Hi everyone! I am back today with a blog post about our time here in Peru! So after we left the hotel where we stayed at, we flew all the way to Cuzco, Peru, where we got a nice hotel that looked like it was from a storybook. It was big, elegant, and the rooms were all very nice! It was a great place and even though we didn’t do much the first day, the second day was very interesting and fun. We got up and after going to a train station, we listened to a talented person playing iconic songs on pan pipes, which was very interesting because the instrument is so weird yet awesome. Once we got on the train, it was a first-class treatment for us! We got to sit in a fancy cabin with a nice interior and we got served fancy food while we rode for 2 hours to go to Machu Picchu!
In the first-class train!The seating was super fancy and nice!
Once we got there, we met with our guide for the day and we explored the great and abandoned city of Machu Picchu while it slowly drizzled. We saw an elegant view of the old buildings and we even saw the legendary Sun Temple there, which was a holy place where the Incas did their prayers. Out of nowhere, it started to pour on us and then we were soaked head to toe. After Machu Picchu, we went back home on the same elegant train for the last time and it was an absolutely fabulous experience.
The ancient city of Machu Piccu! This rock acted like a compass for the Incans. They were very precise with their measurements.Some cute llamas we saw at the mountain!A cute Chincilla we saw! They’re like rabbits and squirlles combined.
The next day, we explored the city of Cuzco where we first went to a grim-looking church with fancy decorations. Literally, all the paintings and ornaments that we saw there looked very depressing and it made me kind of confused in the sense that some people would come to a grim place like that to pray(no offense). After that, we saw a picture of the Peruvian version of the last supper and Jesus was eating a Guinea Pig! We then went to have lunch and we saw two Mormons walking around in uniform and everything! It was kind of hilarious because we see them everywhere and they always try to luck so clean. We then went to an open fruit market where we saw lots of unique foods and a decapitated pig. Yeah… very appealing. We went back home after that and our interesting experience in Cuzco officially ended.
Jesus eating a guinnie pig!Next to a beautiful row of flowers!The two mormons we saw in the street!
After a wonderful night sleeping with hot water bottles (awesome!), we woke up in the morning and prepared for LUXURY. It’s such a foreign word to us backpackers, I know, but Aba wanted to be pampered for a day and therefore spent extra money on First Class seats on a train to Machupicchu, Peru! Yes!! Earlier, in one of my online classes, I had to do research on my “dream vacation”. I don’t have one, so I did Macchupicchu! Therefore, I was quite excited to see it. Before I forget, I forgot to mention that the night before we were served tea with leaves. Asher didn’t want his, so I drank both cups. Only later did I find out that the leaves were coca leaves, the plant used to make cocaine. After a cigar in Cuba and now (almost) cocaine in Peru, my friends are going to have a field day!
Speaking of which, that night I was able to call my friend Una! It was great! Anyway, we were supposed to take the train straight from Cusco to Machupicchu, but since it is the rainy season they weren’t operating. Therefore, we had to ride a bus for 1.5 hours until we reached the station. However, on the way, we got to stop and pet some llamas and alpacas! Yay!
The train was wonderful. We were served excellent food and I had a really good mint-pineapple drink. Troy seemed to be in heaven and Asher looked like Trixie does when she puts her head on a car wheel to feel vibrations (bliss).
We had to take another bus up to Machupicchu, where we were met by our guide. When I saw the site, I was not disappointed. The photos I had seen online were not photoshopped to look better, after all. It was slightly smaller than I had imagined, but it was wondrous. Beautiful stones, beautiful buildings, beautiful vegetation, beautiful landscape. You must go to see it yourself. Our guide explained the complex and about how it was basically an Incan university. At one point, it rained. We were drenched, but I was astounded to see the ancient irrigation system still working. Waterfalls of water poured neatly down the mountain.
Also, we saw chinchillas with (another) surprising likeness to Trixie! The look like squirrel-rabbit hybrids; Bruno would die!
I would like to mention how smart Aba’s planning was. Everywhere online, people say to go first thing in the morning. We went in the afternoon. Because everyone had been recommended to go in the morning, there was almost no one there! Genious! There were probaly less than 100 people, tiny comapred to the 5000 people that visit daily. Go Aba! On our way out, I bought Una another postcard (Machupicchu and a llama, how great is that?!) and Aba and Troy got our passports stamped with a Machupicchu stamp. Cool! We ate lunch and got on the train, eating a dinner of alpaca! We got home and took showers, only going to sleep at about midnight. Oh! I almost forgot. While it was raining, Aba kept saying “don’t whether the storm, learn to dance in the rain” over and over and over and over and over until I promised to include it in the blog so he would stop; so, here it is.
The next morning Asher did homework and other than one quiz I worked on some personal projects. I don’t have anything to do because my online math teacher is very slow in posting his lessons, I’m waiting for my last lesson in our community-building Connect class, and I have to wait for other people in my class to respond so I can reply to them. However, I am currently seven weeks ahead of everyone and am two weeks ahead of Asher, so I’ve got tons of free time. When Asher got to a stopping point with his homework, we wandered around Cusco.
We stopped at a small church and a very gloomy cathedral. The walls were all grey and black and there was hardly any light. The only cool part about the cathedral was their painted version of The Last Supper. Instead of ‘ordinary’ food, they were eating Guinea Pigs!!
We ate lunch on a balcony, and as we did we saw Mormons! We are the weirdest family ever because we actually enjoy spotting them. As you may know, we found some near our home in Colorado, we saw a pair in Bueno Aires, and now there were two more! WATCH THE BOOK OF MORMON. We were lucky enough to accidentally capture them in a panorama, so enjoy!
Spot them!
The rest of the day was uneventful. We worked, ate dinner, and am going to go to sleep. Goodnight! 26-4-14-15 26-3 22-3-21 23-3-3-13, 21-13-4!!
We had such a great time in the Galapagos. It is truly a magical place. Ofer planned everything on the fly and it came out perfectly. We wouldn’t change a thing, except for maybe staying longer. Now we’re off to Machu Picchu and after that, Bolivia!
Hello everyone! I’m back today with another super duper awesome blog post for you about my first day in the Galapagos Islands! So first of all, we woke up today at 7:00 am and did our daily homework. After that long and irritating process, we began to pack up our bags in order to leave for the Galapagos Islands. At about 11:00, we left our awesome house in Quito and drove to the airport. Once we got past security and everything, our flight had a two-hour delay and thus we had to wait for a very long time until we got onto the plane. After an hour flight, we landed in the Galapagos and then we got to take a ferry ride to the main city! We saw very cool creatures including Iguanas and crabs and once we got to the hotel, we unpacked all of our stuff and went out. While we were out, we saw many cool animals including sea lions, pelicans, and Galapagos sharks that freely swam everywhere. It was very fun to see them just be free and I had a delicious spaghetti-shrimp dish for dinner. Today was awesome and I feel like it was a glimpse as to what we might see here in the upcoming days.
Hi everyone! I’m back today with another super duper awesome blog post for you today about our very interesting day exploring some of the Galapagos’ sanctuaries and seeing the super duper awesome specimen that roamed the place. So first of all, we went to a turtle sanctuary where we saw a bunch of really old and awesome turtles that were about six feet long! They were humongous and we even got to see the preserved body of Lonesome George, who was the last of his kind and sadly died, leaving his species extinct(at least for now). After that, we saw a bunch of Darwin’s finches flying around and they were so cute because they were tiny and had adorable little faces! We also went over to a small beach area where we saw a bunch of iguanas and Troy accidentally slipped on the rocks! He fractured his wrist and now he has to wear a splint. It is the first time I’ve seen him with one and after that, we had downtime at home before going to a deep lagoon that we could swim in. The water was a little cold, but there were tons of big fish and jagged rocks everywhere that made the place awesome. After we swam, we had dinner at a great restaurant with amazing burgers and then we went to sleep in order to prepare for the awesome day tomorrow.
Lonesome George’s preserved body. It’s sad how he was the last of his species and how he tragically died without a mate.A map of the Galapagos for your reference.Iguana on the Iguana beach!Next to a Charles Darwin statue!
Hi everyone! For my third day at the Galapagos, we got up at five twenty am(delightful…) and then packed up for our brief trip to the island of Isabela. Once we got to the station, we waited for about thirty minutes until it was revealed that we were going on another boat. We then waited for TWO WHOLE HOURS until we finally got on the ferry and rode to Isabela. Once we got there, we drove to a turtle sanctuary where we saw a bunch of giant tortoises and learned about their many foreign enemies, their lifestyle, and how they reproduced. It was an interesting lesson and after that, we saw two spectacular flamingos standing around in the water that I think were doing a mate dance. They were fun to see and a few hours later, I had a delicious burger and we saw a mob walking down the streets in celebration of the election. We had a long day and we were all ready to go to sleep after that.
The two flamingoes we saw. They looked very cool!
Hi everyone! I am back today with another cool blog post for you today about how we hiked up a volcano and how we saw a bunch of cool wildlife everywhere. So first of all, we got in a taxi and then we drove for a long time before reaching a camp where we would later hike. The instructor explained that the trip would take about five hours and after getting prepared for the hike, we began to climb to the top of the mountain. The first interesting thing we saw was that there were foreign plants in various spots all over the place. It was easy to identify them because they were a very different color than everything else was and after seeing them, we hiked for a little while longer before stopping for a break. The entire trip was uphill and once we finally got to the top, after seeing all of the impressive lava stones, we had a great snack of tuna sandwiches and chocolate biscuits. It was a fun meal and then we hiked the rest of the whole trail down. The scenery was splendid and once we got down to the hotel, we had dinner later on and we concluded our fun and boiling day.
Hello everyone! I am back today with another super duper awesome blog post for you today about my awesome day snorkeling in the Galapagos! So first of all, we woke up at five twenty am and then we got on a bus that led us to the docs. Once we got there, we took a ferry ride for two hours until reaching the islands where we would snorkel. Before that though, we had the absolute best breakfast on this Galapagos trip. We had fruit and an omelette, which tragically were better than everything else we have had, and once we got to the island we hiked in the blazing sun for about ten minutes until reaching a tiny light house. After we hiked back down, we changed into our bathing suits and we started to snorkel! It was actually very cool and we saw a bunch of cool things like a fish eating a starfish and awesome multicolored creatures! Ella also claims to have seen a shark, which I think is a very cool and very unusual find for where we are. After that, we had an amazing lunch with tuna and then we went back home. We later went out to dinner with a few friends we met in the boat named Ofer, David, and Rachel, who are also Jewish and we had a delicious dinner with them. After that great dinner, we were all very tired and we went to sleep ready for the next morning of fun and games.
Hi everyone! I am back with another super duper awesome blog post for you today about our very nice day of snorkeling and watching Sea Lions play! So first of all, after getting dressed and going on the bus, we drove down to the docs were we took a boat to a very small island called Seymour. We also met two ladies from New Zealand who we met yesterday and they were very nice. Once we got to the island, a tired Sea Lion was very grouchy because we interrupted its sleep and it angrily barked at us before jumping into the water. It was actually very funny and after that, we saw a very funny looking bird called a Frigate bird. They are black birds with giant red chests that they use for mating and they are known to steal everything they want. They make very cute sounds and they are always looking for food and other things to eat. We also saw the Blue Footed Boobies that the Galapagos are so famous for. They look very dumb but are actually very cute and we even saw a rare species of one that was black and white that was called the Nazca boobie! After seeing them, we decided to go snorkeling and to our great disappointment, the water was way too sandy and there were too many rocks. It wasn’t a complete loss though, because we saw a family of cute Sea Lions playing with each other! They made very cute sounds and they were so energetic that they reminded me of our dog, Trixie. I call them aquatic Trixies because they act just like her if she liked water. After that though, we went back home and after a few hours, we had an amazing dinner and went to sleep ready for the big day tomorrow.
Don’t you see the resemblence between sea lions and Trixie?Blue-footed boobie standing on a rock and ventalating.Two sea lions playing! So cute!A dead sea lion that washed up. 🙁A whale skeleton on the beach!
Hi everyone! I’m back today with another super duper awesome blog post for you about our very interesting day of going to a new island called San Cristobal and what we did there. So after getting up and packing, we said goodbye to the managers of our old place and then we left to go on a ferry that would take us to the next area. While on the ferry, a woman right next to me suddenly had her period and there were little drops of blood where she was sitting. After that though, we finally got to the island where we got to our new hotel. It was actually a lot nicer than what I expected, but after that, we toured the beach area a little bit more and went up to a lighthouse that smelled like urine. After that disgusting experience, we saw a bunch of iguanas swimming in the water and a few hours later, we bought supplies for snorkeling and then we went to dinner. While we were eating, a curious orange cat approached us and it reminded me of Bruno. After that though, we went to sleep in order to prepare for tomorrow’s journey.
Hi everyone! I’m back today with another super duper awesome blog post for you about our last day in the Galapagos Islands and how we saw many cool animals like dolphins and how Troy had a panic attack in the water. So to start off our day, we woke up and packed up the snorkeling equipment that we bought yesterday and then we drove to a ferry where we embarked on our long journey for the day. Our first stop after a two-hour ride was at a split rock where the waves were supposed to be very intense. Once we got there, we’d put on our wetsuits and then we jumped into the freezing water. Although we failed to see much, there were lots of tiny fish and I even saw an eagle ray! It was like a stingray, but bigger and with white dots all over it. Sadly, the waves were way too rough and Troy had a panic attack after a giant one slapped him in the face. After that though, we rode to an island where we saw more eagle rays and we also saw a sea turtle! It was very big and unlike the tortoises that we saw on our first days, this one looked young and its body was fantastic. It was also very cute and we swam in the water where a baby shark was hiding at the bottom of the water! After that, we hung out on the beach where we took the boat back to the mainland… but not before seeing a group of dolphins following us! They’re so cute and they kept jumping to perform for us! Along the trip, we also saw the rare red-footed boobie, washed up Jellyfish, and many more curious animals and there was this one woman in our group who kept freaking out about everything, which was kind of bad and annoying for me. A few hours later, we had dinner and slept our final night in the Galapagos.
An eagle ray! See the spots?
On our departure day, we had an omelette for breakfast and then we embarked for the airport. At the airport, we went past security and then we went on one of THREE flights that day. When we left the Galapagos, we saw the beautiful scenery one last time and it made me very sad because it was such a beautiful place. We then arrived at this place in Ecuador called Guayaquil where after staying there for a few minutes, we left to go to the airport in Quito. Once we got to Quito, we had a delicious burger for lunch and then we waited for about an hour and a half until we left for Lima, Peru. However, guess who we met at the airport: Ofer, David, and Rachel from the Galapagos! They were also briefly stopping in Peru before heading off elsewhere and they apparently saw a humpback whale in the Galapagos! We told them about how we also saw an eagle ray and they were just as surprised. After exchanging stories, we went to Lima and we spent the night in an elegant hotel room where the humidity didn’t fry us alive.
Posted inAsher's Blog Posts|Comments Off on Good times in the Galapagos by Asher Shaul
The morning started off like any other. Asher and I woke at seven o’clock AM and did homework. I hadn’t slept well the night before because I was feeling ill and was consequently a bit tired, but nothing extraordinary had occurred. Then, we got in a cab and drove to the airport. There, we had to wait an extra two hours because of a flight delay. This gave me time to notice the abundance of children boarding the flight. We got on the plane and landed in the Galapagos. I have always wanted to go to the Galapagos, even before my class learned about it in sixth grade, so I was looking forward to a great experience. We got on a bus from the airport and saw large iguanas out of the window, then got on a ferry. I saw beautiful fish in the water and wondrous scenery, but the family sitting next to us was classic American. I listened to them complaining about the bugs and the humidity and spitting in the water, and as we pulled up to the dock the teenage daughter said, “look how big that crab is! I hate this place already!” Ugh. We found out that Troy lost his wallet and before eating a dinner of tuna steak, we strolled the boardwalk. We saw sea lions, fish, sharks, birds, and stingrays, and we were only there for about five minutes! The next day we were meant to wake up at seven o’clock am. However, our kindle timers were so set to Quito time because of the bad WiFi at Santa Cruz Island and we accidentally wrote up at six. *Sigh*. We also didn’t realize this until we finished getting ready, eating breakfast, and getting our contacts on. Double *sigh*. Of course, we left the hotel and only a few minutes later it began to pour rain. It lasted about ten-ish minutes, but we got to watch the birds flying in the sky and a pelican near us gulp down falling rainwater. I thought this was amazing. After that, we went to a tortoise sanctuary. That is where they breed tortoises so that they are able to go into the wild and not die into extinction. We learned a lot about different species of tortoises and even saw the body of Lonesome George. He was the last tortoise of his kind and died in 2012 without reproducing. Outside, we saw tiny baby tortoises and medium teenage tortoises and enormous, and I mean enormous, old tortoises. If you’ve ever met my dog, Trixie, then imagine three of her stacked on top of each other. Plus a long neck and giant shell. They’re enormous. By the way, since I write about tortoises and turtles a lot in these posts, let me make the distinction. Turtles live and swim in the water, and tortoises live and walk on land. Simple!
After the tortoise sanctuary, we walked through a hidden trail down to a beautiful beach. There were dark black rocks, and on those rocks were dark black crabs and dark black iguanas. There were also very vivid, big, bright red crabs. It was while trying to photograph one of these that Troy fell on a rock and may have fractured his wrist.
While we were enjoying the beach, silent black iguanas would constantly sneak up on us. We would be looking for wildlife and turn around, then suddenly notice that there was one starting at us, sitting on the sand or on a rock! They’re like the cows (silent ballerinas) of Israel!
We went home after that and read and did homework for a little while. Aba and Troy planned the rest of the trip up until Israel, and Troy made us lunch. We ate crackers (because none of the grocery stores had bread) with (excellent) cheese and chicken-beef baloney! Troy also got me the best pickles I’ve had on this trip. So. Sour!!!!! Yumyumyum. We got on a water taxi and hiked to a rocky grotto. There, we swam and explored the crevices with my goggles. We saw some beautiful large fish with bright blue fins and golden eyes!
After that, we swam at a nearby beach and Asher cut my stomach with his toenails. Eww, I know. After returning and doing more homework, we ate dinner and walked the pier again, returning to do homework. In the morning, we woke up (on time) and prepared to board a water taxi ferry thing. However, because of elections, our boat was delayed and Troy taught me how to use his awesome camera instead. We finally boarded a ferry to Isabela Island. The ride was four hours long and we saw flying fish and birds and sea lions, but the woman next to Asher kept having to barf because she was seasick. When we got to the island, we drove to our new hotel and unpacked. We had left most of our stuff in duffel bags on the main island, so we only had a change of clothes and electronics (and a few of my crafting supplies). We did homework and then drove to another tortoise sanctuary. There, we learned about how invasive species are threatening the population and what conservationists are doing to help. We walked along a trail by the water on the way back and saw neon pink flamingos!
We had planned to ride bikes, but the store was closed so instead of going to the beach next to a herd(?) of iguanas we found, we stayed at the hotel and did homework. We had to get up early again the next day. We took a boat to Isabela Island and hiked the five hours up to Volcan Chico. It wasn’t really a volcano, but it’s next to a few volcanoes. We got to see lava rocks with interesting shapes and colors ranging from white, black, red, brown, purple, gold, silver, and even blue!
The hike was pretty easy, but it was very beautiful. I simply fell in love with the vegetation! Along with the invasive guava trees, there were tiny indigenous flowers everywhere. I know, you think I only liked them because they were tiny, but aside from that, they were actually lovely! There were also cacti in full bloom and snails on trees!
The view from the top was great and we got to see some lava tubes, which was a unique experience. On the way back, before we boarded the boat we had to wait at the dock. We saw some Mantras, sea lions, and even penguins in the water! While we waited, we overheard an American boasting about how “there was no Russian-American collusion”. I also learned that the man had transferred from being a soldier to being part of the Air Force in 1987 and retired in 2007. Along with this extensive knowledge about war, upon seeing an Ecuadorian soldier he pointed out, “that guy looks like a Marine, but he ain’t!”. This is what the world has come to, so I’m just glad he wasn’t in our boat. There was a person in our boat, however, who kind of ticked me off. Aba liked him, though. He and Troy sat on opposite sides of the boat, and both claimed that they had done the calculates right and would get the shade. Guess what? Troy won! I can’t even describe how proud of him I was. I know of seems like a stupid thing to get excited about, but I already thought the man was rude and Troy was right! My Troy beat him! I started this blog and included Troy immediately, but I never really explained how much we all love him. I really felt that gush of love when I felt the pride. When I wasn’t sure who would win, I kept thinking ‘he has to win, he has to win, please let him win, please let him win…’ I’ll just finish by saying that I was immensely proud of my Troy. When we got back to Santa Cruz, Troy went for an X-Ray on his arm and found out that it was fractured. Now he has to wear a splint. I had finished all of my homework the day before, so I worked on my own project while Asher did his Language Arts. He wrote an amazing poem that I want him to put on the blog because it’s so good. The next day we had to get up early yet again. A bus picked us up and we took a water taxi boat to our boat for the day, The Senorita.
Once aboard, we got to know our fellow passengers. Then, it felt like a gay cruise. Besides Aba and Troy, there was a young lesbian couple from New Zealand and a gay couple from Israel, I’ll get back to them later. It was a two-hour boat ride from Santa Cruz to Bartholomew Island, but it was beautiful. We hiked for about half an hour and saw a great view of some of the surrounding islands. Only a limited number of people are afforded to go onto Bartholomew, so we were very lucky to have been there. After that, we changed into our bathing suits and went snorkeling at a nearby beach. It was phenomenal. There were fish of every shape and size and in colors that I never would’ve thought existed naturally. Neon orange, yellow, blue, turquoise, green, purple, pink, lime, and more! We saw stingrays and mantas and sea snails and sea slugs and starfish and fish buried in the sand. We also saw anemones with crabs and fish in them! Right before I left, I saw a shark. A big shark. I did some research and later found out that it was a white tipped reef shark. Its conservation status is ‘near threatened’.
After a tuna lunch on the boat, at headed back to the island. Asher and I slept again, but Aba woke me up and we saw at least one hundred dolphins swimming next to us! It was wonderful!
We went to dinner with the Israeli couple I mentioned earlier and their Israeli friend Rachel. They live in Tel Aviv and brought us nuts from Israel! We had a really nice dinner and we told them about the blog (hi!). By the way, I forgot to mention that the men’s names were David and Ofer. Yep, Ofer. Is it like the Israeli version of Steve??? In addition, David taught me my first Hebrew pun!: In Hebrew, as in English, one would say that they go out for coffee. Have you ever heard of Nescafe? The pun is that if you say you go in for coffee, the word for to go inside is le-hee-ka-Nes. Get it?! (Don’t mind me, it’s funny in Hebrew)
The next day’s boat ride only lasted 45 minutes, so we got to sleep later into the morning. Coincidentally, the lesbian couple from New Zealand that we had met the day before was with us, too! The previous trip’s boat was a lot nicer, but it was okay. Our first stop was on an island called Seymour. This island is known for its abundant wildlife, especially concerning birds. We saw blue-footed boobies, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, puffy red frigate birds, and pelicans. We also saw yellow land iguanas.
After Seymour, we went snorkeling at a nearby beach. However, it was horrible. There were almost no fish and everything was very grey. I did see a spotted orange eel and two giant purple sea sponges, but other than that there was nothing good. In fact, the waves were large so we kept getting hammered onto the rocks.
We left the snorkeling area soon and climbed over a sandy ridge. Then, we got to watch a family of sea lions. They officially have a place in my heart. They’re so lazy but so sweet and playful! We were supposed to keep six feet away from them at all times, but one came right up to me and nuzzled my knee. Asher and I call them Aquatic Trixies.
On another little hill, we found the bones of a little sea lion and a whale skeleton among other animal bones.
As we got back toward the snorkeling area, we saw a large male sea lion with a shark bite in his neck, poor guy! The guide said it was superficial, but I still feel bad. We also swam with the sea lions for a bit. After lunch in the boat, we went back to Santa Cruz and ate dinner. As we walked along the pier, we saw a group of stingrays in the water! The next day was uneventful. We said goodbye to Captain Max and drove on a ferry to the island of San Cristobal.
During the ride, a woman sitting next to Asher unexpectedly had her period and hid in the bathroom. However, there was blood on the seat and she didn’t clean it up, so no one in the cramped boat could sit there. We went to another tortoise farm and learned about how pirates used to steal tortoises as food for their ships.
The following day was our last full day in the Galapagos, and we enjoyed The 360° tour. The boat we were on was small, but it was okay. Our Natural Park guide was a real chatterbox, we could hardly understand him, but he was nice. There was a young married couple there, the wife was Asian and the husband was from London, and they seemed nice. I was talking to the husband, I think his name was Alissander, and we talked about travel and I said I wished I had seen more sea turtles on the trip. Our first stop was next to two big stones in the middle of the ocean. There, we got out and snorkeled. However, the water was very deep and murky and there were some waves, so Troy had a panic attack and nearly drowned. He froze up and went all pink and the guide and crew had to drag him back into the boat.
Asher was also having trouble swimming, so he went with them. The rest of us continued snorkeling and Troy eventually came back in wearing a life jacket, so we were very proud of him. We saw puffer fish and a giant sea turtle and a sea lion! Yay! Next, we hiked on a beach and the guide explained a bit about the islands. While there, Alissander’s wife was badgered with horse flies and she tripped and fell. She shrieked and we found out that she had gotten a small cut. Both of them started panicking and Alissander demanded a plaster (bandage), but because we didn’t have one they returned to the boat. When they returned, the wife’s leg was wrapped so thoroughly that it looked like part of a mummy.
Look at her leg!
I heard them say that when they returned to the mainland that would go to a hospital. A little while later, Alissander’s wife sounded another loud shriek. Afterward, she said, “I almost fell over backward!” The beach we went to after that was better. Though the first place we snorkeled had been filled with jellyfish and we had to leave, the second area was very nice. We saw red and blue-footed boobies as well as Nazca boobies among the other wildlife. Though we weren’t allowed to swim there, we saw a wonderful turtle in a small lake!
When we swam, we saw puffer fish and Alissander showed me a shark! We had to dive because it was resting in a cave, but it was worth it. When the others had gotten out, I swam back and met with Alissander and Asher because they were quite far behind. Then, we noticed the giant sea turtle! It was so close to us that if we had wanted to we could’ve touched it! It was amazing, and we followed it for a while before it dove down again. On the ride back to San Cristobal, the wife lay her head on Alissander’s lap like I used to lay on Aba when I was younger. Aba thinks she must have a mental issue or something.
Anyway, we were lucky again and saw more dolphins! They actually followed us quite a ways, but I’m just happy we got to see them again. In addition, as we returned our captain found an illegal fishing trap. Large nets catch exotic fish that are sold to consumers as pets. We couldn’t take the net, but the captain took the tracker so that the illegal company couldn’t find the animals and called a release crew. The following morning we flew out of San Cristobal. While we were waiting in line for our first flight, a little five-year-old boy in an orange shirt started playing with me. We had a lot of fun and he was adorable. When we disembarked, he waved goodbye! Next, we flew back to Quito. Troy had lost his wallet at the airport and they had called us, so we had to book an extra detour. Troy!! After that, we flew to Lima, Peru. on that flight, we met our friends from Israel (Rachel, Ofer, and David)! We drove to the hotel and slept.
For our first two days in Ecuador, we only did homework. We’ve been trying to work ahead again so that we can catch up for the dates where we don’t have wifi and so we can finish early and be able to spend more time with Savta in Israel. However, on Wednesday we finally went out. We had to walk up a giant hill to see a beautiful cathedral. Aside from its beauty, Basílica del Voto Nacional is known for its lack of gargoyles. Instead of these, carved native Ecuadorian animals perch in their place. In order to get to the top of the cathedral, we climbed three sets of stairs that were more like ladders and a long flight of stairs. When we got to the top Asher felt dizzy and momentarily blacked out, but he was so excited about having “fainted” for the first time that he talked non-stop about it for the next three days. The view from the top was wonderful, we could see all of Quito! In the church, we also saw some stained-glass windows. A few of the panels were missing or being repaired, so we also got to observe the workers make stained glass! Even more exciting for me, as we were climbing to the top we got to see how flying buttresses look from above. They are mentioned quite a bit in Ken Follet’s The Pillars of the Earth, so it was wonderful to see how they are constructed in real life. On the way down, we drank in a small cafe in the cathedral and Asher ate two slices of chocolate cake.
Next, we went to Ciudad Mitad del Mundo. There, we saw a monument commemorating the equator and the outer center of the Earth. Even though it’s a novelty to see, we still enjoyed being in the north, south, east, and west at the same time.
After homework the next morning, we went to the highest (in altitude) cable car in the world. The ride started out well but progressively got foggy, so by the time we reached the end of the line we couldn’t see anything. Then, we went to the house of Oswaldo Guayasamín. Guayasamín was an Ecuadorian painter and sculpture whose house is now a museum for his works. We liked some of them, but we loved a lot of them!
My favorite is a painting of a woman in shades of yellow. If only I could have it!…
On our way home, we stopped at Foch Plaza ate lunch. We also bought three cheap prints of Guayasamín paintings from a sweet man because Aba wanted to help him.
Before returning to do homework, we passed through a quaint street called La Ronda Street where we didn’t buy a $10 bar of chocolate and San Francisco Plaza, where there were many pigeons.
Aba wanted me to make him a bracelet like Lea taught me, so we went and bought him some string. Lea, if you’re reading this, thank you!
The next day, we woke up and after working on homework for 4 hours, it was time for us to pack up and leave this beautiful place. We packed up our things, got dressed, and then we were off to the airport to go to Ecuador. Once we got to the airport, we went through security and then we took a really long flight to Quito, Ecuador. The flight wasn’t actually that bad and I finished watching the documentary on Cuba. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s, Cuba became very desperate and partnered up with Venezuela instead. This system worked in everyone’s favor and then Cuba was starting to run low on supplies. Many fled Cuba, but the government kept the place thriving by bringing lots of tourists and outside materials. In 2004, Fidel Castro had a terrible accident and thus Raul, his brother, took over Fidel’s responsibilities as the head of Cuba. In 2016, the US and Cuba came to an agreement and now US tourists got to go to Cuba from the US. Once we got to Quito, we took a taxi to our apartment, which while not my first choice was still extremely good looking and we prepared for a long day tomorrow.
Hello everybody! I am back today with a blog post celebrating my wonderful time here in Ecuador. We did not do much for the first two days, but for the last 2 days, we did a lot of touring that was very fun and awesome. So, let’s begin my blog post about my last 2 days here in Ecuador(I’m not doing the first two days because we did nothing). So, on our third day, we woke up at 7:00 am and then we drove to a gigantic and old church. At this church were many cool animal gargoyles but the most unexpected thing happened to me while I was there. While I was climbing one of the many stairs of the place, I unexpectedly fainted for the first time in my memory. I don’t know how it happened, but I remember feeling a bit queasy and the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground. It’s a miracle I didn’t get hurt but it was a weird experience for me. It bummed Ella out that I fainted even though she says that I didn’t faint, although that’s what happened. Don’t listen to Ella’s version because I actually fainted and not momentarily blacked out.
This is the church where I fainted. It was a very scary feeling and it was very hard to breath all the way up there.
Later, we drove to where the center of the Equator is located! The latitude and longitude there is (0,0) and we saw a beautiful monument divided into North, East, South, and West, which was very cool.
A very cool sign at the Ecuator showing how far away some cities are from it!Troy in front of the monument. He’s in two different sections of the world at once!I’m on two different sides of the world!
We took lots of cool photos and we also saw the busts of some scientists who contributed to the findings of the Equator. After that, we drove to the newer part of Quito where we explored a lot of old buildings and after that fun day we drove back home and finished our homework for the day there. The next day, we did our homework for the day and then we explored the area even more. We went to a famous artist’s, whose name was Oswaldo Guayasamin, house, where we saw over the top pictures of famous people including one of Fidel Castro! His house was amazing with its fantastic architecture and then I had the best burger in South America! It was so good I had two of them and then we donated money to a person who was selling copies of paintings that the artist made. After that, it started to drizzle and we got home safe and sound. I had an awesome time in Quito and I hope we go there again sometime.
A famous painitng at Oswaldo’s house. We watched how it was made in the video!Ella’s favorite painting at his house!
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Hello there! I am back today with some exciting and some non-exiting news for you today about how we left Cuba and our exciting experience at a concert sung by one of our favorite artists! We started our day by eating our usual breakfast of omelets and bananas, which is actually one of my favorite breakfasts for starting off the day. After that, we brushed our teeth and then we sadly had to say goodbye to everyone who took care of us at that place. It was very sad seeing them all go and then we got in a cab and drove to the airport. Once we got there, we went through security and then we ended up at the gate. While we were there, we ate really awful tasting chicken that was literally like cardboard and had no protein whatsoever. After we boarded the plane, we took off and I watched a little bit of the “Cuba Libre Story”. I learned about how Che Guevera spoke his mind out against the Soviets and even though he was demoted of all of his glory, he continued to help support major revolutions all around the world. He helped the Simba tribe in Africa and after that, he went down to Bolivia in order to help overthrow the government there. He was seriously wounded there and had the death penalty handed to him by the Bolivian government. He was shot and killed by a Bolivian soldier, but he still inspires many people around the world today because of his revolutionary vision. Once we arrived in Bogota, we went to our apartment and it was very big and grand. It was nice because I finally got my own room and my own bathroom! After settling in, we went to a concert by one of my favorite musicians: Passenger. He sings extremely great songs and when we went to the concert, we actually got the pleasure of seeing him face-to-face and he performed super duper great. His guitar string came undone in one song and he made a joke about it, which was a very nice save on his part. He had amazing songs that talked about life and after the fabulous concert was over, we went home and went to bed after a long and tiring journey.
Going to see Passenger in Bogota!
The next day we didn’t do many activities. We mostly stayed home and completed our homework so when we got to Quito, Ecuador, we wouldn’t have to do too much work. The whole day was a workday until we went to the movie theatre in order to see Capitan Marvel. It was actually a really good movie and the cat in the movie reminded me of Bruno, which made me very sad. We then went home and went straight to bed. The day after was completely a work day. We didn’t do any fun activities and we did homework all day, which was kind of boring. However, our third official day in Colombia was very exciting because we actually got to explore the city and we got to see very cool paintings.
We started off our day by completing our homework for the day and then we went out and about. We first stopped at a museum that talked about the history of gilled. In the museum, we saw many different kinds of figures and jewelry made from gold all around South America and even though the museum was boring, the concept of them was awesome and I wish it could have been more interactive. Next, we walked to a museum filled with the artwork of Fernando Botero, a very famous Colombian artist whose work is displayed all over South America. He specializes in making everyone’s faces looking exactly alike and in the museum, we saw various sculptures, paintings, and sketches by him that all had the exact same style. It was a very interesting museum that was sort of awesome in a way and after walking around for about half an hour more, we went back home and did some MORE homework that our teacher gave us at the last minute. It’s honestly not fair that they post all of this stuff with no notice right before the unit they are in is due. I spent an extra two hours doing homework but after that, we went to the theater in order to see Van Gogh: At Eternity’s Gate. Once we got to the theater though, we were apparently 10 minutes late to the film and decided to watch another film that was playing there called Beautiful Boy, which was a drug addict whose life kept getting ruined by drugs. He kept taking them all the time and various bad things happened to him and the people around him because of it. It was a sad, but true movie that I thought was actually pretty good. After watching the movie, we saw that the Van Gogh movie was playing so we decided to see that movie as well. We saw 2 movies that night, but only one of them was good. The Van Gogh movie was super boring with nearly no music and repetition of what actors said over and over again. The cameraman was absolutely horrible because he kept moving the camera around in a blurry way which made the film feel nauseating and confusing… in a bad way. The saddest part of the movie though was that it had so much potential, but failed due to bad execution and all the camera work. I later went to sleep early in order to prepare for tomorrow.
Artifact in the Gold MuseumA cat sculpture in the Botero museum.A famous painting of Botero’sPosing with 2 guards at a private territory.At an awesome building from old Bogota! Pigeons everywhere!
The next day, we woke up and after working on homework for 4 hours, it was time for us to pack up and leave this beautiful place. We packed up our things, got dressed, and then we were off to the airport to go to Ecuador. Once we got to the airport, we went through security and then we took a really long flight to Quito, Ecuador. The flight wasn’t actually that bad and I finished watching the documentary on Cuba. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s, Cuba became very desperate and partnered up with Venezuela instead. This system worked in everyone’s favor and then Cuba was starting to run low on supplies. Many fled Cuba, but the government kept the place thriving by bringing lots of tourists and outside materials. In 2004, Fidel Castro had a terrible accident and thus Raul, his brother, took over Fidel’s responsibilities as the head of Cuba. In 2016, the US and Cuba came to an agreement and now US tourists got to go to Cuba from the US. Once we got to Quito, we took a taxi to our apartment, which while not my first choice was still extremely good looking and we prepared for a long day tomorrow.
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When we landed in Bogota, Colombia (again), we got a cab to our spacious Air B&B. We settled in and started working on homework. Then, I had to deal with a friendship crisis happening in Boulder. Wish me luck! The next thing that night was amazing. We went to see Passenger performing!! We arrived and watched his okay pre-act, but then Passenger actually came. He was great! Aba had taken Troy to see him in Denver, so I’m really happy that I finally got to see him. It was funny when he changed the words of his songs a couple of times. For example, he changed places to “Bogota” or “Colombia” or “South America”. Obviously, the audience went wild! Also, are you familiar with Passenger’s song I Hate? There is one line that he changed to “and the Botox, that makes them look fucked. Just grow old with grace, have you seen DONALD TRUMP’S face?! It looks like it’s been hit by a truck”! Everybody loved it! He had a really great performance, and I immensely enjoyed it. I’m surprised I didn’t hurt my voice from screaming. That’s a good thing because the next day I sang Passenger all afternoon! My poor family! I kind of felt bad for Passenger, though, because his guitar string broke in the middle of the song and he laughed but looked really embarrassed.
The next couple of days were just jam-packed with homework. Because we weren’t able to do it in Cuba because of the internet and because we’ll only have spotty wifi at best in the coming weeks, we worked really hard to get things done. However, we did get to go out a bit. On our way to the movie theatre one night, we walked through a street. On this street, every single store was a craft store! Every. Single. One. Why??!! The one place that we don’t have time to explore has everything I need for my crafts! Come on world! Not fair! Anyway, we went to the theatre and saw Captain Marvel. I did not have high hopes for the movie and was prepared to be bored, but I was pleasantly surprised! I just have one word to say: flerken. The next day, in addition to doing homework we spent some of the day outside. We walked around the old town and ate some homemade brown sugar marshmallows and fed the pigeons, and went to two museums.
The first was the Gold Museum. It had a lot of old gold relics, but it didn’t really explain the gold-finding process and was consequently very dull.
Next, we went to the Botero museum. Botero was a Colombian artist and you’ve probably seen his work. I really enjoyed the museum and got to see a lot of nice art.
That night, we planned to go to the cinema and watch the new Van Gogh movie, but we were late. Therefore, we watched Beautiful Boy instead. It was actually very very good, though depressing, and I recommend it to teenagers. Be warned! When it finished, we were just in time for the next showing of Van Gogh, but I was very disappointed. Though it had potential, the filming was bad, the script was bad, the directing was bad. It was just bad. The next morning we woke up and did homework. After that, Aba and I went to the mall and the craft street, but the stores were closed. Then, we went to the airport and flew to Quito, Ecuador. On the flight, I watched the last three episodes of the Cuba Libre series and worked on more homework. When we got to the apartment, I did more homework and am now blogging. Goodnight! 7-6-26 22-3-21 9-3-13-26 15-13-3-18 18-24-6-17-6 1 4-12!
This is such a beautiful story. It occurred at the same time we were in Nepal trekking the Annapurna Circuit and climbing to the Mount Everest Base Camp. I encourage anyone who likes dogs or mountain climbing to take 10 minutes to enjoy this inspiring story. I would also like to give a shout-out for streetdogcare.org an organization that raises money for street dogs. We have seen so many miserable, sick, lonely, abandoned and broken street dogs during our travels. My heart breaks for each one and we have seen thousands all across Asia and South America. I think many dog-loving Americans couldn’t handle some of the sad stories I could tell. I am making my donation to streetdogcare.org now. Thanks everyone, from Troy, Ofer, Ella and Asher!
