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Darwin's Islands and Quito Add On

Marine Iguana, Tintoreros Park, Isabella Island
Marine Iguana, Tintoreros Park, Isabella Island
A great trip with highlights being a morning scuba dive off Santa Cruz Island, an exhilarating hike up the Sierra Negra volcano, lots of curious and nonchalant animal/sealife, great company, accommodations and food, and knowledgable guides who accompanied us throughout our islands visit. Adventure Life arranged a last minute guided bus/walking tour in Quito to structure my last day while awaiting the flight home. A great adventure!
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Arrived Quito

May 12, 2013
Square in front of the President's Palace, Quito
Square in front of the President's Palace, Quito (Steven Alcorn)
Landed at the brand spanking new airport in Quito about 10:30 PM just in time to grab a taxi to the beautiful Rincon de Puembo hotel for a few hours sleep before catching the morning flight to Galapagos. The hotel was a gorgeous hacienda style facility in a quiet neighborhood but there was not much time to explore it due to the hour. That was saved for later in the trip.

Baltra and Santa Cruz Island

May 13, 2013
Blue footed boobies, Santa Cruz Island
Blue footed boobies, Santa Cruz Island (Steven Alcorn)
I was picked up promptly at 6Am by Christian, the English speaking Adventure Life guide, and driver for transfer back to the Quito airport. As a solo traveler I had plenty of opportunity to ask questions questions about the sights on our route and Christian accompanied me through the ticketing process and helped carry my bags. After an approximately two hour flight, with a stop in Guayaquil, Ecuador's biggest city, we landed on the island of Baltra, paid our park fees, and then transferred by bus and ferry to the Island of Santa Cruz. There I checked.into the Red Mangrove resort and finally had a chance to unpack and unwind. In my room I could hear waves at the nearby beach and the wafting breezes through the open windows. I was suddenly startled by hearing what sounded, frankly, like someone throwing up outside my window but, happily, this turned out to be just two sea lions who had made themselves at home on the deck and were enjoying the selves vocally. The remainder of the day was spent at the beach, swimming and taking photos with the other six travelers in our group, followed by a delicious dinner and beverages at Red Mangrove. I also checked out diving gear for next morning's dive trip with the divemaster, Richard, before hitting the hay.

Morning SCUBA Diving and Transfer to Floreana Island

May 14, 2013
Puerto Ayora Harbor, Santa Cruz Island
Puerto Ayora Harbor, Santa Cruz Island (Steven Alcorn)
Divemaster, Richard, introduced me to Galapagos below the waves after breakfast while the rest of our group toured the Santa Cruz highlands by bus. We saw an abundance of multicolored fish as well as a Pacific Green turtle calmly paddling somewhere he needed to be. Clearly there is lots more to explore under water and there are many dives sites. But those will have to wait for another time. After lunch our small group sailed to Floreana Island, about an hour and a half trip and settled into the Floreana Lodge which is comprised of small cabins. Each had ocean views and mine was certainly quite comfortable. The afternoon was spent snorkeling at the beach where we saw several good sized Pacific Green Turtles feeding below the surface. We had an evening wine and beverage reception and briefing shortly after sunset and were able to spot the Southern Cross from the Deck. Dinner followed at Lileana's family owned restaurant and most of our group elected to enjoy a walk back to the cabins and do some more stargazing on the way.

Floreana Highlands and Transfer to Isabella Island

May 15, 2013
Iguana on the terrace, Red Mangrove Resort, Santa Cruz Islan
Iguana on the terrace, Red Mangrove Resort, Santa Cruz Islan (Steven Alcorn)
After breakfast we bused to the Peace Asylum where we encountered the giant Galapagos tortoises. These guys are impressive! And, like almost all of the wildlife in the Galapagos that we encountered they seemed to view humans as a harmless curiosity. From the corner of your eye they look almost like large stones or boulders so I could imagine sitting down on one accidentally. Continuing up the trail we came to the site used by pirates in times past. They had a great view of the valley and shore to facilitate their hobbies and apparently some of there gold was found in the area some decades ago. Isabella Island was a two hour boat trip away where we settled into another beautiful Red Mangrove resort right on the beach. The afternoon was spent touring some lava fields at Tintereros Park where there were zillions of marine iguanas of all sizes, blue footed boobies, crabs, and white tipped reef sharks. While snorkeling in e harbor I almost bumped I to a six foot sting ray which gracefully swam next to me for a few moments. In the evening I walked around the quiet town, took photos, and took Ina spectacular sunset.

Isabella Island and Sierra Negra Volcano

May 16, 2013
View from the pirate's hideout, Floreana Island
View from the pirate's hideout, Floreana Island (Steven Alcorn)
Breakfast was followed by a bus trip to the foot of the Ierra Negra volcano and a six mile round trip to the top and back. It was a bit rainy so the narrow trail was slippery at times. Our guide picked some passion fruit for sampling en route. At the top we saw that the crater was filled with mist so there was not much to see. On a clear day the view is said to be pretty amazing. We lunched at a local farm house on e way back and had some time to relax. Our afternoon was free for snorkeling, or checking out e town. The beautiful Catholic Church with hand carved driftwood alter and large carved tortoise was worth a stop.

Wall of Tears and Return to Santa Cruz Island

May 17, 2013
Portion of the Wall of Tears, Isabella Island
Portion of the Wall of Tears, Isabella Island (Steven Alcorn)
The Wall of Tears is a grim reminder of the penal colony that operated in times past. The rocks are of dark lava and were placed by the prisoners who, we were told, hauled them in rucksacks without benefit of shirts or shoes. The Wall of Tears seemed to have no practical purpose except as make work for the convicts and I've read that bodies of deceased prisoners were sometimes thrown into the wall as it was built. The nearby lookout point was a steep climbs wooden steps but gave an exhilarating view of the surrounding valleys. A two hour water crossing brought us back to Santa Cruz Island where a short nap was in order followed by an evening walk around Puerto Ayora for some street photography. Several local volleyball games were in progress in the town squares and seagulls and a seal standing on its hind flippers at the counter waited for scraps. Crime is evidently almost non-existent on the islands and walking alone in the towns with a camera felt quite safe.

Return to Quito

May 18, 2013
Baroque cathedral, Quito
Baroque cathedral, Quito (Steven Alcorn)
Alas, it was time to leave the islands and my tour companions who were continuing their journeys elsewhere. We returned to the airport island of Baltra the way we arrived, by bus and water taxi ("panga"). And then flew via the modern and relatively spacious Aerogal jetliner to Quito by way of Guayaquil. I was contemplating how I would spend the free day I had at leisure in Quito as the Adventure Life tour portion of the trip was ending. Yolanda and Jose from Adventure Life were waiting at the Quito airport to drive me back to the beautiful Rincon de Puembo hotel where I had stayed the first night. I asked whether it was possible to arrange a guided tour of Quito for the next day and, bingo, Yolanda had it taken care of on her cell phone by the time we reached the hotel! Addendum: My final day in Ecuador (now May 19) I lounged poolside at the scenic Rincon de Puembo and and was met after lunch by my driver and guide, Santiago, as arranged by Yolanda the previous day. We did a walking and bus/van tour of Old Town Quito with Santiago, who spoke good English, discussing the architecture of the baroque churches and colonial history. It was fun to watch the people in the square at the President's palace and the weather, even at 8,000 feet was warm enough for short sleeves. Our driver stayed with our vehicle and kept track of my luggage which was one less thing to occupy my attention. At the end of the day they drove me back to the airport for my redeye flight to Atlanta. In summary, I would say the trip offered a great balance between structured educational activities and moderately exerting recreational opportunities. Also there was sufficient down time to simply relax, shop, read a book, or sightsee at your own pace. I would use Adventure Life again in a heart beat for further travel to South America and elsewhere.

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