Last one... List edition

WRAP IT UP

After spending an amazing week spent in the Galapagos(0 ft sea level), I flew to Quito, Ecuador(9,300 ft above sea level).  The altitude was brutal...  but the views from the hostel were quite nice.

After managing to not get mugged/beat up/robbed/ripped off for 2 months in South America, I had two days left in a notoriously dangerous town(at least that's what Lonely Planet says) and of course, I get ripped off by the Taxi from the hostel to the airport.  But other than a couple other travelers telling horror stories and one case of walking around at night and a woman saying Cuidado Cuidado! and making a gun out of her hand... Overall Quito wasn't bad, bartered a bunch and ended up drinking and playing  a lot of hearts with a french and german, two hilarious guys (http://beniandlouis.posterous.com/) 

Hopped on a plane landed in Miami, slept outside the check in counter. Flew to LA, then to Portland.  4th of July Party there.

And HOME.

FIN.


I've had a lot of time to reflect on the trip, and while it was certainly an amazing trip, it seemed like 2 months was just enough time to figure out everything I wanted to do.  And with that I present to you some lists.

Things to do next go around:

Fly fishing anywhere in South America
Making like Indiana Jones and going into the jungle, *also not getting malaria


Carnival in Brazil
Snowboarding in Chile/Argentina

Trek through Patagonia
Rock Climbing
Volunteering - http://www.wwoof.org/- World wide opportunities on organic farms - http://www.patagoniavolunteer.org/


Mountain Biking the most dangerous road in Bolivia
Diving in Columbia (sad story)
Diving with Whale Sharks in Galapagos

See Iguazu Falls/Cristo Redentor in Brazil
Surfing more(the Peruvian Coast line Puerto Chicama - Longest left hand break in the world)
Couch Surf


Eating qui (Guinea Pig)
Eating more Ceviche, more pastel de choclo,
Attend more asados - bbq with tons of meat slow cooked for hours
Futbol
Bull fighting
Getting off the beaten path more.
More adventure.

Things learned/realized from traveling: (D.E.E.P.)


Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is a powerful motivator

Showering isn't really necessary especially when you have an ocean nearby
Good books can be wildly depressing
Everyone has a cell phone
Everyone has a facebook

Street dogs are generally well mannered and well dressed
Surfing
Your backpack isn't heavy your back is just weak
No problem can't be solve by sweat tears or salt water
Life is as simple as you make it.
Porque No? (Why not?) was said way too much, or not quite enough

Avocado goes with everything is the superior vegetable(fruit?)
Rum and cokes are better with a slice of orange
I Continue to be impressed with Canadians
Travelling is challenging being 6 foot 13
Salon Cama is not worth it (bus seats that fold down almost fully and 3x the price)
Posessions enable us to do the things we want anything extra is just more load to carry/take care of

Watching the movie Hostel at a hostel is an all around bad idea
People like tellings travel horror stories way more than stories of good times


Words to describe the Scenery: i.e. proof I have a shitty vocabulary
Brilliant
Awe-Inspiring
Immense
Beautiful
Breathtaking
Ghostly
Massive
Smoggy
Polluted
Quaint
Bright


Books Read:

The Corrections (great)

Freakanomics (interesting)

The Informers (terrible)

The Notebook (not bad)

Books to Read:
Shantarm
Marching Powder
Power of Engagement
The Panama Hat Trail
Living Poor
All Travel Writers Go to Hell
Sir Francis Drake Biography
Open Veins of South America (Venuzuelan President Hugo Chavez gave this to Obama)
3 Muskateers

Movies to Watch:
Amores Perros
Machuca

Websites picked up a long the way
http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/  Overpopulation is real so why not make it funny?
http://thingsboganslike.com/  Austrailian Humor
http://www.gauchosdelmar.com/  Argentine Surfing brothers Traveling from L.A. to the Southern tip of chile
http://www.hostelbookers.com/  Lived off this

And that's it!  It's been fun but there's no more to tell.
Here's a link to some of the best pictures :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100110038758513.2423805.27201736&type=1&l=e7e49cb605

If you're still interested in seeing what trouble i've got cooking/brewing/stewing
My new blog check it here:
http://thebayandbeyondage.blogspot.com/

GalapagoScuba

Coming down the home stretch!

I opted out of taking a cruise to a few of the Galapagos Islands because I was short on time and money. And was more interested in seeing what was under the water. Well it turns out I set the bar pretty high, the Galapagos are world renowned for their biodiversity above and below water. Also there was promise of seeing sharks, hammerheads and lots of them...

My past history of diving has been isolated to the Puget Sound, logging about 20 dives there and getting my open water and advance certifications.  When I heard we were guaranteed to see sharks I was excited nervous  and confused.  I was going to swim in the ocean with SHARKS!  No cage no speargun no shark spray(doesn't exist!) defenseless in the water with animals that could eat me.  Not only do they have a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, a head shaped like a hammer(awesome), they can easily out maneuver me and can come from any direction and while the visibility in the Galapagos is much better than the Puget Sound it's not crystal clear and you can't see for hundreds of yards.  But I numbed all this with a bit of booze, *Caparainas my drink of choice in the Galapagos


I had a pleasant buzz and crashed pretty early 9 or 10pm, only to wake up at 3am in a cold sweat and a feeling of what the eff am I doing.  I tried to go to back to bed but my nerves were racing, and anxiety was high.  Knowing this is (hopefully not) a once in a lifetime experience and I had payed a steep 25% of the diving fee in deposit there was no turning back.  I got up at 7am walked to the dive shop hopped in the back of a beatup pick up and drove to the boat.




Our dive guides and a british bloke.

Before we got to the dive site we did a shallow test dive, to make sure everybody knew there shit, and wouldn't freak out if your regulator knocked out of your mouth or there was a leak in your mask.  Well as I was climbing up the ladder I saw 20 yards out a sharks fin about 6 inches out of the water just lingerin around, I think it was a white tip reef shark.  Second wave of anxiety commence, got reaaaal nervous.  The best part of it was when I asked the guides "what do I do if a shark comes at me?"  They just laughed and laughed and didn't say a word...  "Fair enough" I said.  Turning to the Australian couple/my dive partners next to me I asked "Can you believe these guys?" These two were scuba veterans and were super excited about diving, told me "Whatever you do don't freak out and lose your shit down there, we're really looking forward to this dive."  Great moral support. Popped on the mask, bit down on the regulator and fell into the water.  Turns out it was great did one more dive the first day and on the second day dove twice more.  Saw tons of sharks, fishies, turtles, crabs, sealions... When I wasn't at the bar I was in the water for the remainder of the trip I even swam in 7 feet of water with reef sharks dove down into their den(is that what it's called) and poked my head in.  Anyways enjoy the picture show.


Australian.

Gordon's rock was the dive site... Infamous for it's schools/packs of hammerhead sharks.

One more last thing, the guide had the underwater camera... which was good and bad, I didn't have to worry about snapping tons of photos and could focus on enjoying the moment/not being eaten by sharks but he didn't take all that many pictures... and the ones he took weren't the greatest.  Next time i'll have a gopro(I really want one) and just record the whole time in HD.

Here's the video I patched together. Enjoy!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/404t79hL_Tk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>




















My rad german friend, surfer, traveler, linguist, and awesome person



Queue Jaws music...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


















Yep thats a fish




and a shark


and a turtle


weak ass camo guys...


Craziest camoflauge



SShit. looking through all these pictures I can't wait to go again.











Galapagos, I hope one day to go back. I miss it and still dream about it now and then.  I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to jump at it.