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I spent quite a bit of time at the recent NASA Tweetup looking through my camera’s viewfinder.  Although I didn’t come away with any decent photos of the launch itself (I focused on the video this time, instead), I figured this week’s photo would still come from last weekend.

Then I found myself playing with Oksana’s new iPad, installing the Dropbox app.  I tapped into my account and started to play with what could and couldn’t open on the tablet.  That’s when I came across a folder full of Ecuador photos and realized that, even though I hadn’t taken my DSLR along on the trip, I still managed to come away with some decent shots.

This is Baños.  I love this little town tucked in the middle of the mountains.  There are trails everywhere up the steep hillsides and it only takes around 40 minutes to hike to the top (even if you do have to huff and puff through the altitude).

On one such hike, we found ourselves at the surprisingly popular Café del Cielo.  It was one of the few places we encountered in Baños that had unrestricted wi-fi, plus the packed house was a good indication that the food wasn’t bad, either.  They were too busy to even put us on the waiting list, though, so we resolved to come back later.

Later turned out to be New Year’s Eve.  We wanted to be reunited with the rest of the group before midnight, so hiking up and down the trail in the dark wasn’t an option.  We took an expensive cab ride up the meandering roads behind the mountain instead and, what with all the costumed kids stopping us for New Year’s cash donations, it probably took just as long to get there.  Our driver, knowing that we were at his mercy, arranged for an even higher fare for a scheduled ride back down.

But it was all worth it.  Café del Cielo was practically deserted and the very friendly and attentive waiter put us right up against the plate glass windows.  While Robert, Ana, Alicia, and I enjoyed our small meals (everything cost $5 or less; fairly expensive for Baños) and fantastic fancy coffees, I leaned my wife’s point-and-shoot against the window and took many long-exposure pictures.  Oksana’s little Panasonic doesn’t give you any manual controls, but at least its Starlight preset allows you to dial in 15, 30, or 60 second exposures.  This shot was my favorite of the evening; no reflections in the glass and neither over- nor under-exposed.  Sort of the Goldilocks photo of the set.  You know, just right.

Panasonic DMC-TZ5
Date: 8:54pm, 26 June 2008
Focal Length: 29mm
Shutter: 30 seconds
Aperture: F/4.8
ISO: 100
Photoshop: Unaltered

Have you ever thought about going to the Galapagos Islands?  How ‘bout this fall?

Here’s the deal.  Oksana and I will very likely be passing through Ecuador around October or November and I can’t imagine not taking her out to that amazing archipelago.  Unfortunately, it’s going to be way outside our budget of $100/day.  The rest of Ecuador is quite inexpensive, so we might just settle down for awhile and save up for the trip, but I’m hoping we can find another way…

When I was there in January, our group paid for a seven-day tour of the islands.  For the entire week, our home was the 78’ motor yacht, Floreana.  There’s room for 16 passengers (8 rooms), and everything from an English-speaking naturalist guide to three meals a day was provided.  Our itinerary generally consisted of two land excursions and two snorkeling excursions every day, with a couple of nights out on the towns (Puerto Ayora and San Cristóbal.)  Although there were only five people in our group, we quickly bonded all the other tourists and had a fantastic time!

Every time I bring up my trip to the Galapagos, someone says, “Oh, I’d love to go there someday.”  It gets me thinking.  How hard would it be to fill the Floreana with friends and family?

This is me, inviting you to join us on a Galapagos trip!

Let’s discuss the details a bit:

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There was a wall of rock on one side, a 300-foot cliff down to a dry riverbed on the other.  Alicia and I were sandwiched into the back of a pickup truck with our rented bikes, gripping its sides as a car battery and broken glass slid around our feet.  Our driver seemed to be chatting with the three other men in the cab while he raced up the Andean mountain road.  Our tires literally squealed on the pavement as he drove us, more often than not, into the oncoming lane.  It occurred to me, while rounding another blind curve, that going over the cliff was the least of our worries.  At that speed, sitting in the back of a pickup, any accident was likely to be fatal.  I thought: This may be the scariest ride of my life.

And that was before they pulled out their guns.

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