Brimming with excitement to get the adventure off on time we woke up at 5 AM and drove to the airport, JFK, bright and early. We selected to fly into Guayaquil since there was a direct flight on LAN, which turned out to be a very good airline. Most of our tour members flew into Quito, but we figured that since Guayaquil was the departure point for …

Our local A.L. guide picked us up at the Hotel and drove us to the beautiful modern Guayaquil airport. There we boarded the plane and met our guide, Fabrico, on the plane. Once we landed we drove to our hotel which was probably the nicest one we stayed at with a great staff and had the whole place to ourselves. Then we took a hike to Frigate Hill, …

The next morning we got to do some sea kayaking and learned that it's a little trickie for first timers and that maybe married couples would be better off splitting up in 2 person kayaks. We paddled along the shore and saw loads of sea life with sea lions, crabs, and many varieties of beautiful birds. Then we had our first snorkeling in shallow …

We visited a tortoise park and saw the huge creatures up close. Got a park tour and understanding of the tortoises. Then drove to the highlands to visit a large extinct volcano now filled in with water. Much climbing was involved and the hike was complicated by wet slippery mud but we managed.

This morning we got on a small plane which was the size of a cigar and barely held all of us but it was an experience, and flew to Isabela. We dropped off our stuff at the hotel, then got mountain bikes to ride to the the other side of the Island where we saw a huge man made rock wall built years ago by prisoners. The bike ride was about 8 miles …

This morning we drove to the highlands on the Island then picked up our horses that were used to get to an awesome live volcanic area which was about 8 miles in circumfrence. When we started that morning the weather was overcast and light drizzle but by the time we got to the volcano, the sun was shinning. Most of us greenhorns had great fun when …

This morning we walked to a 35 foot boat for our 2 1/2 hour ride from Isabela to Santa Cruz and we flew over and through the waves. Once we docked we checked into our Hotel the Red Booby, then hiked to an isolated beach where some swam in the surf.

We walked a short way through town to visit the Darwin Center where we saw huge tortoises and took loads of photos up close with them. Hard to believe how old they were and how they are able to move around. In the afternoon we drove to a free range tortoise farm then had a great lunch at an outdoor restaurant. On the way home we stopped at a …

Today we boarded the plane at Santa Cruz and bid our new tour friends good bye which was sad since we all got along so well and such a great trip together. Everyone was compatable and along with our great guide, it was probably the best vacation we've ever had. This was our second trip with Adventure Life, the first one was in Costa Rica, and that …