Serena the best ever?!?

I am starting to feel as though Serena Williams is the best athlete of my lifetime. Her sheer dominance, what she has overcome both from her childhood and medical difficulties, and her longevity are nothing short of amazing!

How about the USA! Great win over Canada last night!

Wins all around!

For the second time this year, we have to throw out a huge congratulations to Ben Curtis for winning a PGA event. A lot of people have called him a one-hit wonder, but after victories this year at the Booz Allen Classic and another one yesterday at the 84 Lumber Classic, he has proven otherwise.

Ben was tied for the lead after the second and third rounds and went on to win yesterday by two strokes. He beat a good group of young golfers and collected a whopping $828,000 for his efforts. I just wish he was wearing Falcons' gear.

This has been a pretty exciting year watching Ben play. I can't tell you how great it is to be able to see him win not once, but twice on tour and shut up all those so-called experts who said he would never win again.

With his victory, Ben moved up to 21st on the PGA Tour money list, which puts him in contention to make the season-ending Tour Championship, played right here in Atlanta. Only the top-30 money winners are eligible for the tournament so it would be a huge step if he can hold on for that. It would be a thrill to be able to watch Ben compete in that tournament.

And to top it off the Bulldogs, Longhorns, and Falcons all won with dominating performances. I got to attend the Falcons-Succaneers game on Sunday and it was a blast. Thanks to Dru for the tickets and for taking all the trash talking from the Falcons fafns (Dru is a Succaneers fan). Unfortunately for Dru and his friend Matt there wasn't much to talk back about as the Falcons won the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense and moved to 2-0 with a big showdown in New Orleans next Monday night. A win against New Orleans puts the Falcons in great position as they would have beaten each of their NFC South rivals to open the season 3-0. I picked the Falcons to win the Super Bowl this year, and two weeks into the season I feel even stronger about that prediction.

Last post from South America... for now

Tomorrow morning I depart back to the USA (and when I say morning, I mean morning. I have a wake up call scheduled for 4 AM). I have had a great time, but it feels as if I am leaving too soon. There is still so much of Ecuador to see, and I haven´t even touched Brazil or Columbia yet, and there is definitely more of Argentina and Chile I need to see. I guess I will just have to come back. Today was my last day in Quito, a city I feel I have really come to know and enjoy. I went to some museums, churches, and walked around making some final purchases. Actually the Banco Central museum was the best I have been to in South America, even better than the Inka Museum. It told Ecuador´s history from the big bang to present day using ceramics and gold from ancient cultures and painting and sculptures from more modern times. It really was exceptional. Yesterday I went to Mitad del Mundo to straddle the equator, cheesy, but I guess it had to be done.

For those reading my blog only for my travels check back sometimes in the next couple of weeks because I hope to put some more pictures on and do a ¨final word¨on my travels.

Everyone from Atlanta...see you soon (it what appears to be scorching heat).

Galapagos Islands

I returned this afternoon from my eight day cruise in the Galapagos islands. It was amazing, one of the most special and magical places I have ever been. The animals were fascinating, the landscape interesting, and the people in my group were a lot of fun and a good mixture of nationalities. Our ship was very comfortable as well, we even had hot showers! I had the opportunity to snorkel with sea turtles, penguins, sting rays, sharks, all sorts of fish, and of course the sea lions, who incidentally like to play in the water by swimming all around you. And on dry land we saw just about every animal you can see in the Galapagos...boobie birds of all sorts, finches, iguanas (marine and land), waved albatross, frigates, pelicans, and giant land tortoises. It was really an unforgettable experience. I will write more in my blog upon my return to Atlanta in a few days. For now, here are a couple of pictures...

Ok, this machine is taking entirely too long to load the pictures, so I will have to put more on when I return to Atlanta. Incidentally, I did run into two minor issues in the Galapagos, 1. my Texas Longhorn hat was stolen at the airport in Baltra and 2. A black spot appeared at the upper left of my pictures, so I adjusted as best I could. I did not want to mess with the lens too much (as it is a loaner camera). So I would like to thank Todd in advance for his assisting me in the coming weeks at editing my pictures.

To all those who emailed me the past week...I expect to return emails tomorrow, right now I am going for some dinner.

Banos

I arrived to Quito from Banos this afternoon. The bus ride back was less eventful and much faster than the bus ride there, which was nice.

Banos was incredible, I had one of the best days of the trip so far yesterday. For the first time I actually fit in a bed, a Queen size! I slept great and woke up to the sound of the waterfall outside my window. Then went for my complimentary breakfast, which was the best of the trip. It consisted of cheese, fruit salad, yogurt, granola, three different kinds of bread, papaya honey, delicious coffee, and fresh blackberry juice. I actually did not eat again until dinnertime (except for the necessary midday ice cream). In deciding what to do with my one full day in Banos I had many options, there is canyoning, white water rafting, horseback riding, etc. The option I went with though was mountain biking, yet again. I could not pass up the Rutas de Cascadas, Route of the Waterfalls. It is a 22 km ride which takes you through the valley past spectacular waterfalls.

I went alone, which ended up being fantastic. It is supposedly a popular activity, but there were very few gringos in town due to the threat of the volcano. It seems as though the Ecuadorian visitors like to chill out in town more than explore. So, that being said, until I reached Rio Verde, the last waterfall of the day, I was the only biker on the route. To view many of the waterfalls you have to lock your bike up and hike down trails. The trails were spectacular with all sorts of flowers blooming around them. It was a near spiritual experience being on these trails all alone with spectacular scenery and the thundering of magnificent waterfalls. At one point you can take, which I did, a long cable car ride from one end of the gorge to the other. At the opposite end is a huge waterfall, one of my favorites. You see waterfalls all around, and even bike through a couple. Also, along the way you pass through some small villages. The children always seemed to get excited to see me coming through.

Once I reached Rio Verde it was necessary for yet another hike to get to El Diablo waterfall. This is a monstrous, fast, loud waterfall. On the hike I ran into a large family. I stopped as one of the guys was taking a video, and then he turned it on me! I said a few words in Spanish, then he began talking to me. I was doing alright, but I still get tripped up a little. A 10 year old kid on the trip, seeing me struggle, all of sudden says, Where are you from? I was shocked to hear this because I thought the family was Ecuadorian. It actually was an Ecuadorian family and their cousins from New Jersey. This reminded me a lot of my family getting together on trips with Meltzers. They were a lot of fun and we continued the hike together. The guy kept wanting me to get in pictures with the family, which I thought was funny. I think he liked me because when he asked why I came to Ecuador I responded because of the beautiful scenery and friendly people.

After a long bike ride and a lot of hiking during the day, there really is no better way to wind down at dusk than to relax in a hot spring under a waterfall. And again, for the second night in a row, I was the only gringo in the springs. That night I went to try and view the volcano, which I knew was hopeless due to the clouds (but it had to be attempted). As I suspected, nothing. It would have been a great end to a great day to see something, but it did not dampen my spirits as I knew I had a big comfortable bed and a delicious breakfast to look forward to!

I was a little sad to leave Banos so soon, I definitely could spend much more time there. But of course, the Galapagos beckons! Tomorrow morning I am off for 8 days in the Galapagos. That means, unless you want to keep reading the same post, do not worry about checking the blog for the next week.

Cotopaxi, outside of Quito

Monkey on one of the trails on the Ruta Cascadas

Waterfall

Me and the family I met

I don´t know where I´m a gonna go when the volcano blows

I have arrived in Banos today after spending yesterday in Quito. My original plan was to go yesterday, but my body told me otherwise. I think after 4.5 weeks of going non-stop my body finally just crashed.

My first day in Quito I walked around and became acclimated to the city and somehow ended up going out with a bunch of kids on a Canadian abroad volunteer program. It was fun, but I had to wake up early the next morning for a tour to Cotopaxi, which included biking down the volcano. My ass already being sore from the ¨Death Ride¨in Bolivia I was a little worried about the bike ride. It ended up being great. We had a perfect view of Cotopaxi the whole day and the biking was fun. Cotopaxi is a massive snow capped volcano and views all around were excellent. I also met a couple of Israeli girls from Haifa who had just arrived in South America. It was interesting talking with them about the recent conflict. Of course they are concerned, and one of their friends was injured in the attacks on Haifa, although only minor injuries. It was interesting because one girl was so impressed I was travelling on my own, yet she had served in the army in the Gaza Strip, which seems much more scary and impressive to me. Cotopaxi was a fun time.

Yesterday I took it easy and did some walking around the old town in Quito. I like Quito; it is picturesque and colorful.

Today I took the bus ride from Quito to Banos. Public buses are always interesting in South America. When the bus started some drunk guy began talking to me (9 AM). I was thinking ¨Shit, this guy isn´t going to leave me alone the whole ride¨. I couldn´t understand most of what he was saying, but I think it was more because he wasn´t making any sense than my lack of Spanish. He did tell me he loved me, which was odd. Luckily he got off about 30 minutes later on the outskirts of Quito, and when he got off he patted my head and said ¨Gringo¨. We kept stopping to pick up passengers along the way and at every stop people jump on trying to sell you a range of items, from cds, to empanadas, to ice cream. The guy I sat next to for most of the way was Ecuadorian and we spoke some. He said I would find many ¨Gringos¨in Banos. With all the people going on and off the bus, I was the only ¨Gringo¨the entire time, which I quite liked. My bus to Banos stopped in Ambato, which meant me and the other person going to Banos had to rush to pick up another bus. I actually really enjoyed the journey, just people watching the entire time.

So far in Banos I have not seen the volcano, it is covered in clouds, though I have seen an army truck unloading supplies for refugees from other towns. Banos is tucked in the mountains and I am staying in a great place with a view of a waterfall from my window and hot springs not too far by. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to see some explosions!