Ecuador Day 8

Hotel Reina Isabel, where we’ve been staying when in Quito, has an excellent breakfast buffet. After enjoying that, we had a civilized departure at 900. It was a two plus hour drive through rose/flower production country (valleys carpeted in greenhouses) to Otovalo broken up by one snack stop. 

We started our adventures with a hike to Pequche Waterfall, which was beautiful if a bit damp. 

Our next stop was a textile workshop where we got a demonstration of how they make their fabric with a spinning wheel, natural dyes, and a loom. We then did a lot of shopping in their store. 

From there, we headed to downtown Otovalo where we grabbed some lunch, shopped a bit more in the market, and found some froyo. 

We then took the long bus ride (with an adventurous bathroom stop) back to Quito. We went to the airport, which is really nice, and had dinner before saying goodbye to the Californians and heading to our hotel nearby. We will have just a few hours to sleep before we have to be up at 230 to catch our flight home. Hasta Luego Ecuador! 

Ecuador Day 7

Today was a travel day. We had a nice breakfast then did some exploring around town and some snack provisioning - and a group shot under the Chatham Hotel sign. 

At 1100 we were on the bus to the airport. We got through check in and security smoothly and got aboard our Avianca flight to Quito. 

We had a stop in Guayaquil flying in over rice paddies flooded in the rainy season. 

By the time we got to our hotel it was time for a late dinner. One more day of exploring Ecuador tomorrow!

Ecuador Day 6

530 wake-up, 600 departure, security line, water taxi, 700 ferry departure, this time to San Christobol. A bit shorter ride this time, and we were greeted by a parade when we arrived - celebrating Province Day I think. 

After breakfast and a picture with a kid in a red footed booby outfit, we walked to the island museum which had a lot about the history of the islands. 

Next, some of us went to the beach, but most of us hiked a local hill for some spectacular views. 

After lunch, we went on our second  snorkeling expedition in a cove a bit out of town. Our Galapagos guides - Ariana and Erika led us on this adventure. The cove was great for exploring and we saw many more fish species as well as turtles and sea lions. 

One playful young sea lion nipped one of the students as it was chasing a few swimmers - he is okay. We also had a minor jellyfish sting. After treatments and showed, we went out for our last dinner on the islands, then let the kids stay up a bit later since tomorrow they don’t have to be up early. 

Ecuador Day 5

Today it was a 430am wake-up to leave the hotel at 5 to catch a 6am ferry back to Santa Cruz. One benefit of our early mornings has been beautiful sunrises. 

After another 2 hour ride and a nice breakfast, we walked a mile or so to a spectacular beach to spend the morning swimming and relaxing - with lots of sun screen! 

We then took a water taxi back to town and had lunch. After, we walked to the Darwin Research Center where we learned more about his visit to the islands and about the tortoises they are breeding here for various islands other than Isabela. 

Many of these have a saddleback shell that is very different from the populations on Isabella. 

A highlight was seeing Lonesome George who was the last tortoise on Pinta Island and for whom they tried and failed to find a mate. He died in 2012 and his preserved remains are here. 

After we got to do some shopping and then had a lovely dinner where we were entertained by a Peruvian flutist.  Back at the hotel after dinner we had a real tropical downpour which many of these kids frolicked in. Another early morning tomorrow!

Ecuador Day 4

We had to be up by 530 to leave the hotel by 6 to catch a 7am ferry to Isabella. 

Getting to the ferry is a process - waiting in line to get bags checked, then take a rickety water taxi to a small 45 person ferry. The ride was two hours but it was pretty smooth. We are traveling with an EF group from California, so once on Isabella, we got split into a few groups who did the same things in different order. Our group started at the turtle breeding center. There we learned about how they breed the different populations that live on the five volcanoes on the island. 

They breed them at the center and then at a certain age they get returned to their native area. In the wild, their eggs too often get destroyed by rats and other invasive so the breeding program is necessary. After a short walk along a lagoon to see flamingos and other birds, we went back to town for lunch. 

We had a bit of time, so we went for a swim in the ocean and the grabbed some mango smoothies. 

We then went down to the pier for our afternoon adventure. After some wildlife viewing and a walk along a lava island, seeing penguins, blue footed boobies, a lot of marine iguanas, and even some sharks, we went snorkeling. 

We saw lots of damsel fish and other colorful reef dwellers, especially sea horses and a giant pufferfish. The highlight was getting to swim with sea turtles and penguins. 

We went back to the hotel, cleaned up, went to dinner, and then headed back for an even earlier day tomorrow.

Ecuador Day 3

 After another nice breakfast, we headed to the airport and after a long security process (checking for anything invasive) we got to our flight. We landed in Baltra around 11 and then caught a bus to the ferry to Santa Cruz. 

We spent the afternoon having lunch and hiking at a farm where we saw lots of giant tortoises and walked through lava tubes. 

We then headed to our hotel and went out to dinner. 

After dinner, we spent some time on the pier watching sea lions and sharks. 

After some ice cream, we went back to get ready for an early start tomorrow. 

Ecuador Day 2

We started with a nice breakfast at the hotel and then went to the old colonial part of Quito. We spent some time at the Basilica - a beautiful 18th century church where young can climb all the spires, and where there are shops and cafes on almost every level. 

We then walked down to an old market and a couple of plazas. 

We dodged a few raindrops but the climate is beautiful - in the low 60’s - thanks to its 9000ft elevation. It's the second highest capital in the world after LaPaz. After a nice lunch at an empanada stand, we went to the Equator museum. 

This taught us a lot about Ecuadorean culture and gave us some cool demonstrations of the Coriolis effect - water draining, balancing eggs, and experiencing diminished balance on the equated line - all of these changed if you moved a few inches or feet off the line. 

After dinner we got to bed early - we have to be out at 7 to catch our flight to the Galapagos.