Day 88 Oct 30 2014 Quito Ecuador

to the top of the basilica

front of the basilica

on the hill of the Virgen de El Panecillo

from the viewing platform of the Virgen de El Panecillo

Day 88  Oct 30 2014   Quito Ecuador

We toured the historic center of Quito today.  I have never seen such a collection of opulent churches so close together; I believe there are at least 8 churches in the historic center of Quito.  We toured 3 of them starting with La Compania de Jesus which has carvings on every square cm of its interior and is gilded in gold on a very high percentage of its interior.  A few hundred meters away is another church that we entered. It was a Franciscan convent with its attached church.  The church also had a large percentage of its interior gilded in gold.  The convent had a fairly large collection of paintings and other works of art.  The other church we went to see was the Basilica del voto National where we climbed to the top of the towers.  The kids and I took an elevator to the third floor, once there we walked along a wooden platform that was on top of the church ceiling.   At the end of the platform we then went up 3 sets of long ladder type stairs to arrive at the top of the tower approximately 75 meters above ground level.  I was a little worried that Isabel might slip and drop between the rungs to the ground below but she made it OK.  Definitely not the safety standards that we have in Canada but very interesting.  Evy decided to stay at ground level as she is not too fond of heights.  The last stop of the day was the Virgen de El Panecillo which is an enormous winged statue of the Virgen Mary made out of aluminum and was actually very cool with an excellent view of the city.

Day 87 Oct 29 2014 Quito Ecuador

El Teleferico in Quito 4100 meters above sea level

view from 4100 plus meters

another view of quito from 4100 plus meters

Vulqano Parque el Teleferico 

daytime view from apt in Quito with volcano in background

Day 87     Oct 29 2014  Quito Ecuador

Today we discovered how hard it could be to walk up a little hill when it is at a high altitude.  We went for a ride on the Teleferico which is a cable car that takes you to an altitude of 4100 meters above sea level.  Once we were up there we had cappuccino and empanadas while the kids had popcorn.  We decided to go for a walk up the hill so we could get a better view, David developed a headache and everybody was extremely short of breath and energy.  We would walk a few steps then we had to rest and let our heart rate lower.  It was an amazing view from the top of the mountain as we could see the entire city of Quito as well as the surrounding mountains.  At the bottom of the Teleferico is an amusment park called Vulqano Parque del Teleferico which seemed to be deserted.  The kids were the only customers and the only wait to get on a ride was for the staff to get there to start the ride.   

Day 86 Oct 28 2014 Quito Ecuador

parents and kids on different sides of the world

Intinan Museum

balancing an egg on the equator

Mitad del Mundo as per the French in 1739

Day 86    Oct 28 2014   Quito Ecuador

We got up late and got out of the apartment at 11AM.  We took a taxi to La Mitad del Mundo where we took lots of pictures of the monument and toured the museum inside the monument.  The monument is located at the location established by the French as 0deg 0min 0sec in the year 1739.  The actual 0deg 0min 0sec as calculated by GPS is located at the museum next door called Intinan which was our next stop of the day.  There we were treated to an explanation of sun dials, balancing a egg at the equator and the coriolis effect as well as some of the history of the area.  We are starting to adjust to the altitude and do not feel as short of breath.

Day 85 Oct 27 2014 Quito Ecuador

overlooking Quito

view from apartment 

Day 85   Oct 27 2014   Quito Ecuador

We woke up at 5 am and took the shuttle to the airport at 6 am.  When we were checking in with the flight we were informed that we required an onward ticket from Ecuador.   We checked with the Canadian government web site and there was no indication we required one.  The airline TAME refused to let us onto the plane without a ticket so we bought a ticket from Guayaquil to Lima on Expedia from the airport for $1900 dollars.  When we got to Quito there was no requirement from the migration people at the airport for an onward ticket.   The ticket we had purchase was fully refundable within 24 hours of purchasing it so we cancelled it when we arrived at the apartment we were staying at in Quito.  The apartment is quite nice with a decent view of the city and the mountains behind.  It is well situated with lots of restaurants in the area and a mall 2 blocks away.  Taxis are quite cheap here, the hour ride from the airport was only $25 and the ride from the grocery store was only $1.50.  Evy, David and I are feeling the effects of the altitude and get winded walking up a slight incline and I have a headache.  Hopefully we start to adjust to the lack of oxygen soon.  

Day 84 Oct 26 2014 Fort Lauderdale Florida

beach across from the hotel

view towards the hotel 

Day 84    Oct 26 2014   Fort Lauderdale Florida

We woke up and got out of the cabin this morning.  Had breakfast in the restaurant and waited for our turn to leave the ship.  We were through US customs by 11 am.  We took a shuttle to our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale.  I checked my e-mail and discovered a message from my cousin saying that my Mom was in the hospital in Winnipeg.  It seems she is getting better and will hopefully be back at home in a few days.  We went for a walk to find a bank as we had no cash left.  It is amazing how many places still deal in cash and do not accept credit or seem to have broken credit machines.  David bought himself an Ipad mini and spent the last few hours before bed playing with it.  It is now time for bed as we have to get up at 5 AM to catch our flight to Quito Ecuador.

Day 83 Oct 25 2014 Carnival Conquest

Isabel's winning shell on the cruise

On the way back to Miami

Day 83  Oct 25 2014 Carnival Conquest

Today was a sea day, we all woke up fairly late then went for brunch in the formal restaurant.  Isabel won the sea shell contest with the smallest not very nice shell as the beaches we visited on the cruise did not have much in the way of shells.  We ended up putting the kids allowance and the shell contest money on the kids sail and sign cards which was quickly spent in the arcade.  In the evening we checked out the show in the main theater, it was not very good.  

Day 82 Oct 24 2014 Carnival Conquest

Day 82   Oct 24 2014   Carnival Conquest

The ship  docked at Mahaual Mexico today.  The highlight of the day was a nice walk into the town.  It started to rain so we took a taxi back to the ship and ate lunch.  The kids went to the arcade and spent the rest of the money they had on their sail and sign card.  Evy and I enjoyed the hot tub for a while followed by more food.  In the evening Evy and I went for a formal supper, Isabel was in kids camp and we really don’t know what David did.  

Day 81 Oct 23 2014 Carnival Conquest

west bay

beach at west bay 

local refreshment

Day 81    Oct 23 2014   Carnival Conquest

The ship docked in Mahogany Bay Isla Rotan Honduras.  We took a taxi ride to West Bay were we got a deal on a boat to take us snorkeling on a reef.  After approx 40 minutes in the water Isabel got scared when she got separated from us by slightly more than her comfort zone (not very far) and screamed.  It was only a few minutes after that she informed us she was not feeling well.  I stopped swimming to see what was wrong with her and ended up cutting my foot on some coral.  Isabel feeling sick resulted in us cutting our snorkeling trip short; however as soon as we got back to the beach she miraculously got better.    It was sad to see how much garbage was in the water when we were snorkeling, all sorts of plastic wrappers, bottles and bags.  We were pushing the garbage out of the way with our bodies as we were swimming. We ended up swimming on the beach for a while longer then returning to the cruise pier.     We went snorkeling close to the pier and it was OK but not as good as the boat dive for fish but there was a lot less garbage.  Of the place we have been snorkeling on this trip so far the consensus is that Cozumel was the best. 

Day 80 Oct 22 2014 Carnival Conquest

eating termites

feeding howler monkeys

typical tourist picture

David's reward from Carnival

progression  from stuffed animals

Day 80    Oct 22 2014  Carnival Conquest

The ship docked in Belize today where we had to take a tender to the port.  Once we arrive in port we took a taxi to a howler monkey reserve where David, Isabel and Evy fed an 11 month old howler monkey.  The guide was also explaining some of the other animals in the area and how you could survive by eating termites.  David, Isabel and I tried the termites with David actually enjoying them; you could detect a slight mint flavor.  When we got back to our cabin at night there was a bottle of champaign and a trophy of a ship for David.  The reward was because David was put to work performing crowd control on the ship and did a good job.  We all had a good laugh that Carninval was contributing to the delinquency of a minor then the 4 of us tried the champaign.

Day 79 Oct 21 2014 Carnival Conquest

a rough day on the beach

Day 79   Oct 21 2014   Carnival Conquest

When we woke up today we were in port in Cozumel Mexico.  We got off the ship at approx. 10 AM.  We took a taxi to Corona beach where we had a few drinks, ate lunch and snorkeled a lot.   There were quite a few fish colorful fish in the area but not much coral.  David fed tortillas to the fish and had his finger bitten when they swarmed him.  We stayed at the beach for 3 ½ hours and left because it started to rain and the temperature dropped.  We went back to the ship and spent a couple of hours in the hot tub with a food break in the middle.  

Day 78 Oct 20 2014 Carnival Conquest

spa day

checking out the entertainment

a couple of stinky feet

Day 78    Oct 20 2014   Carnival Conquest

Today was spent hanging around the pool, relaxing in the cabin and eating and playing a few board games.  Isabel spent quite a few hours at the kids club.  We went and saw the family show before supper.  We all ate alligator for the first time today as one of the choices for starters was alligator fritters.

Day 77 Oct 19 2014 Carnival Conquest

Day 77    Oct 19 2014   Carnival Conquest

A short drive took us to the cruise terminal car rental building.  A shuttle took us the cruise terminal and we boarded the ship shortly after noon.  The first activity we took part in was eating.  Isabel and David checked out the kids club which Isabel liked and David was not impressed with.  We had the late sitting for supper which is at 8:15 PM and the food was excellent.  Evy and I went to the late show to see the comedians while David stayed with Isabel in the cabin.  As expected they were watching TV when we got back after midnight.

Day 82 Oct 24 2014 Carnival Conquest

Day 82   Oct 24 2014   Carnival Conquest

The ship  docked at Mahahual Mexico today.  The highlight of the day was a nice walk into the town.  It started to rain so we took a taxi back to the ship and ate lunch.  The kids went to the arcade and spent the rest of the money they had on their sail and sign card.  Evy and I enjoyed the hot tub for a while followed by more food.  In the evening Evy and I went for a formal supper, Isabel was in kids camp and we really don’t know what David did.  

Day 76 Oct 18 2014 Hollywood Florida

The Florida winning shell

Swimming in Hollywood Florida

Day 76       Oct 18 2014    Hollywood Florida

We started the day by cleaning the house we stayed in and the kids doing their school work again.  The Florida shell contest was won by David and I am pretty sure he bribed the other judges.  We had to stop at the outlet mall on the way to Hollywood as David lost his new fleecy somewhere.  We went for a walk around the city center and finished the day with the kids swimming in the pool.  Isabel is catching up to David in her swimming abilities and they should both be fairly competent swimmers by the end of the year.

Day 75 Oct 17 2014 Cape Coral Florida

Sanibel Island

Isabel in the latest fashion attire

Looking for the winning shell

The first snorkeling of the trip

Day 75      Oct 17 2014    Cape Coral Florida

The kids started the day by catching lizard and then did some school work.  In the afternoon we went swimming and snorkeling on Sanibel Island, the beach was beautiful.  We started up our shell contest again and we all found some nice shells.  I am pretty sure I will win when the judging takes place tomorrow.  When we got back to the house we went swimming in the pool.