Here I am in Niteroi, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast region of Brazil.  I was in Buzios, about two hours a little north and east of Niteroi, last night for New Year's Eve, visiting with our friends Joao and Ana, and the party went on all night, even with the thunderstorms.  Fireworks were going off in three different parts.  We had the electricity go out; and the mosquitoes were in full force.  I have no fewer than 30 bites on me, about 15+ on my face, one on my left eyelid, and a few on my right arm near my elbow that have made that area swell up twice its size.  I am absolutely miserable.  Joe and I flew out of Guayaquil around 12:45 p.m. on December 30, stopped in Lima to change planes, and arrived in Rio de Janeiro on December 31 at 5:30 a.m. to then get into a car to get to Buzios about three hours after that.  I don't think I have slept more than three hours in the last two days.

I'm probably severely dehydrated as well.  We went to Sunsaki to eat some sushi.  It was okay, not gourmet or anything, sort of like Kabuki restaurants you would find in the States.  I'm still recovering from my little bout of seasickness while out on a boat in the Galapagos.  We left  one night about half an hour after dinner, going against the current, and I was sick to my stomach.  I threw up my undigested dinner.  Joe gave me a Bonine, and I threw up again.  The third time came a couple of hours later, and by then I was throwing up lunch and lots of water.  Ugh.  I hope our last two days in Nitero will be much better to ring in 2009.

We left for Quito after 1 a.m. on December 26, changing planes in Panama.  We flew Copa Airlines going there, and for a 1 1/2-hour flight, they still offer you a meal and drinks.  I had French toast with sausage while Joe had eggs with salsa.  We had pizza on the connecting flight to Quito.  The flights there were uneventful, and someone from the Galapagos Travel Line picked us up at the airport to take us to Swissotel.  I was bombarded by all the sights in my jetlagged condition - people selling candy and pepitas on the streets in the middle of traffic, the Walk sign at the crosswalk actually had an image of a figure walking, someone playing a plastic sax, boys juggling, etc.  When we finally arrived at the hotel, I was able to nap.  I don't sleep well on planes at all.  Since it was a holiday, there was not much to do except take a cab to La Ronda to have some local cuisine (I had goat stew) and then call it a night since we had to get up at 4:45 a.m. to catch our flight.  The cab didn't have a minimum fare; it just started at $0.00.  La Ronda was decorated very festively, and there was a local band there that did La Bamba and Cielito Lindo as well as Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel.

Swissotel was very nice.  One of the pictures on the wall reminded me of Hidden Pictures in the Highlights for Children magazine.  There was this tree that had birds in it, but I could have sworn I found a nematode as well.  I'll have to post it once I get all my pictures in order.  The Swissotel breakfast buffet was quite bountiful - delicious and sweet watermelon and papaya, smoked salmon, olives, bread and butter, beef and chicken with rice, prosciutto, salami, rolls, smoothies, and an omelet bar we were too early for.  Since the previous went off without a hitch, it stood to reason that our second day would be eventful.  Our shuttle never showed up; so we took a cab to the airport.  The person we were supposed to meet wasn't there, and we bungled our way to getting the $10 Galapagos card as well as checking our luggage and getting to the right gate to fly Tame to the Galapagos.  We were paged at one point, but I didn't see any courtesy phones to pick up the calls.  I found it funny that on one of the forms that one had to rank the main activities that one expected to do in the Galapagos.  Some of the options included Interact with local people, To be in a unique place, Search for calm and solitude, and Search for challenge and adventure.

The flight to Guayaquil was only 35 minutes, but then we had to wait over half an hour before we took off for another hour and a half to arrive in the Galapagos.  Also onboard, for all you Smallville fans, were Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) and Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan).  Customs was rather long, and the weather was quite humid and sticky.  We then had to pay the $100 Galapagos National Park fee.  Our guide was on the second plane of the day.  To kill the time, I visited the local shops and bought some postcards.  Our first excursion was a bus ride to visit the Galapagos tortoises in the wild.  "Galapago" means tortoise in Spanish and may derive from the word for saddle.  The true Galapagos shell has a curvature at the front so that the tortoise's neck can stretch up to reach the tall cacti.  Afterward, we finally got onto our boat, the PTO Esmeraldas, a Monserrat II Galapagos Voyager.  We will be on the boat for three days/four nights with meals at 7 a.m., 12 p.m., and 7 p.m.  We then headed over to the Charles Darwin Research Station in Santa Cruz to see Galapagos tortoises in captivity.  We saw Lonesome George, the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise.  It took him 36 years, but he's finally shown an interest in mating.  Our guide, Billy, explained that there was not a lot of rain in the area, which explains why there are not many colorful flowers.  If there are flowers, they are usually white or bright yellow so that the moths can pollinate.  After the tour, we wandered around where I bought more souvenirs in the form of T-shirts, stamps, key chains, and magnets.

On Sunday, December 28, we went to South Plaza in the daytime, where we saw lots of sea lions and land iguanas.  Sea lions do not adopt pups of others.  If the mother should perish while searching for food, then the pups will die as well.  The sea lions also like to invade the boats at sea, making themselves at home on the crafts.  In the afternoon, we went to Santa Fe.  Joe did some snorkeling and saw lots of fishes, a sea turtle, golden rays, diamond rays, white-spotted eagle rays, and white tip reef sharks.  I was having fun watching the blue-footed boobies dive-bomb from the air into the sea to catch fish.  They are so entertaining.  On Monday, December 29, we went to Espanola in the daytime and saw a lot of marine iguanas.  They only feed in the sea, sometimes so desperate as to jump off high cliffs into the water to eat, often a suicide mission.  They excrete salt via their nostrils.  Other birds we saw included more blue-footed boobies, red-billed tropicbird, albatross, hawk, and frigatebird.  In the afternoon, we went to the beach and played in the white sand and watched the sea lions and finches.  The mockingbird can sense fresh water and often liked to peck at our plastic water bottles.  More snorkeling for the folks who wanted to be in the water.  On December 30, we stopped off at San Cristobal to learn about the islands and wandered around the local town.

Pictures with full captions to follow after I get home.