I found my 5 year story (unfortunately)

A little history about my philosophy of traveling and the 5 year story.  One thing I've noticed when I travel,  is that usually something will go wrong.  It might be big or small, but there will be something.  Those moments make the best 5 year stories.  In 5 years, you may make a cursory comment about the other parts of your trip, but the ones that make entertaining stories, and you repeat often are the ones where something went wrong.  So when these moments occur, and they will, you can either let it ruin your trip, or view it as a great 5 year story.

So back to  my lady day in Ecuador.  Iga and I were picked up for our tour of  Mindo. Except we found we were not going to Mindo, but another nearby town called Tulipe.  The rest of the trip was as advertised, so I didn't care - I only picked Mindo because it had more outdoor activities and none of that boring shopping stuff.

So anyway, we stopped at CalaCali to see the first Mitad del Mundo tower (the place with the wrong equator line).  About 15 years ago it was replaced by a new, bigger,  walk-up tower.   (I find it humorous it was not far of from when they found out the equator line was wrong). Anyway, they needed to do something with the old tower, so gave it to the the city of Calacali, the oldest city in the Area.  It's a cute small town, but I probably spent more time in describing it than I did at the city. Next we drove another 1 1/2 hours to a small lodge in Tulipe.  The view was gorgeous, tons of mountains, small farms on a mountainside, odd looking trees, coffee fields, etc.

We get to the lodge, and out was great, if very remote.  They have 5 small cabins, great hiking talks,  and a couple of waterfalls you can see or swim in.  We took the hike to the closer falls, one hour walk away, mostly downhill, about 2000 feet down.  The whole way, I'm realizing that if were going down now, we have to go up to return. 

The view was gorgeous. Our hiking guide pointed out out several trees and flowers, but my favorite was the cows on the edge of hills.  In some cases there was barely room for them to sit, making it was hard to believe they got themselves up there,  Then we saw a cow come running down the side of the hill.  Boy they sure are nimble.   Wish I could say the same about me.

So here's where things go wrong.  The path wasn't bad (for downhill anyway), although as we neared the falls, we started having dirt cut-out steps,  which got bigger and muddier the closer we got to the falls (very difficult for my short legs; Iga is much taller).  So  2-3 steps from the water, I slip, fall forward, and smack my face into a rock. Let's just say, God was looking out for me.

To try to make this somewhat short, I pulled my towel out of my bag and wiped the blood from my face, the ever ready iga gave me a huge bandaid to put over the gash and Tylenol for the pain (after taking several pictures), then she turned to me and said,  well now you have your 5 year story.  I did get a picture of the falls, but really didn't have any interest in anything else.  The hiking guide made a walking stick for me, and after the worst of the shaking passed, we started back.  It took a bit longer, and I had to stop often, but we made it.  After a wonderful lunch, of which I ate the soup and potato pancakes (reminded me of when I was a kid), we headed back to Quito. 

I guess I was pretty pale, and our main guide asked if I wanted to stop at a hospital. Since I had a long way home tomorrow, I figured it best.  She stopped at a small town hospital and we went in to the emergency room.  They must not get much excitement, because tons of people kept coming in to see what was going on.  I was informed the bigger cut was superficial and would only need a few stitches.  On the plus side, the paramedic who stitched me was cute, if a little (okay lot) young.  Iga was hilarious around him.  Good news, the anesthetic for the stitches finally got rid of my headache for a while.

So finally back in Quito, a little bruised and lot sorer, and a permanent souvenir of my time on Ecuador.  We packed and headed to the airport. I'll be back in town for a late Thanksgiving dinner with the family.

Oh, and I think I found my next trip - Patagonia next November.

Note: for those of you who know my mom,  I fell hiking, hit my head and had to have stitches.  Nothing more.

Balancing an egg

We went looking for a travel agency or tourist bureau to purchase a tour to Mindo tomorrow.  I had no idea it would be so hard.  They sent us to the other end of town where there are supposedly several travel agencies.  We went in a couple - all of them will find you a driver for the day for a fixed amount, but that's all they do.  No tours.  Given there is only two of us now, this it's an expensive option.  In the end, we went into an internet cafe and found a tour online.  I'm just shocked they don't have traditional tours for sale.

After a much later start than we planned, we headed the Terifico.  Rufus is a cable car which takes you to the to of Pichincha volcano,  2700 feet above Quito, to about 13000 feet total elevation.  We walked a couple of the paths (but not the 5 hour one).  You could definitely tell we were in the clouds.  Once again the clouds cleared for us to get a great view of the city.  it's amazing how big this city is - 2 million people, crammed into the space between two mountain ranges.  Also at the top we saw Llamingos.  They are in the llama family.

Next we took a metro bus north of the city (their city buses are crowd!) to the mitad del mundo, aka  middle of the world.  When the early men came in 1736 to confirm the shape of the earth, they used triangulation, and ecuador had the higher peaks of the 11 countries that have the equator ruining through it, thus the claim, middle of the world.

This calculation for the equator was used until 15 years ago when GPS determined it was slightly off (almost 800 feet).  (We learned later that the line the Incas recognized is the same as the GPS.)  Unfortunately, the Mitad del Mundo was built before GPS found the mistake. So we have a huge tourist complex with equator line and sign and lots of hoopla, all built in the wrong place - which no one talks about.

Next we slipped back to a hard to find museum, which was the highlight of the day - Intinan Museum.  This is an outdoor museum built on the "real" equator.  Our guide gave us some history about a couple of indigenous tribes, including replicas of historical homes. She also showed us how they kept track of seasons and time (the clock was just a few minutes off because the earth doesn't really rotate every 24 hours (she said 23 hours 50 minutes), which is why we have leap year.  She also mentioned that there is little rain on the equator and no tornados, etc because the magnetic pull of the poles balance each other out. (I didn't realize hurricane, etc in northern hemisphere turn counter-clockwise and southern clockwise.)

She ran through various experiments on the equator versus either side.  For example, walking the drunk walk on the equator is very difficult - I couldn't keep my balance at all. We also watched water draining from a sink - one way in the south, another in the north, straight down on the equator.  The guide also balanced an egg on a nail on the equator line.  She said if any in our tour group could do it we'd get a certificate.  I was the only one able to do it.  Later, Iga went back and was able to do it too.

 On the way home,  we asked a bus worker to let us know when we got to our stop.  Our pan was to take another bus home from there.   Several people got involved in helping us.   One lady was hilarious.   She was very emotive.  In a combination of Spanish and English,  she informs me that walking home from where were getting out is not good.  When I said were taking a bus,  again, not good.She says,  you go with me,  I'll get you home.  We'll take Taxi. When I commented would cost $4, she said no, only $2. Just don't talk taxi so they think we are local.  in the taxi she proceeded to tell us all kinds of opinions in a combination of languages.  We had a hard time not laughing until we got out.

Tomorrow is Tulipe, near Mindo.

Cotopaxi didn't have a volcanic eruption!

Clemence and I moved to Iga's hostel in the morning.  Then the husband, Geraldo, took us to Cotopaxi, about an hour away.

Cotopaxi is the 2nd highest active volcano peak in the world at over 20,000 feet.  The last eruption occurred in 1904. The volcano erupts about every 100 years - luckily today was not the day to end the dry spell.  We entered the park (about 10,000 feet altitude) and got there required guide for all foreign visitors (gotta keep the tourist trade healthy).

We headed for Cotopaxi.  All along, we had been warned that it's possible we won't see the peak due to weather (November is their winter,  and the worst for weather).  We see the top trying to peek out on the way,  but the clouds stubbornly refuse to leave.

We drove through the caldera. for what seemed forever.  The scenery was pretty,  but got redundant after a while.  On the way, we saw an extinct volcano (there are actually several volcanoes in the area, just not quite as high).  The other volcano we saw the most was Ruminahu, the highest volcano i noticed without snow.   There was another volcano ( can't remember the name) with snow at the top - by snow, I really mean glaciers.

We stopped part way up the volcano for a short walk to a better vantage point.  It may not have been long in distance,  but it sure was in time.  Geraldo said 10 minutes, which Iga did,  but not me - I stopped a few times.  The walk started at 14,000 feet then I climbed to about 14,500 feet (walk started near to of picture). I haven't had a huge issue with climbing in Quito (over  9,000 feet elev.)- not as good at home,  but more than respectable.  But at 14k, I not only struggled with climbing, but was feeling dizzy (no comments please).

We got lucky - as we were walking,  the volcano top which had been under clouds midst of the morning completely cleared,  and stayed that way until we drove away.  On the road Dldown,  we saw a hawk and a falcon.  We stopped at a lagoon at the base of the Caldera for a few minutes, and I got a picture of an Andean gull.

After a quick lunch of potato soup, were headed our of the park and home. Although we did make Geraldo stop before were got on the highway to let us take a picture of an even tree with needles that are upside down (Iga called it a weeping fir).

We got back in tune to go check our a couple of more churches in Old Town.  We went to one church, which was okay.  Then went to the Compania de Jesus, a baroque style church,  which shadowed every other church.  The walls are covered with 700 tons of 24 craft gold leaf.  The whole church was a piece of art. (picture not mine)

Clemence and I then grabbed dinner and headed home.  Clemence leaves tomorrow to go to another city.  So that leaves Iga and I.  We are now going to visit the cake car to the top of Quito,  then take a bus to the equator.  We are also going top look go a tour company to find something to do on Wednesday before we leave in the evening.  Honestly,  I've seen all of Quito I wasn't to see,  and the one thing I'd short of like to do has issues.

That's it for now

Quito in a Nutshell

Did not go to Cotopaxi today. Instead we are going tomorrow.  Clemence delayed her trip one day.

Our original guide, once we realized all the extra costs he was asking to the trip, was charging too much.  We head specifically asked if he spoke English and was told yes - he meant the guides at Cotopaxi.  So we cancelled him, hired someone else for tomorrow, and went off to explore Quito.

We got a ticket for the hop on hop off bus.  It makes it convenient to see the city, since walking would have been difficult - it is very long and narrow due to the mountains.  Were walked to the first stop which wasn't far so not worth waiting for the bus - the botanical gardens.  We walked though a really long park, which was packed with sports players, children, families,  and food vendors.  It started raining at the greens, so we didn't stay long, but were saw everything.  It was okay, but the Tasmania gardens were more interesting in my opinion.  And they were free (this one cost $3).

Next we board the bus, headed to "old town, where, first up, was the Basilica.  Of course as soon as we got off it started drizzling again (although not for long).  Iga and I climbed to the top spire on the church.  First we head to pay the standard $1-$2 entrance fee to climb as high add we wanted.  All of us went to the 2nd floor where we saw the beautiful stain glass window from the inside and the city through glass windows.  Then we walked another flight of stairs where there was an outdoor lookout balcony and a gift shop.  The view from outside was wonderful.

At this point we had split up.  I noticed a wooden walkway over the ceiling of the sanctuary, and steps at the end leading up.  I asked a lady where it went and was informed "to the top of the spire". The steps looked a little steep, almost like a step ladder.  I figured, I might add well do it - Its not likely I'm coming back.  So I walked across and climbed the stairs. Nice view, but I wasn't done.  Two more sets similar steps and I finally arrived at the spire (note spire in picture above).  The view was magnificent.  The only problem was I couldn't stay there forever - although I thought about it.  If there had been WiFi up there I might have l considered it.  As it was, I did make it down, very slowly.

Then it was on to the next stop, Iglesia San Francisco.  The church is the oldest colonial building in Quito. The front of the sanctuary was one of the most ornate I've ever seen.

As we drove to and from the church, the buildings were cool.  Reminded me a little of the older Scandinavian buildings.  Natalie would have loved the buildings and gone crazy taking pictures of doors and such.  I took a picture of a window I thought she might like.

Last were went to El Panecilla, a 100 foot statute of the virgin of Quito which overlooks the city and can be seen from almost everywhere. Again, Iga and I went up in the statute as high add we could go much easier this time - normal steps).  Then we bought some fruit for dinner and headed toward home.

The bus let us out a few blocks from the metro bus, which were took top a corner near our hostels.  By now, were are exhausted and just wanted to be home.  We missed our stop, but quickly got another bus going the other way, for one stop.  Both buses were packed to the gills. I almost didn't make it in the second bus. Instead my backpack just got squished and no one could move.  If it hadn't been a Sunday, I would have thought it was work traffic.  Clemence thought it might have to do with an early event related to the Quito celebration that officially starts Dec 4.

In any case,  tomorrow night I move in with Iga for the couple of remaining nights.  Clemence is coming for one night before she leaves for another town.  As I mentioned earlier, tomorrow is the Cotopaxi volcano. Then on Tuesday, Iga and I are doing a day trip to the equator and the nearby town of Mindo.  On Wednesday, our last day, Iga wants to walk around the city.  There is one thing we didn't get to on my list, but overall, I am cityed out. Will see how I feel on Wednesday.

We flew out of Galapagos this afternoon.  Spent the morning at the Darwin Institute hearing about the preservation of the tortoises.  Four of the species are already gone.  Many of the remaining 10 in the Galapagos were close to extinction until this organization got involved.  They had one lucky male tortoise there, "Super" Diego.  He's from originally from Espanola Island, but resided at the San Diego zoo for a number of years.  When they realized the tortoises from were nearing extinction, they brought him back to Galapagos and set him up with 5 ladies.  Now he has over 1000 children and grandchildren.  As each reaches 5 years old,  they are put onto Espanola to repopulate the island

The rest of the day was spent getting to Quito. I meet a couple of ladies in Galapagos, and both have offered to check on rooms at the hostels where they are staying.  I ended up staying with one for the next two nights, when she will go to another town.  I'm thinking about going north to Mindo on Monday,  so that works for me.

Tomorrow, the three of us will be doing a day trip together.  I mentioned Cotopaxi to the ladies and they seem interested.  I'd like to go south of Quito, since I expect to go north later this week. Cotopaxi is a volcano that, while not the largest, has an almost perfect cone shape.  Several people have mentioned going there.  We are sharing the price of a private a guide.

some quick thoughts on Galapagos: The only disappointment was missing the blue-footed booby mating dance,  but nature does not always accommodate our vacation schedule). I had a great time and saw many animals that not everyone who visits gets to experience (which is amazing given, again, with wildlife there are no guarantees).  I saw most of the various iguanas, lots of sea lions, a plethora of the interesting Sally Lighthouse crab, two of the the type of boobies (the red booby is only on a remote island), lots of other birds including the bizarre frigate,  many fish, several Galapagos sharks (all underwater while I was above water,  thank God), swam with both a turtle and a sea lion, and got to watch flamingos dance (their feet do a cute dance when they are digging for food).  I'm sure I missed something,  but the point is,  it was a great trip.  Will worth doing.  And I may have found my next trip.  I just found out the company I traveled with is offering a trip to Patagonia in Chile next November!  Anyone want to go with me?

More tomorrow.

Stalking a Giant Turtle

Arrived after 2 hours on a speed boat. There were lots of waves and it was hard to move around - not that there was much room on this boat. Last 2 days we were on a nice boat with lots of inside and outside areas for all 20 of us.  Not so this boat. The first 12 on the boat squashed into the outdoor seats. The last 8 of us got stuck inside. The outside had fresh air and less bouncing, but we had more room.  On the way home, I'm not sure if I'll try for the front, or take the benefit of stretching out all my stuff.

I got a great welcoming committee too the island - a big red iguana and a baby sea lion crying for his mom.

After disembarking, we took off for a 20 minute drive up the volcano with  an open air bus on a dirt road.   While the port and lower lands were dry and scruffy,  the highlands were humid and lush.  Most of the approx. 160 people on the island live in the highlands because it has the only source of fresh water.

Floreana was the first of the islands to be settled (Santa Cruz,  where we are staying was the last).  The first person on the island in the 16th century was an Irish troublemaker who got left with a machete, rope, and very few other items.  Fouz years later someone picked him up.  Later visitors included pirates who refreshed provisions from the fresh water shooting and edible foods on the island.  Others came,  but never for long until around 1930. First Friedrich Ritter and his girlfriend, then the Wittmer family.  Their son was the first child born on the island.  Then an interesting character showed up - the self-centered Baroness Eloise Wagner von Bosquet, along with her lover and husband.  Or was she a baroness? After she dumped the boyfriend, he reported she was actually a club dancer and spy.

Of the original settlers, only the Wittmers survived.   The natives and her husband said they were going to Tahiti, but no boat ever left, there was no record of her in Tahiti, and she was never heard from again. A little later,  her boyfriend tried to leave the island on a ship, but his body washed up on shore four months later. Finally, Ritter died of food poisoning under suspicious circumstances.  The Wittmer family still lives on the island today.

After lunch,  were went to the beach for snorkeling or enjoying the wildlife.  I decided to snorkel and was glad I did.  I found a giant green sea turtle almost as soon add I went out. after 5-10 minutes I lost him and started looking at the fish and seaweed.  After a while, I ran across him in the long seaweed.  I started snapping pictures,  but he didn't really like being found and started swimming away.  So I followed.  I probably swam beside him for another 10 minutes until he passed the rope over which I was not allowed to go.  I tried to take a picture with me and the turtle in the background - really hard to do while snorkeling, holding on to the camera for dear life, and keeping track of the turtle.  Mostly I got pictures of my life preserver.  I tried to do a video of him swimming, but had the camera on the picture setting by accident.   In the end, however, I did get some pictures and had a great experience.  So yesterday I swam with a sea lion and today a sea turtle!  What a great way to end my time in the Galapagos.

Edward's New animals:  red marine iguana (really same animal, but looks different so I'm counting), big green sea turtle, lots of fish.

Dancing with a sea lion

Today was a great day.

We started out with a drive-by of Daphne Island, where we saw more blue-footed boobies, and for the first time, the Nazca booby.

Next we visited tiny Bartholomew Island (less than 1 mile wide). It had the prettiest scenery - just gorgeous.  We climbed 365 steps to the top of the highest point.  Because there is a step for every day of the calendar, the guide made a point of pointing out his birthday step. Which of course meant the rest of us did as well.  I noticed they had married the step that was the first it's each month, making it easier to identify birthdays that were later in the year.

As we were leaving in the dingy to go back to the boat, we saw or first galapagos penguin.  This is the furthest north (24 miles from equator) that you will ever see a penguin.

We got in the boat and went to another part of island to snorkel.  As we were taking the dingy to the beach, we saw another penguin, and this one was nice enough to be standing for our pictures.

There were two snorkeling areas - right on the beach fire beginners, and around the point in deeper water for the experienced.  I decided to go to the experienced sure, thinking ribeye would be more to see (hey, I've been snorkeling twice now, if you count Monday).  I was glad I did.  I wore a life preserver (again, I've only been twice).

Three view was amazing - starfish everywhere (my favorite was electric blue, although the brown with orange spot ones were pretty too), lots if pretty fish, a stingray, and the best of all, a sea lion.  The sea lion zipped by me early on, so I knew it was in the area. About 10 minutes later, he was back, and this time swam straight up from the bottom less than 2 feet from me.  As up see him coming, I'm not sure whether to be completely freaked, our totally excited.  I chose to be both.

He swam under an underwater rock, formation, and I soon saw him swimming in and out of the rocks, totally disturbing the fish.   Then he came near me again, and this time, I'm saying, "come on over, swim with me".  I'm sure if he'd gotten right beside me I would have freaked again, but he went by me about the same distance, then proceeded to do acrobatics under water just for me!

I watched him for a while, but then I got called out of the water.  Back on the boat, we had another fabulous meal.  Unfortunately, a short time later we went through horrible waves and many people were seasick.  We ended the cruise with popcorn made in the stove (I needed to do that again - better than any microwave popcorn).

We get back just in time for a quick shower, drinks with some people I've met, and dinner.  More tomorrow.

Edward's new animals: nasca booby, galapagos hawk, galapagos penguin

A visit to North Seymour

A-ent off on our first official tour of the tour (Monday's trip was an add-on).  We got off to a good start.

After a 45 minute bus trip, we reached North Seymour island, where we saw several blue-footed boobies and frigates.  The blue-footed booby is a mostly white bird with bright blue feet and nose.  We had hoped to see the mating dance,  but as with any animals,  there is no guarantee you'll see anything.   Our guide decided to help us along - he came up behind him and caused him to flap his wings and do a little dance.   In addition, we did see several adorable babies with their mom.

Another set of birds on the island was the greater and magnificent frigates.  They are also called a "pirate bird" because they rob other birds of their food, rather than catching their own.    When the male frigate is ready to mate,  he grows a huge red gular pouch.  Three to for days after he mates, he starts losing his pouch (guess he doesn't feel the need to keep up appearances once he's married).

The last animal we saw on the island was a land iguana.  Instead of the dark colors of the marine iguana, the land iguana is bright yellow (likely to match the colour of the dirt), rather than dark like the marine iguana that hands out on the black lava rocks).  And he was so nice to stop in a somewhat open area and wait for ours all to get pictures!  When we got back to the boat, there were three sharks and a stingray swimming around the back of the boat.  I watched for a while,  and although I could see the shadow below the water,  they never got up above the water.

After North Seymour, we sent to Santa Fe island to watch flamingos and snorkel.  Unfortunately, the wildlife followed the shark's example and did not accommodate our interest in them.  Instead they never showed up.  We walked all the way to the lake (at least a 10 minute walk!),  and it was empty.  Oh well, we have been very lucky to have wildlife that aren't afraid of humans, and are willing to stay srill and pose for the camera.  Also, unlike the others in my group,  I got to see flamingos on my pre-trip at Isabela.

I walked back slower - me being easily distracted.  This time it worked to my advantage.  One of the guys in our group noticed a giant green sea turtle swimming in the ocean.  Every once in a while the turtle would lift his head out of the water (to breathe, I assume).  I tried to get a picture,  but between the distance and unknown as to when he would come up, it was impossible.  So I just stopped trying to get a picture and enjoyed watching him.

I also had to stop at a group of rocks that had tons of Sally Lighthouse crabs.  I love these guys.  When we passed the rocks the first time, we saw a female go up to a make and sort of lightly tap him with one of her legs (okay,  that sounds weird, but what else do you call what they walk on but legs).  Anyway,  she taps him. Nothing happens. Taps again.  Nothing.  Again. Nothing. Once more, and he runs away.  Leaving poor Sadly all alone.

So anyway, on the way back, I looked at the rock and there were several turf wars going on.  Not sure the crab dynamics, but one would bully another one or two,  and chase them of the rock to another.  Which would have been interesting,  But this was happening on two or three rocks at a time.  And the crabs who left just coming back for more. Tenacious guys. Fondly had to supp watching since the tide was coming in and I was getting soaked.  Side note - I love the way they walk!

On the way home, I wanted to get a picture of the collapsed lava tube we passed on the way to the boat. It looked like a huge crater from the bus.  With Paul's help, we talked our guide into stopping for 3 minutes, 28 seconds (Paul's warped negotiation humor that I'm not sure the guide got). I was surprised at the amount of vegetation in the hole, but then our guide told us it sank over a million years ago.   For some reason when he originally told us,  I assumed it happened in our lifetime.  In either case, it was cool and very prehistoric.

Edward's New Animals (renaming after nephew, Travis Edward, who has had an album on my tablet for years called "Edward's animals". Everytime I visit, he and his sister, Molly, beg me to look at the animals, and every new animal picture ends up in his album):  land iguana, Galapagos shark, swallow tail gull, great blue heron

Quiet day on the island

Here I am to save the day! Mighty Heron

Had a quiet morning.  Due to rain and knowing we'll have more opportunities for snorkeling later, we decided to walk around town.  We stopped in some shops and walked along the waterfront.  I got my first look at the blue-footed booby.  I expect I'll get better pictures later in the week; and hopefully video of their mating dance!

I finally got to see the black crabs.  Found out there really just the younger version of the Sadly Lighthouse crabs that are bright yellow.  Their black when their born so the blend in with the lava rock,  providing camouflage from predators.  As they grow up turn red and/or yellow.  I guess if you bother them they squirt water at you.  Although I know better then to do that,  I hope I get to are some predator get in their way so I can see it.

Walked around town for a couple of hours.  There was a fresh fish stand we went by - the birds were out en masse hoping for food,  and one sea lion was begging for any scrap he could get.  I was impressed that no one was getting annoyed - they just kept on working.  It provided us a great opportunity to see more birds.

After lunch we met some of the others for our first official tour.  I didn't know that 7 more had shown up yesterday.  So the 10 of us headed our to a farm that's next to the state park and so is filled with giant tortoises.  There we saw the other 20 on the tour from a distance - we were kept i three smaller groups for a better experience.  The rest of the tour will be two groups,  each going to a different one of the three island each day.  I love this about Paul's tours - if it gets too large,  he just splits the group up rather than having us feel like herded cattle.

Our guide told us a bit about the tortoises, some of which was a repeat of the day before.  Then we went tortoise searching for a couple of hours.  There was a pond filled with a pink plant (thus the name,  Pink Lake).  A tortoise was at the edge of it,  and several ducks throughout - the ducks provided a nice break from the tortoise search - I especially liked their dinner dance.  After the walk,  a couple odd the people tried on am old tortoise shell.  I thought it was a fake because of the odd color,  but found our that this is the natural color of the skeletal shell.  What we so on the tortoise is the outer she'll,  which is the same material add or fingernails (think horses hooves).

After the tortoises,  we went to a lava tube.  It had collapsed so you could go in the 60 feet or so that was left,  bit honestly,  was not really worth it.   I'm spoiled from the lava tubes I saw in Australia that were much more extensive and interesting.

I meet my roommate.  I can already tell were going to get along great.

Tomorrow I'm off to Seymour Island to see blue-footed Boobies, frigates, and hopefully more.

New animals saw today:  blue-footed booby

A visit to Isabela Island

Got an early start to go to Isabella island today (although maybe every morning will start with a 6 am breakfast and 7 am walk to the pier). They said it would be a 2 hour boat ride - it was at least that! 

The boat was not what I expected. No yacht for us (ok I want expecting that either), but a fully enclosed boat with 15 double seats, and cloudy plexiglas windows, some of which open (ie. mine). Of course as we get going I understand the enclosure.  We're bouncing around on the waves, water's splashing up high on the windows and front of the boat, and we're quickly in the middle of the ocean with little land in sight - just small piles of rocks in the distance (these must be the islets).  really nothing to see except for the occasional albatross flying nearby.  I heard I might see whales or dolphins, but no luck (or maybe just didn't pay attention enough).

We finally arrived at Isabela Island and met our guide for the day, Carlos.  Isabela is the largest island, mainly because out is really five volcanoes that merged into 1 big island over time.  We stayed around the two southernmost volcanoes.

We started at a viewpoint.  In the distance one of the islets across the way seemed to disappear and reappear over time due to cloud cover, this the reason the islands were originally called the "enchanted islands" (wonder if that's where they got the idea for Bali Hai).

I got some great pictures of a couple  of mockingbirds (you can sing the song now...to yourself, so people don't think you're strange.)  We learned there are two types of cacti on the island - candelabra and lava.  The trunk of the older lava cactus looks like the bark of a tree and no longer had needles there.

Stopped at an inlet.  They had tons of marine iguanas, and the males were not the dark black we have been seeing.  They have more colors because of the coral and sea urchins they eat.  Carlos mentioned they recently found a new type of iguana near one of the volcanos - it's pink!

We also got a surprise visit from a peligan, and Rosie saw black crabs.  They are black for camoflage against the black rocks.

I found ET. What do you think?

Back on the road again to visit the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center, which had two is the five types of tortoises on the island (one for each volcano, ie previously separate islands).  The shells for the tortoises are different as they adapted to their environment.  One in a rainier area has a more rounded shell; another evolved with what looks like a half circle taken out of the front of their shell because they lived in an area where they had to reach up to eat.  Quick note, 10 of the world's 12 giant tortoises are in the galapogos, half of those on Isabela. 

We ended the day with a quick stop to see flamingos, and then snorkeling.  I saw a sargeant major fish (black and white striped with yellow on top), as well as several I didn't recognize. 

Then back on the boat for the 2 hour ride home.  At least I have me time to write this. 

Everyone else shows up tomorrow afternoon.  Not sure yet what we're going to do in the morning, maybe some snorkeling.

New animals seen:  albatross, lizards, black crabs, flamingos, mockingbirds, giant tortoises, peligan

Galapogos, here I come...

Arrived at the Galapagos after a long set of flights and waiting. My layovers to Quito weren't bad. The problem was at Quito. Three flight arrived at midnight, and by the time we cleared customers, it was after 1 am. Since I needed to be back at the airport at 6:30 am for the Galapogos flight, I decided to stay at the airport. 

I found a couple of restaurants open, one of which was a coffee shop. Buy a cup of coffee and you get a seat (in this case loveseat) for as long as you want along with access to free WiFi. There were lots of people asleep on chairs and the floor in the waiting area before ticketing.  The big thing seems to be to bring a big blanket? open sleeping bag? not sure what, and then pack 4-5 people on it to sleep.  I did get some sleep on the flights, but needless to say, tonight is going to be an early night.

There is a couple who came early like me (everyone else shows up Tuesday).  They went through a different airport than Quito,  and did the same thing I did with skipping the hotel (although with no restaurant or WiFi option).  They too saw groups of people sleeping on a "blanket" on the floor.  Must be the thing down here.

So we arrived at the island of Baltra.  After a bus ride, ferryboat ride, and car ride, ( the Galapagos' version of planes,  trains,  and automobiles), we arrived at Santa Cruz island and our hotel, the Hotel Red Booby.  I have heard of Nasca booby and blue-footed booby, but not a red footed booby.  I will have to see if it's real or made up.

The other couple here early is Matt and Rosie from Milwaukee.  They are really super nice.  We walked around town for a while and then grabbed dinner. If we had not stopped on our walk to take pictures, the walk would have lasted 10-15 minutes.  As it was, we got intrigued by the sea lions on the piers, iguanas on the sidewalk and piers, and my favorite, the red crabs on the black rocks and sides of the piers.  I didn't have my good camera with me on the walk, so didn't get a great picture of the crabs.  As I got closer,  they just kept backing away, and finally I had to give up on getting close.  Some were really strong shades of red (I liked those best), and most had a yellow head and really pretty sky blue color under its head - although a few were only white (boring!).  After the walk we grabbed dinner at a streetside restaurant.  i had the best lightly bread fish I've had in a long time.

So a little about the Galapagos, then I'll go since I have to be dorm to breakfast at 6 am tomorrow to be on time for our boat ride to Isabella Island.

So the islands...first I was surprised how many islands are inhabited (5 of the 19) and how meant people live on the islands (30,000 combined). The current inhabitants' relatives only arrived in the last 90 years.

Along with the islands, there are more than 40 islets.  The oldest islands are 4-5 million years old.  All were formed by underground volcanoes, and the land mass hidden under the Pacific ocean are much greater than above water.

After observing how animals on the islands adapted uniquely, not just from the mainland, but between the islands, Darwin came up with his theory of evolution.  (I can't wait to see some of these animals.)    In the 1950's, the Galapagos Islands became a national park. Now more than two times the population will show up each year as tourists (including me).

Animals saw today: sea lions, marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs.

It's a Wrap

So a conundrum.  I left on January 14 at 2:40.  We had a sunset and sunrise in Rube plane and I arrived at LAX at 10 am on January 14. So did I have a Bill Murray moment and live there 14that twice,  or a 40 hour day?  Of course,  on the easy over, I missed January 1stay completely.  Oh,  the joy of crossing the international date line.

So I've decided to end with a list of what I will and won't miss.

Will:
Australia's domestic airport security
Free public transportation.
Australia and Aussies.
Summer and warm weather.
The people I meet from all over the world.

Won't:
All the ladies wearing gauzy, see-through clothes.  I just don't get it.
Figuring out a city just as it's time to leave.
Looking all over for free Wi-Fi.
Walking everywhere
How expensive food is.  McDonald's hamburger: $3, bottle of water: $4. Lunch at restaurants: $15-$20. (unless it's "take-away" , what they call "to go",  then $8-$15).

By the way, from January 4, Bingo Beach entry,  rocket is what the Australians call Arugula (thank you google).  It's a spicy leaf that the Australians seem to love.

Well that's it.  Hope you enjoyed going to Australia with me.  I sure enjoyed having you along

Final Day In Australia

My last day in Sydney, and I have lots to to do.  I started the morning touring the Sydney observatory.  It was built in 1858 to keep accurate time via the movement of the stars.  Until the skyscrapers came,  the observatory could be seen by all of Sydney, and was relied on to drop the ball at 1 pm everyday (think smaller, less glitzy version of Times Square NY's eve ball).  Sailors would watch the ball drop and then set their clock by it,  they called it "dead reckoning".  With accurate time, compass, and navigational charts, sailors could get wherever they were going.  Accurate time was extremely important, since five minutes error could set them off course by 80 miles.

Next I headed for the opera house.  Yesterday I heard that they were selling last minute tickets of today's shows for $25.  Sales start at 12:30, and I was told to get there early.  It was a good thing I did,  as I got a lot of misdirection before I ended up in the right place.  I chose to see the matinee (2pm) showing of Blaze,  which was being shown in the big theatre.  I had a choice of being up front on the side with some blockage,  or fifth row in the balcony.  I chose the balcony.  

While I waited do for the show to start, I walked around the quay.  The quay is the main harbor, with views of the opera house and the Sydney bridge (when HUGE cruise shops aren't in front of it ).  There are tons of restaurants, and many people doing shows for money.  I saw singers, aboriginals playing the didgerido, and a unicyclist juggling bowling pins (one on fire).

The show was not what I expected, although I had few expectations since I had only seen advertising on a poster.  i was expecting a musical with at least ammo light story.  Nope, just contemporary music and great urban dancing.  In the middle of the show they has an easy dance based on the DJ's favorite food, and had the audience learn it, turning our into a competition between the right and left side I'd the theatre.  They drew the audience to dance with them again at the end.  For the encore,  they had a few young boys from the front row come and dance with them.  I'm not sure if it was planned or not, but I saw several excited parents with their cameras, while their sons jumped up and down on stage. 

It was an enjoyable show,  but some older patrons might struggle with the contemporary music of Lady Gaga, Kanye West,  etc.  It was hilarious to hear the WII tune, seven dwarfs' "heigh-ho", and other unexpected tunes in the middle of the hip-hop.

After the show I met Brett and Heather, my boss' son, daughter-in-law, and their new baby, Sienna.  After a great meal at a Japanese restaurant, I left for my final tourist stop this trip: a night show at the observatory.  Unfortunately it was cloudy, so were didn't get to use their really big telescopes to see the night sky.  But we did get to see some movies,  here a talk about the planets (including a good explanation as to why Pluto was declassified from a planet; most of what I have heard before sounded more political than anything else.), and a planetarium show of the southern hemisphere.   I'll admit I had a hard time staying awake in the dark that late at night,  and I missed some of the planetarium show -which was what I moody looked forward tip once the telescopes were ruled out.

Final Random Thought of the Day:  Why do we call bathrooms "bathrooms"?  There is seldom a bath in it.  Aussies call them toilets.   That makes much more sense to me.

I've added pictures to some of the previous blogs,  and hope to continue to do so in the next 24 his or so.  if the title contains the date,  I've added pics.

Back In Sidney Again

I had a new airport security experience on my way to Sydney.  I got tested for detonation residue.  They touched a wand to a few areas of my clothes and ran it through a random pocket of my backpack.  Then they tested for the results - I was clean!

The flight was uneventful, except on one leg I briefly sat next to a woman with heavy perfume on.  I'm allergic, so it made my asthma kick in.  Just when I was about to break protocol and get my inhaler from my overhead bag, the flight attendant asked her if she wanted to sir in one of the empty seats across the aisle. I have never had anyone do that before, but I was glad she did.   God was looking out for me.  I don't understand why people wear perfume on a plane.  Do they really have to inflict that on the rest of us, when were are on such close quarters?  I should note, it did help some when the air on the plane finally came on.

Got to Sydney minus my luggage.  Seems it missed the connection in Canberra.   At least this time I only had to wait an extra hour our so, and I was on my way with the luggage.  I swear Todd jinxed me.  Since Sydney has free Wi-Fi, i was actually glad to get time to catch up on email.

I checked into the Station YHA.  I'm staying in an old railway car with seven other ladies.  Just like the other YHAs,  this one appears clean and organized.

I had made a long list of things to do this afternoon,  but I got delayed within 10 minutes. I passed by the Central City Market and had to stop by.  It's a combination flea market, farmers market, outlet shops, food court.  I walked around the flea market section and quickly realized that it was not for me (although I did get a small leather wallet for $3).  I went to the outlet mall and bought some jewelry, to the farmers market for fruit, and to the IGA for water. By the time I took it back to there hostel and started out again, I had lost over two hours.

The market is in the middle of Chinatown, and the influence could be heavily seen.  They even had bubble tea,  for those who went to Brooklyn.

I then took the free bus to the harbor. Wish I would have known about a free bus when I was here before.   Could have used it a few times.

Started out for the botanical gardens,  but realized time is running out, so went on a tour of the opera house.  That is, after a linner? dunch? of fish and chips.  They know how to do fish and chips at the harbor .

I didn't realize the opera house was built in 1973. I thought it was newer than that.  And the design was from the mid-50s, which seems very forward thinking for that time.  The movie we saw showed alternate drawings from the competition,  and they were either rectangle shaped (boring), or spaceship looking (dated).  The had already passed on the final drawing when a new judge came into there mix and pulled it back out.  The city owes him big time.

I also didn't realize that there are actually six venues within the building,  and am additional seventh outdoor amphitheater is available when needed (Oprah did her show at the outdoor amphitheatre).  There is the large theatre (seats about 2800), which does all kinds of shows, EXCEPT opera.  The smaller theatre (seats about 1600), is where they hold the operas and ballets. It seems the operas got kicked out of the larger theatre.

There traditional view we see of the opera house from the harbor is actually the back of the building.  When you go out for intermission, you can have a drink at the wall of windows overlooking the harbor.  The larger theatre is "in the round", with a large pipe organ at the far end.  With certain shows,  like musicals and plays, the back is draped off , and only the front used.   Because of the organ,  they only lose about 800 seats when they do this.

I did end up seeing the botanical gardens briefly on the way home.  But I didn't get to the rest of my list.   A few will have to be passed on. I lived the sign at the entrance,  "please walk on the grass.   We Salado invite you to smell the roses,  hug the trees, talk to the birds, and picnic on the lawn. " 

I'm hoping to go to the observatory in the morning.  I'm having lunch with my boss' son and daughter-in-law in the afternoon

Random Thought of the Day:  I've decided today must be tulle skirt day, and no knew told me.  Everywhere I went I ran into little girls wearing their tulle skirts. I don't know if it's the weather (gorgeous and warm), Christmas present,  or what, but it's too cute.

I saw My First Tasmanian Devil.. .He was asleep the whole time

Today I'm of for a trip to Mt. Fields , Mt. Wellington,  and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.   The tour is smaller than any of the others - only 10 people.  The give is extremely knowledgeable of the wildlife, plants,  and area - probably the best I've had this trip.

Four of the others are from Japan.  One of the young girls went to college on Wyoming and worked in DC for a while.  One couple is from Canada but have been working in Adelaide for 6 months,  returning home in January (they've lived all over Canada, including Vancouver and Edmonton).  Another couple is from Italy.  A single girl is from Germany.

We were unable to go to the top of Mt. Fields like were planning because there are brush fires to the north and there's a chance they could turn and go up the mountain, making it potentially unsafe there.  So were just went on a walk at the lower past of the mountain.  It is a "mixed forest", meaning a mix of cool-temperate rainforest and tall tree forest (ie. Eucalyptus, aka Gum trees).  The top is mostly firs.

The walk was nice.   We saw two waterfalls:  Russell and Horseshoe (again the American name for a place). 

There are over a thousand varieties of eucalyptus trees.  Today we saw the eucalyptus regnus.  With the eucalyptus regnus, the bark at the bottom of the tree,  called a stocking, is different from the bark at there top.  The bottom is more like the bark we're are used to (rough,  dark brown).   As it moves up the tree, is more like strips peeling off the tree and is a lighter tan (like the dried pulp of our trees).  The top looks bare, and is very white.  When a fire occurs, the bark at the bottom push the fire up the tree to the white house part, where the seeds are.  The seeds are pollinated, fall, and create new trees.   The top of the tree dies,  but the lower part survives and continues took grow.

I found out last time I was here here that fires are a normal part of the Austrian ecosystem.  They occurred naturally prior to the aborigine (this is why certain plants/trees survived).  The aborigine practiced regular slow burns to clear out the underbrush for farming, or to attract kangaroos, etc. to the new growth for hunting purposes.  Once the Europeans arrived, they stopped the slow burns.  This has created two problems: 1) Many plants in Australia  require fire to pollinate, and 2) undergrowth has become so full,  that when a cute does occur,  it is extremely hot and less manageable.  There is note some belief that some slow burn would be beneficial and help them to manage fires better, but not all are in agreement.   Each state is able to make its own decision.

All of the tap water in Hobart comes from Mt. Fields (20%) and Mt. Wellington (80%).  It is all snow and low cloud water.  Because of this it is very pure and requires little treatment - just a little chlorine to kill any microorganisms.

Stopped by a winery for a little wine tasting.  The wines were okay,  but what I liked were the fermented ciders.   I had the pear cider,  which is fermented pear and apple juices.  Its considered a type of beer here,  but you can tell its made by a vintner.   It tastes like a fruity wine on steroids with a lite carbonation.  Very refreshing on a hour day like today.  They grow most of Australians hops in Tasmania.  To export, they turn the hops into pellets.   Beers made here use fresh hops , giving it a different flavor.

After the winery,  we went to Bonorong, where we saw wallabies running free, tasmanian devils,  wombats,  koala bears, emus, and various other animals indigenous to Tasmania.

We ended the trip with a drive to there top of Mt . Wellington at the edge of Hobart. 

Random Thought Of The Day:  At a site we were near today, 42,000 year old artifacts were recently discovered.  If people found our artifacts in 42,000 years, what would it say about us?

Boating To The Southern Ocean

Wildfires have been a big issue here this week.   Most of the island is effected in some way.  Many have lost their homes already,  and it could be days before the fires are under control.  The good news is that, as of now, no lives have been lost.  This is amazing, given that in one area, they thought they had a couple of days to get out,  but the fire surprised everyone. by traveling at 20 m/hr.  I am doing a cruise today,  and the tour company used their boats to help people get away from Port Arthur, which was cut off by the fires.   My guide today got a video of the fire jumping the bay, much to everyone's surprise.

So on to my adventure.  I went on a speed boat cruise of Bruny Island.  We go around the shore looking at dolerite cliffs and caves.  With one underwater cave, called breathing rock,  you hear a sound,  and then a few minutes later,  water explodes into the air 40 feet our more.   It was really cool.   We learned about lichen,  which covers the rocks and gives them color.  Rocks in some areas were golden,  other areas green.   I'm not sure what drives the different colors.   Lichen grows where both fungi and algae exist. If one dies, the lichen does.  Yet it is its own living organism.  In between the sights, we sped over the water.  I was near the front and it was often like a roller coaster ride.  They give everyone all-natural ginger seasick pills before we left to minimize people getting sick.

After exploring Bruny Island,  we left the Tasman Sea and sped through the Southern Ocean to some rocks in the middle of nothing that contained dozens of Fur Seals,  mostly relaxing in the sun.    On the way back we came across some albatross flying just over the water.  A couple of days earlier,  some girls I met had seem a baby whale swimming along with their boat.  I was hoping for something like that, or even dolphins, which are not unusual,  but no luck.

To get to and from Bruny Island, you drive to the coast, take a ferry to the island, and drive over Penguin Island,  across an isthmus, to Bruny.  I asked of we would are any penguins while were driving on Penguin Island,  and was informed there weren't any there.   It seems that when the first explorer landed on the island,  he saw a penguin and gave the island its name.   Add far as anyone knows,  there has never been another penguin on the island since then.  But they're suck with the name.

Bruny Island has only 650 permanent residents, but jumps to over 2000 in the summer.  Besides tourism, salmon farms and oysters are big business.  One the way home,  we speed at what was literally a but,  and several purchased a dozen orders or $2.00. These are the same oysters that are shipped to the restaurants in Host and throughout Australia.

Tomorrow I go to Mt. Field,  Mt. Wellington,  and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

Random Thought Odd The Day:  if you have an isthmus connecting two islands, to which island does the isthmus belong?

Goodbye Melbourne, Hello Tasmania

Got up really again to catch a flight.  I like the early morning flights - it means getting up really early,  but I still get most of the day in the new city.

Because it was so early, the shuttle to the Skybus wasn't working,  so I had to walk the 8 or so blocks.  It was pretty quiet, although I did have to run the sprinkler gauntlet by the park.  I won!

The flight was uneventful. I flew Tiger Airways, and had a hard time finding their private terminal.  I started wondering what I was getting into.  In the end, it was fine, and one hour later I landed in Hobart, Tasmania.

A quick last words about Melbourne before I move on.  I love the city.  It was my favorite this trip.  The town is small, quiet, but active at night (but not annoyingly so).  I'm not sure the streets are ever completely empty.  Also, there's lots to do in the area, from hiking to beaches, shopping to restaurants.  I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to southern Australia.

Now about my hostels.  I stayed at the YHA in Melbourne.  It was clean, helpful, and offered lots of opportunities to socialize with others.  It reminded me of a hotel, except I shared a room and we had community bathrooms.  I lucked out in Melbourne, with great roommates.  the Sydney hostel was so-so, but the distance from everything really hurt it. 

In Hobart,  the YHA was filled, so I'm staying at City Backpackers.  This hostel is built in an old building, so there's lots of quirkiness.   Wi-Fi is free (for the first time this trip), as is coffee.  That's the plus side.  On the negative, the place is really dirty,  furniture very old,  and I have a roommate who likes to keep the windows open, even in the current 50° weather.  She puts a blanket up on front of her bed, which means she is likely getting less air, but for me, in front of the window, I freeze.   I told her I needed to close the window to sleep, and spent most of the evening in the common room where there is Wi-Fi anyway.

When i arrived in Hobart,  I decided to just walk around.  It was only 10 am, so I had coffee and a REALLY good tiramisu at a restaurant on the wharf (one of my two favorite desserts).  Then I walked a road along the waterfront.   The Salamanca Market had a bunch of shops and restaurants on the waterfront. I grabbed some food for dinners and breakfasts at a grocery.   After storing most of it in the hostel refrigerator, I grabbed food for a picnic and headed off to the Botanical Gardens
 
I took my own, unique way to get to the gardens.  The front desk at the hostel said I could go through the short underground tunnel under the busy street , and get there that way.  But it's not as straight forward as she implied.  I walked between an aquatic center and stadium,  up a hill, across a remote walking path,  down a tall grass hill (there was a vague path through some some of the parts ...), across a street, down a waking path,  and eventually I found the gardens.  I saw several lorikeets in the trees of one of the fields I cut through, but I  didn't bring my long-distance camera,  so just had to enjoy them.

In the evening,  I got situated on my room, talked with some people,  and had an early night. 

Tomorrow I take a boat cruise around Bruny Island.   More then.

Random Thought Of The Day:  Okay,  not so much a random thought,  but a realization - I'm staying one day later than I thought.  I leave Monday instead of Sunday.  Still getting home Monday, but not until evening.  Guess I'll have one more day in Sydney.

Great Ocean Road

My last tour in Melbourne is the Great Ocean Road.   It was built after WW1 to provide jobs for veterans returning to too few jobs.  It is the world's biggest war memorial

This tour is heavily dominated by Germans and Koreans.  Two new countries represented on my tour:  Ireland and Argentina.  Still no current Americans except me.

The first stop was Bells Beach.  This is the beach Patrick Swayze went to to get out of town in Point Break.  We had our normal tea.  The sun is just coming out (it seems to be cloudy here most mornings).  The problem is the wind.  Its making it cooler than the weather forecast.  I wish I would have brought the jacket I decided this morning I didn't need.  Surprisingly, the waves are not that great - lots of surfers sitting on their boards waiting a long time for their opportunity to ride. 

Drove by a replicated colonial house,  which was made of bark (vs. the American log cabin).  Saw a lighthouse at Airey's Inlet, which was in the background of the first Mad Max movie.

Brush fires are a big issue here.  There was a really cool house I would have loved a picture of (wrong side of the road). It is a small house built on a tall pylon or tower.  It was an odd looking house, but it survived the fires.

I sat on the left hand side of the van, as someone have me a heads up that it was the ocean side, and therefore the best view.  But what I didn't expect was all the trees and vegetation that blocks much of the view.  I also didn't expect it to rain the second half of the day.

Drove through Great Otway National Park.  We stopped for a 30 minute walk in another cool-temperate rainforest, called Mait's Rest.  And then ate lunch at Cape Otway.  There was another lighthouse here, but this is where it started to rain so I just saw it from a distance.  

Next we drove down the road where we were supposed to look for koala.  Because of the rain and how many I've seen here, I only did it half-heartedly.  As we drove down the road, you could see the ramification of the koalas - they're eating son the leaves on the trees and killing the trees.  Because of the rain, the koalas were huddled against the trees, so all your saw were lots of lumps.

After an hour trip, which gave the rain a chance to stop, we came to the highlight of the trip:  the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge at Port Campbell National Park. 

The 12 Apostles are plops of rock on  the coast.  They were formed by the ocean eroding the land, and this is all that's left of the prior coastline.

Originally, the rocks were called the Sow and Piglets, but later changed to the 12 Apostles.  No one knows why they had the name change, but speculation is that 12 Apostles is a more dignified name.  I think it was to attract tourist to, what was then, a seldom visited area. 

It was freezing, and given the 90° predicted, I had left my long pants and heavier jacket at the hostel.  But even with the cold and overcast skies, it was well worth bearing with the weather to see the view. 

A couple of miles down the beach, is Loch Ard Gorge.  It got its name from a shipwreck that occurred there.  Australia's version of the Titanic.  Sailors on the Loch Ard were supposed to be keeping watch, but due to fog, didn't notice they were close to the shore until they looked up and saw cliffs.  Only two survived the wreck, an 18 year old poor sailor and an 18 year old rich girl that the sailor saved.  They ended up on the shore, but due to the cliffs, couldn't be rescued from the beach until morning.  Newspapers played up the story and tried to create a romance between the two, to no avail.  She returned to Ireland and married.  He continued as a sailor and survived two additional shipwrecks (I would have given up after the one!) before dying of a heart attack at 48.  The ship is still at the bottom of the ocean.

My guide thought the gorge was better than the 12 Apostles, but I disagree.  The only thing the gorge has is that you can take steps down to the shore, whereas you can only view the Apostles from above.

So tomorrow, I'm off to Tasmania.   I wish I had more time here.  I'm going to miss Melbourne, although I am looking forward to seeing Tasmania.  I just heard they had snow on Mt. Wellington in Tasmania - I'm going there day after tomorrow.

I'll try to get some pictures loaded into previous day blogs if I can.

Random thought of the day:  I've decided tour guides are like the three bears.  Some give very little information beyond the name of where you are ("too soft") some give so much extraneous information you start tuning out ("too hard").  Some give just the right amount if relevant data ("just right").

Philips island

Went to Philip Island today, which is a small island,  only 14 by 6 miles wide at its longest points, but is known foe their penguin walk.   The penguin walk is a natural occurrence of blue penguins returning to there homes via the beach at nightfall. They have set up bleachers and boardwalks for people to watch the occurrence,  however no cameras or disturbing the penguins is allowed.

Again the people on the tour were multicultural.  There was a new country represented:  Spain.   And I  met my first American, although she's living in London now, so I don't think that counts.

Out first stop was the Moonlit Sanctuary.  I expected a sanctuary to be like the preserves I've been to.  I guess they age active in saving near-extinct animals.   But I want impressed with how they tasted the non-extinct animals.   There was a large Woody habitat for the wallabies. However the enshrining animals were kept in pretty small pens.  I got pictures of animals I'm unlikely to see close in the wild, but I was bothered by how it appeared they were kept.

Next week went to a working heritage farm on private Churchill Island. Got to watch a border Collie herd several sheep and two turkeys using both voice commands and body language.  Border cookies are considered the smartest dog (although I'm sure those of you with your own pet may disagree), and can learn up to 1000 words.

Than we got to watch a sheep being sheared.  I am amazed at hope much wool comes of just one sheep.  A shearer can shear about 150 sheep a day. A gun shearer is someone who can shear 200 sheep a day (that equates to one every 2.5 minutes.

We ended with  bullwhip and boomerang demonstrations.  I got to try to crack a bullwhip - it's harder than it looks.  I did it eventually, but our took longer than I thought it would for me to seeing it and get a crack.

After that,  we went to a Koala Reserve.  Saw several koalas and a few birds. Saw a mother and joey (that's what they call a baby).  Like kangaroos,  koalas are marsupials.   Babies are born hairless, undeveloped, and blind.  They will immediately go in the mothers pouch and not come out for 180 days.

Koalas are viewed as lazy  animals because they don't move much.  Two things play into this: they have very slow digestion (can take up to 200 hours), and their diet consists solely of eucalyptus leaves,  which means a high fiber, low protein diet.  On the other hand , they do get a natural bug repellent, which Aussies use in their repellent.  I was told eucalyptus oil stinks,  so maybe I won't  bring it home as an alternative to deet.  The koalas are very picky eaters too - there are a ton of varieties of eucalyptus trees here, but a koala will only eat their variety and can starve if moved to an area that doesn't have their specific type.  A female koala has prettier nose and fluffier ears than a male.

Next stop was Cape Woolamai. At the most southern tip of the island.  The sand is very soft and not hot,  which is surprising given how it was hot today.The water is coming from the Arctic Ocean,  so it's ice cold.  I waded in it, but can't imagine swimming in it without a wetsuit,  although people did.  Saw people surfing.  The waves today were better than what I saw at Bondi Beach - their both huge surfer beaches,  so I know it has to do with tides,not quality of the beach..

Dinner was held at the Nobbies and Seal Rock.  After dinner, we went for a quick walk on the boardwalk to see the blue penguins.  The penguins dig burrows for homes.  The islanders help then out by building boxes filled with dirt as an alternative house.  I saw one penguin sticking its head out of his nest, and another came completely out and posed for us.   On top of  that,  the view was gorgeous.

Them it was on to the Penguin Parade. I learned a lot about the blue penguins, which I guess have been endangered "little" penguins (that will be hard to get used to).  They only get 2-2.5 inches tall. If you didn't know better,  you'd think you were seeing baby penguins.   The little penguins have dark blue top feathers help them stay hidden from overhead while in the ocean and the white underbelly make it difficult for ocean pursuits to not look up and notice them.  They spend 85% of their time in the water.  They molt in the Fall,  after which they take a few weeks break from the water until new feathers come in.

Their feathers when born are brown, and about 7-10 weeks they turn blue and become waterproof.  Until that point,  they remain on land and their parents take turns staying behind and caring for them. The parent that goes sites some of the fish they eat to regurgitate for the baby.  This is part of the reason they come back so stuffed they can barely get out of the ocean.

About dusk,  the birds start circling, and a little later a little penguin washes up with the waves,  but is too full of fish to get on its feet.  After coming in on the waves a couple more times, he finally gets to his feet and toddling up on the beach.  Another penguin went through the same process. The,  the  next thing I know, a group of 20 out so penguins pop out of the ocean en masse.  Three to five minutes later, another batch come out of the water.  This must have  five or six times, with batches of 20-60 penguins.  They them make there way up the beach,  some up the 20 foot dunes,  most waddling up the beach past us, all going to their homes. 

I paid an extra $14 for "plus" seating,  which is a smaller stand than general seating (think high school football, small bandstands at end of some fields vs home stands ).  While I saw hundreds of penguins,  those in general saying saw 9-50, depending on where they sat.  I would have been disappointed to have paid all that money and seen so few.  But that's one if the risks anytime your dealing with animals in the wild.

One of the difficulties in these tours is how much your rushing to the next item on the list.  really felt this way in the Blue Mountains, where we were rushing to catch a river boat cruise.  In that case, I would have rather given up the cruise for more time in the mountains.  In today's case,  there's nothing I would have given up, which means unless you do an overnight stay (which one couple did) rushing like we did was the only answer.

Random thought of the day:  I love all the public toilets here.  They're everywhere, big cities and little towns.  And they're reasonably clean.  Small town restaurants don't even have bathrooms - they direct you to the public ones.  I've only had to use them when we stopped on tours,  but it's nice to know if I needed one even in the city, they'd be on the street corner for me.

Jan 6 - Grampions National Park

y roommates are great.  At least the two I've meet. One is from China and the other from Norway.  I've had good conversations with each of them separately.  I hope all my roommates are this easy to get along with.

Went to Grampions National Park on a tour today.  The park its about 2.5 hours from Melbourne. 

Unlike the last tour, instead of families,  this group is largely single,  and even better, mostly traveling alone.  I feel less like the orphan cousin they are trying to include.  Again, it was a multi-cultural group.  There were people from France, Germany, Sweden, Scotland, Brazil, Australia, Korea, Japan, and China.  It took 2.5 hours to reach the mountains,  and everyone was quiet.  Most fell asleep both coming and going.

The day started cloudy,  but quickly cleared to a cloudless sky.  It was a gorgeous deep blue.  It was hot.  I can't tell you the temperature because it's in Celsius, and I forgot tool look at how to convert.   I asked one of my rooms roommates I'd it was going to be nice today,  and she said yes,  it will be some degrees, I don't know what.  I hated to tell her that that really didn't help since I don't know Celsius.  I just wantc to know rain or shine,  hot or cold.  No rain means bring i don't need a rain jacket, just a long sleeved shirt for nightfall.  Cooler means wear zip-off pantspants,  just in case .  Otherwise,  it doesn't matter.

The Grampion Mountains are pretty short for mountains, but that's due to their age - they're the oldest mountains in the world at over 400 million years old.  they are past of a larger chain,  but these mountains are only 60 by 30 miles wide.

We went to the cultural center first.   I wanted to see the exhibits,  but first decided to go on a walkabout with a few others to look for deer and kangaroo.  Yes,  deer.  It seems a man imported deer to raise,  then moved away.   Since he didn't have time to sell them,  he just let them loose in the wild.  We saw some deer, but as everybody scrambled to get pictures, I got suck behind others and only got a poor picture as they were leaving.  Needless to say,  i got away from the group as soon as i could ago i could sneak closet.

I did get some great shots of kangaroos, including several with a Joey in the pouch looking out.  I had never seen that before.   My other favorite moment is when I would move and the makes would turn their heads and glare at me, as if to dare me to come any closer.  Broke I knife it I realized I only had a short time to are the museum,  shoo I decided to go back.  But I head gotten turned around,  and went the wrong easy.   I ran into a couple of people as I was walking and asked if the way they were going was the way back to the cultural center,  and they all said, "I don't know."  What I didn't pot together until later, is they proudly meant they didn't know what I was asking.  I should have figured with that many people cooking from that direction,  it was the way to go,  but hindsight...  anyway,  I found a complex of buildings and an Aussie (who understood English) cleaning upup,  and he sent me straight.   However,  by taking the long way back,  I completely missed the cultural center.  But I think the handouts were worth it.

By the way,  I found out how kangaroos got there name.   When the Europeans came, they asked the aboriginals the name of the strange animals, and they answered,  "kangaroo", which means,  "I don't know." 

After several lookouts, we speed at MacKenzie Falls.  It wasn't the tallest I've ever seen, but it was respectable,  and we could walk down to the bottom.  All 260 steps.  But what they don't tell you is that there 's steeply slanted sidewalks too.   If these were , that stairs, it would more than double  the number of steps. Loved the falls.  Took off my shoes and soaked my feet in the very cold water - it felt wonderful on my hot feet.

My favorite of the other stops was the Balconies Lookout,  which had the Jaws of Death.  It's just a rock formation.  It reminded me of a dragon head or a crocodile head.  another of the lookouts was very windy - If there hadn't been a rail, who knows who would have been blown away.

Australia has the coolest trees.  I need to get more pictures of them.  The genus, wind, weather, etc.  Make them have weird shapes.

The drive back was long.   You'd think after all the time it took to get here, a 2.5 hour ride would be nothing.  But it lasted forever.

Tomorrow I go to Phillips Island for sheep,  penguins,  and whatever else they come up with.

Random thought of the day:  Don't get a manicure right before you go on a backpacking trip.  The polish gets chipped,  and then your hands look a mess (girl thought).