Saturday, December 22, 2007
Doing blue runs almost all day long. My muscles are aching like crazy, its exhausting. We finally graduated to blues though(: Blues are quite scary though, blacks are even more extreme. On the mountain the temperature is like -20 degrees, on the very top top the temperature drops even more. Your toes feel like they have frozen to ice cubes you cant even feel your nose. There is amazing powder here, it didnt stop snowing yesterday. They liken it to champagne.
Faux mountain climbing in Quito to the Andes. We cheated. We took this cable car up to 4100 metres above sea level, then climbed to reach the peak. We didnt reach it though, not enough time. The air was really really thin, every few metres you would stop gasping for breathe because of the sheer lack of oxygen. And the steep terrain. Altititude sickness, Quito is about 2.8 km above sea level, once we even used an oxygen tank at night.
And the Galapagos! It was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced, like seeing what the earth was a million years ago. With crystal clear waters, and creatures that are fearless of humans. Snorkelled with sharks, stingrays, turtles, marine iguanas, sea lions and penguins, among the usual fish. There are tropical penguins! The only kind in the world, they are tinyy. And the sea lions are the most adorable creatures on earth, whenever a group of snorkellers pass by, they would waddle into the water and swim with you. Its their form of entertainment.
Frustrating plane delays that extend hour after hour. I think we have been delayed more than 12 hours on the whole trip. That doesnt include waiting times.We got stranded at Miami, it was a total nightmare. I miss Singapore.
5:22 PM
