Amazon and Galapagos...any thoughts?

[sayhello]

We were one of two couples on our 12th adventure. One of the guides told us we would be getting a room with an ocean view because there were only 2 available, but when we got our key, we didn't receive the upgrade. It was given to a different couple by accident. We didn't really care, our room was lovely & the view was fine, but they showered us with extras to apologize.

Sounds like the best of both worlds!

Sayhello

 

[abbyjt]

January 29, 2016

Day 11

We had to put our bags out at 7am, but we didn't leave until 8:30. We had a leisurely breakfast. Before we left, Tiffany gave us each a bag lunch. We took our last walk past the beach through the mangroves and along side the other hotels to the pier and boarded our last panga (no life jackets) back to the dock. We boarded the two buses and drove across Santa Cruz Island to the middle to see a volcanic crater. The island is volcanic and this crater was formed when a cavern formed beneath the lava and then collapsed perhaps hundreds of years ago. The entire crater is grown over with vegetation. We only spent 10 minutes there and then back on the buses for the rest of the ride. Parts of the road are not paved and the driver was a bit crazy, but we made it across the island to the next pier and onto a boat where they did ask us to don life jackets for a 5 minute ride across to Baltra Island and onto another bus to the airport. As far as I could tell, the only thing on Baltra is the airport and the remnants of some military buildings. There also was an area with buildings and what looked like an oil tower. We had 2 hours until our flight. Juan gave us our boarding passes and our passports. There were lots of little market like stores at the airport and you actually had to wind through them to get to security. I bought a tiny turtle with a bobbing head that we see everywhere tropical and I got some headbands that I thought the girls might like. We went through security and to the lounge area. There was wifi and snacks and drinks. We boarded around 12:00 and the flight left around 12:30. They gave us a sandwich on board during the first flight. Same as last time, we had a 40 minute layover where we couldn't leave or use the restroom. The next flight was short, but by the time we got all the luggage and the bus arrived and with the 1 hour time change it was 5:20 when we left the airport. There was lots of traffic and we didn't get to the hotel until 6:15. We grabbed our luggage and brought it in ourselves. There were towels and drinks, but we didn't even stop for them. We got our key and up to our room to shower and get dressed. Dinner started at 7:15. Tiffany mentioned that she will suggest that they leave the Finch Bay hotel early and take the earlier flight for future adventures, because today was all travel and with some people leaving at 9:30 for the airport tonight, it was really tight. We met in the library where we had our first breakfast. There were musicians playing some traditional music and then some girls in traditional costumes did a dance and then they got us up there dancing with them for a few minutes. Then Tiffany and Juan came in wearing the Umo diablo masks and blankets and we all took photos. Dinner was served. It was a very nice buffet. . Tiffany came back and did the final slide show which had photos from this dinner in it too. The slide show was great, there were a lot of funny photos. Instead of the white elephant game we played one where there was a story and you passed a gift right or left based on what Tiffany said. The story itself was great, it included all sorts of references to everything that had happened on the trip. Then we opened whatever we had left in our hands. I got some tops and little pieces of chocolate. Mark got some little bags. We hugged everyone. This was a great adventure. Going home tomorrow. This was a spectacular trip. We left early the next morning. It was a very different experience than the other ABD's we've been on. By the end of the trip, we felt like naturalists. We saw dozens of kinds of birds and insects and other animals. Ecuador is beautiful. We leave for Ireland on Sunday!



ttomorrow.