Cerro Azul - Volcano on Isabella

Cerro Azul, 1640 m high and the second highest peak of the Galapagos archipelago, is a typical shield volcano located at the SW tip of Isabela Island.  It is one of the most active volcanoes of the Galapagos, although historic records of its activity only dates back to 1932.  As most of the other shield volcanoes on the Galapagos island, it has steep-walled 4x5 km nested summit caldera, one of  smallest diameter, but at 650 m one of the deepest in the Galapagos Is.  Young lava flows cover most of the floor of the caldera, where temporary lava lakes are sometimes present during summit eruptions.  Numerous spatter cones from lateral fissure eruptions dot the western flanks of the volcano.  source: www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-tours/galapagos/cerro-azul/

Lonesome George

Here is a great story about lonesome George, the last of his species of Giant Turtles : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/george.html

wine purchase for the trip

I purchased a great chardonnay for $16 at the Rominger-West Winery and Mark West kindly gave me the packing material for the bottle. If you want to take a local wine for our Ecuadoran hosts and you need the packaging, buy direct at 4602 Second St. (just west of Mace) M-S from 8-5.
I was worried about the water temperature, too, so I bought a wetsuit and liner yesterday at Sports Chalet in Vacaville. I hope to use them for open-water training during the winter but selling it on e-bay is also an option!

Ancient Chinese Secrets

My mom being a worrier has been giving me some supplies when the inevitable happens during a trip...  Someone gets diarrhea or feels nauseous.  So every trip, I'll pack some Po Chai pills for the runs and ginger for nausea.  I prefer these Chinese remedies over Imodium and Dramamine.  

Humboldt current

Annietta:  The Humboldt current that caresses the California coastline, making the water uncomfortably cold, spends its winters swirling around the Galapagos. It comes up from Antarctica and swirls right thru the Galapagos.  Expect cold water! 

I think it is going to be great fun to have some kids/youth along.  After all, some of us have known them since before they were born!  I am very excited & I agree it will be a trip of a lifetime for all of us!

Scuba Diving in the Galapagos

This is what I'm looking forward to the most on this trip--scuba diving! Although I'm a little wary about the water temperature there. It should be an experience like no other. I hope the open water swim is not rough water but calm and not too cold. (I don't like cold water!) I am a little nervous about the swim meet since I haven't swum long course in years. Anyway, I am happy to be able to take my kids with me on this trip--I think it will be something they will remember for their lifetime. I feel like I just started getting around to reading about Ecuador (Lonely Planet) and the Galapagos, but I have been mentally preparing for this trip for a long time. I can't believe our departure is just ten days away! How exciting. I look forward to speaking Spanish throughout the trip and meeting new people and learning about a different culture. This will be my first South American vacation and probably not the last!

Things to do in Ecuador!

I just flipped through a few of the online wikis about the Galapagos, Quito, and Guayaquil. Here they are, take a gander, and write back with anything you can point me to. I like the sound of the 'nice bars you can sit in and have good conversation'. There are also places to rent mountain bikes. One of the pages mentioned a 'beautiful white sandy beach 30-45mins walk from town.' Sounds like our kinda place!

m


http://wikitravel.org/en/Galapagos_Islands

http://wikitravel.org/en/Puerto_Ayora

Marine Iguanas

I am so excited about this trip!  I bought a new camera and am pestering my cat with photography (he is not a willing subject, unlike my previous cat, a siamese).  I am trying to figure out how to do zoom portraits.   I do hope to get some good photographs of marine iguanas.  Iguanas are interesting  lizards - they look like little dragons.  Marine iguanas are more colorful than the land ones.  My quest is a close-up portrait of marine iguanas!  Many, many years ago, I  had friend in my confirmation class whose family had iguanas (and chinchillas too) so I got used to handling them, feeding them, etc.  The friendship ended when I refused confirmation.   She went on to Catholic High school and I didn't!  Hopefully, I will have figured out how to take pictures with my new digital!  - Candace

I've started this blog to prepare for our Ecuador trip

For a while now, I've been trying to get ready for this trip and haven't had a good start until a couple of weeks ago. This wonderful women in my life Frances brought me two DVD's from Netflix to get me started. My favorite one is Globe Trekker hosted by Justine Shapiro. It started to get me excited about the trip. From the video, Ecuador looks like a beautiful country and full of beautiful people. I suggest taking a peek at the video before going leaving for this trip if you haven't already. The most memorable part of the DVD for me is fried guinea pig. Hmm..another culinary experience for me? I invite all members of our group to share their thoughts and photos.