Finally some pictures....

We have been in Quito, Ecuador for almost four weeks now and have discovered that there is not much to do here besides practice our Spanish (which we absolutely need to do)! We each have been taking private lessons every day and attempting to speak to each other only in Spanish, which is becoming easier each day. Of course, we have found a few interesting things to do such as, of course, visiting the equator.

THE EQUATOR
-Ecuador-
5/5/07
Last Saturday, we took a 30-minute ride on the public bus to visit the Equator. Although we knew ahead of time that the monument and the painted line, which supposedly represents the equator, are not on the actual equatorial line, we paid the $2 entrance fee and took the touristy pictures anyway.






We didn’t visit the museum in which you can conduct experiments that “can only be done at the equator” because these tricks have nothing to do with the hemispheres or the equator itself. Instead we visited a small non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the real equator as well as the monument that was built in pre-Incan times on the exact equatorial line. The guide let us borrow his GPS device and we walked 200 meters or so until we reached the equator. At the exact point that the meter indicated we were at latitude zero, we were in the middle of a highway across from an abandoned shop.




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And now, because it’s been so long, here are some pictures of our adventure from our last days in Buenos Aires through our arrival here in Quito.....

BUENOS AIRES
-Argentina-
11/15/06-3/5/07

Last days with Hugo, the doorman at our apartment

Plaza San Martin



Chorribayres, our favorite parrilla


PUNTA DEL ESTE
-Uruguay-
3/5/07-3/7/07

We said goodbye to the friends we made, to the coolest city we have ever been to, and to our apartment and hopped on the ferry to Uruguay. This was actually our second trip to this country since we had visited Colonia, Uruguay on a day trip in order to renew our 90 visa in Argentina. This time, we headed to “The Hamptons of South America.” We had a good time hopping between the beach on the Rio del Plata side and the shores on the Atlantic side, but we are tough critics given that we live at the beach in Southern California! (for the record, Punta is no match for San Diego).








USHUAIA
-Argentina-
5/10/07-5/15/07
From Punta del Este, we stopped off in Colonia for a night and then spent one more night in Buenos Aires in order to catch a flight to the southernmost city in the world!

Celebrating our 7-year anniversary on the tip of the continent!

Tierra del Fuego National Park



Peat moss bogs









Hiking to the mountain glacier











Beauty of beaver destruction



Harberton Ranch, on the way to the penguin colony









France, Germany, Ireland, the US, and Argentine tequila


EL CALAFATE
-Argentina-
3/15/07-3/18/07

After departing from the best hostel on the planet (La Posta, Ushuaia), we hopped on a plane headed for El Calafate to visit one of the many glaciers in the area, el Perito Moreno. This glacier is constantly in motion which was evident by the cracking and groaning of the ice every minute or so. In fact, every few minutes, a piece breaks off sending a thunder crack through the air as if the entire glacier had crumbled. It was difficult to leave because every time we turned to walk away, another crack would echo through the air and we would whip the cameras around in the hopes of catching the “calving” process. What appears to be a relatively small chunk of ice from our vantage point, must actually be huge judging by the sound it makes. It’s deafening, exciting, and a little frightening all at once. This apparently is the natural movement of this glacier and not a product of global warming. Supposedly the glacier is not melting, just moving right along as glaciers do. Either way, what an incredible sight! We actually caught video of a massive slate sliding into the lake. I will have to post that in a later blog.

















Rockin out at the hostal

St. Patricks day we met up with a couple of kids from Ireland we had met in Ushuaia(in the pic with the tequila). As the day went by we added a few more Irish to our group and before long we were watching them rock out on stage to U2 (which was playing in every bar, pub, and restaurant...all.......day........long. The night was a blast but ended with a broken camera.




I'm having some very frustrating technical difficulties with Blogspot right now. I will have to post more pictures later....
--S--