Today was a day spent mostly either in flight or awaiting a flight. We left Detroit at 11:45AM, stopped for a bit in Houston and then arrived in Quito at 10PM. There was a bit of confusion at the busy Quito airport, but we found our driver and met one of our tour group members in the process.
We stayed overnight at La Rabida. The bed was very …

We started the day with a breakfast of pancakes (yum!). We ate along side the member of our group we met at the airport the previous night and Brownie, the resident bunny.
After breakfast, we met the rest of our group and our guide, Sebastian. We were driven to the airport and were on our way to the Galapagos!
The airport at San Cristobal was …

Again, the hotel was beautiful, however, there was a noisy neighbor…a rooster. Our friend woke us at 4AM and about every 10 minutes after that. And, not content to be left out, the sea lions decided to join in the fun at 5AM.
We had breakfast as a group (by the way, there were 9 of us total, 10 including the guide). Then we went sea …

Today we started the day by hopping in the boat and heading to Santa Cruz. We stopped along the way to snorkel. We swam with sea turtles and a variety of fish. Once we got to the island, we hopped into kayaks and headed out to sea. The water was quite rough and the going was much more difficult than the previous day. My aforementioned …

The day started with a visit to the Darwin Center. We got to see the tortoise breeding area, many iguanas and the star resident, Lonesome George.
After the Darwin Center, we went back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes and then were off to an area near the El Chato reserve. We did a bit of hiking and then got in the saddle...of mountain …

The water was still rough when we got in the boat to go to Isabela. Most of our group was not feeling well about 2 hours into the ride (I was luckily unaffected by the waves). In hindsight, perhaps scrambled eggs were not the wisest choice for breakfast for some. Simon actually lay down at the back of the boat so he couldn’t feel the …

We started the day with a ride in, you guessed it, a pickup truck to a stable on the Sierra Negra volcano. This was my first ride in the back of a truck since I was quite young. Hey, I grew up out in the county, it was allowed.
We were saddled up, on horses this time, and off to the rim of Sierra Negra. My horse had some kind of identity …

It was time to leave the islands. We had an early morning departure by boat. It was a bit chilly, but the waves were calmer than they had been on previous island transfers. Once on Santa Cruz, we hopped into trucks and were off to the airport. We said goodbye to Sebastian. He was a fantastic guide and if I ever go back to the Galapagos, I …

After breakfast with Brownie, Simon and I were off to Cotopaxi. It was a three-hour drive through the city and then up to 14,000 feet. We hiked to 16,000 feet in about 45 mintues. After being at sea-level the day before, the altitude change was quite a shock. Only 50% of those attempting actually make it. We did make it, through the rain and …