Able to get the country count to 34. And the same country as the trip canceled in January.
Saturday, April 9th, 2022
Leave house at 6:30AM, bus to ORD, 3 hour wait,
ORD to BNA, 2 hour layover, BNA to MIA, 3 hour layover, MIA to.....
Sunday, April 10th, 2022
...Guayaquil, Ecuador at 2AM.
There were some classics.
But most of it was blah.
Headed back to the airport for the flight to the Galapagos Islands.
Stand in line if you had checked baggage (I didn't), stand in line to show vaccination card, stand in line for Galapagos paperwork, stand in line to get baggage x-rayed for items prohibited in Galapagos like tomatoes, cheese, plastic bags, coffee beans and cutlery.
2 hour flight.
Lying 632 miles of Ecuador's coast, Galapagos consists of 19 islands thriving with wildlife.
Line for passport control, get paperwork started in Guayaquil, pay $100 fee and have luggage scanned for banned items.
...to ferry pier...
....cross to Isla Santa Cruz...
Stopping at a sinkhole.
Locally caught tuna.
At the El Chato Tortoise Preserve.
Trails weave among this central island area with tortoises seen grazing on grass.
Yes. Yes they were. It takes 4 hours. Yes. Yes, I felt like a voyeur.
There is a lava tube there too.
Got to hotel, view from outside my room.
Time to explore Puerto Ayora.
This is one of just three towns on all of the islands.
Getting bottle water.
It was a mix of locals and tourists from around the world.
Not exactly polished, just real.
Watched the kids play.
Guayaba and avocado.
Al fresco dining!
Locals having fun.
Pelican Bay
Monday, April 11th, 2022
Stepped out my (mediocre) room to find this.
Heading back out of town.
And north across Isla Santa Cruz.
Wildlife!
Wildlife!
To go up to Isla Bartolome.
It would take 2 hours.
North side of Isla Santa Cruz.
It was an easy ride there.
Spent most of the time lying on the net over the water. That is Isla Santiago.
Heard Isla Daphne had several kinds of boobies.
Turns out those are birds. Saw blue footed and red footed.
Approaching Isla Bartolome.
Back on the dingy to get to Isla Bartolome.
This is a volcanic island.
Blue footed boobie.
Welcome to Mars.
It was a harsh island, accentuated by high heat.
Showcasing superhuman strength.
That rock was at least a hundred pounds.
Making the way up the mountain.
And penguins.
Another dingy to get to a cove to snorkel.
There was too much sediment in the water to see the tropical fish.
But did get video of a rock of penguins.
Lying 632 miles of Ecuador's coast, Galapagos consists of 19 islands thriving with wildlife.
Landing on Isla Baltra, part of the Galapagos Islands.
Jump on a public bus to...
...go across Isla Baltra....
...to continue across that island.
The one road across this island. In a series of islands that have no roads.
Not a bad setting for lunch.
Continuing across Isla Santa Cruz.
At the ferry pier again to get on a dingy to a catamaran.
Might be hard to see them, but many species of birds. And many crabs.
Isla Santiago in the distance.
Only some lava lizards here.
At the top.
Visited by a sea lion while getting back on the dingy.
Back on the catamaran for some more of that locally caught tuna.
It took two hours to get back again. Why no fantastic
pictures? Why no witty narrative? Most of the passengers were
trying not to lose their lunch. Some didn’t succeed. I spent most of the
that two hours with my head between my knees. Trying to remember if you
are supposed to look at the horizon, or not. Otherwise that
would have been great video of the boat rolling all over the place. It
was absolutely awful.
Dinner at Midori.
Raw local tuna with olive oil, truffle, parmesan and fresh basil.
Wow. The tuna on its own was exquisite. Then it is punched up with the richness of the truffle and olive oil, countered with the unami of the parmesan and balanced with the fresh basil.
Tuesday, April 12th, 2022
Hunky guy and iguana spotted.
Over my right shoulder.
Blue footed...you know. They get their blue feet from eating so many sardines.
Awww. It's a baby.
Eastern part of the island.
All you can eat crab.
After a half hour of snorkeling, back on that inviting beach.
Back on the catamaran for lunch. Then it was just an hour to get back. And, gratefully, the seas were calm.
Back at Pelican Bay.
...Spenser, Merle and Cheryl.
Wednesday, April 13th, 2022
They raise some babies before releasing them into the wild.
So large and old. Such magnificent creatures.
Some of the admin and museum buildings.
You see dozens of concrete pads across Baltra from a WWII base. Baltra was chosen to help protect the Panama Canal and is why this island has the airport and was the first of the Galapagos to be inhabited.
Two hour flight to Guayaquil.
You really can't see a dotted line while flying along the equator. I looked.
Back over mainland Ecuador.
Leaving Guayaquil after a short layover.
Just a 45 minute flight.
Nearing Quito.
Which is surrounded by 9,200 foot mountains.
And subdivisions interrupted by sharp ravines.
The airport is east and a bit north of the city.
Car repair shop along the highway. Think their waiting
room has a Keurig?
Thursday, April 14th, 2022
It's the largest Gothic Basilica in South America.
After stopping at Plaza San Francisco, three policewomen approached us and upon realizing we didn't speak Spanish, one pulled out her phone, opened up Google Translate and typed something like 'Be careful, hold onto your belongings. Have a great day.'
Though it is not all Colonial architecture.
Then it got stressful as I watched the driver try to keep it running.
See the Directv dishes. It is inhabited. No walls, but they have TV.
With Spenser, Merle, David and Franny.
Llapingacho
Back to the room to work for the rest of the day.
Pork, Ambateno chorizo, potato tortillas with cheese.
It was awful.
Friday, April 15th, 2022
After 3 hours of sleep, up at 2:30AM. Arrived at airport at 4AM.
Tigrillo is eggs, mashed plantains and cheese. Love it.
Leaving Ecuador.
Why does every airport in every country have 6 miles of walking to passport control?
So happy at Miami International to be able to eat leafy greens and fresh vegetables.
