Me llamo Lizardo Garcia.

Please note that I added a few more pictures to the last post, which I couldn’t put up due to third-world internet connections for much of the last few days. Yes, I understand the oxymoron there.

This is coming a little sooner than normal due to the fact I will be gone for the next 6 days to the GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. This is kind of a bittersweet trip for me, because I’ve known since long before I arrived here in Ecuador that the beginning of the trip to the Galapagos would, for all practical purposes, mark the end of my time abroad (the trip will go fast, and the one remaining week after that will go faster). We will spend six days among what is often referred to as one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, along with the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, and this. We arrive at the airport tomorrow at 6:00 AM for our 7:30 flight. Our plans include barbecues and 4-hour hikes, snorkeling and lying on the beach.... and I will consider it all a failure if I don't return to Quito with at least 200 pictures. We're scheduled to get back 4:30 PM Tuesday, but our plans never seem to work, so we'll see what happens.

Some of you may understand the significance of the Galapagos Islands and hence why I'm so excited about going. They played a very, very important role in the history of science, leading one up-and-coming scientist of the 1830s to make one of the most startling and controversial discoveries of all time. Do you know what I'm talking about? Charles Darwin, sailing on the HMS Beagle, noticed some peculiar things about the animal species present in the Galapagos. He began to observe that some of the turtle species living on the islands had slightly different characteristics from other turtles of the same species living elsewhere in the world, and some of them even appeared to have vague knowledge of the martial arts. To this day, scientists will get into fistfights about this one simple question: Is this evolution or intelligent design?

We had our second salsa lesson yesterday. It was still fun, and I'm still not that good.

If you want to find leaders with some really cool names, come to Ecuador. One of their former presidents was named Lizardo Garcia. One of the main leaders of the huge rebel group in the jungle along the Ecuador-Colombia border is named Mono Jojoy. And although it's not necessarily a sweet name, check out Abdala Bucarem, who was the President of Ecuador when this video was taken. Not surprisingly, he only lasted six months.

On a sadder note, with only two weeks remaining on the trip, and only one left in the city of Quito (which means only one more week of possible blogging), it's time to start considering the future of this blog. Created with the sole purpose of keeping YOU up-to-date with my time here in la Republica del Ecuador, it will soon no longer serve its original purpose, which begs the question... what then? I'm open to suggestions, but with a name like Gringo Lingo, it seems inappropriate to be using it consistently on American soil.

CULTURAL NOTE OF THE DAY: The complete and utter love of mayonnaise in this country is sickening. It goes on anything and everything, and in no small amounts. Chicken breast? Have some mayo. Broccoli? Pass the mayo. Steak, rice, omelets? All need mayonnaise. Last night, Mateo went to the fridge saying how he needed some soda to drink and came out with the mayonnaise, and he was content. This is one of those things that I will never understand.

SHOUT-OUTS GO TO: Anyone who'll be willing to bake me something or buy me some good food when I get back to Akron/Columbus. I cannot wait for the food.... and, Horse.

From Ecuador,
Andy