolled with it.

The Six Day Crossing

The past five days have been great. It has been so nice to slow things down a bit and allow folks enough time to unpack their bags from the last port and actually be able to put them in drawers before they pack all over again. I’ve been busy with a few judicial cases but nothing worth writing home about (then again, I couldn’t if I wanted to). It seems, as on any land campus, the same students continue to surface but so far we have a really great group of people on board.


I was going to blog a bit about Neptune’s Day but it seems that happened eons ago, when in reality it was just 10 short days ago. It is crazy how quickly time flies on this ship. Then again, it could be the 2 hour naps I find myself comatosed in any time I returned to my cabin. I’ve decided if anyone is suffering from insomnia they must go out right away and purchase an adult sized cradle that rocks them back and forth. The problem will surely be solved. Back to the subject - Neptune’s Day. Because the summer voyage is short and compacted it was necessary to perform the ritual and ceremony for Neptune’s Day in two hours vs. the full day it is given on a Fall or Spring voyage. This actually ended up being enough time but it was a little chaotic and hurried.

Neptune’s Day is a maritime tradition when ships cross the equator. It is conducted to pay homage to King Neptune and the Gods of the ocean. In the SAS tradition the pollywogs (anyone who has not crossed the equator by ship) are lined up and doused with a liquid concoction and then proceed to jump into the pool and upon climbing out of the pool they kiss a real dead fish. They then proceed to parade past King Neptune (in this case it was our Executive Dean) and are anointed as shellbacks (what you are called after you cross the equator on a ship). I went through Neptune’s Day in Fall 2000 so I was tapped to help be a part of King Neptune’s court. We had great fun getting ourselves ready for the event and watching people go through the ritual. The last piece of Neptune’s Day is the shaving of the heads. I’m not sure what our final count was but many, (students, staff, faculty and children alike) lined up to have their heads shaved. This is obviously not mandatory as both Nate and I still have our hair. We did get caught up in the moment for a bit and Nate almost shaved his head but he decided against it.



As I mentioned before, this voyage is moving very quickly. We have 36 days in port and only 28 days at sea. Our students are feeling the crunch big time. It is really hard to finish work for three classes in less than a month of class time. The word on the street has been that this voyage is extremely academically challenging. It has been difficult for them to keep up with the reading and homework assignments. There has also been a bit of disdain for the course everyone has to take and a petition started to circulate after Ecuador. The faculty met and decided to have an open forum for the students to come express their concerns. I’ve heard conflicting reports. Some say it went really well, others left unsatisfied. Regardless, I think it was very helpful to bring everyone together to talk about it and many of the students were impressed this meeting was even scheduled. On the Student Life side of things we have done very little programming due to the intense nature of the summer voyage and the concerns from students and faculty that there just is not enough time in the day for the work to be done.

Thankfully, yesterday was a day without classes because it was Sea Olympics day. It came at both the right time and the wrong time. So many students were stressed beyond what they have experienced before and it gave them a chance to play and have fun. Others spend part of the day (in between the events they were participating in) in the library and computer lab writing papers and studying for mid-terms. Not really the idea we had in mind with the Sea Olympics but we completely understood why they were there. That is just how it goes in the summer.


When I sailed in Fall 2000 it was my responsibility to plan the Olympics so I was thrilled to be free all day and have the opportunity to participate. My sea (the Arabian Sea) did a great job. We were all dressed in our sea color, orange, and ran from event to event supporting the people from our sea who were competing. We started the morning off with a bang by coming in second for spirit. We were all a little surprised as we weren’t the most put together group at the beginning but we somehow rallied the troops and pulled it off. The rest of the morning was full of events but we weren’t winning any of them (it’s about having fun, right?). Then the afternoon came around and we were on fire. Our tug o’ war team dominated and our all male synchronized swimming team was amazing. They were actually synchronized and a crowd favorite due to their matching orange swim trucks (read: underwear), their freshly shaven heads (from Neptune’s Day) and their physiques. Oh, the cat calls that came while they performed. It was hysterical. The final event of the night was the lip sync contest. They were all very funny. I played Carmen San Diego in the Arabian Sea’s lip sync and sadly I am just old enough that they had to tell me what to wear. Don’t get my wrong, I’ve heard of Carmen San Diego but I wasn’t ready to walk out there without a little help. The winning lip sync, and they only one to receive a standing ovation by some of the audience was the Yellow Sea. My friend, Doug, played Britney Spears and they did the E! True Hollywood Story of Britney Spears. Let’s just say this was a masterpiece. It was so funny. We had a great time all day long and Mario did a great job planning the festivities. He was very happy this morning when he woke and realized his big event is behind him.


We arrive in Chile on Monday. I can hardly believe another country is before us. We have the first day in Valparaiso free and then we head to Easter Island on Tuesday. I am the trip leader for that trip so I’m hoping it is smooth sailing. I’m sure we’ll have a full report after the excursion.

Much love!

Ecuador, much more than the Galapagos Islands!

We have just returned back from three fabulous days in Quito, Ecuador. We docked in Guayaquil on Friday the 5th. Our two days crossing was difficult, not because anything went wrong, just because getting one’s work done in two days is impossible and on top of that we had Neptune’s Day (this is a celebration in honor of crossing the equator – more on this in a later entry) and we also had a 4th of July BBQ. It seemed to never slow down enough to catch a breath. Never fear, we slowed things way down in Ecuador and it was a nice change of pace.


A few of us spent the day in Guayaquil on Friday exploring the city and eating wonderful food all day. We strolled along the Malecon 2000, which is a boardwalk type environment (minus the big carnival sights) where one can people watch and enjoy the day. The Malecon used to be the worst area in town and all the tour books said not to go there even during the day. In 2000 the mayor of Guayaquil began a beautification project to revive the area. They did a great job. This stretch of land is filled with vendors selling food and artisan products, cool new trendy restaurants and a modern art museum at one end. Just beyond the museum is an area called Cerro Santa Ana where you can walk to the top of a hill where a lighthouse and church are located. It’s quite a hike with 444 steps to the top but well worth it. On our way back we stopped for a beer at a little whole in the wall (there were many, sometimes just a room in someone’s house selling food or trinkets), which was much needed after climbing that many steps in the heat. We returned to the ship after dinner as many of us were leaving early the next morning for various part of the country.

Nate and I decided we would venture to Quito for a few days to check it out. We had gone back and forth on a trip to the Galapagos Islands while we here but this plan didn’t quite workout. It’s actually a very good thing it didn’t because both of us fell in love with Quito. The city is nestled amongst the Andes Mountains (9348 feet above sea level to be exact) and is surrounded by many active volcanoes. It is a stunning sight. Flying into Quito is actually the most beautiful flight I have ever taken. The houses are built up into the hillside and they are all very colorful. We spent Friday exploring the city, which is broken into to distinct parts, Old Town and New Town. We visited the historical sites, the main museum in town and loved walking around taking in the views. We visited a church that had 7 tons, yes you read that correctly, 7 tons of gold leaf in it. I believe the direct quote out of my mouth was, “It looks like the inside of Liberache’s (sp?) house”. Okay, so I’ve never been to Liberache’s house but this church shined of gold from the floor to the middle of the ceiling. It was amazing.

After our long day of sightseeing we met up with Mario, who was in Quito on a SAS sponsored trip, for dinner. This ended up becoming an adventure. One of our guidebooks talked about a great steak restaurant. We decided this sounded good and since I had determined it was right around the corner from our hotel it seems like a good idea. Well, it wasn’t exactly right around the corner so after some deliberation we hailed a cab and he took us to the restaurant, which by the way looked deserted and was completed empty…not a good sign on a Friday night. They must have had cameras on the front door because as we were debating what to do a woman opened the door and ushered us in. We felt a little strange leaving at that point so we all agreed to try it. Thankfully, we stuck around because it was a delicious meal. The steak was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. Finally, toward the end of our meal a couple entered the restaurant and sat down a few tables away. For some reason this was very funny to us. Up until that point we were joking about having reserved the entire restaurant. I guess you had to be there. We went back to Mario’s hotel (coincidentally, it was two blocks from ours) and had a drink at a placed called “Mario’s Bar” across the street. We couldn’t pass that up. We said our good-byes and headed back to our hotel.


A little about the place we stayed at in Quito, Café Cultura. Three different sources cited this as a fantastic place to stay (two guidebooks and an article in Traveler magazine) and it was. It’s an old house turned French museum turned hotel. It caters to tourists from the US and Europe and was very charming. We had a room that was really a converted attic. It was very cute and big. We had a lot of room, at least when it came to floor space. Nate had to be careful when he walked around because the sloped ceiling would sneak up on us from time to time. The hotel also had a restaurant that was more like someone’s kitchen and a great library for hanging out. It was definitely a great find.


On Saturday we hired a guide to take us to the Otavalo and Cotacachi. Otavalo is home the country’s largest artisan market and was quite an experience. It’s about a 2 hour drive from what I read in the books, however, it took us about 3 hours to get there. Our guide, Raul, took the long way there to swing by the equator line for a little science lesson and some pictures (the line down the middle of our picture is the Equator line). Raul is a former chemical engineer turned travel guide and was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Once in Otavalo he let us loose to walk around and do some shopping. We met back up with Raul and he drove us another 20 minutes to a charming town of Cotacachi. Cotacachi is known for its leather work. I wished we had more time in Cotacachi because the town was adorable and I wanted to explore more. It had small streets and very cool looking buildings. Nate will tell you I wanted more time because I was going crazy in the leather stores but don’t listen to him.


Raul returned us to Café Cultura around 6pm after a 10 hour day. It was exhausting and exhilarating all in one. We once again met up with Mario for dinner and called it an early night. We slept in on Sunday, well, we tried to but our quaint little hotel had paper thin walls, creaky stairs and a neighborhood roster and dog who were trying to vie for loudest neighbor awards so sleeping in is all relative. It was raining out and neither of us was motivated for more touring so we took our time getting ready, had a leisurely breakfast and headed to the mall. Don’t worry, the mall is not my scene when traveling, however, Nate has been looking for cigars to take back with him and we had read about a good cigar shop in the shopping mall. In the end we roamed around the mall, had lunch, ventured through an artisan market near our hotel and headed to the airport to catch our return flight back to Guayaquil.

Monday is our last day in Ecuador and we plan to take it easy. We are going to visit the artisan market in Guayaquil, walk through the Modern Museum at the end of the Malecon 2000 and probably venture back to the ship on the early side. The students must be back on board by 9pm and the ship departs at 11pm. We will be at sea for 6 days between Ecuador and Chile and I’m very excited by this. Six days actually gives people time to sit and have conversations with each other. We also have the Sea Olympics on Friday. This means a fun-filled day of activities and SAS bonding. I have asked Nate to guest blog about Neptune’s Day and the Sea Olympics from a fresh eye so there will more about this later.

Panama...more than just a canal!

I loved Panama. I didn’t expect much because I didn’t have enough time to do any research on it but each day became better than the one before it.

I guess maybe it could only go up since it began a little rocky. It all started with us anchored in the middle of the Bay of Panama and tendering in to shore. This was a nightmare. The swells were erratic and it was, in the words of my five year old self, SCARY. After many delays we final started getting students off the ship. When it was time to for me to disembark the swells acted up again and we were very quickly rushed back inside the ship. Finally, they allowed us to start up again and I safely got myself onto to the tender boat. I should rephrase this and say the crew got me safely on the tender. I was very nervous watching the crew work hard to get everyone on the tender boat safely as the temporary gangway they were standing on and the tender were rising and falling at different intervals. At one point while they were boarding the tender I was sitting on a swell came up and the tender fell under the bumpers of the gangway and the gangway was forced up into the air. There were no passengers on the gangway at that time as they had rushed them back inside the ship, however, two crew members were tossed about but hung on for dear life. They quickly untied the tender boat and the gangway dropped back down to where it was suppose to be. I was a nervous wreck. I could no longer watch this process and buried my head into Mario’s shoulder. Thankfully, after an uneventful ride in the tender boat I got off and found the shopping center where I was meeting Nate. Like clockwork, Nate showed up as I was walking out to the front of the center and the good times in Panama began.

We decided to make our way to Gamboa Rainforest to a resort Nate’s dad had recommended. We found a taxi and were driven out there at night. It was quite a distance and I don’t think either of us expected that long of a drive. We got there and went into the lobby to see about getting a room. This is totally unlikely me as I like to have reservations ahead of time, just in case. The woman looked at us like we were crazy for driving all the way out there without a reservation. After a few minutes of her calling around she told us they had a room. It was more than we had expected to spend but what were we to do, we’d just driven over 40 minutes in the pitch black and paid for a cab to get there. We took the room, had dinner and went to bed early.

The next morning we woke up to birds singing and pulled back the curtains to find the most amazing scenery. I was so glad we had decided to drive up there on a whim. The morning was spent exploring the rainforest on an aerial tram at the rainforest. And boy is it a small world. We rode the tram with two women, a mother and her daughter from Nevada and Colorado. The more we chatted with them the more we realized you can run from Stanford but you can’t hide. The mother, Ellie Oppenheim, was the Associate Dean of Students at Stanford in the late 70’s and knew many of the people we work with. We played the name game for a while and then focused on the animals in the trees. We felt very lucky because the guidebook author said he had been on the tram in Gamboa twice and has never seen animals there. We, however, saw a slough in movement, two toucans and a monkey. I felt like our money was very well spent after that.

We decided to check out of Gamboa and head back to Panama City in the hopes of seeing the Canal and some local sights before meeting up with Lisa, Tania and Mario to head to the Caribbean side of the country. We called our taxi driver from the night before and headed on our way. Our cab driver, Peter, and his daughter, Yeremi, were very helpful. Peter spoke some English but he often worked with his daughter because she was fluent in English. She came with him to pick us up at Gamboa and gave us a tour of the Panama Canal. The Canal was amazing. It’s such an engineering marvel. We watched a ship go through the locks of the Canal and then headed out to see other parts of Panama City. After a quick tour of Casco Viejo (Old Town) and a walking tour in front of the Presidential Palace we were dropped off at a location to meet up with Lisa, Tania and Mario. We were a little skeptical that all five of us would actually end up at the meeting location on time but there we all were within five minutes of each other. It felt like good karma and frankly the good karma didn’t end there….

(I’m so sorry, things have been so busy I have not been able to finish this blog. Instead, I’m going to take this opportunity to introduce you to my first guest blogger, Mario. Mario doesn’t know he’s my guest blogger so I don’t have his text, however, I do have permission to link you to his blog and the account of our remaining two and a half days in Panama. They were magical to say the least)

www.marioandthesea.blogspot.com

P.S. The internet is REALLY slow right now so I will upload some pictures of Panama later when thinsg are moving a little quicker.