Out of the Jurisdiction: North Seymour Island

Blue-footed booby with an egg between its feet.

Male land iguana.

A bunch of frigate birds, most of them juveniles.

Two male frigate birds, with one puffing up to entice females.

Marine iguana.

I am still away, for another couple of days.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Arriving in the Galapagos

 The Galapagos airport is on the small, barren island of Baltra, where the U.S. stationed forces in World War II to protect the Panama Canal against a potential Japanese attack.

From Baltra, we took a ferry ride to the much bigger island of Santa Cruz.

97 percent of the land mass of the Galapagos is in the Galapagos National Park.  Every group 

visiting the Galapagos must be accompanied by park service guides.  Ours are Jaime and Sofia.

On the way to the hotel, we stopped to see a huge sinkhole.

The Galapagos mockingbird sitting on this prickly pear cactus is endemic to the Galapagos,

meaning that it arrived here through natural means and now exists only in the Galapagos.

This male lava lizard is also endemic to the Galapagos.

As is this lava gull.

At the end of the first day in the Galapagos, El Garrapatero's warm water was refreshing.

A flamingo was in the brackish water a short distance from El Garrapatero.

Out of the Jurisdiction: A Day in Quito

On to Ecuador and Quito, a city of 2.5 million, in an active earthquake and volcano zone.

From a high park, we get a view of the Andes, the city (including the basilica straight ahead)
and the hummingbirds that have been painted by local artists.

In a small park below the basilica, there is a statue of a President of Ecuador.

The gargoyles on the basilica feature Andean animals.

Despite some serious earthquakes, the city of Quito has the best preserved, least altered historical center in Latin America, earning it UNESCO World Heritage recognition.

The condor is a symbol used often in the Andes.

A class of Ecuadorean school girls was visiting the President's palace while we were there.

Can I admit that I like this photo?

The monastery of San Francisco.  

The amount of baroque gold decoration in Quito churches dazzles the eye and the mind.

Quito has street art and graffiti everywhere.  This is just a small part of a long wall with painting by different street artists.

Ecuador and Quito are proud of their location on the equator.  A French scientific delegation arrived in Ecuador in the 18th century to do some measurements.  This is a park at the place determined to be the equator.  Unfortunately, modern GPS technology indicates that the line should be
several hundred feet further north.

Out of the Jurisdiction: A Day in Cuzco

Saqsaywaman is a huge Inca stone installation at 3700 meters (more than 12,000 feet) above the sea.

Saqsaywaman has overlooks to view the city of Cuzco, 400 meters (1300 feet) below.
Cuzco is a city of about 350,000 people, high in the Peruvian Andes.

Plaza de Armas viewed from Saqsaywaman.

La Compania in daytime.

Our host for a home visit.  We had guinea pig as an appetizer.  I ate it.  A lot like dark chicken meat.

And I bought another black box that I don't need from this woodcarver.  It is made from cedar.
$17.  Keep the change.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Cuzco at Night

Plaza de Armas is a big square that is the centerpiece of Cuzco.

La Compania or the Company of Jesus Christ is a Catholic church at one end of the plaza.
Baroque in style, it was reconstructed in 1660 after one of the biggest earthquakes to hit Cuzco.

The cathedral is on the side.  It has three main parts, with the basilica in the center.  Constructed for over a century from 1559 to 1669, it has about 300 paintings in European styles, often by Peruvian artists.  It also has a wealth of ornate gold and silver decoration and a choir carved from cedar.

The plaza has been the heart of Cuzco since the time of the Incas.

A large fountain is near the center of the plaza.  An Inca king is at the top.

Apart from the church and cathedral, the plaza is ringed by two-story colonnaded buildings.

And welcome to Belmond Hotel Monasterio.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Machu Picchu, Day Two

The day's first light washes over the main plaza.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Machu Picchu, Day One

For all of our bucket lists:  Machu Picchu.

Remarkable that an indigenous people with poor tools and no apparent engineering knowledge

could and would create such an extensive and precision-made environment

600 to 1,000 years ago.

Beautiful.  Steep.  Vast.  Isolated.  Awe-inspiring.  Magical.

I am away again until mid-March.