Quito and Galapagos National Park, Ecuador

We have been incognito since March 16^th when we landed in Quito, Ecuador, and the Celebrity Cruise Company took over our lives.  It was to be a welcome relief from all the pre-planning, getting lost, and constant packing and unpacking that has been our life since December 19^th when we first embarked on our six month adventure.  But in some ways, structure invaded our normal lazy, solitary routine and we were back to following schedules, getting up early, standing in lines, and trying not to miss one minute of any bird or beast the National Park had to offer!  Celebrity took good care of the 100 of us who volunteered for this expedition.  From the minute we all gathered for our first excursion until the tour ended 10 days later, they made sure we were well fed, got plenty to drink and saw most of the places and animals you see in National Geographic magazines or television specials.  They gave us an itinerary that would please even the most discerning traveler.  Our excursion began touring Quito.

Quito is an interesting city that is 9200 feet above sea level and surrounded by several mountains that still exhibit a variety of volcanic activity.  Quito’s main economic vitality comes from the tourists stopping here as they head west to the Galapagos or southeast to the treasures of Peru.  There is the new city and the old city.  We stayed in the new section for three nights at the Marriott.  Nearby, we were told, are wealthy Ecuadorians living in fancy homes or high rises.  Unlike many of the one to two story homes or buildings that climb up the hillsides, there are a few new hotels and high-rise buildings that have been built in the past five to ten years.  Then, on the opposite side of town, through LA like traffic and down narrow streets, there is the charming old city, built into the sides of a bowl shaped area that rises precipitously on all sides.  Old town is full of history that mostly involves multiple (very impressive) large, old churches that are beautiful beyond description, with gold leaf, towering spires and ceilings, and hand painted frescos.   Wikipedia would give you a much better outline of this old part of town than I can. But a few words like charming, crowded, and pretty all come to mind.  Add to that, several indigenous people wearing traditional clothing, some carrying babies tied in cloth slings strapped on their backs, many making a living selling scarves and paintings to tourists.   Now that we have returned, we will be staying in the old city for two days so that we can study it more in depth and rest from our Galapagos exploration. 

The Galapagos Islands are a group of several protected impressive islands, some tiny and one in particular, Isabella, that is 62 miles long.  These islands are a two hour flight west of Quito, and this is where our adventure began.  Apparently February and March are the hottest, wettest months in the Galapagos National Park. We chose this time to go because I had read that the water is warmest this time of the year, and I don’t swim in cold water!   We did not have a drop of rain, but experienced a lot of humidity, heat and fairly warm 68-75 degree water!  We never got exact weather reports.  I think they were afraid to tell us the temperature for fear we would all skip some of the afternoon excursions.  Some of us would laugh sarcastically at some of the descriptions that were posted.  One walk was described as a 1.5 mile hot walk on uneven ground over lava. We were told to wear good shoes, protective clothing from the sun and bring water.  Because I got sick at one point, I skipped the excursions that didn’t include animals.

It was very hot and humid much of the time, so taking the hikes was difficult for many of us. While we would get an overview of the excursions, the guides never told us to dress for the bugs!  On one hot afternoon hike there were tons of swarming gnats that surrounded our fresh, sweaty flesh as soon as we exited the zodiac!  Fortunately, the gnats didn’t bite, but they were annoying!  On some of the beaches, we were forced to put on wetsuits just to avoid the gigantic, biting flies.  However, even with all the bugs and heat, we all kept signing up for the darn excursions (which were included in the price of the cruise) because none of us wanted to be left out, miss a bird, fish or beast sighting.   Everyone, it seems, was there to capture every moment on film no matter how hot or buggy.   One guy brought a tripod and carried it everywhere.  Others had cameras with lenses so long they were a danger to others and the animals that we came to see.  We were told not to touch or get within six feet of any of the land or sea creatures at any time.  Only one or two ignored this warning. 

Most of the time long camera lenses were a waste of time as the animals were often found in our path or only a few feet away.  The animals didn’t seem to mind that they were the center of attention and went about their daily activities nearly oblivious to the visitors invading their space.  We saw more sea lions than anyone could count, and yet they never ceased to be entertaining and capture our hearts and the lens of everyone’s camera.  We even had the opportunity to swim with them on one occasion when one willing female wanted to play with us in the water.  She would swim up, look at you, and then immediately take off in various directions and quickly vanish from sight, only to resurface again and scare you with her surprise return.  At one point, Michael’s snorkel became detached from his mask and fell off.  Within seconds, the sea lion grabbed the snorkel in its mouth and swam away with it.  Unfortunately, I didn’t catch that funny moment on camera, but many of us saw it, and it became the highlight of the day.   That day we also saw very large sea turtles, colorful fish and swam in and around sharks that were at least six feet long but seemed very content to let us share the ocean with them. 

The water in the Galapagos is just stunningly beautiful in a variety of shades of aqua and dark blue.  It is so clear that you can see the bottom in places, and it is healthy with tropical and sport fish, turtles, dolphins, many species of sharks, and playful sea lions that like to follow the zodiac boats.  We saw land and sea iguanas, cute little tuxedo- wearing penguins that also swam with us, and blue footed boobies that put on a mating dance show, and also pelicans and frigate birds.  If it weren’t for the bugs and heat, you could watch them and be amused for hours.

This trip was more of an expedition than a leisure cruise.  We were up early, off in a zodiac shortly after breakfast, and only returned back to the ship for meals and brief rests and frequent showers.  We would go from wetsuits and snorkels to hiking shoes and clothing and back to wet suits before the end of the day.  A few of us suffered a 24-48 hour stomach illness, but not many of us missed any of the excursions no matter how difficult or hot they made them seem.  I even got out of my sick bed to do the deep water snorkel. It was not something I felt I could miss even though I was too sick to eat or interact with humans.  The food was good, but not unusually fantastic like some cruises we have taken.  Our cabin was spacious, and the shower area was larger than most ships, which was good because with all the activities we did, most of us were showering no less than two to three times a day. 

Our guides were informative and very protective of the environment and the animals. However, I think many of us would have liked more information, more nature talks, and more slide shows.  We had a lot of fun and met some fantastic passengers who traveled from distant countries like England, Australia, Scotland, and Canada.  We truly enjoyed getting to know many of these wonderful people, and hope that one day, some who became friends will visit us and keep in touch.  However, for most of us it will be the animals that charmed us and will remain in our hearts and share wall space in our homes.  After a couple days rest we will be off to Lima, Peru, where we have a city tour booked.  We have cut our time short in Peru because the altitude in Cuzco and Machu Picchu are not possible for Michael.  Instead, we will extend our stay in Costa Rica where my daughter is incubating my first grandchild!