20th July 2025 at 23:39 - Damian

Yesterday we transferred to our new hotel in Quito for the start of our Intrepid Galapagos tour. We met 9 of our fellow travellers who we'll spend the next 10 days with and went out to dinner together last night. We'll meet 4 more once we get to the boat.

Everyone seems nice. Mostly older than us. 4 Kiwi, 4 Aussies, 1 Singaporean/Chinese and 2 Canadian/South Africans.

Right now we're at the airport. A bit touch-and-go this morning with Sally being a bit ill before we left. Probably food-related but seems to have gotten better now.

19th July 2025 at 12:21 - Damian

Guinea pig for dinner tonight. Sorry Aimee!
It was a fiddly meal and tasted like a cross between chicken and pork. The skin was effectively thin pork crackling. Quite fatty. The meat was hard to get at but it did have two tiny eye fillet strips which were tasty.

I wouldn't eat again.

19th July 2025 at 06:48 - Damian

This knock-off hat from the markets in Medellín was 1/10th the cost of the official version in NZ and I suspect will last the same amount of time with my propensity to sweat and no hair to absorb it.

Do I feel guilty paying $6.10 for a hat? Not in the slightest.

19th July 2025 at 06:42 - Damian

There's a gondola that takes you to the mountains above Quito. It's a 1000m rise to 4000m.

If you're up for it you can continue on foot to Pichincha[1] which is an active volcano at 4784m. We weren't up for it and opted for a gentle stroll and swing instead.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pichincha_(volcano)

18th July 2025 at 10:24 - Damian

Some Andean flowers

18th July 2025 at 10:07 - Damian

18th July 2025 at 10:04 - Damian

Today we climbed a bit of the flanks of Cotopaxi[1]. A 300m stretch from the carpark at 4600m up to 4900m. The highest we've ever been on foot.

The mountain is 5897m so quite a long way from the summit.

Thin air and windy with icy shards made for a breathless slow trudge.

I was the only person on the mountain in shorts. "The Kiwi passport" as my Argentinian friend says.

Afterwards we cycled (rolled, mostly) down to Laguna de Limpiopungo.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotopaxi

17th July 2025 at 13:02 - Damian

17th July 2025 at 08:57 - Damian

The Quito Metro is only 1.5 years old. For US$0.45 you can go anywhere in the 22km system. It's new and shiny.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito_Metro

17th July 2025 at 01:59 - Damian

On the topic of Botero, this is a sculpture that was used to conceal a backpack of explosives at a concert in 1995. The blast killed 30 and injured over 200.

The city wanted to throw the wrecked sculpture out but Botero insisted on making a new one and having them side-by-side so as never to forget.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-birds-of-peace-medellin-colombia

17th July 2025 at 01:52 - Damian

A bit out of sequence. This is a sculpture by Botero. Lots of these in Medellín as he insisted that they be displayed free of charge.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Botero

17th July 2025 at 01:47 - Damian

Last night with our dinner we had chicha which is a fermented corn-based drink similar to kombucha. It was around 4% alcohol, slightly sour with fruity flavours. Refreshing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha

17th July 2025 at 01:41 - Damian

We're in Quito, Ecuador. A lazy day yesterday with a wander around the old town getting adjusted to the altitude (2850m) which makes you breathe a little harder with the slightest climb.

16th July 2025 at 06:41 - Damian

Ajíaco. Chicken and potato soup with half a cob of corn in it. It comes with a side of avocado, capers, herbs and cream which you garnish it with.

There were bananas also on the side so I sliced them in, too, and it actually tasted pretty good despite being a little unconventional.

Loco gringo!

16th July 2025 at 06:21 - Damian

Yesterday was our last day in Medellín. We went on a walking tour of Comuna 13 [1] which is emerging from a horrifically violent past. Really good to see how they're turning their energies to the arts and improvement.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comuna_13,_Medell%C3%ADn

14th July 2025 at 12:59 - Damian

14th July 2025 at 12:54 - Damian

14th July 2025 at 10:26 - Damian

14th July 2025 at 10:18 - Damian

Some butterflies. It would really help to have better than a phone camera at times like these!

14th July 2025 at 10:00 - Damian

Today we took a couple of gondolas up to Parque Arví which is to the north and east of Medellín.

We didn't have high hopes but got to see a lot of nature. I need to submit a heap of photos to iNaturalist to see if I can get some identifications but will follow this up with a bunch of nature pics.