cumbaya

The steeple at the church in Cumbaya (near Quito), the site of our first concert

monument middle of the earth

The inscription on the monument at the equator (the middle of the earth)

equator

Smack dab on the equator (in front of the monument)

crater

The only inhabited volcanic crater in Ecuador (near the middle of the earth)

Compania de Jesus

The main altar of the Church of the Society of Jesus (Quito), site of our second concert. This one was sponsored by the Sucre National Theater & televised.

rosadex

Sofia, the daughter of one of the staff people at the Hacienda of the Society of Jesus in Cayambe. They provided us with a lovely repast in this home from the early 1900's.

Andean music

In Otavalo, we visited the home of a family who makes & plays traditional Andean instruments. The three girls in this photo also danced for us.

Quito

At the entrance to the Governor's palace in Quito. This fellow was very disciplined & didn't budge even with us tourists nearby.

old cathedral

The main altar (with life-size statues of the people at the Last Supper) in the Old Cathedral in Cuenca. This cathedral is now a museum. We sang our fourth concert here. The tower of this cathedral was used as a point of reference in the calculations for the equator.

shaman

After a busy day of touring around the mountains surrounding Cuenca, we stopped at the archeological museum to meet the shaman in the temple behind the museum. I asked him what he did with the large condor feather that was on the floor in front of me; he came over, took it up & waved it around me & touched it to my forehead & eyes. He said I was the condor & he was the hummingbird (there are many varieties of hummingbirds (culibri) in Ecuador).

vaca loca

In the Andean natural hotsprings resort of Papallacta, we gave our last concert in the gymnasium of the village. It was such a special occasion for them that they brought the vaca loca (crazy cow loaded with fireworks) and set it off outside once the concert was complete.

antizana

The above-treeline plains of the Antizana Volcano National Park (near Quito). Here we saw many caracara birds & four condors. The volcanic soil was black & rich.

giant land tortoise

Close up of a giant land tortoise in the reserve on Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos). They were unafraid of us as we walked through the reserve. Cow egrets helped to keep the tortoises clean.

sea lions

A carpet of Galapagos sea lions on the white-sand beach of Santa Fe Island. We walked right near them. They were unfazed by our presence there.

lava tunnel

Lava tunnel on Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos). Myth has it that long ago pirates would hide out in these tunnels & that there may be a cache of gold buried here.

blue-footed boobies

Blue-footed boobies (in Spanish "bobo" means "silly") on the rocks of Santa Fe Island. The same rocks also had pelicans and sea lions.

land iguana

A Santa Fe land iguana in the shade of one of its favorite food sources, the prickly pear. The trunk of the prickly pear is too smooth for the iguanas to ascend, so the iguanas must wait for the prickly pears to fall to the ground to have a great treat.

plaza sur

A view down the cliffs of Plaza Sur Island (Galapagos). The island is very arrid; the plants (Sesuvuan) are succulents. Some of the birds & animals I saw there were: frigate birds; Darwin's finches; Sally light-foot crab; red-billed tropic bird; Galapagos shear waters; swallow-tailed gulls; marine iguanas; sea lions (bachelor & widower colony); masked boobie; blue-footed boobie; and, land iguanas.

the tower

The Tower (Torre) on Bartolome Island (Galapagos). This was in one of the dramatic scenes in the movie "Master & Commander". This island is one of the younger islands in the archipelago, 300,000 years old. The nature of the lava flow is obvious from the shapes and contours of the landscape.

marine iguana

A marine iguana on Bartolome Island. On this same island we swam at the pink-sand beach & saw herons, pelicans, frigate birds, Galapagos penguins, boobies, and sea lions. The water at the beach was turquoise blue.

bartolome

At the top of one of hills on Bartolome Island. There is a board walk & wooden steps (367) to the pinnacle. There is a small lighthouse at the top. The view from the there is spectacular (open sea, pink-sand beaches, the and the Tower). Up there we saw a Galapagos hawk gliding above our heads. The Galapagos archipelago is the tip of massive oceanic volcanoes.

Lonesome George

This is Lonesome George. He lives at the Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz Island. He is about 150 years old & is the last of his species. He grew up on Pinta Island. The scientists there continue to try to help George produce an heir, but have been unsuccessful so far.