-It's said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Steppin' out -Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out."
Today, we're steppin' out in Ecuador to meet its people, celebrate its culture, and discover its unique natural wonders... like the Galapagos Islands.
-"Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out" is made possible by... -Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.
From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.
We are Road Scholar.
We make the world our classroom.
-There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach "The Beach."
There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.
This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.
-If you're looking for a bird's-eye view of Quito, the most important town in Ecuador, this is a great place to come.
It's called the Panecillo, which is "the little bread."
The hill at the top -- it looks like little bread.
And on top of it is the winged Virgin Mary that was put here in the 1970s.
From here, you can see the old historic center runs right up to the basilica, and beyond that, you can see the skyscraper starts, the new town began.
I think this hilltop is important for other reasons.
People have lived in Ecuador since 10,000 years before the Christian era, but this was a place where many of the indigenous sacred religious ceremonies took place.
When the Spanish came in the 16th century, they put an end to all that, and the winged Virgin on the hilltop is kind of the last period at the end of the sentence, that this was a Roman Catholic country.
Religious syncretism is something you see throughout South America.
It's the joining of the two religions, the Spanish Catholic religion and the indigenous pagan religion, if you will.
And particularly, the indigenous people were able to continue to worship their gods under the guise of the Christian gods.
But in this case, it seems the Spanish won out in the end.
The Galapagos Islands are located 600 miles off the Ecuadorian coast.
It's an archipelago of 61 islands, covering almost 5,000 square miles.
Of the 13 major islands, only four are inhabited.
Darwin called it "a little world within itself."
-The history behind Galapagos, the presence of these strange creatures was already noticed by all of the visitors, and that caught the attention of scientists.
And the one that really nailed it was Charles Darwin when he came.
It was because of the special fauna and flora that existed, and I was connected with the theory of the origin of species by natural selection that was written.
So the type of tourism that has come and is still coming to the island are based on that uniqueness of flora and fauna that exists here.
And when you are here, you connect yourself with nature more.
When you are here, you know that there is no dangerous creatures, that the creatures are not going to attack you or run away from you.
-I mean, the opportunity for observation is overwhelming.
It's the ability to observe these animals naturally doing what they do without your interference.
So right away, the main reason to come to the Galapagos is to be in close proximity to these wonderful creatures and to be in a situation where they will allow you to have close proximity with you, because that's very, very rare.
Well, muchas gracias.
Thank you very much for protecting and preserving the Galapagos for us.
-My pleasure, Joseph.
-Appreciate it.
Gracias, gracias.
Ah!
Here we go.
And now begins the Galapagos adventure.
The Galapagos is a vibrant region, ever-changing, with active volcanic eruptions forming new lava fields and islands eroding and expanding.
On Santiago Island, seemingly devoid of life.
we walk on traces of the Galapagos' fire-and-brimstone birth.
-This is the origin of the Galapagos.
The lava came from the volcano, which is behind those hills over there, and covered a big area of about 10 square miles.
And the lava was solidifying on the top, but then the interior was still running, forming these kind of designs.
-So, this looks pretty barren.
It doesn't look like there could be much life here.
-Yeah, but there is a kind of life just starting.
Little plants starting to grow in between the cracks of the lava.
The first living creatures establishing in this naked lava.
-In fields of lava, the smallest of life must struggle to survive, while in adjacent Sullivan Bay, an abundance of sea creatures flourish.
Okay, here we go!
Whoo-hoo!
Whoo-hoo!
Off Fernandina Island, you could swim with the turtles and marine iguana.
Look at them all!
-Yeah, lookit.
Everywhere.
Yeah.
-Wow!
50 are right here in one spot.
You know what's so wonderful is watching the behavior.
-Yes, they are sneezing the salt, because when they are diving, they are eating.
so they get salt in their system.
So they are able to get rid of the salt through the nostrils.
That's the territorial behavior of the iguana.
That's a male iguana.
[ Iguana sneezing ] -There are many, many creatures here on the Galapagos Islands, and one of the most unusual that everybody's interested in finding, even Darwin, was the flightless cormorant.
He's right behind me, drying his small, little wings in the air.
The bad news is that because he's flightless, he's stuck staying around here, but the good news is, there's so much food on the Galapagos Islands that he doesn't have to fly around.
He can take it easy and be the excellent swimmer that he is.
You'll also see the brown pelican and the marine iguana sunning himself on the lava rocks.
This island is one gigantic volcano that is still active.
If you're looking for excitement, the Galapagos Islands is a place to come.
-Boy, look at that.
Big shark.
Real big.
-Wow.
Here he comes.
Can we get near him?
Yeah.
Here he is, here he is, here he is, here he is.
It's fabulous that we can get so close to the wildlife here in the Galapagos and they are unafraid, which makes our opportunity to observe their behavior so much richer than it is in other places.
And that's simply because the fact that they've been alone for so long.
-Now entering the Elizabeth Bay lagoon.
This is one of the visitor sites of the Galapagos National Park.
Oh, there's a penguin coming.
-Pelican caught that fish.
-Catching together with the penguins.
-Because the penguin is making the fish jump.
-Penguin is very skillful to catch the fish.
So then the pelican takes advantage of that.
-Just like that.
The Galapagos animals are so unafraid of humans that Darwin wrote about pushing a hawk off a limb with the muzzle of a gun.
At Isabela Island, I proved the same point by joyously snorkeling with penguins and friends.
Wow.
Nothing like that in the world.
Huh!
Swimming with penguins.
I mean, not one, not two, not -- ten.
Ten!
And then the pelicans diving in under the water, too.
They're like, all working together.
And there's thousands and thousands of fish all here.
What a place.
-We were talking about what you're looking forward to today.
-The land iguanas.
-Land iguanas?
As opposed to the marine iguanas?
-Correct.
-These are orange, yellow.
-These are the orange.
-Oh, the color is better?
-They're so much more beautiful.
Oh, my gosh.
The colored iguanas, land iguanas, are so beautiful.
-Wow.
There's our first big land iguana.
-Look at that.
Yeah.
-How different they are from the marine iguana.
-You can see the tail, for example.
You remember the marine iguana had the long, flat tail.
And this is short and round shape of the tail.
The marine iguana has the long tail for swimming.
This does not go into the ocean.
-They're amazing, amazing, amazing creatures.
-Look at that big tortoise here in the trail.
-You know, these are very impressive, the larger animals here on the Galapagos, but I've learned that, also, the small ones sometimes are even more important, like Darwin's finches.
-Now, how can you tell the difference between them?
And that's connected to what they're eating.
-The tortoises are another example of the adaptive radiation, because there are different species of tortoises found in different habitats.
Here, we're looking at the dome-back tortoise.
-Why would this one end up with a dome shell as opposed to the saddleback shell?
-Here, because there is much more vegetation, they don't need to reach higher.
-So if the other ones are reaching higher -- -Yeah, because the islands are small, very dry, less vegetation, so they need to reach higher.
-So the tortoise is really the namesake of the islands.
-That's correct.
The Spaniards use the name Galapago, meaning "saddle."
-There we go.
-Look at that.
Yeah.
These are the grottos.
-That have been formed by erosion into the lava.
-Yeah.
Sometimes, the sea lion is coming up here.
So, the baby sea lions are left alone by the mamas.
Mamas need to go out fishing.
-How you doing, buddy?
-Yeah.
-Because of the low tide, the moray eel was visible, so the great blue heron has taken advantage of that.
Wow.
That's nature.
Nature at work.
[ Squawking, barking ] -The most important thing you have to have when you're watching wildlife, I've found, is patience.
Things don't happen on your schedule.
It happens on their schedule.
And you have to be a respectful observer of their natural behavior, and there will be plenty for you to see and experience.
You just need to have the time to stop and be still, and let life in the Galapagos happen to you, life anywhere happen to you.
Otherwise, you'll miss so much.
When it comes to describing my time in the Galapagos Islands, I am at a loss for words.
"Amazing" is one that comes up again and again, and its many synonyms.
Surprising... thrilling... incredible... breathtaking... awe-inspiring... and mind-blowing are a few.
And it's amazing that there is still a world that hath such wonders in it.
Yet, Ecuador is more than the Galapagos, and I returned to the continent to discover what other wonders it has to offer.
[ Cow moos ] [ Rooster crows, cow moos ] This is where people come to shop.
You know, when we go to the grocery store, everything's all wrapped up nicely.
This is the way -- You know what your food is and where you're getting it from.
How long has this market been here?
-All the history of the Otavaleos and many other communities in Ecuador, they do have a specific day for animal markets.
The trading has started before the arrival of the Spaniards, before the arrival of the Incas.
We're already trading all over.
-So, this is unusual -- the black guinea pigs.
-Black guinea pigs.
Very popular for healing.
-Healing.
-Witch doctors, shamans.
-While 70% of Ecuadorians are mestizo, a mix of Amerindian and European ancestry, there are also 13 distinct indigenous peoples, who proudly wear their traditional dress, adhere to shamanistic practices, and celebrate their pre-Incan folklore.
Close encounters with these cultures enrich any visit to Ecuador.
Muchas gracias.
-Gracias.
-The Otavalos are native to the Andes and are known for their weaving, painting, and carving, skills they've practiced since before Incan times.
[ Sarcastically ] Yeah, that's an easy job.
This would have been the first way that people weaved here.
It's called a backstrap loom.
[ Laughs ] She says you have to eat a lot to have the force to be able to work on these.
Located in the Plaza de Ponchos, the Otavalo market presents a wide choice of handicrafts and textiles.
You could spend hours and hours here.
-Just walking around and seeing.
It's not a place just for shopping.
It's a place to see culture.
Ecuadorian tiny escargot.
Snails.
-This one here?
-You suck them.
-And you just suck on them?
-Yes.
-S, s.
-They're actually quite good.
And you get to keep the shell as a souvenir.
-Muchas gracias.
-Gracias.
Ah!
So, as you can see, the fun of coming to the market here is talking to the people.
And so it's nice to have a little bit of the language, and mostly in Latin countries and Spanish-speaking countries, they put up with your attempts.
And any kind of communication is nice, but it's really a joy to walk around and meet the people.
-That's true.
-That's true?
-Real life.
-Ecuador lies on the equator, a line through the middle of the Earth, and, yet, for indigenous Ecuadorians, it's more than a line.
It's a place of connection, harmony, and renewal.
Well, here am I in the Southern Hemisphere, and you're in the Northern Hemisphere.
-Yes, exactly.
-That's pretty exciting.
-Right now, we are right on the middle of the world.
It's the line that joins together the two hemispheres to make just one single world.
-I like that.
-That's why many people want to be here -- because this is the only monument in the history of Ecuador and also in all the way around that is exactly on the line.
Also, this line is our name.
Equator means Ecuador.
And it had to be exposed with honesty and respect.
That's why we designed this place here, which is a sundial.
In this spot is the only site where you could understand much more about the ancient knowledge, how the indigenous people understood the solstice days, equinox days, because this was a need for them.
-Well, you have a feature here that represents the ancient way that civilizations would determine what you're talking about.
People came and observed the stars in order to determine these times of the year that are very, very important to them for hunting, for planting, for harvesting.
-Yes.
-Well, you said that this is no longer the line that divides the world, it's the line that brings people together to create a whole world.
-One world.
-I love that.
-Yeah, it's the line of the union.
Unite, balance, and equilibrium.
As Ecuadorians, we should appeal to this new worldview because it's our name.
What we really want is to share a human vision of the world.
Yeah, it's to share the importance of this knowledge by the indigenous people and to preserve for the present and new generations, too.
-Claudia.
-I want to show you my traditional kitchen.
This is ancestral house.
All my life, I lived here, you see?
This is now adequate for cooking class.
-You use corn for lots of different kinds of dishes.
-Yeah, we have around the seven kinds of the corn.
The younger people is not continue with this ancestral knowledge.
For that reason, Kawsaymi, with my family, we create this project for rescue our traditional methods -to cook.
-Fabulous.
You make like this.
Okay, now your turn.
-Let me give it a try.
Mm-hmm.
So, we're going to do it like this.
-All food when you make with your hands is better.
-Is better.
-Yes.
I remember my grandmother.
We are very big family.
-Right.
-For making tortillas, she make a lot corn.
-Really?
-Yes.
She's strong.
-She must be very strong.
-Yes.
-What do you think?
-Yeah.
We use this for shaking the flour.
-Okay, let's shake the flour out.
-You see?
-Yeah.
Look at that.
-Good job!
-That's nice.
-You make like this.
When I prepare these tortillas, I remember my grandmother, because she teach me to prepare.
-How do you say, "Thank you very much"?
[ Both speaking Quichua ] -[ Laughs ] Mmm!
-Mmm!
Yay!
-Good job.
[ Bell tolling ] -Derived from the Spanish verb haciendo, which means "making," Ecuador's haciendas were primarily rural farm estates worked by indigenous people and established in colonial times.
Today, many have become elegant hotels that preserve their historic architecture, gardens, and Old World ambiance.
Are there many of these haciendas in Ecuador that have remained?
-Yes.
In this part of the country, in the North, we have a few.
And in the south of Quito, going up to Riobamba, you will find a lot of haciendas there, as well.
You can go through all continental Ecuador and you will see gorgeous hacienda, perfectly preserved, and they will live complete different experiences, because you have horseback riding in one.
In another, you will learn about the agritourism, the products that we produce here.
-Fabulous!
-Like in our case, we showcase the roses.
It's the fourth-biggest export industry that Ecuador has.
So you have the whole package.
You can visit all different haciendas and you will have a complete experience of Ecuador.
-No experience of Ecuador is complete without exploring its natural sides.
The mainland sports rain and cloud forests, a wide diversity of flora and fauna, and a 4,000-mile chunk of the Andes.
Within its piece of the longest mountain range in the world, the Avenue of the Volcanoes, just south of Quito, is famous for its nearly 40 summits, many over 15,000 feet.
At more than 19,000 feet, Cotopaxi is among the world's highest active volcanoes and a fitting focal point for reflecting on my Ecuadorian adventure.
Thank you for stepping out with me in Ecuador, South America.
Ecuador is tantalizingly unknown and untraveled.
Those who know it most likely think of the Galapagos Islands, nature's famous evolutionary laboratory.
Yet, as amazing as they are, Ecuador is much more than the Galapagos.
It offers opportunities to have unique experiences in a welcoming atmosphere where no one is an outsider.
It is a land of deep gorges and towering volcanoes, where the former haciendas of conquistadores are surrounded by indigenous communities, and cacao, coffee, and dairy farms thrive.
Located on and named after the equator, it's dubbed "La Mitad del Mundo," "The Middle of the World," and has a people who will graciously share their world with you and urge you to dig deeper to discover the surprises...
They're actually quite good.
...and the pleasures of an Ecuadorian adventure.
Until we meet again, remember the words of Mark Twain.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."
May your next adventure... always be your best.
-"Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out" is made possible by... -Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.
From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.
We are Road Scholar.
We make the world our classroom.
-There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach "The Beach."
There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.
This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.
-For a DVD of any of my "Steppin' Out" adventures or my companion memoir and travel book, "Musings: The Short Happy Pursuit of Pleasure and Other Journeys," call 888-876-3399, order online at josephrosendo.com, or e-mail me at [email protected].
- Mm, mm, mm - Steppin' out -Now that we've stepped out in Ecuador together, learn more at josephrosendo.com, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my magazine, blog, podcast, and social media.
Stay in touch -- 888-876-3399, or e-mail me at [email protected].
- Steppin' out - Steppin' out Hey!
- Steppin' out - Yeah - Steppin' out - Yeah, yeah, yeah -Salud.
-Salud.
-[ Speaks Spanish ] -[ Laughs ] - Steppin' out -Whew!
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