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Our Nov 2010 trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos

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by: Dave Cruz
Galapagos, Nov 2010

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Our Nov 2010 Ecuador and Galapagos trip

Want to go? Darwin's Islands

I went to: Ecuador, Quito, Galapagos, Floreana, Isabela, Santa Cruz Island
up in the high lands of Floreana in an area of hardened ash where the first inhabitants lived. getting up close and personal with a tortoise. they were awesome creatures.the outdoor restuarant on Floreana was amazing. we had a wonderful meal outside in the dirt. it was really outstanding.night time on Floreana. truly an awesome experience to be the only tourist on the island.the red mangroves were a sight as well. this was our mode of transportation on Floreana. came complete with air cushioned seats and air conditioning.a nice drive up to the mountainous area in search of tortoises on Floreana.there's a constant mist in the air as you reach the high lands on Floreana. we saw a lot of finches and tortoises on this portion of the trip.tortoise on the go!you just have to be there to appreciate these animals.the food was excellent at each place we stayed. we never had a meal we didn't enjoy. wonderful service as well.a female lava lizard on Isabella. she came up to get her photo taken.me and my daughter at the Isabela lodge along with our guide, Jimmy (awesome guy).a tortoise opening his mouth wide for the camera. on Florena Island.Our comfortable cabin on Floreana. Me and my daughter really enjoyed this island.we saw many of these amazing creatures along the tour. they make great photo subjects since they don't move much.a beautiful sunset on Floreana Island.like I said, the meals were great!the boat trips between the islands were not bad at all. most lasted 1.5 hours and gave us time to relax.there certainly was no fear amongst all the animals we saw. they didn't really pay much attention to us.another amazing iquana on the island of Isabela.hiking along the trails lined with lava rocks and iquanas.a school of sharks relaxing in a lagoon on Isabela.the lava rock fields were very interesting in deed.these iquanas pretty much hung out just about anywhere.our lodge on Isabela. it was a short walk to the beach from here.an iquana kicking back on black lava rocks just outside our resort on Isabela.a cemetary on our way to the Wall of Tears on Isabela.group photo at the top of the Wall of Tears.we captured some really nice photos of the wide assortment of plant life on the tour.another shot of a cemetary on Isabela.coastal life on the island of Santa Cruz.on our way to port we saw a lot of crabs hanging out.the bay in Santa Cruz was a nice experience.our favorite resort was the Aventura Lodge on Santa Cruz.if you go there you will not miss this!just a nice place all together. great food and wonderful views of the ocean.we stayed in the Azul room. very nice place.view from out deck at Aventura Lodge.don't forget to stop by Darwin's research center for some amazing history of the islands and repopulation efforts going on there.if you go shopping on Santa Cruz, wait until you get to the end of the shops before you buy. the prices drop 30% as you get farther from the lodge.as I was aiming my camera at an iguana one morning,this finch landed right in front of my lens. she didn't have a care in the world.i guess we went when the crowds were much smaller. island hoping was a lot of fun.not a bad idea to wait on buying your souveniers. we bought most of them on our way out at the airport. they had some great deals.departure day! sad to leave such a wonderful place. my only regret is not having more time to spend on the islands. great experience all together.

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