One of the differenes from my travels in New Zealand ealier in the year that made the first two weeks a great expereince was that it wasn´t done alone. The first two weeks I had my friend Angie from back in St. Louis traveling with me. At the end of the trip in New Zealand I was getting tired of traveling and constantly meeting new people and having the same conversation over and over again. With Angie traveling with me the first two weeks it was great to have someone I already new well. While we did get on each otehrs nerves at times we are both pretty easy going travelers and never really disagreed on the days travel plans.
Here are a few pictures from the first two weeks of traveling.
This photo is of Quito from the Basilica in the center of the city. Quito is an amazing place of old and new architecture that just doesn´t ever seem to end. The city is in a valley with mountains all around and when you think the city ends over one good size mountain it doesn´t and another valley covered in buildings appers. I´ve spent most of my time in Quito and it is a very busy city with some amazing parts with beautiful cathedrals. There are lots of people and bus rides that pack you in like sardines. Good fun really. 
The city of Banos, 3 to 4 hours south of Quito, is a major tourist destination. It´s a small town with hiking, mountain biking, white water rafting, and thermal baths to keep the tourists busy. While there got to take a dip in the thermal baths and took a day trip to the Jungle town of Puyo. Before the Galapagos this was the higlight of the trip as we got to take a tour of a small rain forest and learn about some of the indegenous Amazon tribes in the area and the plants of the forest. Really cool stuff. Just wish I remembered most of what was said. 
The Giant Tortoises of the Galapagos. Amazing animals that can live up to 160 years. Wish I could bring one home.
The Blue Footed Boobie of the Galapogos. I just like the name so that is why this picture made the blog.
Sea Lion with Angie at Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos. The best part of the trip in these two weeks has been the trip to the Galapagos. Just a stunning place with all the animal life, the geology of the place, and the historical significance. If I had to do it all over again I´d spend more time there. One of the days Angie and I went on a half day harbor tour of Puerto Ayora and we were beginning to think the trip was going to be a disaster when the guide for just the two of us didn´t speak English. Turns out our guide Felix was the best. While communicating in real basic spanish and given the context of the trip we were able to have an great experience and see quite a lot of the local animals and some very beautiful spots of the island. For me, snorkling was the best part of this trip. At first it was just a variety of tropical fish but it soon came to be a spot with thousands of fish swimming all together in a school. Then as it was getting close to the end of snorkling Felix led me over to an area where other snorklers had found sea lions in the water. So for a good 10 minutes we swam around with three sea lions and got close enough to touch them. Just a fantastic experience.
Since the Galapagos I´ve been in Quito again and am staying at a hostel. Angie headed back to the states and I´m for the most part on my own again. I say partly because I´ve met up with my friend Erica who I shared a hostel with in Wellington, NZ. She basically is forcing me to give a shout out to her in my blog so here it is!! Really though, It´s been awesome to meet up with her. While traveling and meeting new people I wasn´t sure if I´d ever see any of them again. So it´s nice to sit down and be able to catch up on travel stories and not have to go through all the same old information you repeat at every new hostel or at every new meeting of a traveler. I´ll be in Quito a little longer hanging out with Erica and her language classmates and plan on doing a bit of mountain biking and exploring. Should be great fun. More updates to come soon.
