March 19, 2005

10:01:49 pm Final Observations on South America  

March 18, 2005

In our last week in South America, we began a post summarizing our experience there. We never finished it then, but will attempt to do so now as we are about to depart New Zealand.

South America is an unknown continent to most Americans, who never think of going there. We encountered more Europeans than Americans, the former being more adventurous in their choice of travel destinations. We do think as a generalization that South American countries do a poor job of promoting itself as a travel destination to English-speaking Americans. Europe and Asia are more front of mind to Americans desiring a foreign continent vacation. Europe is an understandable destination given the heritage of the US, but Asia is further in distance and history, although closer to us economically. We do think Asia has a slight lead over South America in prevalence of English and availability of tourist facilities that match US expectations. This lead is only slight at most, however, and may be more in our imagination than real. Anyway, this slight lead ought is counterbalanced by the closer location of South America.

Whatever the reason why Americans don't go to South America in large numbers, they should. The array of fantastic natural and archeological sites to see tops North America in our opinion. Most Americans could name the Amazon (which we have not been to) and some are familiar with Machu Picchu, but no one seems to know Iguasu Falls (the best waterfalls in the world, making a mockery of Niagara); the Calafate Glaciers (Alaska and New Zealand's glaciers do not begin to compare); or the beauty of the Lakes Region of Chile and Argentina. (As an aside, we observe that New Zealand, which we consider to be one of the most consistently beautiful and outdoorsy countries, has nothing that matches the beauty of Iguasu, Calafate, and the Lakes Region.) The landscape of Rio is as beautiful as any city in the world, but most Americans will see San Francisco and think they've seen it all. The Galapagos Islands (and to a lesser extent Easter Island) are far away places that many Americans want to go to, but never do, opting instead for more expensive, less interesting, and further away places such as Tahiti and Bora Bora that travel agents push them to (never underestimate the power of exotic sounding name, which, when combined with a personal recommendation, becomes irresistible). To top it all off, South America is cheap, cheap, cheap--one of the most affordable places you can travel to. So go.

One question that intrigued us throughout our travels in South America is why North America has prospered while South America has not, given that both were settled in the 16th Century by European powers. The early advantage was to South America over North America as it had more developed indigenous cultures and was generally settled a bit earlier by the Spanish than was North America by other Europeans, primarily the English. So what went wrong?

We have identified three contributing factors. There are likely other factors we've missed and we will not attempt fully justify the ones we've identified, but in any event, here they are:

- Simply stated, the English were better colonialists than the Spanish were. While each kept colonies for economic gain, the English did more to develop the colonies and make them a better place to live in terms of education, infrastructure, and institution building. The Spanish invested little and took much. The best comparison we can think of is actually not in the Americas or even involving the English, but we think it illustrates the point well. The Philippines were a Spanish colony for roughly 400 years and later an American colony for roughly 40 years (the only colony the US has ever had). If you consider the American colonial period in the first half of the 20th Century a surrogate for how the English would have operated, you have a fair comparison of one nation under two different colonial rulers. The Spanish were there for 400 years, but today few people in the Philippines speak Spanish and there are no significant ties between Spain and the Philippines. The one legacy the Spanish left is Catholicism. The Americans in contrast built roads, established mass education, built democratic institutions, and voluntarily handed over power. Today, English is the unifying language of this island archipelago, even though it was not commonly spoken a century ago.

- The pervasiveness of the Catholic Church in Spanish colonial society and government was so great as to be a negative. It did not have a parallel in England, which broke with Rome in 1534, and in the US, which had a clear vision of separation of church and state based upon firsthand experience of religious persecution in Europe.

- The US had figures like George Washington as a role model. He and our other founding fathers generally put the countries' interests ahead of their own and designed a brilliant system of government that properly checked the natural bad tendencies of men in power. South America had a series of those bad men, unchecked, and in power. Instead of George Washington, they had caudillos like Juan Manuel de Rojas of Argentina who lusted after power for personal gain, not for the patriotic good, and did whatever it took to achieve it, crushing all opposition. Rojas ruled Argentina as a dictator for roughly the first 30 years of its founding and set the example for future generations of leaders.

On the last point, it's worth noting that there is a South American figure, Simon Bolivar, who is called the South American George Washington. Inspired by the American Revolution, Bolivar's vision was the confederation of Gran Columbia, consisting of present day Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Bolivar and his right-hand man General Sucre (continuing the analogies to the American Revolution, perhaps Sucre could be called the Alexander Hamilton of South America) fought to achieve independence from the Spanish for these countries in the 1820s and then unified them. Gran Columbia collapsed in 1830, though, as leaders of the respective countries could not put aside personal differences and competing ambitions for the greater good. This failure is a stark reminder that it was never preordained that the US colonies would unite and form one great country instead of 13 minor countries that most people in the world would have trouble placing on the map. We forget that the colonies were not unified at the beginning--they were independent, competing, often squabbling, separate entities. We are so fortunate that the politicians of the 1770s and 1780s were able to reach compromise for the common good. Consider what the US and Gran Columbia each might have become had they taken the path of the other.

The Gran Columbian countries today have a population of nearly 120 million, but we suspect its size would be tens of millions higher had they remained united, as European and Central and South American immigrants would have been attracted to the most dominant Spanish-speaking country in the world. Who knows, maybe Mexican migration would have flowed south to the Gran Columbia juggernaut instead of north to the US. With a large domestic market and its language advantage over Portuguese-speaking Brazil, Gran Columbia would be the giant of South America instead of Brazil. Instead, "we are an insignificant country today," said our Ecuadorian tour guide Ruben, lamenting that the Gran Columbia Revolution did not share a common path with the American Revolution. "And you," he continued, "have become the most powerful country in the world."

2 feedbacks • Permalink

February 21, 2005

06:14:12 pm Galapagos Islands  

Sunday, February 13, 2005 - Sunday, February 20, 2005

In 1835, Charles Darwin sailed on the British ship H.M.S. Beagle and visited the Galapagos Islands. Here is where he was inspired to write his theory on the origin of species, which shook up the scientific world. Today, you can still see much of what he saw so many years ago.

The name Galapagos comes from the giant land turtles that early Spanish sailors found on the islands. The tortoises have giant shells in the shape of a saddle. "Galapago" is Spanish for saddle. The islands are an underwater volcanic range with the last volcanic eruption six years ago. Currently the archipelago includes 13 large islands, 6 minor islands, and more than 40 islets. In 1936, the Ecuadorian government established a national park on the islands, and today the park comprises 97% of the archipelago. In 1978, UNESCO declared the Galapagos a World Heritage Site. There are approximately 20,000 residents living on only four of the islands. The population is growing at a rate of 12% per year. Through tourism, approximately 70,000 people visit the island on an annual basis. The National Park District limits the amount of visitors to the islands trying to seek a sustainable balance between tourism and conservation.

On Sunday, we flew to Baltra from Quito via Guayaquil and arrived in time for lunch aboard the Aida Maria. The next eight days we would live on the yacht with eight other couples. Our room was four feet by seven feet with an attached bath. It was furnished with bunk beds with two drawers underneath, two shelves, and a bedside table. We were lucky because we were on the top deck and therefore, had windows that opened. This allowed for fresh air, and along with Dramamine, helped Deanna evade motion sickness. During lunch, there was threat of a mutiny by the European passengers (we were the only non-Europeans), due to the lack of wine onboard. Our guide Ruben quickly quieted the group by assuring them that he would find a supply by the next afternoon. His late night wine excursion provided a convenient excuse for him to visit his Swiss girlfriend on shore.

After lunch, we motored to Bachas where we saw flamingos, sea lions, and marine iguanas. Due to the major conservation efforts, most animals are fearless of humans. If our guide had allowed us, we could have touched most the animals we saw because they did not run away from us. After dinner, we motored to Isle Plaza and spent a rocky night in the cove. The next morning we headed out to explore the island where we encountered the more colorful land iguanas and watched more sea lions playing. We motored to Santa Fe and after lunch we went for our first snorkel trip where we swam with sea lions, turtles, and a white tip shark. We also learned that you could get too close to a barking male sea lion that is patrolling his shoreline.

The rest of our traveling would take place overnight while we slept. This was very difficult to get accustomed to at first. The movement of the boat resulted in a restless night's sleep but by our last night, we were sleeping like babies. Tuesday we explored Hood Island, including Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez. This was our first encounter with boobies, both masked and blue footed. Deanna's favorite were the blue-footed boobies (see image gallery). Boobies got their names from the English sailors who sailed with Darwin and thought the birds dumb or "a boob."

The next day we explored Floreana--including Punta Cormoran and Post Office Bay. We saw more flamingos here and explored a lava tube. Deanna learned that a flashlight is really called a torch and Nick learned to walk in the dark as Deanna had taken their only torch for her use. Sailors set up Post Office Bay long ago. Here they would leave letters to be picked up by other sailors who were sailing to where the letters were addressed. The system is still in place today. Visitors can leave a postcard (without postage) addressed to various places and future visitors pick up the postcards and mail them once they return to their home country.

Before dinner, we arrived in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. Most of the crew is from here and you can tell they are happy to be home. We stayed in the harbor two nights. That night we explore the town and have caiparinas with a few of our fellow shipmates. Thursday morning we headed off to the Darwin Foundation. The foundation, along with the National Park, help to assure the survival of land iguanas and giant tortoises through breeding programs. The foundation is also the home of Lonesome George, the last tortoise of his species. To learn more on his story click on http://www.darwinfoundation.org/Restoring/george.html. Since attempts to have him mate with female tortoises most closely related to his species have failed, there has been a local effort to have him released back into the wild. The concern is that Lonesome George has been in captivity for 34 years and may not know what to do with his newfound freedom.

After lunch, we headed off to the highlands to see giant tortoises in the wild. Wow, what a sight! We were inches away from a tortoise that was as big as we were and weighed up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). The only animals to exhibit any fear of us were the giant tortoises. They would hiss and sink into their giant shell. Since giant tortoises live to be over 100 years old, our guide suggested that maybe the tortoise remembered when man hunted them in late 1800s into the early 1900s. The tortoises were close to extinction due to this hunting and the destruction of their food source by goats introduced by man. Deanna's grandmother would be proud for she actually was able to talk tortoise to the turtle, bringing it out of its shell and having it walk towards her.

That night, being land lovers and wanting to give Carlos the cook the night off, we along with our shipmates went out to dinner with our tour guide Ruben. Ruben's girlfriend met us at the restaurant, which resulted in a great deal of Ruben razzing. Under intense questioning, Ruben confessed that marriage and immigration to Switzerland might be in his future, sooner than any of us, including him, expected. We all returned by midnight for that is when the Aida Maria set sail for Bartolome.

In Bartolome, we saw red sand beaches, grottos, and furry sea lions. While snorkeling we saw an octopus. During the night, we sailed to Punta Espinosa on Isla Fernandina. To beat the heat, Saturday, we departed the boat at 6 AM to walk up over 350 steps to view the pinnacle of Rabida. Americans used this island for bombing target practice during World Ware II when they occupied the Galapagos Islands as a strategic base. The view from the top is beautiful. We were back aboard the Aida Maria by 7 AM for breakfast. Before our first plunge of the day into the water, we walked through a mangrove cluster to the other side of the island where brown pelicans nest. We also encountered Galapagos penguins fishing. These are the only penguins in the northern hemisphere. This would be our last day for snorkeling. We did two different trips--one from the shore and one from the dingy. The marine life was very active. Along with the typical tropical fish, we saw a sea snake, stingrays, sharks, and a sea lion, which passed between Deanna's legs. It was a great last snorkel.

The next morning we arrived at North Seymour for our last excursion. We departed the boat again at 6 AM. We saved the best for last, as the saying goes. We saw a large sea lion colony, several blue-footed boobies doing their high-stepping mating ritual, and frigate birds in their mating area. The frigate bird is a scavenger that followed our boat the entire week, but it was not until North Seymour that we were able to see the red balloon of the male frigate bird and hear the call of the magnificent frigate bird. Wow!

On our one-hour cruise to Baltra we ate breakfast, packed, and said our goodbyes. What an incredible week! We highly recommend that the Galapagos Islands. It is a must see during your lifetime.

Send feedback • Permalink

11:47:34 am Ecuador  

Quito, Ecuador
Thursday, February 10, 2005 - Sunday, February 13, 2005
Capital and second largest city in Ecuador
City population: 1.4 million

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Sunday, February 13, 2005 - Sunday, February 20, 2005
Archipelago with diverse wildlife; Darwin's observations here helped him form the theory of evolution
Population: 20,000

Guayaquil, Ecuador
Sunday, February 20, 2005 - Monday, February 21, 2005
Largest city in Ecuador
1.9 million

Ecuador Country Background:
Population: 13 million
Per capita GDP: $3,000
Size: Between Colorado and Nevada
Currency: the US dollar replaced the Ecuadorian sucre as the official currency in 2000. Sucres are no longer used.
Independence: 1822 from Spain
Language: Spanish. Indian languages, especially Quechua, are also common in some areas.

Itinerary
TACA flight from La Paz, Bolivia to Lima, Peru
TACA flight from Lima to Quito, Ecuador
Three nights at Grand Hotel Mercure Alameda in Quito
TAME flight from Quito to Baltra, Galapagos Islands, stopping in Guayaquil (no plane change)
Boat tour of Galapagos Islands, 8 days/7 nights on the Aida Maria
TAME flight from Baltra to Guayaquil
One night at Hotel Las Penas in Guayaquil

Quito Activities
City & Equator tour
Museo Nacional del Banco Central del Ecuador
Museo de la Ciudad (Museum of the City)
Casa de Sucre (House of Sucre)
Quicentro Shopping Center
Cinemark movie theaters

Galapagos Activities
Hiking, snorkeling, swimming, boat cruising, visiting lava tubes, visiting Darwin center--one week of outdoor naturalist activities

Guayaquil Activities
San Marino mall and movie theaters
Laundry
Web site updating

Although the economic statistics in our Almanac do not indicate this, we found Ecuador to be significantly more advanced than Peru or Bolivia, the last two countries we visited. The reason for this was clear: five years ago, Ecuador dropped their own currency and switched to the US dollar as their official currency. A foreign investment boom from around the world accompanied this overnight increase in financial stability. Standard staples of Americana have made their way to Ecuador as early movers McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut, are joined by Tony Roma's, TGIFridays, Applebee's, Dominos, and Papa John's. The newer sections of Quito and Guayaquil are quite Westernized with new car dealerships, shopping centers, and movie theaters. After rough conditions in Bolivia, we welcomed a chance to lounge around in our French-owned hotel, read an English-language newspaper (Miami Herald, International Edition, the first English paper we saw since leaving Argentina on January 30), and see three Oscar-nominated films at the movies (Finding Neverland, Closer, and The Aviator, each in English with Spanish subtitles).

Ecuador's politics are as unstable as any South American country. Its current president, Borbua, elected in 2002, was its sixth in seven years, including one removed for "mental incapacity." Borbua helped overthrow the previously elected president, Witt, in military coup in January 2000. The coup occurred four months after Ecuador defaulted on its debt, and was also in response to Witt's proposal to replace the sucre with the dollar. Nevertheless, two months after the coup, Congress did pass Witt's dollarization plan.

While we were in Costa Rica, Nick read a newspaper article about Ecuador that said one of the opposition political parties was seeking to reverse dollarization despite its clear-cut economic benefits. But according to Ruben, our Galapagos tour guide, "There is no way this is going to happen." Our Quito tour guide expressed the same opinion, describing how dollarization eliminated inflation overnight. With the sucre, he said, people lived month to month, never knowing what the basics of life--gas, water, bread--would cost next month. This is not to say the move was without controversy, and some people still bemoan the loss of their national currency. One concession the government did allow was to mint Ecuadorian coins--equivalent in value and denomination to US coins: 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents. The change you get is a mixture of US and Ecuadorian coins. Thus the government could say that there is still Ecuadorian currency. But the bills are strictly US. If you wondered where all the US $1 dollar coins went (the ones with Lewis and Clark's Indian guide on it, introduced around 2000), they all seem to be in Ecuador, where dollar coins are as common as dollar bills, unlike in the US.

So with the elimination of inflation, increased foreign investment, a growing and stable economy, and greater economic opportunity, why do some still oppose dollarization? The reason is simple, and frustrating. Human beings everywhere around the world resist change for no good reason other than to be against something. It is one of the worst human attributes. For every bad idea prevented, two good ideas are watered down or stopped, and the pace of human evolution and progress is slowed for all. The worst presently in our view is the anti-globalization movement, as if globalization is undesirable or avoidable. Fortunately, in this case, globalization is an unstoppable force. The protestors might as well demonstrate against the daily rising of the sun.

This attribute is encouraged by politicians, who seek power by spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt about policies of competing parties, regardless of the merits of those policies. Even though the US is more open than most countries to change, this trait is ever present in the US. You can find multiple examples of it each day courtesy of your daily newspaper. Ted Kennedy, for example, seems to be devoting his remaining years in office to nothing else. But we digress. Deanna will add a log on the Galapagos Islands at a later time.

Send feedback • Permalink