Quito y Baños

I spent a few days in Quito after dad left. I went to the basilica again and this time climbed up to the top. There was pretty much a vertical ladder that you had to climb up - much scarier than the one in Tikal. The view was worth it though. I met up with James that afternoon and the next day we took a cable car up to the top of a mountain, again a great view. We decided to be adventurous and walk down. Took a lot longer than we expected, but I guess that is usually the case when you get lost!

We went to Baños the next day, its about four hours from Quito. Its a nice place for outdoor activities. We went to some communal baths which is what this area is famous for. They were crowded and the water had a slightly "off" colour. We went for a hike up the mountain. Was very nice. Then the next day we went rafting. Was fun, but trust me to get injured. I hurt my foot and had to go to the clinic here. They cant xray so I have to wait until we are in a bigger city. We are going to Montañita this evening. I will just take some pain killers and hope it feels better. I figured a beach town is the best place to put my foot up.

A Shout Out To Georgina....

...because I miss you and you asked me to!

Met up with James in Quito. We are going to be here another day then start heading south.

Galapagos

My week in the Galapagos is drawing to a close, but I think I could stay here forever if it weren´t for the brutal heat, I hope the rest of Ecuador isn´t quite like this! I of course managed to get burnt fairly early on. Our schedule here has been jam packed with diving, snorkelling, walking and eating.

We´ve stayed on three islands; Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabella. We´ve done two days of diving off of Santa Cruz. Today´s was something spectacular, we saw a school of about 40 or 50 hammerheads in addition to other sharks, thousands of snakes, turtles and rays. The diving on Isabella was also amazing, definitely the best I´ve done, as was the snorkelling. We also saw sea lions, octopus, pregnant sea horses...

We also did some land things and saw gorgeous scenery, iguanas, lizards and giant tortoises. Will hopefully be uploading some photos soon!

Quito

First day in Ecuador. Met up safely with dad in Miami. We spent the day walking around Quito and will fly to the galapagos tomorrow morning.

Mexico is coming to an end

I am leaving Valladolid in a couple of hours to head to Cancun since my flight is on the early side of tomorrow morning. I have begun to upload my photos: http://seetheworldthroughmytelescope.shutterfly.com/ Keep checking back though, because I still have several more to add.

Valladolid & Around

I arrived in Valladolid a couple days ago and am staying at a really nice hostel called casa Candelaria. The afternoon that I got in, I went with someone to two cenotes which are a twenty five minute bike ride from the hostel. We went swimming in one of them. You had to go down into a sort of cavern. There were bats and a hole which you could look up at. There was a tree nearby and its roots hung down the hole into the cenote. They were pretty neat. The other cenote had alot of people and it was near closing time so we went and just had a peak. One of the guys who works there pointed out some stlagmites/tites that look like various things.

I went to Chichen Itza yesterday. They are some mayan ruins which are one of the seven wonders of the modern world. They were pretty impressive, but unlike other ruins you couldn´t walk around on them, they were all roped off. There were also two cenotes although I only found one of them.

Today I went to Ek Balam. These are some more ruins which are less crowded but still pretty impressive. Not quite like Tikal, Chichen Itza or Caracol though. There was also a big cenote nearby that we went swimming in. There was a group of Mexican men there. One had a snake and the other a lizard. I held them both...

I am staying here until Wednesday afternoon, then I need to go to Cancun so that I can get my plane on thursday, I am just trying to spend as little time there as possible. I saw enough when I flew in in January.

Campeche

I got to Campeche... a few days ago. I seem to have lost all track of time. It is one of those places that the longer you stay the harder it is to leave. I was looking for a quiet city and I have definitely found it. I am staying at a pirate hostel and am pretty much the only person. They gave me a private room for the same price as a dorm because they thought some more people would be coming. It does mean I have a kitchen to myself which has been nice. Although a couple of nights ago there was a couple from Oxnard...

I have been having a relaxing few days, but have spent way too much time on the internet today trying to upload my photos. Yesterday I went to the archaeologicl museum. It was quite a hike from here, about a 4km walk each way. Seemed longer because a bit of it was uphill and my legs were already really sore from my run the previous day.

Campeche is a colonial city and is very pretty. Reminds me a lot of a quieter version of Antigua. Last night I decided to walk a different direction down the coast and though I had walked into the US. There was a sams club, walmart, office depot...etc. It sort of ruined a part of the city for me.

Tomorrow I think I will head to Valladolid and am finally ready to see more ruins. I think it will take a bit to get there. There is a straight bus that goes Valladolid to Campeche but not the reverse so I will have to back track to Merida then switch to another bus to Valladolid. Doesnt make sense to me either.

Now off to an afternoon of sunbathing and reading.

Merida

I arrived in Merida a few days ago and have been staying at a lovely B&B Hostal. Eventhough I have had a dorm to myself. You have to walk through it to get to the bathroom so I have been woken up several times and am ready for a good sleep. It is in a large colonial house that used to belong to some famous poet back in the day. It is right on the central square and has a huge courtyard.

Merida is a pretty large city and is the medical capital of Mexico, or so says my guide book. Which was great since I had to go and see a doctor for my cough. I was prescribed something and am already feeling much better eventhough my cough is still there - it´s about time!

I have done a lot of walking around. It´s a beautiful city and I haven´t felt the urge to go and see any of the ruins nearby. I did go to see a bull fight on sunday. That was the first and hopefully the last I will ever see. Not something for me....

I am off to catch a bus to campeche in about an hour and will be on my way. Merida is a place I could easily stay for a few weeks if it weren´t for the noisy door. The hostal is also quite pricey so I am happy to be on my way. Mexico is alot more expensive than I had anticipated and unfortunately it´s not easy too get vegetarian food. At least I have been staying places where I can cook for myself!