The last of our Explorer's is Sir Frances Drake and with him we paired the country of Ecuador. Sir Francis Drake was an Englishman, but the United Kingdom has long been completed. We went with Ecuador because it's basically the middle of the world (Mitad del Mundo). While plenty of countries straddle the equator, none embrace it quite like Equador, who's name literally translates into 'Republic of the Equator.
Lets get through the story of Sir Frances Drake as quick as possible. I have one more blog, plus a normal blog to get to- and I've literally been writing blogs ALL day (which is fine, because my voice is shot anyway).
All you need to know about Frances Drake to really get him is this:
He started out on his exploring journey by taking part (with his cousin, I believe) in the trans Atlantic slave trade, bringing them from Africa to Spanish plantations in the New World. That, however was illegal. But, they got away with it.... twice. On the third time, someone gave them up and they were ambushed by the Spanish.
And so, Frances Drake spent the rest of his life trying to take down the Spanish. To the British he was hero, their 'Sea Dog' who was claiming the world for the British and taking down the Spanish. To the Spanish he was a pirate 'El Drague' or 'The Dragon' who had a bounty on his head.
The Queen of England had taken notice of Drake's pirate ways of stealing gold and silver and any other cargo on Spanish ships, and was impressed. The result: she gave him a fleet of ships to go plunder the Spanish. He headed across the Atlantic to present day Panama, and did everything from killing Spaniards to robbing mule trains. He acquired so much treasure they had to bury some of it. Worth noting: on this trip he became the first Englishman to see the Pacific Ocean.
So when he arrived back with all that treasure, the Queen was even more impressed- and commissioned him an even bigger fleet to sail around the world. Not many people had a desire to try and trace Magellan's route- as they saw how many ships and people came back from that. So Drake didn't exactly tell everyone where they were going until they had no choice.
There were mutinies (and apparently he left one of his captains dead the same place in Argentina that Magellan did), and it was a rough trip. But ultimately Drake went through the strait of Magellan and up the coast of the Americas killing, pillaging and treating any Spanish settlement he found as terribly as he possibly could- amassing a huge amount of treasure along the way.
He tried to find the Northwest Passage, but had to turn back because of poor weather conditions. He docked in present day San Francisco and claimed it for the Queen. He stopped in the Philippines and got spices, and headed back around the South Africa before arriving back in England.
Three years after he left, Drake would return home as the world’s richest pirate. According to one account, his financial backers received a return of 47 pounds sterling for each pound they had invested.
Long story short after that:
The English rejoiced.
The Spanish fumed.
Queen Elizabeth knighted him. He bought a lavish estate (you can still go to today).
He got put in command of the English Navy, and fought off the Spanish Armada (who were supposed to be invincible).
He went on more missions. He plundered. He killed. He pirated the Spanish.
And then he died off the coast of Panama of dysentery all Oregon Trail style. Sir Frances Drake was buried at sea off the coast of Panama, wearing full armor in a lead-lined coffin. Despite divers and historians looking, nobody has even found his coffin.
The boys made their Facebook pages.
Our landmark for this one isn't on the mainland of Ecuador, but 620 miles off the coast. The Galapagos Islands is considered one of the world's best destinations for wildlife viewing. The isloated terrain is home to many animals that can't be found anywhere else. Home to over 300 mammal species and over 1,600 bird species, the Galapagos Islands has more species of birds than North and South America (mainland) combined.
Charles Darwin (who Hayden shares a birthday with!) visited the island in 1835 with his observations there inspiring his theory of evolution.
Also worth noting: The Galapagos islands are home to the world's largest tortoises, including the Pinto Tortoises. The last one of them, affectionately named Lonesome George, died in 2012 at the age of 102 years old. He was considered the rarest creature in the world.
Other fun animals in Ecuador include the blue footied boobies. These birds not only have a funny name, but they do a funny dance with their little blue feet to attract mates.
From the Andes to the Amazon, Ecuador packs a lot into its small 100,000 square mile size.
Also, fun fact they became a country on August 10, 1809- my birthday (well, I mean my birthday minus 172 years).
For dinner we had Ecuadorian Churrasco, which is basically a huge plate full of all kinds of different food. Plating was something that night.
Plus, it was a lot for Asa to make. There is the steak with the fried egg, served with homemade fries and sauce (or Salchipapas) , Ecuadorian rice, salsa, Aji criolllo (a spicy hot sauce), and plantains.
This one earned 5 spoons up.
We loved every bit of this one. Everyone cleared their plates. We were only split on the plantains and the sauce for the fries. The hot sauce was a little too much for me, but Peyton and Asa were fans.
We colored Ecuador in a nice yellow color next to Blue Colombia and green Peru on the table.
And now all the numbers are fixed and matched up. We're 153 down, with 46 to go.
Next Up: It's Thanksgiving and the United States of America!
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