Quizás algunos de mis amables lectores reciben a diario grandes cantidades de información y seguramente no alcanzan a leerla toda. En mi caso por asuntos profesionales recibo vía Internet muchos textos de lectura técnica, política, literaria y también “basura”.

Frente a esto tengo una práctica heredada de mi padre y es la de tener siempre un libro en la cabecera de la cama. Sí, un libro que habitualmente es del género novela. Invariablemente hay un tiempo para este tipo de lectura que entrega grandes lecciones de redacción y de imaginación.

No es lo mismo leer un libro técnico o leer una revista o un diario que empezar a viajar por los laberintos que nos conduce un buen novelista, con la descripción al detalle de escenarios, personalidades e interacción humana, contadas de tal manera que durante toda la lectura la realidad se confunde con la ficción.

La radio, la televisión, la Internet y el cine tienen grandes cualidades para hacer que nuestra mente divague o para hacer que usemos nuestro tiempo libre para entretenernos, sin embargo me permito recomendar a mis amables lectores que busquen un momento para leer un libro. De esos que los puedan llevar en su mochila, cartera o portafolio.

Imaginemos cuantos minutos se nos van cuando esperamos en el banco para ser atendidos o sentados esperando una cita médica, por ejemplo. En esos momentos que parecieran que inevitablemente debemos dejar pasar sin “hacer nada”, es la ocasión propicia para sacar nuestro libro y ponernos a leer. Tal vez antes de dormir.

¿Cómo saber que a lectura dedicarse? Mientras camine por la calle o un centro comercial y encuentre un puesto de venta de libros, acérquese y empiece a leer los títulos, si uno le llama la atención tómelo y revise brevemente lo que en ese libro está escrito. Si le agrada, si le llena y, por supuesto si tiene el dinero, cómprelo. Si le hace falta el dinero al menos ya sabrá que lectura le atrae, con lo que ha dado un paso adelante.

La lectura no es aburrida. Lo aburrido es cuando leemos lo que no nos interesa, lo que no nos sirve o lo que leemos por obligación. O cuando los escritores redactamos tedioso. Espero que este comentario le sea de utilidad, amable lector, y se anime a comprar un buen libro.

Pareciera que el título de este artículo va encaminado a ofrecer una explicación económica de los términos, pero no. Quiero tratar este tema desde el lado de la actividad humana, desde la forma de vida de las personas comunes y normales.

Si leemos la palabra ‘producción’ sin mucho conocimiento se nos viene a la mente el hacer un trabajo para elaborar un ‘algo’ con base en otros ‘algo’ y que sirven para ‘algo’, pero que además se pueden vender para ganar dinero.

Y si de vender se trata, para eso están los vendedores, profesionales y habilidosos personajes que se encargan en de tomar un ‘algo’ y poner en las manos de un ‘alguien’ que necesita o quiere ese ‘algo’; a cambio recibe dinero.

Lo mencionado me lleva a pensar de manera simple que existe un espiral virtuoso entre la acción de producir y vender, pues si ese ‘alguien’ no produce otro ‘alguien’ no compra. Y claro para comprar hay que tener dinero.

Pero también hay otros ‘alguien’ que no están en le mundo de la producción sino del conocimiento; es decir, usa su conocimiento para ganar dinero e igualmente comprar un algo que los vendedores tienen.

Pensemos ahora en qué pasaría si en una sociedad no existiera el dinero. Si es que no existieran compradores o productores. Si es que no existiera conocimiento. Conclusión: la producción, las ventas y el dinero son importantes en una sociedad.

Creo que en cualquier tipo de sociedad, solo la falta de uno generaría un desequilibrio social y esa sociedad estaría condenada a estancarse y por ende sus integrantes se convertirían en nómadas o, en la actualidad, migrantes.

Un asunto más. Tanto la producción, la compra, la venta y el dinero, son herramientas para que los seres humanos pueda satisfacer sus necesidades básicas o anhelos, o gustos particulares y/o sociales, seguramente para buen uso del tiempo libre.

Quiero decir con esto que si queremos una sociedad dinámica en que sus miembros puedan cumplir sus metas, será necesario que co-existan en armonía las tres condicionantes. Simple y muy simple.

Fotos mandadas por nuestros amigos de Ecuador, unas buenas placas para ver y disfrutar.

Baby frigatebird (I think?)

I’ve wanted to go to the Galapagos Islands since before I can even remember. And the truth is, it is everything that people say it is. The animals really are quite tame and generally unafraid of people. You really can get so close to them that you could touch them (though it’s a big no-no). And even more so, they are still wild animals, and you can easily stumble upon them doing things like nesting, attracting mates, nursing babies, eating, etc. that you often don’t get to see during an afternoon at the zoo.

Sea lion hanging on the beach at Genovesa Island

Overall my experience in the Galapagos was really amazing (how could it not be?), though sadly some boat problems left the trip with a tinge of disappointment and tainted feeling to it. It’s hard to spend a lot of money and time on a once in a lifetime experience/dream trip and have something big and important go wrong. But I’ll get into that in a bit.

I’m going to talk about each day separately, in its own context, in an attempt to keep later situations from affecting my description of the first half of the trip which really was incredibly amazing and awesome.

As for the details, I was on the Floreana, a tourist or tourist superior (I’m pretty sure it’s not superior) class boat depending on who you ask. There were fourteen of us on the ship (two others joined us for the second half, but ended up only staying a day and then ditching it because of the problems and itinerary changes).

Floreana

Along for the trip with me were two Swedes, three Norwegians (two sisters and an older random guy who jumped on at the last minute), a British couple, an Aussie/Brit couple, three Americans from California, and a girl from Holland, who was my cabin-mate. We were all fairly young, in our 20s and 30s (except the one Norwegian guy), something that seemed to set our boat apart from pretty much every other boat we ran into!

And finally, we were on the Floreana’s 8 day/7 night “northern” itinerary, which was supposed to be like this:
Thursday – Baltra Airport/Santa Cruz Island – Twin Craters/Highlands
Friday – Genovesa Island – Darwin Bay/El Barranco
Saturday – Santiago Island – Sullivan Bay/Bartholomew Island
Sunday – Chinese Hat/Santa Cruz Island – Dragon Hill
Monday – Isabela Island – Breeding Center Arnaldo Tupiza/The Humedales/Tinterones
Tuesday – Fernandina Island – Espinosa Point/Isabela Island – Tagus Cove
Wednesday – Santiago Island – Egas Port/Rabida Island
Thursday – Black Turtle Cove/Baltra Airport

The highlight of the trip was supposed to be Fernandina and Isabela on Tuesday. This was basically the reason I chose this cruise, as I was told these islands are the best, worth missing out on the much-loved southern islands for, and that this was pretty much the only non-luxury cruise that visited them, a truly unique experience. So I was basically pumped up and most excited for this part of the cruise. Of course, this is the one day of the cruise that we missed and was changed to a crap alternative itinerary. But again, I’ll get into that in due time.

DAY 1

I shared a cab with another guy in my hostel going to the Galapagos and we arrived at the airport two hours early, as we were advised to. In less than ten minutes we were through all the security and stuck sitting in the small domestic airport, where there is only one little over-priced cafe to get food and drink and absolutely no other options, not even a small shop to buy a snack or drink.

Finally I boarded the plane, which departed around 9:50am. I was pleasantly surprised with the flight (TAME). The plan was huge, six seats across. I thought we would have to stop in Guayaquil and spend an hour waiting for more passengers to board, but we were lucky and our flight went directly to Balta airport. There our group slowly gathered together and boarded a bus to a port. There we got on a boat that took us to Puerto Ayora, where we sat and waited for quite a long while for another boat to finally take us to our boat.

Already spotting pelicans and sea lions right off the ferry!

Before we’d even gotten off the first boat in Pt. Ayora, we’d already spotted our first sea lion playing in the water next to the boat. Sitting and waiting for our next ride, I sat and watched the sea lion play in the water while a Galapagos pelican hung out below me, entertaining me with his funny habits. Already I could feel I was in the Galapagos!

We settled onto the Floreana (into our super tiny cabin!) and had lunch, then we were off on our first excursion. We first visited the Twin Craters, two craters that are really old, that’s basically what I got from it! It wasn’t exactly the most interesting or exciting start to our trip.

Giant tortoise

But then we visited a reserve with a bunch of tortoises, which was cool. There were a lot of giant tortoises just hanging around, laying in the pond or walking around. Getting so close to them, I realized what funny creatures they are.

They really are like dinosaurs, so prehistoric looking—their big, thick, wrinkly legs and dino-like feet, and the funny way they move—and they make this funny raspy-breathing/hiss kind of noise when they want you to go away, that’s very Jurassic Park-esque.

We finished the excursion off by visiting some underground lava caves. Mostly they just seemed like any other cave, but there were some cool parts. Then we sat at a bar/restaurant for a while, where no one really wanted to get anything, probably because we’d all just dropped so much cash on this trip. It was a bit of an uninspiring first day, but we were in the Galapagos, we knew better things were to come.

Even that night after dinner things picked up. Nature gave us a show right from the safety of our boat’s sundeck. Under the boat’s lights we could see tons of flying fish, sea lions, sharks (huge ones!), and pelicans, hunting or playing, flying/zipping around. It was a really incredible thing to watch.

DAY 2

Wildlife everywhere!

After breakfast we went for a dry landing on Genovesa/Tower Island, where we the only boat (it is a much less-visited island). Immediately on the beach we saw tons of sea lions sleeping and relaxing. But overall Genovesa is definitely a bird island. Once we got walking into the island, we saw tons and tons of birds. Red-footed boobies, Nazca/masked boobies, great frigate birds, nocturnal herons, the list goes on and on. Though since I was a kid I always kind of had this weird thing for blue-footed boobies, which we didn’t see on Genovesa (I had these National Geographic pamphlets for different endangered animals, and for some reason I only remember the blue-footed booby one and that I was obsessed with it), I normally don’t really care that much about birds. But these were cool birds. Big ones that acted and looked interesting.

Red-footed boobies

The red-footed boobies made this crazy loud noise. They almost sounded like elephants or something. Some of them were white, some were gray, but they were all beautiful, with bright red feet and lovely pink and blue multicolored beaks.

The Nazca boobies were just black and white, but they made this funny whistling noise, that sounded almost like someone blowing into a cheap plastic whistle or trying to whistle with their fingers. (In fact, I often thought someone was trying to imitate the boobies, but I’d look around and realize that no, it was in fact the boobies themselves.)

Nazca boobies

There were also tons of baby chicks everywhere, all looking and sounding cute and funny. And of course there were also lots of nesting birds, from parents sitting on eggs to newly formed couples flying in with branches and building their nest together – all right in front of our eyes!

The scenery itself was also great – beautiful cliffs and water (especially when the sun came out). Then we went snorkeling right off the beach, which wasn’t bad. There were some interesting fish, and I also saw two small rays, buried in the sand.

Snorkeling from the beach with sea lions nearby

We returned to the boat for lunch (spotting sea turtles in the sea right out the dining room windows!) then went for some more snorkeling. We took the zodiac boats out to a deeper area, where we saw a lot more fish, and I also saw a gigantic ray (like the kind you see at the aquarium and think “Whoaaa!”). I didn’t realize at the time how special it was, but throughout the rest of the trip everyone was always talking about how they wanted to see a big manta ray, and I had already seen it on the very first day of snorkeling!

Baby bird

After that we went to another part of the island and climbed some steps (guarded by a sea lion!) to an area with a ton more birds. Colonies, it seemed, of great frigate birds, Nazca boobies, and red-footed boobies. When we were finished and sitting and waiting for the zodiacs to retrieve us, there was a local fishing boat nearby and we watched as tons of birds circled around, waiting for the fishermen to throw out some guts or fish.

DAY 3

Docking by Santiago Island, there were a few more boats around. First we visited Sullivan Bay, where we walked on a ton of black lava flows, which was pretty awesome. There were a ton of different kind of formations/flows, so it was cool to see all the different patterns. We saw a lot of crabs and some herons, and even a couple penguins swimming around in the bay!

Crab by the beach

Then we went snorkeling. We saw a shark! Like a proper, Jaws-theme-inducing kind of shark. It was really cool, but then it turned and started heading back in our direction, and I got a bit freaked out and hurried away. I had finally taken my camera with me for this snorkel (I had been a bit paranoid about trying out my supposedly watertight camera bag-thing I’d bought in Quito, but decided that I bought it so I needed to try it) but it must have turned off without my realizing it and when I thought I’d been taking pictures of the shark, I ended up with none. I did see lots of fish and starfish, though.

Sea lion swimming by!

After lunch we went snorkeling again, seeing a lot more fish and starfish. I also had a sea lion swim by me, which I did manage to snap a quick picture of!

Then we walked up to the mirador at the top of Bartolome, looking out over the infamous Pinnacle Rock and some overall great views of the surrounding area.

Pinnacle Rock at sunset

On the way up we could see tons (and I mean TONS) of manta rays in the distance in the ocean, jumping up out of the water, flipping all around, apparently trying to get parasites off their backs. It was a really incredible sight! Then coming back through the bay we saw more penguins and sea lions.

By day three I was definitely starting to feel like, “This is the life.” Our typical day was just like this one: breakfast at 7, excursion to an island a small walk at 8, then some snorkeling off the beach, back to the boat to relax (nap, reading, tanning, whatever), lunch at noon, more relaxing, off for some snorkeling at 2, sometimes back to the boat for a little bit, then another excursion/walk, then back to relax, dinner at 7, then more relaxing, maybe watching the animals in the lights around the boat, then bedtime. What a life!

DAY 4

Cuddly sea lions

This was definitely one of the best days of the trip. We first went for a walk on the small island Chinese Hat. We saw so many sea lions, and tons of baby pups. They were so unbelievably cute! They reminded me a bit of my own pups at home (mostly Morgan). They were playing all around us, and we were sitting so close to them we could have easily touched them.

Cute sea lion pup

One was hiding under a bush, but kept making noises and coming out toward us, then waddling back under the bush. One girl had an SLR with a big lens on it and he came right up and stuck his nose in it, checking it out! The others were playing around with each other, and one was running in out of the water after his mom, trying to keep up with her. It was so adorable. And they make these funny sounds, that sound almost like they’re trying to throw up, while the adults make this sound that sounds almost like burping. It’s really funny, all the crazy noises sea lions make!

We also saw tons and tons of marine iguanas everywhere. Our guide, Victor, told us that if we were lucky we might get to see some of the marine iguanas feeding under water when we went snorkeling later. Supposedly it’s a kind of rare thing to get to see, but it was a possibility.

Well, we definitely got to see it!I’d say we saw at least five marine iguanas feeding underwater when we went snorkeling at Chinese Hat later. There were tons!

Iguana feeding underwater

I got some decent pictures of it as well, although unfortunately while trying to fuss with my camera in the stupid underwater bag I have, I a) accidentally zoomed a ton for a while and so got some totally useless pictures and b) accidentally changed the picture size to small, which is like 640xwhatever and I didn’t realize this until the end of the next day, so a ton of my beloved photos are only that small and can’t be enlarged and look nice at all – very, very sad indeed!

While snorkeling we also some some rays, some nice fish, and another shark! Again it was a big one, and unfortunately I did take a pic of it, but when I was looking through my pictures on my camera later I accidentally deleted it – grr!

Later we walked on Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz. There we saw more marine iguanas, as well as some land iguanas (which are huge and yellow), but they were harder to see because they were all hiding in the shade under bushes to keep cool (the sun was blazing and it was ridiculously hot…this is the equator after all!)

Then we were back at the boat for dinner. Our guide has been filming parts of our trip, so he showed us the first half of the DVD he’d made after dinner (which we could, of course, buy for $30 – like I haven’t spent enough on this trip!). But it was waaayyy too long, especially considering it was only half of our trip so far, and I was falling asleep by the first half of it (cheesy music and too much repetitive, pointless footage!) We were also joined earlier in the afternoon by a Finnish couple, who were supposed to be on the cruise for the next four days. (The Scandinavians had officially taken over!)

DAY 5

This was where things started to go bad. We were told the boat would be navigating from one until six in the morning to get to the southeastern port of Puerto Villamil on Isabela. At around four in the morning I woke up and realized we weren’t moving. I though it was weird, but fell back asleep. The next morning my roommate and I discussed it, as she’d heard loud noises on the boat, possibly by the engine she though.

At breakfast we were all talking about it, “Didn’t it seem like the ride was a lot shorter last night than it should have been?” And rumors were flying. After breakfast they told us the news: some water had gotten in the main engine, and they weren’t sure how long it would take to fix. (It later turned out to be that basically a huge part of the engine was broken.)

So we had to pack everything we’d need for the day and take a speed boat for about two hours to get to Isabela. There they made us pay a $5 tax (which was supposed to be included in our trip cost) and we hopped on a bus. We stopped at a lagoon where there were three flamingos. While it was interesting to see them feeding up close, they kind of trawl their beaks through the water making this funny noise, it got old pretty quickly and we stayed there for what seemed like forever just watching them eat. Maybe it was because I saw so many flamingos back in in Bolivia, but I just didn’t really care that much.

Then we went to a giant tortoise breeding center. It was pretty interesting. The giant tortoises were in different areas according to age and sub-species. First we watched a bunch of younger ones (I think around 5-7 year-olds) crawl all over each other in a rush to eat when they dropped food in their enclosure. It was funny.

It was amazing to see how they grow over the years. We were able to see little baby ones, which are so small it’s incredible to think that they grow so big. But then you see how they’re still so small until their teens, and even how they’re still not so big in their 20s and 30s. They don’t even start mating until they’re 35-40 years old! Then the really huge ones are those that are 70-80 and older. They can live up to around 150 years!

We also got to see the little-known subspecies that only appears at one volcano on Isabela, the flat-shelled tortoise. It literally looks like someone stepped on the shell and pushed it in. Each volcano on Isabela has a different subspecies, so it was interesting to see them all in one place and how they differ.

Then we walked down to the beach, which was practically deserted and quite pretty. (This part of Isabela is the only part that is inhabited.) We saw some huge marine iguanas hanging out all over the beach.

Then we went into town, where we were to have lunch. It was a really tiny town, with maybe four restaurants, a store or two, a travel agency, and that’s about it. The first thing we all did in the short free time we had before lunch was go to the store and buy sodas! I thought that was funny. After days on the boat without any soda (you can buy it but it’s really expensive), it was amazing how much I was craving a Pepsi or Coke! And apparently everyone else felt exactly the same. Although I, being the clever and thrifty person that I am, didn’t have to pay any kind of outrageous price for mine. The secret is to buy Pepsi here, the caps always have something on them, and every time I’ve gotten one it has been a free drink (except this time where I got 10 puntos – for what, I don’t know!) and so I’ve never had to pay for a Pepsi since!

After lunch we took the boat out to another place where we walked along Tinterones Trail. Basically it’s a rocky trail along this little channel of water where sharks all hang out. There were just tons of these white-tipped reef sharks swimming around or laying at the bottom hanging out. I liked the sign nearby, which said basically, “No swimming, this is a rest place for sharks.” Haha!

Also the trail was totally overtaken by iguanas. It was always one big, somewhat colorful (green, sometimes with some pinkish-red) one, I guess the male, and a ton of smaller black ones. And they were all always spitting!
Then we went and watched tons (and I mean TONS!) of blue-footed boobies flying together, then dive-bombing (sometimes all at once) into the water to catch fish. I knew there was a reason I liked them so much, they totally lived up to their awesomeness! It was really an amazing sight to see. And before someone told me that they were blue-footed boobies, I couldn’t have believed it. So many birds flying like that, I though they’d be some boring little ugly bird. Not the totally-cool-already boobies! I got some cool video of it which I will have to link to when I am able to upload it. Seriously, you couldn’t believe how many of them there were, all together in this giant swarm. Nor the way they dive, straight beak-first fast as you can imagine, into the water. You’d think they’d all be running into each other, but they don’t!

There were also a bunch of penguins swimming around, though to my dismay they swam right up to the other boat with half our group on it, but not to ours! Boo!

We also did some snorkeling in the afternoon, but it was terrible. The water was murky and algae and crap floating, terrible visibility. There was all this really high sea grass everywhere, that no matter where I swam I couldn’t seem to avoid. I started to feel claustrophobic and panicky and had to get out of the water, but it’s not like I missed much with such terrible visibility.

Then it was back on the speedboat for a long, cold ride back to our boat – sitting in the water near Baltra, the airport we’d flown into the first day! Lame, lame, lame.

After dinner (which, annoyingly, was fish and chips just like we’d just had for lunch), we were informed that the engine was not fixed and that the next day’s trip, the highlight of the cruise and what most of us were there for, was going to be changed. The alternate itinerary? North Seymour Island.

There were varying degrees of anger/disappointment/etc. I think what made me even more annoyed was how maybe half the passengers didn’t care much because in reality they didn’t know anything about the Galapagos and didn’t know the difference. Plus North Seymour is a blah island you could easily do as a daytrip on your own (if you for some reason wanted to). In fact, the Finnish couple, who’d joined this cruise solely to go to Fernandina and Isabela, had already been there and said it was pretty boring. They ended up leaving the boat the next day and getting a 50% refund.

I was also mad because I was basically sold this cruise because of this part of the itinerary as well, and the fact that they were replacing it with some crap daytrip made it even more frustrating. They also told us basically the only thing we could do about it would be to go back to the agency we’d bought the trip from (back in Quito for me) and see if they would offer any kind of compensation. This angered me even more, because even if I did get money back, I would be back in Quito so it’s not like I could use the money to do some more sightseeing or daytrips in the Galapagos.

Even now, with the trip over and still being absolutely amazing and seeing just about everything I could have wanted to see (wildlife-wise), I’m still somewhat upset and a bit bitter about this. It is people’s once-in-a-lifetime trip that we’re dealing with. And all they would talk about is what this was costing the company for repairs, etc., and so little concern with what it meant to us. But I digress.

DAY 6

The Replacement Day. It only merited less than a page in my journal and well less than half the amount of photos of every other day. Definitely no spotting orca, dolphins, and whales or seeing hundreds of penguins, swimming with them as they darted around us in the water, or getting to see newly evolving species – all things we might have seen if we’d had the original itinerary.

Instead we visited North Seymour Island. There was basically only one cool thing we saw there: the magnificent frigatebird. This was cool because the males have this red pouch they puff out when they’re trying to attract a mate. We got to see a few of them with the red out, including one which had his thing chest puffed, was waving around his wings really showing off. And one female finally did fly toward him, but he rejected her and she flew off!

We also got to get a better view of some land iguanas, and got to see some nesting blue-footed boobies and some frigate birds nesting, where we could actually see the tiny ugly chicks in the nest underneath the parents.

Then we went snorkeling. This was probably the most redeeming part of the day because we had some sea lions come swim around us, which was pretty awesome. One of them was quite a little poser, making all kinds of funny poses and flinging his body in all kind of contortions in the water. They were very friendly and playful, happy to swim with us.

We took the speedboat back to the Floreana for lunch, then got back on the speedboat and went out to Las Bachas beach on Santa Cruz. All we did really was walking along the beach. It was a nice white sand beach, and the sand was really soft in a couple parts, but it wasn’t incredibly interesting. I did have one of those “Yes, I’m in the Galapagos” moments (usually there’s at least one every day – the day before it had been floating past an abandoned boat with sea lions sleeping inside and a pelican chilling on the edge, with penguins swimming around below), while watching sea turtles swimming out in the water around us (waiting for night so they could come in and lay eggs), with blue-footed boobies just chilling on the rocks by the shore, and penguins swimming in the water as well. Just another day in the Galapagos. A less interesting one, at that!

Then we just hung out on the beach. Some people went snorkeling, but I was a bit cold and tired, and there was nothing to see really anyways. But again, the sand was nice and soft and powdery, and you can’t really complain about that.

DAY 7

This was another pretty good day, as I tried to put the previous day’s disappointment behind me. First we went to Puerto Egas on Santiago. (Really we barely left the central island area, which is what really pisses me off about taking an 8 day cruise and then ending up basically doing 7 days of easy day trips I could have done on my own for cheaper!) We did a dry landing onto a black sand beach where there were some sea lions.

Walking along the beach and into the island we saw pods of dolphins swimming out the water. We also saw a lot of seat turtles bobbing around. On the rocky shores we saw some fur sea lions (aka fur seals) hanging out sleeping. (They’re nocturnal and hunt at night.) Some of them were sleeping in these lower caves in the rocks – there were tons of these holes/caves that would fill up all the way with water as the waves came in, then completely drain really low. Back and forth, up and down, again and again. Some people in our group were totally mesmerized by this for some reason!

Then we went snorkeling! This was a real highlight. The whole trip I had been really bent on seeing a sea turtle. I have seen one once before – in the warm crystal clear waters of Pulau Perhentian in Malaysia, after years of wishing to see one, I finally was able to see one there on my last day before I left the island – but I was keen to see one again, and especially now that I had my camera with me!

Well, that dream came true times a thousand! There were TONS of sea turtles feeding out in the water off the beach. We were all super excited when we spotted the first two, feeding by a rock not far from the beach. But the more we snorkeled, the more we saw, the more it became, “Oh, just another sea turtle.” There were so many! I couldn’t even keep count.

Everywhere I turned there were more and more. It was a bit different than my Malaysia experience – the waters not as clear, the colors of the turtle and surroundings not as bright and tropical feeling – but it was still probably more awesome because of the huge numbers, and the fact that they were so close, sometimes I had to quickly swim away because they were directly under me and almost running into me as they made their way up to the surface for some air!

We also had a bit of a scary experience. I heard a loud splash not far from me and looked to see what it was. I saw a sea lion had come into the water. Excited, I started to swim toward it. Then I saw that it looked really, really big. Then I heard our guide yell to us all to get out of the area! It was a bull male, and they can get a bit aggressive. It’s a good idea not to try to swim near them!

After some lunch and relaxing, we went to Isla Rabida. There was a nice red beach, again littered with sea lions (made for some nice pictures!). There was right away a really loud young pup, making all kinds of noise. He kept waddling up to us and sniffing around curiously at our stuff. So cute!

We walked along the beach and saw tons more sea lions all the way along, including a pup Victor told us had probably only been born the day before! We saw a big pregnant sea lion as well.

Then we walked to a lagoon and then up to a nice viewpoint, then back down to do some more snorkeling. I didn’t take my camera this time, which was too bad because there were some really cool fish I hadn’t seen anywhere else before. There were also some sea lions swimming around us, and I spotted a marine iguana up on the land coming down toward the water, and I got to watch him jump in, swim around, and then begin feeding. It would have made for some really great pictures.

After dinner we had a kind of strange ceremony. They had certificates for us declaring that we’d crossed the Equator (a couple times) on our cruise. The weird part was that in order to receive our certificate, we had to say our favorite animal from the Galapagos, which would be our new name, and then we had to act like the animal in the middle of the dining cabin! I chose the blue-footed booby, so I had to fake dive and waddle in front of everyone. Other people were sharks, frigatebirds, sea lions, spotted eagle rays, iguanas, etc. Very random.

Then it was time to start thinking about things like tips and packing. None of us could believe that the week was already over. It really flew by!

DAY 8

The last day. Hard to believe! We had an earlier breakfast at 6:30, and then boarded the zodiacs. We went out to a place called Black Turtle Cove. It was lots of calm water in mangroves; it reminded me a lot of the flooded forest I visited in Cambodia.

Once we were into the main area we killed the engines and paddled around. There were tons and tons of sea turtles in the water everywhere, attracted by the calm water. Again, it was unbelievable how many there were, everywhere we turned. The cove was really peaceful and silent, with only the sounds of the insects and birds buzzing around us, along with the occasional quiet slap of water and sound of the turtles breathing as they came up for air.

After spending some time floating around the cove, we headed back out to the open water. Fitting in with our luck, the other zodiac’s engine had died and wouldn’t restart! I take this as a sign as it was someone on that boat that had brought the bad engine luck, so we narrowed down who to blame! Haha. So we had to tow that zodiac behind us until we got to the boat.

Back on the boat we had very little time left to do last minute packing and take a last glimpse around the boat. The week really felt so short, I felt like I’d barely even spent time on the boat (of course, the two days spent mostly on speedboats might have had something to do with it). I definitely could have spent a few more days living that dream-life of a cruise on the Galapagos!

Next thing we knew we were hopping onto another boat and arriving at the mainland, where a bus was waiting to take us to the airport. I had been deep in conversation with Evelina, the Swedish girl, as we were switching boats, and didn’t realize until we were getting off the ferry onto the mainland that I had forgotten my shoes in the crates on the boat, where we’d had to dump them after each excursion. I’d been so used to walking around barefoot, I hadn’t even noticed!

So I had to wait at the pier for them to bring my shoes, and unfortunately this meant I didn’t get to say goodbye to the Swedes, who I had most enjoyed spending time with on the cruise. I had been hoping to get a group photo of our whole crew, but sadly we arrived at the airport and scattered and it never got to happen. Oh well.

We had about three hours to wait around at the airport. Luckily it was all outside, so we could at least walk around and peruse the touristy souvenir stalls in the small area outside the waiting room. And of course there was still only one food place in the airport, with more options than in Quito but even more expensive. But we couldn’t resist getting some soda and chocolate!

After some delays we finally boarded the plane, and that’s where I sit now, writing this.

Once in Quito I will be go, go, go. In just a few hours I will have to visit an agency to book my a jungle tour starting the next day, buy my bus tickets for the night bus tonight, go to the agency where I bought my cruise and see if I can get anything back, and get online to send e-mails, get in touch with people, and let them know I’ll be gone again without any contact.

Then I’ve been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner thrown by the friend of a friend of my cabin-mate from the cruise, so I’ll be celebrating our holiday after all! (I hadn’t even realized it was today!)

Then tonight I will be off on an eight hour bus ride to Lago Agrio, then a boat ride into the jungle to a lodge in the Cuyabena reserve, where I will spend the next five days! Busy busy. But then I’m sure there will be another big update, then I’ll be down to the wire on the last days of my big trip, with a couple short trips to visit the cloudforest in Mindo and the Otavalo markets, then I’ll be ready to come home. Crazy!

UPDATE: I will get a bit of a refund when I get back to Quito on Wednesday, not sure how much yet. I didn’t have time to put up all the pics, so I will finish the blog and add the rest of the pics on the 2nd when I get back. Adios!

Parte 2

Lea la parte 1 aquí: cebollas dulces de Vidalia.

Estoy rememorando instantes en mi vida culinaria que, inesperadamente, contribuyeron a mi percepción actual de la gastronomía. Elijo hablar de 5 por ponerle un número redondo, fácil, porque los cuento con una sola mano. Los recuento sin seguir ningún orden particular, y sabiendo que muchos otros se quedaron en el tintero. De una manera u otra, todos estos momentos me empujaron en ese primer paso del camino de mi vida profesional como cocinero.

Guatita: Así es, estoy hablando del estómago del animal, de los callos. Pero en este caso, no solo me refiero al producto en general. La guatita, en el ecuador, es un plato típico. Como producto, al estómago le dicen mondongo. Como plato, la guatita es un hervido de mondongo acompañado de una salsa a base de maní. Seguramente antes ya comía chinchulines porque eran crocantes, ricos (en el sentido de que tienen bastante grasa) y sabían a carbón, como casi todo en una parrillada. Pero por esos tiempos estoy seguro que tenía bastantes aversiones alimenticias, pero la guatita me encantaba. Eran los mediados de los 80s, y el único centro comercial en Guayaquil (al menos el único que recuerdo) era el mítico Policentro. Ahí, y creo que aún sigue en el mismo lugar, estaba El Dólar, restaurante de comida simple e internacional. Famoso por sus hamburguesas, sus cebiches de camarón y los platos típicos especiales que variaban a diario. Los sábados eran días de guatita. Ahí aprendí a comer y gustar de este plato. No estoy seguro de haber entendido, en ese entonces, que era exactamente lo que estaba comiendo. Pero si tuve alguna aversión antes de las guatitas de El Dólar, seguramente, se disipó cuando probé ese sencillo y delicioso plato. Desde entonces, siempre pruebo cosas nuevas. ¿Y saben qué? La mayoría termina gustándome. Comer guatita, aún cuando caí en conciencia de que era ese plato, contribuyó positivamente al yo que eventualmente se convertiría en cocinero. Y es que si a alguien no entiendo, es al cocinero que no quiere probar cosas por apariencia o por tontos prejuicios. Ahora entiendo que el sacrificio de un animal para alimentarnos debe ser honrado con una bienvenida de cubiertos y boca abierta a todos sus cortes. Cualquier otra actitud es un desperdicio. Con la guatita aprendí varias lecciones: los platos típicos tienden a ser sabrosos, la guatita, y otros cortes menospreciados, son las armas verdaderas del cocinero para sorprender, y, tal vez lo más importante, aprendí a perderle el miedo a la comida. Ese es el primer paso. El segundo: aprender a jugar con ella.

Ten North Naples Middle School students were suspended after they participated in “kick a Jew day.” The students received a one day, in-school suspension. The parents of the 10 students were also called. Parents of the students who were kicked were also notified of what happened. The Collier County School District has a policy on bullying and harassment. The students were disciplined in accordance with the bullying and harassment policy, which can range from “positive behavioral interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion, as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct.” What do you think should happen to these students?

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Saturday morning…. The sun filters through the curtains and illuminates the hotel room with a golden light…  I look out the window and, what was dark last night, today is a surrealistic painting….. an intensely blue sky, contrasts with the various tones of green of Mt. Pichincha, the city’s guardian mountain, an imposing volcano rising to almost 18000 feet of elevation.  Picturesque homes of  bright colors climb and crawl up the mountain’s slopes… Across, a nicely kept verdant park starts getting busy with morning joggers, artisans setting up their street stalls and early bird by passers.

We are in Quito, the historic capital of Ecuador, 8900 feet above sea level and a few minutes away from the exact “middle of the world”, the planet’s Latitude Zero, zero, zero, the earth’s waist….. Breakfast is a superb treat highlighted by the delicious taste and striking colors of no less than a half dozen local fruit juices… Temperature is pleasant, considering the equatorial position, however, the elevation sets a year ‘round temperate climate with no extremes… it is like a permanent spring.

We have signed up for an introductory tour, featuring the best lookout points or city observatories (locally called “Miradores”), a great way to admire the capricious and truly spectacular geographic layout of Quito, nestled on a winding narrow valley, “crushed” between mountains and dotted with hills everywhere you look.  We make a first stop at the monumental National Basilica Church, the city (and Ecuador’s) largest cathedral… a gigantic structure of gray colored granite rock, sitting atop one of the lower city hills.  The 18th century church, under construction for more than two hundred years, is a magnificent piece of the Neo-gothic architecture, complete with high towers; terraces; columns; large and fully painted round or triangular windows, a true masterpiece of art.  Luis, the enthusiastic guide, makes us notice the gargoyles…. These represent, to our amazement, Galápagos animals: turtles, iguanas and even open winged boobies. On the northern wing, instead, the gargoyles are rock-sculpted Amazon rainforest animals: tree sloth, jaguar, monkeys and caimans…. Intriguing and awesome just to start…..

Then we drive up the very steep Carchi street and we actually seem to be climbing to the sky, it does look closer by the minute… Freddy, the driver skillfully maneuvers our van in perfect safety up the very narrow cobble-stoned street, while Luis gets more excited as we start seeing the summits of several gigantic snow-covered volcanoes…  We arrive at the first Mirador, almost at the top of San Juan Hill, a picturesque neighborhood of small colorful houses with great views of the city, former sight of an ancient temple to the Moon. We disembark and take a short walk to a specially arranged balcony to observe one of the most fantastic city scenarios I have ever seen…

Down, below us is Quito’s Historic Center, the first UNESCO declared World Heritage Cultural Site, with its chessboard design, dotted with dozens and dozens of church towers and domes… To the west and slightly behind us is Pichincha, the city’s volcano and we can neatly see the “Summit of Liberty” where Ecuador’s last Independence battle was fought, in 1822…

As a dramatic backdrop to the Colonial or Historic Center is El Panecillo Hill with its colossal statue of the Winged Virgin of Quito, presiding over the whole picture, as if protecting the splendorous city from above…. That will be our next stop.  Far to the southeast, miles of city stretch, the southern districts, disappearing in the sun filled horizon beyond Pichincha and into the foothills of the next volcano, Mt. Atacazo.  To the east, right across from us, is Itchimbía Hill, another former adoration temple to the Moon, now dominated by the imposing Crystal Palace… Soon we will be there too, for another breathtaking view… And the perfect frame for the picture comes from the far southeastern corner: the magnificent Mt.Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano, towering above 20000 feet of elevation with its spectacularly perfect cone of glaciers and perpetual snows, shinning against an amazingly blue sky…..

No wonder the City’s Tourism Authority uses the slogan, “Quito…Touch the Sky….”
And I cannot resist the feeling of being closer than ever to the sky….This story continues soon……

26 de noviembre de 2009

Rayuela Social en fase de levantamiento de información sobre mendicidad en Manabí

Prevenir y erradicar progresivamente la mendicidad  es el objeto del programa Rayuela Social que tiene en vigencia el Gobierno Nacional a través del Mies.

Desde el pasado mes de octubre, las autoridades del Mies-Infa en  Manabí, una vez que elaboraron la propuesta y fue aprobada, han venido desarrollando varias reuniones de coordinación de trabajo con la Gobernación de Manabí, las diferentes Direcciones Provinciales de los Ministerios, Gobiernos municipales, Gobierno Provincial y organizaciones  sociales  para la ejecución de varias acciones durante los meses de noviembre y diciembre.

Desde inicios de este mes, 16  Facilitadores representantes comunitarios-FRC- contratados por el Infa  trabajan en el levantamiento de información sobre los casos de mendicidad en los cantones intervenidos: Manta, Bahía, Chone, Pedernales,  San Vicente, Tosagua, Flavio Alfaro,El Carmen, Portoviejo, Santa Ana, Bolívar. Este personal fue previamente capacitado en componentes de la Rayuela Social, técnicas de abordaje, aplicación de fichas de recolección de información, para la realización de este tipo de trabajo técnico-social. En esta semana, se incorporaron 15 promotores de la Secretaría de los Pueblos quienes también fueron capacitados en el Infa-Manabí para intervenir en este trabajo.

El trabajo que ellos realizan es de abordaje a los casos de mendicidad para conocer la realidad que gira  alrededor de cada caso , información que es llenada en fichas técnicas y que servirá de base para la elaboración de una segunda propuesta e iniciar la siguiente fase con intervenciones concretas.

“Con este trabajo tendremos una estadística real de la mendicidad en nuestra provincia, que es la base para la elaboración de la propuesta para el próximo año”, señaló Santiago Montenegro, Director provincial del Mies en Manabí.

Para la implementación de este tipo de trabajo, el Mies-Infa, en cada cantón intervenido conformó un comité interinstitucional, integrados por Gobiernos Municipales, Patronatos, actores sociales, iglesia, Policía Nacional, entre otros, para coordinar acciones sobre la ejecución de eventos masivos de sensibilización y  la ejecución de colonias navideñas a mediados de diciembre, entre otras actividades.

Eventos de sensibilización

Los eventos de sensibilización  hacia la población, que contempla el programa Rayuela Social en Manabí, se ejecutarán el 12 de diciembre en Manta, Chone, Flavio Alfaro, El Carmen y Tosagua, el 19 de diciembre en Portoviejo y Pedernales, el 13 de diciembre en Bahía y  en San Vicente el 20 de diciembre.

Ligia Frecia Delgado Vera

[ligiafdv@hotmail.com]

No. 041.R4.09

Ciudad Alfaro, 25 de noviembre de 2009

Planificación territorial con lineamientos específicos

Los asistentes al taller de planificación territorial, organizado por la Zona 4 de Senplades, acordaron que hasta el 15 de enero del 2010 entregarán los resultados de la evaluación de los planes existentes en cada circunscripción territorial.

Los directores de planificación, obras públicas y de las secretarías de planificación, así como otras autoridades involucradas en la planificación territorial, de municipios y consejos provinciales de Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas y Manabí, llegaron a dicho acuerdo luego de recibir información sobre ordenamiento territorial.

El taller se cumplió el pasado martes 25 de noviembre de 2009, en Ciudad Alfaro – Montecristi, en que técnicos de Senplades y la Cooperación Belga ofrecieron direccionamiento sobre las especificaciones técnicas mínima para los planes.

En este sentido los asistentes al evento, además, realizaron aportes a los contenidos que deben contemplar los Planes de Desarrollo y Ordenamiento Territorial, PDOT, en los distintos niveles de Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados, GAD’s; es decir, los consejos provinciales, municipios y juntas parroquiales.

Luego de las diferentes conferencias, los técnicos de los GAD’s expusieron sus opiniones, establecieron los requerimientos y plantearon dudas especialmente sobre aspectos de recursos financieros y no financieros para elaborar los respectivos PDOT.

Entre los expositores estuvieron Santiago Velasco y César Valencia, técnicos de Planificación Territorial y Políticas Públicas de Senplades, Verónica Estrella, técnica en ordenamiento territorial de la  cooperación belga VVOB, y Ramiro Granja del Banco del Estado.

Mientras que los técnicos de la Zona 4 de Senplades, Carmita Alvarez y Brigida Rodríguez expusieron sobre la importancia de la participación ciudadana para la validación de los PDOT y el Sistema Nacional de Información como herramienta para obtención de datos.

Otro de los aspectos que los asistentes consideraron fundamentales para la planificación territorial es el relacionado con la cartografía actualizada y posprocedimientos para acceder a esta información.

Otro de los resultados del taller, es el de los datos sobre la oferta y demanda de los temas de capacitación, de tal manera que los técnicos de los GAD’s puedan ampliar sus conocimientos en el desarrollo y elaboración de los planes de desarrollo.

Cada uno de los asistentes, además, recibió información impresa y en digital sobre los temas tratados, y los técnicos de Senplades indicaron que en la WEB de la institución es posible acceder a datos complementarios.

Responsable:

Raúl Zabala M.

COMUNICACIÓN Z-4 SENPLADES

www.senplades.gov.ec

rzabala@senplades.gov.ec

Teléfono: 05-2311201

Peruvian President Alan Garcia and Chinese President Hu Jintao at a Meeting Earlier this Year

China is extending its reach into South America.

First, China and Ecuador will be working together in a joint oil venture.

Ecuador, China to create oil joint venture

China will also be giving Ecuador a 1.4 million US dollar donation, two lines of credit, and will sell four Chinese military planes. There will also be a conference in Bogota, attended by 300 Chinese business people, with the objective of increasing Chinese investment in South America.

Ecuador buys Chinese warplanes

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Recién ahora caigo en cuenta que ayer se realizó otra marcha en contra del Gobierno, pero esta vez convocada por el ex periodista ahora político Carlos Vera. Tengo entendido que fue concurrida pero no superó ni igualo a manifestaciones anteriores, y no es porque el sentimiento opositor al régimen haya decaido. Creo saber las razones:

1) Esto de las marchas ya se está poniendo viejo, la gente ya se está dando cuenta que esto de salir solo con un cartelito y escuchar discursos no logra nada a largo plazo
2) La convocan el mismo día que juega la Liga. Mala idea mezclar política con el fútbol, señores.
3) A mi me agrada Carlos Vera como periodista, pero como político? Francamente no tengo ni la más remota idea de cuales son sus posiciones políticas más allá de “me opongo al socialismo”. Que sea popular ahorita no lo hace necesariamente elegible en las urnas

Por cierto, como funciona esto de “volverse político”? Requiere afiliación partidista o simplemente anunciarlo?

Click on the map for a larger version (1280 x 898 pixels).

The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 18-24 November 2009 is available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.

• The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
• Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
• The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.

New activity/unrest: Galeras (Colombia), Sarychev Peak (Russia).

Ongoing activity: Batu Tara (Indonesia), Chaitén (Chile), Karymsky (Russia), Kilauea (Hawaii, USA), Kliuchevskoi (Russia), Pacaya (Guatemala), Popocatépetl (Mexico), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Reventador (Ecuador), Sakura-jima (Japan), Santa María (Guatemala), Shiveluch (Russia), Soufrière Hills (Montserrat), Suwanose-jima (Japan).

Note: a.s.l. = ‘above sea level’.

NEW ACTIVITY/UNREST

Galeras (Colombia). An explosive eruption occurred on 20 November. Local inhabitants reported five explosions, sound waves and crater incandescence. The resulting ash plume was reported by Washington VAAC to have possibly risen to 14.3 km a.s.l. The plume drifted N, and ashfall was reported 10 km N, NNW and E. Seismicity increased after the eruption and then gradually decreased, and the alert level was lowered on 21 November from Red to Orange (‘eruption probable within days or weeks’).

Sarychev Peak (Russia). On 21 November a thermal anomaly was detected by satellite.

ONGOING ACTIVITY

Batu Tara (Indonesia). Darwin VAAC reported an ash plume to 2.4 km a.s.l. which drifted 90 km NW on 24 November.

Chaitén (Chile). Buenos Aires VAAC reported a gas plume from the lava-dome complex on 23 November which rose to 2.4 km a.s.l. and drifted SSE.

Karymsky (Russia). Seismic activity was above background levels on 12, 14 and 16 November, with no data available for other days during 13-20 November because of technical reasons. Elevated seismicity possibly indicated ash plumes rising to 3 km a.s.l. Analyses of satellite imagery revealed a daily thermal anomaly and ash plumes that drifted 130 km E during 12-14 and 17 November. Tokyo VAAC reported that on 23 November an eruption produced a plume that rose to 4 km a.s.l. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Kilauea (Hawaii, USA). During 18-24 November lava flowed SE through a lava tube system from beneath the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout (TEB) and rootless shield complex to reach the ocean at multiple locations between Waikupanaha and an area 700 m further W. Thermal anomalies detected by satellite and visual observations revealed active surface lava flows at locations on and at the base of the pali, at the TEB vent, and on the coastal plain. Incandescence was seen on the Pu’u ‘O’o crater floor. The Halema’uma’u crater vent continued to produce a white or off-white plume that drifted mainly SW and dropped small amounts of ash downwind. Incandescence originated from a circulating and spattering lava pond that occasionally rose above and drained back below holes in the vent cavity floor. On 21 November, a sliver of the rim collapsed and was followed by an explosion that produced a dense brown plume that dissipated after a few minutes. The sulphur dioxide emission rate at the summit remained elevated: 700-1,100 tonnes/day was measured during 18-20 and 23 November (2003-2007 average rate = 140 tonnes/day).

Kliuchevskoi (Russia). During 13-20 November seismic activity was above background levels. Strombolian activity ejected tephra 200 m above the crater during 13-15 November. On 14 November, a new lava flow traveled 500 m down the ESE flank. Satellite imagery revealed a large daily thermal anomaly at the volcano. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Pacaya (Guatemala). White and blue plumes from MacKenney cone rose up to 400 m and drifted SSW on 20 and 24 November. Multiple lava flows on the S and SW flanks traveled 100-250 m SE and SW. Incandescence was observed at night.

Popocatépetl (Mexico). During 18-20 November steam-and-gas plumes were emitted that sometimes contained ash. On 21 November a small explosion was detected by the seismic network, accompanied by an ash plume that rose to 8.9 km a.s.l. and drifted E, causing ashfall in Atlixco (23 km SE), Huejotzingo (27 km NE), and areas in the state of Tlaxcala.

Rabaul (Papua New Guinea). Darwin VAAC reported that ash plumes from Tavurvur cone rose to 2.1 km a.s.l. and drifted 35-90 km NW on 19 November.

Reventador (Ecuador). Based on a pilot observation, Washington VAAC reported that on 20 November an ash plume from Reventador rose to 6.1 km a.s.l. A thermal anomaly was detected on satellite imagery.

Sakura-jima (Japan). Tokyo VAAC reported that explosions on 18 and 23 November produced plumes that rose to 2.1-2.7 km a.s.l. and drifted S and E.

Santa María (Guatemala). On 20 November two explosions from the Santiaguito lava dome complex produced an ash plume that drifted SW. Avalanches descended the SW flank of the dome. An explosion on 24 November produced an ash plume the rose to 3.3 km a.s.l. and drifted SE. Ashfall was reported in areas downwind.

Shiveluch (Russia). During 13-20 November seismic activity was above background levels, indicating ash plumes possibly rising to 5.3 km a.s.l. Video cameras observed fumarolic activity and hot avalanches on 14 and 15 November. A large daily thermal anomaly on the lava dome was detected by satellite. Tokyo VAAC reported that on 18 November an eruption produced a plume that rose to 5.5 km a.s.l. The Level of Concern Color Code remained at Orange.

Soufrière Hills (Montserrat). During 13-20 November activity from the lava dome consisted of ash venting along with semi-continuous rockfalls and pyroclastic flows that were concentrated on the W flank. Ashfall occurred across many areas of the island. Views of the lava dome on 16 November showed that the dome height had decreased because of collapses and that a deep channel had developed NE of Chances Peak. Pyroclastic flows in the Gages Valley (W) continued down Spring Ghaut and Aymer’s Ghaut, and spread onto the alluvial fan below St. Georges Hill. On 19 November, heavy ashfall occurred to the NW between Old Towne and Brades. The Hazard Level remained at 3.

Suwanose-jima (Japan). Tokyo VAAC reported an explosion from Suwanose-jima on 18 November. Details of possible resulting emissions were not reported.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DISCLAIMER

The foregoing is a summary of the Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report covering 18-24 November 2009. It is provided for information only, and is based on but not a substitute for the full report, which comes with its own criteria and disclaimers. The map base is derived from the Smithsonian Institution/USGS/US Naval Research Laboratory This Dynamic Planet website.

For all our coverage of the SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports: Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports « The Volcanism Blog.

El alcalde de Breña José Gordillo y Jorge Bartra Producciones, organizan gran jornada boxística, la misma que ha sido programada para el día sábado 28 del presente mes, en el Coliseo del Colegio La Salle, el mismo que queda a la altura de la cuadra 6 de la Av. Arica del mismo distrito.

El programa en ciernes ha quedado estructurado de la siguiente manera:

1ra Pelea: Categoría “Mediano” AMB (9 Rounds)
(Perú) David “Pantera” Zegarra Vs. Idiusan “Chivata” Matos (Brasil)

2da Pelea: Título Latinoamericano CMB – Categoría “Súper Pluma” (11 Rounds)
(Perú) Tony Fernández quién se enfrentará a Galo Ayala del Ecuador.

3ra Pelea: Título Latinoamericano AMB – Categoría “Mosca” (11 Rounds)
(Perú) Alberto Rossel Vs. Reginaldo Carvalho (Brasil)

Cabe señalar que de ganar el peruano Alberto Rossel, éste estaría entrando, automáticamente, a ocupar el 5to ó 6to lugar del Ranking Mundial de la Asociación Mundial de Boxeo (AMB), lo cual lo llevaría a pelear consecutivamente con el actual campeón de dicha categoría el argentino Omar Narváez.

fuente: http://www.munibrena.gob.pe/municipalidad.html

Estamos a dos días del realizar el BarCampLoxa09 al que reunirá a muchas persona con vocación por las redes sociales, no como moda sino como mecanismos para acceder al conocimiento y su posterior efecto en la calidad de vida.  La sede de la UTPL alojará expertos en “desconferencias” para compartir innovaciones, socializar proyectos y conocer “humanizar” a las personas que están detrás de los blogs, páginas Web y cuentas en la red.

En la Wiki de BarCampLoxa09 se indica que “la gente de los BarCamp’s sacó las charlas formales fuera del evento y metió la fiesta y el conocimiento colaborativo dentro de esas cuatro paredes, es decir una suerte de des-conferencia en medio de un “caos organizado”.

Desde el equipo de VIA Comunicaciones de la UTPL estamos apoyando en actividades operativas pero también hemos invitado a Manuel Gago y Albertina Navas para que se unan esté magnifico evento. Seguro nos dejarán muchas lecciones y experiencias de vida.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new global version of Amazon’s Kindle for Christmas, be aware that there are still quite a few places that the global version will NOT work.  I was disappointed to find that the new version still will not work in my country.

Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.   I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in (below).

It’s also interesting to note the PATTERN of groups of countries where the Kindle doesn’t work–some countries probably lack satellite coverage or delivery systems, while others probably don’t WANT readers to be able to download whatever they want by satellite.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka,  Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S.,  Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009) the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan,  Yemen.

En los siguientes links pueden encontrar información sobre las actividades desarrolladas en el Ecuaodr

Noticias: http://www.utpl.edu.ec/noticias/

Fotos

Wang Zifei, a student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, attended Obama’s town hall at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Zifei sat in a spot that resulted in her appearing in a number of photos from the event. She has become an Internet sensation, with people referring her to as the ‘beauty in black beside Obama.’

This “Obama girl in black” or the “woman in black behind Obama” also captured attention by wearing a bright red coat to the event, and she became the subject of a popular animation which shows the coat being taken off, which you can watch here.

The same overnight fame happened to Mayara Tavares when Obama  and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy did some site-seeing at the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy. Obama, Looking at woman in Italy

Click On Links:
Mayara Tavares
Obama, Looking at woman in Italy
Obama Visits Great Wall In China
Obama Bowing To Japan’s Emperor Akihito
Obama Wants More Internet Freedom In China
The World’s Most Powerful People
Burning Man Obama
Obamamania Hits Japan
Obama Image in Tomb
Michelle Obama Chimp Image On Google
Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni dans les Simpson !