Ecuador, El Fin

Most of the 12 divers on our trip got off the plane in Guayaquil, to return to the States immediately, or to hang out on their own for a few more days. Scott and Karen, Marty and Erin, and I flew on to Quito. Scott and Karen were leaving for home the very next morning, so we went out for one last dinner, back up to El Panecillo where there's a higher class restaurant called Pims. The five of us dined on Prime Rib, with apps and drinks, for less than $130. Nice.

Marty and Erin were hanging out for one more day, so we hired Bernardo to take us out for the day. Papallacta is a remote hot springs in the upper Amazon about two hours outside of Quito. We drove up to a 14,000-foot mountain pass and back down the eastern side of the Andes where this hot springs, spa, and hotel were nestled in this gorgeous valley. It was a bit cloudy, so we missed a great view of Antisana, one of Ecuador's many volcanos. Bernardo led us on a 90 minute hike through some... jungle? It looked like jungle, but I would probably just call it jungle with a lowercase "J", if you know what I mean. We didn't exactly expect any 6 inch tarantulas to jump out at us. Bernardo confirmed that technically it was the Amazon, but my feeling was that it was more like Amazon-light, the zone between Andes and Amazon where it's a little of both? In any case, it was a cool little hike.

We then splurged on spa treatments. Now... this was the RIGHT way to end this trip, let me tell you. We jumped in the hot springs for a good 30 minutes, then went in for our separate individual appointments. I had what I can only describe as a "Fire Hose Massage". This lady put me in what was basically a large shower stall, then proceeded to spray me down with a high pressure hose, and I loved every minute of it! After a nice fruit smoothie, she then took me in for a very, very nice massage. Needless to say, I was hoping for more, but that was it. We drove back to Quito, and had another marvelous dinner at Red Hot Chili Peppers. The next morning, the Marty and Erin headed home.

On my last day, Bernardo took me on a personal tour of Old Town Quito. Lots of old architecture, with a very obvious Spanish influence. I felt waaay out of place, though. After walking about for two hours, I hadn't seen one other white person. Not one. I was glad I was with Bernardo!

Just thought I would mention one little oddity I saw at the start of this day. A lady selling goats milk on the side of a street. With the goats in tow!! Straight from the udder, man. As fresh as fresh can get. I passed.

We followed Old Town with a trip up the Teleferico, a gondola people can take up the eastern slopes of Pichincha. You'd think it'd be disconcerting having a volcano in your backyard, but Quito's been here for hundreds of years, so I think they're used to it. The top of the Teleferico is at around 13,000 feet. We hiked for a bit, but I was in my flip-flops, so we didn't go far. Maybe a mile.

We ended the day going back to Mitad Del Mundo. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had gone there when we first arrived, but I didn't take part in the interactive tour, so I wanted to go back and take my shot at it. There were some pretty interesting phenomenon at the equator. For starters, as most people know, when you drain a tub of water (i.e. a toilet?) in the northern hemisphere, the water drains clockwise. In the south, counterclockwise. Well, when you're standing on the equator, it goes straight down. Here's a pretty good explanation. For the same reason, you can balance an egg on the head of a nail at the equator. I would challenge you to try it anywhere else! They didn't have any scales there, but apparently you're 6 pounds lighter on the equator than you are everywhere else. Couldn't prove that one. There were also a few strength and balance tests that we did away from the equator line, then on the equator line. Sure enough, being on the equator effects your balance and your strength. I haven't done any research into why that is, or if it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but I experienced it firsthand so that's what I'm going with. For now.

So that was pretty much it. I headed back to Folklore for one more night, then hopped on a flight back to the States the next day. Overall it was quite a trip. Trip of a lifetime, although I'd love to have a few more of those "trips of a lifetime". We've been throwing around the idea of diving the Red Sea in 2010, so maybe I can have a trip of a lifetime every two years or so!!

Thanks for reading, and again, thanks for all your compliments!!