Galapagos 2014--Overview

I have wanted to go to the Galapagos Islands for as long as I can remember. I recently found a travel brochure that I have been saving since 2002 about planning a trip. The Musician and I realized that for several years, OK, most of our almost 15-year marriage, we haven't really taken "vacations." We've been places, but mostly the same old thing, and for several years, not really much beyond visiting family (and housesitting in Hawaii . . .different story). This year was a milestone for me with promotion and we decided to bite the bullet, and not cheap out on travel. We booked a week-long trip on a 16-person (plus crew) catamaran to the Galapagos. There are so many islands to see, that there is no way to see it all in a week, but we packed in a lot. We took almost 2,000 pictures, so there is no way to post everything and I'm planning to write a little post about each day separately over the coming week or so with more details of each day. So much was packed in that I have to write it all down now, or I will never remember it all.

But, a general overview . . .we booked through O.A.R.S. and they contract through R.O.A.M. We found out we were passengers 10-11 and the first 9 were from one family. We saw a group of 5 adults and 4 children (ages 12-17) in the Houston Airport and they seemed excited about a trip to the Galapagos, so we barged in and asked . . .sure enough, it was our group. Among them were 2 doctors and a professional photographer and some really cool people. They are now extended family to us. In Quito, we met a representative from O.A.R.S. who was going on a "familiarization" trip, another passenger (doctor #4), and a representative from R.O.A.M. who was learning the trip to be a tour leader in the future.

I was anxious about landing in Quito, but shouldn't be. The formerly 9th most dangerous airport in the world is now a city park and we landed at the new airport about 45 minutes out of the city. In the wee hours, the whole group was taken to our lodging. Casa de Hacienda "La Jimenita" is a former farmhouse that is being converted to a spa hotel with 20 rooms (currently 12). It was beautiful. The rooms are lovely.

 

The grounds were beautiful.  The beds were comfortable. The food was amazing. And . . .we were greeted by the resident English Bulldog, Faris Francois, who followed us to our room to make sure we felt comfortable.  The people also were so welcoming and wanted us to feel like it was our home . . .except ours is not as nice.

We had a day tour before leaving for the Islands. I was surprised that the Galapagos is 600 miles off the coast and was a 2 1/2 hour flight . . .with a time change. After meeting our park naturalist guide and crew, and settling into our cabin, we set sail on Nemo III...On the island, we met one more passenger...a cool, adventerous, 20-year-old finishing her 42 days in Ecuador and Galapagos on a Catamaran with us.



Over the next several days, we made stops on the Islands of Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Santa Fe, Espanola, Floreana, and Bartolome. We didn't make it to the biggest Island Isabela. We learned a lot about how the islands were formed. Each location had different landscape and it felt like we were on different worlds at each location.

The plants were beautiful.  We saw lots of Blue Footed Boobies, Frigate Birds, Sea Lions (who played with us in the water), Giant Albatross, Hawks, varieties of Finches and Hummingbirds (including a vampire), Giant Land Tortoises, Sea Turtles, Land and Marine Iguanas, and so much more . . .We took videos and 1,871 pictures. The group is planning to upload the best photos so we can share. Can you imagine how many possible pictures there will be? But, still not enough to fully appreciate the beauty of the land.

I was sad to leave on the 8th day, but happy to see Faris back at the Hacienda.


We relaxed and admired the grounds before another day tour of old Quito and a red-eye home. I'm exhausted and need another vacation to recover. Back to work in the morning. But, I want to go back one day and see even more!!!!