Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Quito and the Cuyabeno
Big Fish & White Elephants
We found a great way of seeing a bit of Amazaonia paddling downstream for a couple of days. The Cuyabeno and the jungle around it, despite the oil companies' best efforts, are an unspoilt bit of Amazonian rainforest where we saw troops of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, and pink dolphins swimming up the river.
Being the rainforest the trip wasn't without it's fair share of rain, and during one down pour we were just about to give up a very uneventful fishing expedition when Aldemar, the boatman, shouted he had a big fish. It only took him about 20 minutes to land the fella pictured here, with a hook and line meant for piranha! It's a paiche fish... and this is only a little one.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Back in Quito, one of the least inspiring capitals I've visited so far, it's just a short journey the Mitad de Mundo (Equator). And I have to say it's a bit of disappointment... apart from the fact that it's at the end of a tatty street in a bit of theme park, at 2400ms above sea-level on a scrubby hillside it just didn't feel like what the equator should feel like: no palm trees or desert island landscape, and no one getting tarred and feathered. But, due to a bit of bad maths a while back, it's actually in the wrong place, 200 meters down the road is a small private museum where they've calculated the real equator using GPS and perform all the science stuff that can only be done on the actual equator, (like balancing an egg on the head of a nail and watching water go down the plughole in different directions on either side of the line).
Sushi survey
There's only so much chicken and rice, cheese and ham sandwiches, sopa de mani and pork and yuca I can eat, so the occassional maki roll has brought a bit of variation. Don't expect the restaurant names, as I've blotted them out with the accompanying white wine, but here's the best to the worst, by city.
I have also eaten Sushi in Santiago, but I have absolutely no recollection of it...
Quitting Quito
My partner in crime for the last five months, Norwegian Chris, is, as I type, on plane back to the land of the midnight sun, and I shall miss her dreadfully. Although, I'm sure there'll be a "Loose End in Lapland" blog some time next year.
We found a great way of seeing a bit of Amazaonia paddling downstream for a couple of days. The Cuyabeno and the jungle around it, despite the oil companies' best efforts, are an unspoilt bit of Amazonian rainforest where we saw troops of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, and pink dolphins swimming up the river.
Being the rainforest the trip wasn't without it's fair share of rain, and during one down pour we were just about to give up a very uneventful fishing expedition when Aldemar, the boatman, shouted he had a big fish. It only took him about 20 minutes to land the fella pictured here, with a hook and line meant for piranha! It's a paiche fish... and this is only a little one.Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Back in Quito, one of the least inspiring capitals I've visited so far, it's just a short journey the Mitad de Mundo (Equator). And I have to say it's a bit of disappointment... apart from the fact that it's at the end of a tatty street in a bit of theme park, at 2400ms above sea-level on a scrubby hillside it just didn't feel like what the equator should feel like: no palm trees or desert island landscape, and no one getting tarred and feathered. But, due to a bit of bad maths a while back, it's actually in the wrong place, 200 meters down the road is a small private museum where they've calculated the real equator using GPS and perform all the science stuff that can only be done on the actual equator, (like balancing an egg on the head of a nail and watching water go down the plughole in different directions on either side of the line).
Sushi survey
There's only so much chicken and rice, cheese and ham sandwiches, sopa de mani and pork and yuca I can eat, so the occassional maki roll has brought a bit of variation. Don't expect the restaurant names, as I've blotted them out with the accompanying white wine, but here's the best to the worst, by city.
- Lima, Peru
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- La Paz, Bolivia
- Santa Cruz, Bolivia
- Quito, Ecuador*
I have also eaten Sushi in Santiago, but I have absolutely no recollection of it...
Quitting Quito
My partner in crime for the last five months, Norwegian Chris, is, as I type, on plane back to the land of the midnight sun, and I shall miss her dreadfully. Although, I'm sure there'll be a "Loose End in Lapland" blog some time next year.
# posted by Barney @ 6:52 pm 
