Videos from our Day With Raul!

Oh geez, I forgot to include these videos in the "Day with Raul" blog ... so sad!  I took too long to write the blog (over a number of days) and totally forgot about these awesome short video clips to accompany the blog.

The videos below show that they uploaded; however, when I previewed them I could not see them so I need your help! 

FIRST, MY USUAL VIDEO DISCLAIMER ... you won't be able to view the videos from any hand-held electronic device.  You'll need to visit my website.

Second, if you also are unable to view the videos, would you please email me at judypsalms100@gmail.com and let me know that you could not view them either.  Not sure what I can do to get them to work, but I'm hoping it's just our internet connection at the park!

First video clip was taken at Pululahua Volcano and pans the fertile valley ranches and steep mountainsides surrounding the crater.

 

The next three videos are from Inti-Nan Solar Museum.  They are a series of demonstrations showing how water is affected by the equator.

 

Water placed in a sink on the equator flows straight down when the plug is pulled.



The sink is moved south side (about 10 feet) of the equator.  Now watch the leaves swirl down the drain in a clockwise rotation!  This is the way water moved south of the equator.





Once again the sink is moved and this time 10 feet form the equator's north side.  Now the leaves swirl down the drain in a counter-clockwise rotation!  This is the way water moves north of the equator ... Like in the United States.

 

Psalms 89:12a
The north and the south, You have created them ... 

Just a bit of Quito and Papallacta

It was a weekday and Michael & Erica were at work so we decided to grab a taxi and head to downtown Quito (well, actually, just one street in downtown Quito) and check out the city life.  It was amazing how inexpensive taxis are in Quito.  I was expecting a $15-20 charge for the ride and it ended up to be about $2.00.  Wow, at those prices we can go anywhere!

This is a shot of the main street were strolled down.  The shopping mall, Quicentro, was on the right side of the street.

 This is a picture of the tree-lined sidewalk.

 And just so you know the U.S. doesn't have the market on graffiti ...

 Many of the block walls throughout Quito are covered in murals.

Our next sight-seeing trip took us to the awesome hot springs at Papallacta, a small village in Ecuador at 10,826 feet in the Andes on the road from Quito which leads into the Amazon jungle.  The scenic drive passes through several towns and small villages before ascending to a peak over 13,125 feet, from which mountains and glaciers are visible.  Here is an internet photo of the town of Papallacta.



Descending from the peak to Papallacta, the ecosystems transform from alpine to tropical jungle.  Several hot springs and spas are located in Papallacta. 

On our drive, I had Michael pullover so I could get a shot of these wild llamas right off the side of the road.

 

 

Termas de Papallacta Spa and Resort is where we were headed.  It boasts a number of very relaxing thermal pools. It has both a public hot springs area (which is much cheaper) and a "private spa" area which is more expensive, but better maintained and includes the nice shower facility after your pool time. 

The source temperature of the thermal baths varies between 30°C and 70°C (86°F and 158°F). At the pools (there are at least 5 pools with varying temperatures) the temperature ranges from 36°C to 40°C (97°F to 104°F). Papallacta´s thermal waters contain sulfates, sodium, calcium, chloride and traces of magnesium which are odourless, colourless but have a slightly salty taste.

You have to wear one of these caps in the pools and this is Michael and me enjoying the hot springs.

 This is a better view of one of the pools.

 Here's Michael enjoying one of the pools.

 Another pool shot.

 The Three Hot Springs Muskateers (left to right:  Gary, Judy, Michael).  We're sitting under these flows of water emptying into the pool.

 Another way in which they bring hot volcanic water into the pool.

 Right behind us was the HOTTEST place in the pools.  I don't know how Michael did it, but he eventually slipped himself into it.  I put one foot in, yelped, and pulled that foot out as quickly as possible.

 More scenic shots of the beautiful hot springs at the spa.

 

The hydrothermal value of Termas de Papallacta's Hot Springs is thanks to Papallacta's location between two volcanoes, Volcano Cayambe and Volcano Antisana. 

 

 

It was a beautiful location.  The hot springs were so relaxing ... come on, when are hot springs not relaxing??  Afterwards, we showered and had a delicious lunch at one of their onsite restaurants.  All-in-all, a great day in Ecuador.

Psalms 104:10-13

He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they lift up their voices among the branches.  He waters the mountains from His upper chambers.

Parque Metropolitano Guanguiltagua

Right behind Michael & Erica's apartment complex in Quito runs the largest urban park in South America at 1,376 acres (compare to New York's Central Park at 843 acres). The park is located on the hill of Bellavista and is well suited for mountain biking, walking and running.  First let me just say that when you're at 9,500+ foot elevation the initial 1/3 mile uphill climb just about killed me every time!

Throughout the park are these signs for both hiking and biking.



Most of Parque Metropolitano is eucalyptus forest crisscrossed with numerous trails. 

 

The park has four sites that can be used for picnics or barbecues and the eastern section has a view of Cotopaxi, Antisana, and the Guyallabamba river basin.

I wasn't able to capture on camera the yellow butterfly species that were flitting throughout the park, but I did manage to capture this brown variety landing on some of the fallen eucalyptus leaves.  But you'll see many more beautiful butterflies in another post.





We went to the park twice for really nice hikes.

 



Here is one of the bridges we crossed over during one of our hikes

 

.And, we took our first selfie on one of the hikes!

In the next blog I'll cover our taxi trip to the Quicentro (shopping mall) area of downtown Quito.

 

 



Psalms 43:3-4
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling places.  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.

Let the Ecuadorian Adventures Begin!

Our son, Michael, and his family (our daughter-in-law, Erica, and our two granddaughters: Romy--almost 5--and Malin--almost 3) are stationed in Ecuador.  He works out of the US Embassy in Quito for the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer.  Michael is very near the end of his two year assignment in Ecuador so it was about time we got there to visit them.  We flew out of  LAX with a change of planes in Panama (can you say hot and humid) and then a final flight to Quito, Ecuador. 

Quito is the capital of Ecuador, sitting on the Equator, situated high in the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 9,350 feet officially making it the highest capital in the world. Quito is basically spread throughout a valley climbing up both hillsides.  Numerous houses line both the valley and opposing hillsides as you will see from the photo below from their apartment (you'll see more examples of these populated hillsides in future blogs).

Quito is the second largest city in Ecuador with a population of approximately 1.608 million people (Guyaquil--located further south and Ecuador's main port city--is the largest city with a population of 2.279 million). Because this country sits right on the Equator, there are only two seasons in Quito--summer (which is relatively short, maybe two months where the sun will be shining the majority of the time) and the rainy season which (I'm sure you've already figured it out) is rainy a lot of the time!  We went during the rainy season but were blessed with a number of beautiful days, although we were initially greeted with a few rainy ones.

Walking out of the airport, we were greeted with a not so usual view of Cotopaxi, one of the many  dormant volcanos in Volcano Alley which runs through the Eastern and Western Andes in Ecuador.  You can see its snow-capped peak just to the right of the lighted parking sign.  This will NOT be your last Cotopaxi sighting, by the way!  It only gets better.



Their apartment in Quito has a great view of the city.  I tried to take photos with all the night lights glistening on the hillside, but they just didn't come out, so all I have is this daytime photo.  But you can still get a good idea of the great view from their large living room windows overlooking just a small portion of Quito.

With the rains prevailing we put off sight-seeing and instead Erica and I took a trip field trip to the local fruitas y verduras mercado (fruit and vegetable market).  But it is so much more than that!  This market features beautiful, colorful displays of so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables--some that are still a mystery to me!

Not sure what kind of fruit this is!

  

Nope, not sure what kind of fruit this is either!

Below are HUGE papaya!  This is something we don't see in the states!

 

Not only do they have fruitas y verduras, they also have lots of carne vendors.

How about this WHOLE pig?

 Maybe you want a side of beef?

 Or maybe you're hankering for some pigs feet?

All in all, it was a fascinating place and the fruits and vegetables all looked excellent.  Erica bought some and let me tell you, the fruits and vegetables in Ecuador are absolutely delectable.  Most of them are not picked green so you are getting them fresh which taste fabulous.

 

On our way home we passed this flower market.  Ecuador is also known for their roses and we went to Rosadex (a rose farm) for a tour and lunch.  I'll cover that in another blog as rose growing is a much more complex process than you probably are thinking. 

 

 

Genesis 1:11-13
Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.  There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 

Rockin' and Rollin'

Back we go into Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert for a nice 2+ mile hike at Split Rock for a rockin' and rollin' time.  It was a BEAUTIFUL winter day in the desert.  Temperatures were in the low 70s and the skies were brilliant blue.  We couldn't ask for a better hiking day.

This hiking trail sits about 4,200 feet and is about a 4-mile drive into the park from the north entrance off Utah Trail, and Utah Trail is less than one mile from the RV park.  This is a 2.1 mile loop with a side trail to see Face Rock.  We also "got lost" (uh, yeah, we lost the trail) near the end of the hike so it added a little more mileage onto the original hike length. 

Here I am playing Samson, pushing apart two boulders.  It's fun to be silly!

I'd call this a window (which is what technically it would be called), but personally I think it looks more like a door.  Love these rock formations.

Gary called this a molar, and I later found out online that it actually does have two different names:   "Tooth Rock" and "Tulip Rock"--both sure seem like they work.

Now this is more of a window ... and maybe even a balancing rock to boot!

We took a .2 of a mile roundtrip side trip off the main trail to see a human face carved into this rock edifice--aptly named "Face Rock".  It's amazing how the natural desert elements of wind, rain and sand help shape the rocky terrain into identifiable, recognizable things like faces, skulls, tulips, teeth, etc..

The recent cold spell included a snow storm at the higher elevations and there's just an itty-bitty bit left on the ground.

I love all the rocky jumbles in Joshua Tree National Park, and here's just one example of them.

This part of the hike gave us a beautiful view of the opposite mountain range.

To the victor goes the spoils!  Not sure what his spoils are, but Gary sure looks like the victor!

See the small rocks that are running horizontal through this large rock monolith?  These types of small rock rows are very common in the park.  Not only can they be found on the rocky boulders, but they can also be found snaking around on the ground.

Here I am on the trail.  It was very warm and I was glad that I had a hat and was carrying the water!

More balanced rock and freestanding rock icons.

Here's Gary by a great example of a window and nicely balanced rocks!

Love the Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park!

The end of a perfect hike and beautiful day.

 

 

Psalm 95:1-5

O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.