Diving Adventure in the Galapagos #7

April 17th – Lima to Quito

Up early again for a 0730 flight to Quito. All are really glad to be out of Lima. Flew Avensa Air again, and again the best service and food of the trip.

Settled into the Alameda again. Great hotel with incredible flowers everywhere. Rooms are suites again and most comfortable hotel bed ever!

Lunch at La Choza. This time had to have llapingauchos. We all loved the way it sounded and reasoned it must taste good too! Potatoes with cheese and fried egg. It really was good. Goes to show that sometimes a blind hog finds an acorn! Then mulberry ice cream for dessert.

Spent the rest of the day shopping. Dicksie has acquired quite a collection of pseudo-Raybans and David is giving her a real hard time. She is now known as the sunglasses lady; maybe can open her own shop in Texas.

The thing to buy here is leather, very cheap and mostly very good quality. Found Mike a beautiful bomber jacket for $135. Also a canvas hat to keep the sun off. And a couple of Panama straws for me for $10.00 each. AND a new “Speedo” for Mike. He’s getting real wild in his old age. Oddly enough, I am told that “Panama” hats really originated in Ecuador and were imported to Panama during the building of the canal. A good men’s hat can be rolled and passed through a ring and still resume its original shape.

Met up with Richard, a diver from California, and he helped me and Evelyn shop. Good to see old friends.

Walter had to go to the airport to pick up the rest of the group who only signed up for the dive part of the trip, so Richard accompanied Evelyn and me to dinner. Mike has still got a bug, this time turista instead of saroche, so he skipped dinner and went to bed.

The three of us went to Bentleys for dinner, hoping to get to meet the jaguar that lives there. While we waited for our appetizers, Sasha made her appearance. I’m telling you, that cat knows how to make an entrance! She just suddenly appeared at the top of the steps and leaped into the room, glanced around briefly, and loped over to me. She put her front paws on my lap and sniffed my nose, then gave me a big kiss, cat style. Unable to be still, she loped around the room, returned to me where I now sat on the floor, put her paws in my lap again, gave another cat kiss and a lick, then patted the side of my face with her right paw, all the time issuing a loud purr that sounded uncomfortably like a growl! Then she raced off to the kitchen for her nightly horse meat.

Sasha is an impressive animal, probably weighing 40-50 pounds and sleek as a torpedo with her long, powerful body. It was wonderful to meet her, to encounter first hand a creature of such beauty, grace, and power.

Tomorrow the Galapagos! The rest of our party arrived safely and we have grown from a safari of 6 to a pod of 14 divers.

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