Día de Muertos

Posted on by under Celebrations, Mexico

Several years after both of my parents had died, they both appeared in my dream one night. The dream was nothing special: we were milling about doing normal things in my final childhood home. No words of wisdom were spoken or cryptic message divulged. I woke up so happy as though both had visited me after so many years apart. That is Día de Muertos.

Final Christmas

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is actually celebrated on 2 days in Mexico – November 1 and 2 – and is when the path between life on earth and the afterlife is open. This allows the dearly departed to return to earth to visit their living family. The living entice their dead relatives to visit by setting up altars (ofrendas) in their homes dedicated to their beloved – their pictures, favorite foods, mementos, sugar or candy skulls (calaveras), pan de muerto (sweet bread with a cross of “bones” on the top), candles and flowers. Or you can try to entice the famous – we were told of ofrendas for JFK, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, among others. Marigolds provide the dead a path back to the living and are everywhere in the days leading up to the holiday. November 1 is the day for departed children and November 2 is for adults. Families will celebrate in their homes or in the cemetery where their loved ones rest. Unlike Halloween in which the dead are feared, Día de Muertos is when the dead are welcomed. And who wouldn’t want to see their deceased loved ones, if only once a year? Matt and I did not make an altar this year as we didn’t fully understand the holiday, but next year we will be inviting our deceased loved ones to pay a visit.

Catrina on Our Door

A new tradition for Día de Muertos in Mexico City is a fantastic parade. Spawned by the James Bond movie, Spectre, which (apparently) begins with a (staged) Día de Muertos parade in Mexico City, the municipality now sponsors a parade. Matt and I headed into the city early on Saturday to check out the scene and get a good spot. We were rewarded by happening upon the staging area and getting a good look at the floats before the parade began.

Deathly Undertaker
Groom
Bride
Dead Love
Mariachi of Death
Disney’s Alebrije
Shake Those Maracas!
Dem Bones
Yippee!
‘Til Death Do Us Part
Musical Skull
Festive with Flowers
Death is Rosy

After wandering around for 3 hours, we secured our spot an hour before the parade and were not disappointed. What an amazing spectacle! It began with a moment of silence and a moving tribute to the earthquake victims and rescuers.

The Parade Begins
Fuerza!
Symbolic Recovery Efforts

The next part of the parade, “The Living Dead,” was a walk through history and began with Mexico’s pre-hispanic roots.

Warriors
Bang the Drum
Time Marches On
Impressive!
Fierce
Nod to Temple Mayor
Pregnant Sacrifices (?)
Sun God
The Rabbit and the Moon

Next up were the Spanish Conquistadors and the Widows’ Altar.

Christianity Comes to Mexico
Religious Beauties
You are the Light
Mourning Widows
Altar

The colonial period was represented with some great dancing and costumes.

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A devil chasing an angel provided some comic relief and some interesting, but inexplicable (to me and my Spanish teacher) costumes followed.

Angel
Devil
Scary!
Hmmm
Gorgeous Ofrenda

Revolutionaries put on a show and then the press got a nod.

Smiling Shooters
Ana Get Your Gun
Revolutionaries
Do-Si-Do
Ode to the Press
Power of the Press
Woman of the Press
Read All About It
Pleading Press
Paper Royalty

The next part of the parade – Carnival of Skulls – continued the fun.

Carnival of Skulls

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A wonderful introduction to Día de Muertos and a great celebration.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Posted on by under Mexico

We left the Galapagos Islands for the opposite end of the spectrum: Mexico City! A city* of 9 million people, with a metropolitan population of around 22 million, Mexico City is a booming metropolis filled with parks, plazas, museums, shopping malls, world class entertainment and fantastic restaurants. The Mexica people (Aztecs to us) built their capital city of Tenochtitlán in 1325. The city is over 7,000 feet above sea level but was originally built on an island. As a result, it continues to sink at a rate of up to 4 inches per year. Conquered by the Spanish in the 1500s, and renamed Mexico City, it is the oldest capital city in the western hemisphere. After the cultural desert of the Galapagos, we are thrilled to be back in an environment where traditions abound, the climate is temperate and there is  more to do than go to the beach.

México!

We live in Cuajimalpa, the most western “delegation” or borough of Mexico City. Cuajimalpa is situated in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains at an elevation of 8,900 feet. It was a separate rural town until being engulfed by Mexico City’s urban sprawl. As a result, it has a local feel, similar to our home in Cajamarca, Peru, but minus the farm animals. We are not in a fashionable ex-pat district of the city, although there are both McDonalds and Starbucks within a couple of blocks of our house (not that those make it fashionable, just typical). While it takes us about 45 minutes to get into the city, Matt has 3-minute, door-to-door walking commute that can’t be beat in a place where 1 1/2 to 2 hour commutes are not uncommon. A large, Walmart-owned supermarket is around the corner, but the neighborhood also has a Saturday open air market, which are called tianguis here, and there is a permanent market about a mile from our house. There are countless shopping malls throughout the area, with a few nice ones 15-20 minute car rides from our house. With some very minor exceptions (decaf black tea, parchment paper, Shout colorfast sheets), we can find pretty much everything we want or need in the city. What a difference that has been compared to our last two moves!

CDMX map – we are the blue dot
Front of our Complex
Courtyard View
View from our office
Mountain View

We learned from our other moves that it is best to get settled in quickly by buying what we need to make our home comfortable. We spent our first two weeks here going to the mall or some big box store almost every day. It wasn’t that we had more than a car-load of things to purchase, but when you don’t own a car, you can only buy what you can carry. One day, in a Home Depot, Matt looked at me and said, “Are we in Wauwatosa or Mexico City?” Apart from the language, it is hard to tell when you are in American stores that look exactly the same. We were lucky to have our shipment from the U.S delivered 2 1/2 weeks after we arrived – it felt like Christmas! We didn’t waste any time and had a chair reupholstered, paintings framed, our apartment painted and our artwork hung. We are having a media console and end table built and have a few more odds and ends on the wish list, but it feels like home.

Great light (except for photos)
Inexpensive, fresh flowers are a big plus!
Matt is thrilled to have a recliner again!
Serviceable galley kitchen
Packers Shrine

It hasn’t been all work since we arrived. I joined a book club and knew it would be a good fit when 50% of their titles matched the titles my Milwaukee book club has read. I’ve met nice people through the club and the International Women’s Club. While the drive time from the city makes it rare that we go there on a week night, we head to the city most weekends. Depending on who is counting, Mexico City has more museums than any other city in the world, so we have plenty to choose from. In addition to visiting several permanent collections, we have seen a Pablo Picasso – Diego Rivera exhibit and an Andy Warhol one, complete with a reproduction of the Factory’s balloon room. Mexico City is famous for a movement to bring art to the people via enormous murals so those pop up in plenty of places too. But my best museum visit thus far was when our friends, Beth and Chris, were visiting last week because we were going to the U2 show and we ran into Bono at the Soumaya Museum! He was incredibly gracious with his fans and I even shook his hand. What a great brush with fame!

The man, the legend, Bono!
Before the U2 Show
Part of a Siqueiros Mural
Balloon Room
Museo Soumaya
Sculpture in the Plaza de los 3 Culturas
Plaza de los 3 Culturas
Picture-Perfect View
Great Architecture in Belles Artes

Cosmopolitan Panoramic

While I know that we are in the honeymoon phase with Mexico City, so far all signs point to it being a lasting love affair!

*   Mexico can refer to three political units. First, the country, officially the United States of Mexico. Next, the State of Mexico, which is one of 31 states in the union. Finally, Mexico City, or the District Federal (D.F.), which is separate from the State of Mexico and its own federal political unit, like Washington, D.C. in the U.S. While in 2016 the city’s name was changed from Mexico Distrito Federal of Mexico to Cuidad de Mexico (Mexico City, CDMX), many people still refer to the city as D.F.

Incredible Iguazú Falls!

Posted on by under Argentina, Scenery, Travel

When I 15, I went to Niagara Falls and was underwhelmed. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I recall thinking the gardens were pretty and feeling cheated by the falls. I was expecting something  majestic and it looked like a big dam. Decades later, Iguazú Falls provided the majesty I was seeking.

Iguazú Falls is on the border between Argentina and Brazil and is described as the “largest waterfall system in the world,” which I learned is because there are various ways to measure waterfalls in order to maintain bragging rights! We wanted to go to both sides of the falls but didn’t have time to get the required Brazilian visa. While I read posts that said sneaking visa-less over the border in a cab was no big deal, we decided not to become an international incident and stayed in Argentina. Compared with many of our adventures, it was pretty easy to get to the falls – we walked into town from our lovely hotel, the Iguazú Jungle Lodge, and caught a bus to the falls. Once there, it reminded us of the Milwaukee County Zoo – walking paths winding through wooded areas, kiosks and concession stands and even a train to take you to the “Devil’s Throat” to see where about 1/2 of the Iguazú river’s volume crashes over the top of the falls. The Devil’s Throat is 80 meters (262 feet) high and 2,700 meters (8,858 feet, 1-3/4 miles!) in diameter. The entry to the falls had an amusement park feel, but soon we were taken by the natural beauty. I had so much fun the first day and we didn’t get to see every corner of the park, so I decided to return the following day. Matt opted to join me and was glad he did as our first day was overcast and the second day sunny, which gave different perspectives. Plus, it had rained considerably overnight so the falls were noticeably fuller the second day.

Iguazu Jungle Lodge
Where to Go First?
All Aboard!
Welcome to the Jungle
Station
As If!
Don’t Say They Didn’t Warn You!

First stop both days was the Devil’s Throat. Spectacular!

Devil’s Throat Panorama

Walkway to the Devil’s Throat
Getting Closer!
Happy We Returned
Devil’s Throat
Over the Rainbow and the Falls
Rainbow and Water
What a Day!
Wow!
Devil’s Throat Lookout
Brazil Across the River
What a Rush!
Devil’s Throat
Impressed!

Thank goodness that I had to get over my grate phobia in El Calafate, because I really had to get over it to enjoy Iguazú Falls!

On the first day, we had bought tickets for a boat ride under the falls. We lingered at the Devil’s Throat and then needed to scurry around the park to find the boat launch. Somehow we missed a turn and arrived 5 minutes before the boat was leaving. Thankfully, we were obviously not the first clueless tourists and the worker provided us tickets for the following excursion. I had been ambivalent about doing the ride, but it was great fun. You cruise down the river and look at the falls and then suddenly the captain guns the engines and drives you smack into one. Despite the ponchos, there is no escaping the deluge of water. I thought the women who brought swimming goggles were brilliant as I feared my contacts were going to get pushed out of my eyes! When you are on the trip, you feel like you are directly under the falls with the amount of water that crashes down on you, so I was surprised when we watched another boat cruise into the falls and saw that they really just go to the perimeter.

Safety First
Ready for Adventure
Gaining Steam
Heading In!
Soaked!

I loved that there were so many waterfalls to see – between 150 and 300 depending on the amount of water flow. Each one was pretty in its own way.

Two Sisters
Paradise
Spectacular
Impressive
Back on Dry Land
Off the Beaten Path
Rush
Cascades
Pretty as Far as the Eye Can See
If Only I Remembered Which Was Which!
Wow
Nature at Its Finest

The lush jungle setting made it so much more magical than Niagara and allowed us to see capuchin monkeys, toucans and other birds, coati (raccoon-like creatures that will shamelessly try to steal your food) and butterflies. There were boa constrictor warning signs and jaguars in the park, so I watched for those although I couldn’t decide whether I was disappointed or relieved when we didn’t see any!

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Butterfly
Feeding
Resting
Beauty
Hitching a Ride
Another Hitchhiker
Matt’s Hand is Tasty
Friendly
Peaceful Path

Iguazú Falls is a magical place. It is no wonder that upon seeing it, Eleanor Roosevelt is reported to have said, “Poor Niagara!”

 

Living the Good Life: Mendoza

Posted on by under Argentina, Food

Wine, grilled meats, gorgeous scenery: how could we not return to Mendoza? After an amazing visit there in 2014 with our friends So Much Wine and So Little Time – Mendoza, Argentina we were eager to return. We again arranged winery tours with Ampora Wine Tours but this time added on an asado cooking class to learn the art of Argentine grilling.

The Hills Are Alive

Mauricio Camenforte was our host for the asado class that was held in his backyard. http://asadocookingclassmendoza.com/ We enjoy seeing how people live and his home and its view were lovely. Mauricio clearly loved having people in his home to show them a true Argentine experience. There were three other Americans from Seattle in the class  – Norberto, Jeff and Holly – and we quickly bonded over a shared love of travel, wine and food.

Ready to Feast!

An asado is made on a special type of grill: a long, flat concrete surface with a metal grill and basket. Only wood is used and the idea is to take your time, drink some wine and enjoy the process. Mauricio started by creating a wood fire. As the wood burns, you knock off cinders and spread them under the grill. Once you have a suitable amount to start grilling, you place the burning wood in the basket, replenish as needed and continue to knock off cinders for under the grill.

Raw Ingredients
Fire
Meat and More Meat
Starting the Fire
Chef Mauricio

As we waited for the fire to burn, we started our feast with delicious bread accompanied by an eggplant spread, blue cheese spread, chorizo and olives. Next up were some amazing empanadas. It goes without saying that there was an endless supply of malbec wine as well.

Appetizers

Then we got to work. We sliced the veggies and put them on the grill with small, fresh chorizos. Beef ribs were expertly placed for slow cooking. Holly and I volunteered to make the chimichurri and we chopped the parsley and garlic as we sipped our wine. Mauricio put green and red peppers and onions directly in the fire basket, which wowed us all. We were even more wowed when they were done and we simply rinsed them under the tap, cut them up and seasoned them with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Making Chimichurri
Into the Fire
Almost Full
Blackened Veggies
All Clean!

Mauricio oversaw the completion of the chimichurri and then we were ready to make choripan – little chorizo sandwiches with chimichurri. Delicious! We also learned to make matambre a la pizza – flank steak topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Mauricio warned us that this dish is hit or miss as sometimes the meat can be tough, but his was a big hit.

Inspecting the Meat
Matambre a la Pizza
Making Meat Pizza!
Choripan

The food just kept coming! We made provoleta – provolone grilled in a special cast-iron skillet. While we were eating the ribs, veggies and a salad, Mauricio snuck some gorgeous tenderloins on the grill. Just when we thought we couldn’t eat more, we did! The meal ended with a dessert of baked apples with dulce de leche and the popular Argentine drink of Fernet and Coke.

Food and More Food!
Provoleta
Ribs and Veggies
Norberto and Matt
Fernet for the Finish

The class was a top notch experience from start to finish. While we didn’t think we could eat or drink for a week, we rose to the occasion the next two days with our wine tasting tours. Both days were excellent and we again met great people and sampled fantastic wines.

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I ♥ Mendoza!

Glaciers Galore!

Posted on by under Argentina, Scenery, Travel

I’m weeks behind on writing any posts, but anyone who knows me knows that I am all about chronological order. When we left Chilean Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park, we crossed the border into Argentina and headed to El Calafate. Still in Patagonia, El Calafate is a cute tourist town capitalizing off the proximity to Glacier National Park. After some pampering and a day of rest in a nice hotel, we were ready to check out some glaciers.

Glacier National Park

Our first tour was to El Perito Moreno glacier. El Perito Moreno’s claim to fame is that it actually is advancing as opposed to retreating like most of the world’s glaciers and every several years it forms a bridge with the land that lasts for a period of time until it crashes into the water. While I was interested in seeing the glacier, I had no idea how wowed I would be. The park has a series of metal walkways (I had to quickly get over my grate phobia) that allow many different views of the massive glacier. It looks like an advancing ice army and its creaking and groaning are spectacular. There was no ice bridge, but we were fortunate to see several calving incidents. Despite the dreary, drizzly day, we had a fantastic time.

Icebergs
Advancing Glacier
Perito Moreno
Ice Strata
Matt Enjoying the View
After the Fall
Waiting for the Action
Ice Army
What a View

The next day was our big adventure: kayaking at the Upsala Glacier. Matt and I are experienced kayakers, but I was still nervous about kayaking near a glacier and in frigid water. What a great time! The tour company, Upsala Kayak Experience, was fantastic. We had excellent gear (although I can’t stand things around my neck and the dry suit was a necessarily tight fit!) and the staff was fun and engaging.

Geared Up and Ready to Go!
Waiting to Launch
Our Crew
Set Up
Final Instructions

Not everyone had kayaking experience, but after some instructions and paddling demonstrations, we set off. We intended to go to the face of the Upsala Glacier, but a storm blew in and our guides wisely determined a better course was to paddle around a large iceberg.

Clouds Over the Upsala Glacier
Iceberg in the Distance
What Form!
Cruising to the Iceberg
Kayaking in the Storm
Remember the Titanic!
The Goal
Close Enough

After we paddled around the iceberg, we headed back to shore. It was strenuous paddling as the wind was against us and the guides worked to keep the group on track. One kayak needed to be towed when they got far afield. Matt kept us on course and we paddled well together, which is unusual! The weather cleared up a little and we were offered the treat of paddling under a waterfall. Matt and I gamely went first and had a ball. I was shocked that we stayed dry. Each kayak had two trips under the falls, then we returned to the boat for the ride back to the dock.

Waterfall

Heading In
Paddling Through
Almost Done
Success

After two active days at the glaciers, we relaxed on our last day and enjoyed walking around town and through its park. We recognized our pal Darwin with a few of his animal friends.

Young Darwin
Old Darwin
Moreno

After 10 days enjoying nature, we left El Calafate for Buenos Aires to enjoy some city living for a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

A Walk, or Few, in the Park

Posted on by under Chile, Scenery

Sunset in the Park

Our South American adventure started in Southern Chile’s Patagonia in the Torres del Paine National Park. It’s not the easiest place to get to – 24 hours of flights from Mexico City to Punta Arenas, Chile, and then 5 hours of bus rides to get to the park and another 40 minute bus ride to our lodge* – but it was well worth the long journey. It may be the most beautiful place I have ever been. Or maybe that was because I was so happy to be in the mountains again after island living for 2 years. Mountains, glaciers and lakes, oh my!

Headed to the End of the World!
First Glimpse of the Torres
Unimpressive Park Entrance
Bird’s Eye View of Hosteria Pehoe
Torres del Paine

There are two ways to visit the park: backpack and do one of two multi-day hikes – the circuit or W – or stay in a hotel and take day hikes. As my camping limit is generally 2 nights and I don’t carry gear, we opted for a hotel. There are not many in the park, so we chose the most economical and had low expectations based on the reviews. Once again, my life experiences of rustic Wisconsin cottages served me well as Hosteria Pehoe has seen better days.

Hosteria Pehoe
Twin Beds!

The point of the park is not the accommodations, but the views. Hosteria Pehoe had the best hotel views in the park, hands down. Our bartender showed us where to take the path to the scenic view for our first sunset, and the sunrise the next morning was equally spectacular. Even better – sunrise was around 8:15 a.m. My kind of place!

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We were out of hiking shape, but raring to go. On our first day we took a walk on the road to the Salta Chico waterfall and then hiked up to a lookout where we saw soaring condors. It felt great to be back in the mountains.

Glorious Day!
Back in the Hiking Groove
Upland or Magellan Goose
Lake View
Salto Chico
Condor
View from the Top
Bird’s Eye View of Hosteria Pehoe
Made it!

Day 2 was intended to be our easy day. We were building up to a 12 1/2 mile hike to the base of the Torres that we planned for Thursday, so on Tuesday we arranged to take the boat cruise to Grey Glacier. This is where traveling in a remote place with primitive hospitality services has its drawbacks. The wifi at our lodge wasn’t good enough for us to make the reservation for the cruise. The desk clerk at our lodge assured us that while the cruises were scheduled four times a day, the only one running was at noon and that we would have no problem booking it upon arrival the Hotel Lago Grey, where the boat departs. Unfortunately, she was not willing to make a call to reserve it for us. So we, together with another couple, hired a driver to take us to the Hotel Lago Grey where they informed us that there were no spaces on the noon cruise, but we could get on the 3 pm cruise. As we had 5 hours to kill, our options were to hang around the hotel or to take a hike to a scenic lookout above the lake. Feeling energized by the mountain air, I pushed for the hike.

Early View

The beginning of the hike was pleasant and I was happy with our choice. Then it got steep and I was slogging along. We were hiking with the other couple, and I felt like I was holding everyone back, a feeling I hate. I missed the stability of my hiking poles and regretted pushing for the hike. The other husband bailed while we forged ahead with the wife. Shortly thereafter, a couple of American men overtook us. They were trying to rally me to keep going, but I threw in the towel and Matt elected to descend with me while we sent the other woman off with them.

Kerry Slogging Along Despite the Glorious Views
Grey Glacier in the Background
What a Day!

We cruised back down to the road and then our driver took us to the beginning of the trail for the hike to catch the boat. We trooped across a rocky beach, admired the bobbing icebergs and waited for the Grey III.

So Blue!

What a fun trip! The clouds that had blown in made it all the more interesting when trying to stand on deck in the driving wind. The color of the icebergs was an amazing blue and the glacier was impressive. I was surprised by how close we got to it. I was lucky be on deck to catch a moment of calving – when ice breaks away and falls into the lake. Fantastic!

Glacier to the Left and Right
Holding on Tightly!
Approaching the Glacier
Beautiful Blue!
Sailing toward the Ice
Calving Evidence
Nature’s Patterns

I was demoralized after my failed hike to the lookout, but the next day we decided to walk to Salto Grande waterfall. Somehow it escaped us that it was an 8 mile walk, which wasn’t exactly our plan for the day before our big hike. But it was another lovely day for a walk.

Our Lodge in the Distance
Over the Rainbow
Salto Grande
Whoosh!

Finally, the day had come – our hike to the base of the Torres. I was nervous about managing the hike, but I got the lowdown from a family we met who did it the day before us and our driver gave me a pep talk on our way to the start of the trail. We stopped to buy some provisions and then as we prepared to leave, one of my hiking poles was stuck! I was looking at the ridiculously priced gift shop poles, wondering whether it was a sign that I was too out of shape for the hike, when a workman walked by. We asked him for a pliers and he willingly helped us get my pole in order.

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The hike was hard. It was not as steep as the Grey Lake lookout and we were prepared for hiking, but it was not easy. At least not for us – plenty of people practically skipped by us. The hardest part was the end when you are climbing up boulders, sometimes through shallow streams. But it was spectacular – the terrain changed a lot throughout the hike, you could dip your water bottle into the stream for water and the day was fantastic. I am not sure that I will ever be in a landscape so breathtaking again.

On our last day our driver took us on a half day tour of the rest of the park before catching our bus to Calafate, Argentina. We enjoyed strolling on the shores of the beautiful Lago Azul (Blue Lake), admiring the rainbows in the Paine Waterfall and observing the wildlife. We saw so many guanacos on our days in the park that we felt like we had seen 90% of the entire population. I was keeping my eyes open for a puma, but we never spotted one although we enjoyed seeing many lookout guanacos on the hills standing watch for their herds.

Paine Waterfall
Lago Azul
Clear, Glacier Water
Top of the Paine Waterfall
So Relaxed with No Hiking
Lago Sarmiento

Protector

Pensive Guanaco
Posing
So Pretty
Taking Stock
Unknown (to me) Waterfowl
Patagonian Bird (Okay, I made that up)
Southern Crested Caracara
Rhea

Another grand trip to remember!

* In retrospect, we should have rented a car instead. Despite reading about a “shuttle” there was no public transportation within the park and we paid a small fortune in private transfers.

Thank You, Little Library!

Posted on by under Ecuador, Galapagos Islands

Thank you for giving me a volunteer project to occupy my 2 years on the Galapagos Islands. I needed it. We went from this:

Library/Music Room
Dumping Ground
Disaster

to this:

Open Air Library
Room to Grow
The New Stacks

to this:

Full Spanish Section
Out of Room!
Packed for the End of the Year
Last Minute Work
Locking Up for the Last Time

In less than 2 years, we built an open air library at the Tomas de Berlanga school and increased the collection from 400 semi-acceptable books to over 3,600 books specific to the needs of the school. The books all came via donations.We created a Bring a Book program with the Lindblad National Geographic ships. This program provided over 1,300 books to the school! We raised almost $2,000 in donations, which allowed the library to be self sustaining. We purchased a dedicated library computer and supplies and mailed books collected in the US. We held a book sale, a Dr. Seuss contest and instilled a love of reading in at least some of the students. We began an expansion, financed in part from the library fund, but unfortunately only the the concrete got poured before I left.

Thank you for facilitating my interaction with great, fun kids. I’ll miss these readers!

Enjoying a Book
Captivated Listeners
New Books!
Quiet Reading
Katie Giving Bookmarks to Students
Excited for the New Books
Decisions
Check Out Time
Sweet Goodbye

Thank you for introducing me to some great people who have become fantastic friends.

The Lovely Helena
Helena and Kerry Finishing Up for the Year
Thank You Amy and Harry!
Story Time
Amy Returns with Katie!

Thank you for the reminder that sometimes you just have to do things and not overthink them. Personal reinvention is the norm in a place like the Galapagos so going from retired attorney to “librarian” didn’t seem out of place.

Final Farewell

A final THANK YOU to Matt and my family and friends who supported the project through donations, advice, assistance and enthusiasm! You are too numerous to name (and I would forget someone) but you know who you are.

Know anyone who wants the library director gig? Here is the information; pass it along!

VOLUNTEER SCHOOL LIBRARY DIRECTOR NEEDED FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS!

Have you ever wanted to live on the famous Galapagos Islands? Here is your chance! Tomás de Berlanga School (TdB), a K-12 bilingual (Spanish/English) school in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, is looking for a part-time volunteer to manage its open-air school library. Adult candidates must have a passion for children’s literature, great organizational skills, basic proficiency in MS Office, including Excel, and a desire to live in a unique, yet challenging, island environment. MLIS or teaching degree is not required. English fluency required. Spanish fluency desired; a working knowledge of Spanish is required. The school year begins in May and ends in February. We require a minimum commitment of 4 months. The schedule is 3 days per week, which provides ample opportunity to enjoy your time on the islands. TdB will provide a volunteer visa.

The Library Director is responsible for all aspects of the library. Duties include indexing, leveling, labeling and maintaining the library collection; holding regular library hours for book check out and story times; maintaining the school’s book wish list (all books come via donations); communicating with potential donors; directing the work of teachers assigned to library duty; and light cleaning.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact the incoming school director, Justin Scoggin, at justinkscoggin@gmail.com

For more information about the school, you can view our Facebook page or website.
https://www.facebook.com/tdberlanga
http://tomasdeberlanga.edu.ec/

Love Is in the Air

Posted on by under Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Travel

Size does matter. That’s what our naturalist told us as we watched the blue-footed boobies perform their mating dance. Foot size, that is. Because the male boobies are a progressive bunch who share the egg incubation and child-rearing duties with the larger, female boobies, the females look for big feet, in addition to the perfect blue, when choosing a mate.

Big and Blue
Left Foot
Right Foot
One-legged Sky Pointing
Wait for It…
She Noticed Me!
Walking off into the Sunset?
Just Protecting My Egg
Looks Like His Feet Are Up to the Task
Dad and Egg
Move along, nothing to see here!
Dual Incubation
Taking a Break

When Matt and I returned from our trip to Wisconsin over Christmas, the end was in sight – only 3 more months on the Galapagos. We were eagerly counting down and one of the highlights along the way was our second Lindblad National Geographic expedition, this time on the newly launched Endeavor II. (Here are posts on our first National Geographic cruise and my cruise on the smaller Samba: Cruising the Galapagos and Sailing on the Samba.) Admittedly, Matt and I approached the cruise with a bit of a “been there, done that” attitude: after almost 2 years we have seen most that the islands have to offer. Instead, the islands wowed us again and we were as enthusiastic as first-time visitors when we saw new-to-us animals and voyeuristically observed mating behaviors.

Endeavor II
Home Away From Home
Greeted by Circling Sharks
Relaxed and Having Fun!
Sunset as we Passed the Ecuador

Back to the sex. The birds were providing quite the shows. This poor swallow-tail gull couple had their fun interrupted by a frigatebird who just wanted to cause trouble!

Swallow-tailed Gull
Afternoon delight
What the…
Coitus interruptus

Wah!!!

Matt and I were thrilled to see flightless cormorants for the first time. This pair did not disappoint: we watched their courtship dance that began in the water and then continued on shore only a few feet in front of us. Their turquoise eyes were stunning.

Water ballet
Synchronized Wing Drying
Choreography
Yep, Flightless
Check Me Out!
Working It
All This for You, Baby!

While the blue-footed boobies get most of the attention, the red-footed boobies’ colors are even more spectacular with their blue and red beaks in addition to their red feet. These pairs had already committed and were in the real estate phase of their relationships. The males would fly off in search of just the right twig, which they would return to give to the female. Then the two would fight over exactly where to place the twig in the nest. Who said decorating is easy in the wild?!

Incoming!

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Bringing a Gift to My Sweetie!
Almost There!
I’m Home!
The Tussle Begins

The frigatebird bachelors were doing their best to attract some females. They have a teenage boy mentality: the males all hang out together, puff out their pouches and whistle to the females in an attempt to get their attention. No one got lucky while we were there.

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It was not all about the birds. My beloved marine iguanas were building their nests. It was a spectacular sight to see their compact bodies kicking up sand everywhere we looked. Even more fun were the turf wars.

Digging a Hole
Who Will Win the Nest?
Fight!
Biding My Time
Heh, heh, I’ll Get Her When She’s Tired
Attack!
Beach Break
Resting
Don’t Mess with Me
Snaky neighbor

We didn’t just see great land animals. On our way back from a hike, we spotted a whale from our zodiac. The rest of the passengers were back on board, but we were off on a wild whale chase!

Thar She Blows!
Is a Zodiac a Good Match for a Whale?
Whale Stalking
Getting Closer!
Surfacing

It was both exhilarating and slightly terrifying – zodiacs are just little rubber dinghies! Matt and I were lucky to spot this orca from the ship on another day.

Orca

One of my favorite creatures to spot while snorkeling is the elusive octopus. This one was pretty easy to see for a change.

And, of course, my favorite:

Which leads us to the land iguanas.

Feeling the Breeze
Red Eye
Chomp!
Having a Snack
Coming Through
I Ate Too Much
Climbing for a Morsel
Spiked Beauty
Top-o-the-World

Tres Amigos

In addition to the great animals and views, we also met fantastic people and had good conversations, games and laughs. An unforgettable last trip around the islands!

Sally Lightfoot Crab
Shore Bird
Sizing Me Up
Sea Lion and Lava Gull
Kicker Rock
View from the Top
Crater
Tortoise

Iguana Obsessed!

Posted on by under Ecuador, Galapagos Islands

There are many magical aspects of the Galapagos Islands, but for me, the iguanas are supreme. There are endemic (native only to a particular place) marine and land iguanas on the islands. The marine iguanas are the only reptiles that drink salt water. Eventually, they blow out the salt through their nostrils. How cool is that? They are herbivores and feed on the ocean algae.  They fascinate me – how they move both on land and in the water and their chameleon-like color changes to match the seasons. The land iguanas are equally interesting. They eat cacti and other plants and come in various colors according to island location as well. While I am looking forward to leaving the islands at the end of March, I am going to miss these characters.

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