2010 was a fantastic travel year, and we capped it off with an incredible two week trip to the Galapagos and Ecuador.
Galapagos:
Lindblad Endeavour Cruise
Keith's parents had been to the Galapagos several years earlier (on the same boat) and we had loved their photos. So, we signed up with Lindblad Expeditions, a partner of National Geographic, for a trip of a lifetime cruising around the Galapagos Islands for 7 days. We opted for the larger boat, the Endeavour (100 passenger), since Shawna has a tendency to get seasick. The crew and the itinerary were fantastic. The cruise included accommodations, meals (except for alcohol), all activities and guides.
Leaving Raleigh, we flew to Miami and then directly to Guayaquil - only a 3 hour flight from Miami. We were really lazy and did nothing in Guayaquil - we just relaxed in the Colon Hotel. The next day, Lindblad met us at the hotel where they shuttled us to the airport and took care of all of the logistics for the rest of the time. We flew from Guayaquil to the Galapagos which was a short flight and then boarded zodiacs to then board the cruise ship. The rooms on the boat were nicer and larger (although still small) than we expected. We had a queen-sized bed with a closet, a small desk, a port hole window to look out of and a tiny bathroom. The ship amenities included a dining room, a large lounge (where we gathered for presentations), a small gym, a small pool, and outside seating areas to relax.
Bartolome Island
While on the boat, we visited several of the islands, including Floreana, Fernandina, Isabela, Santiago and Santa Cruz. Every day included at least one hike and one snorkel, plus sometimes a kayak or other activity (i.e. swimming from the beach). We were never bored as there was always something to do. In the evenings, before dinner, the guides did a presentation summarizing what we saw that day and highlighting the itinerary for the next day. All meals were on the boat with family-style seating. The first evening we were antisocial and ate just the two of us but every meal after that was with different groups and we had a lot of fun meeting new people.
Land Iguana
We saw a stunning variety of wildlife and it was so amazing how tame they were. We had rented a super-duper telephoto lens but it really was not critical since you could walk right up to most of the animals. Some of the highlights of the wildlife that we saw include the famous giant tortoises (which are quite interesting to watch mating), land iguanas, marine iguanas, sea lions, sea turtles, penguins, dolphins, crabs and birds of all kinds. Shawna's favorite was the sea lions - they were so cute - we probably got over 100 photos of sea lions alone! Keith was fond of the boobies (birds, that is) b/c he liked that he could get away with saying 'boobies' all day!
Sea Lion Pup
Giant Tortoise
We had two close encounters: one day snorkeling we met up with two small sea lions that ended up doing loop-the-loops with Keith in the water. The other was even more fun - a tiny baby sea lion tried to jump on the back of our kayak, and when the mother saw this, she was NOT happy, swam over, and scared the hell out of Shawna!
While on the trip, we also visited the Darwin Center on Santa Cruz island where we learned about their preservation efforts throughout the islands.
The cruise was just amazing - the guides were quite knowledgeable, the people we met on the trip were really nice and of course, you just cannot beat the wildlife!
Chillin' on the Boat
Ecuador:
After our week in the Galapagos, we headed back to Ecuador for another week. While waiting for our flight back to the mainland, we saw Katie Couric who was on her way to take the next Lindbald boat trip. In order not to travel around too much, we narrowed this part of the trip down to visiting the towns of Mindo and Banos.
Mindo:
Casa Divina
The purpose of going to Mindo was to see the cloud forest. We stayed at Casa Divina, a really cute, little hotel just outside of town. All of the buildings are made out of beautiful wood and each of the rooms have a great view of the jungle and gardens that surround the grounds (there are many colorful, tropical flowers throughout the grounds). The owners are really nice and take care of everything for you. All meals were at the hotel and cooked by the staff - breakfast and lunch were more continental (i.e. cereal, yogurt, sandwiches, soup) but dinner was more local fare and was quite tasty.
Butterfly
All our activities were organized by the hotel as well. The first thing we did was a rafting trip unlike we have ever done. The raft was not much more than 9 huge inner tubes tied together and thrown in a freezing cold river, with two guys jumping in and out of the river to "steer" the raft. This is the first and only time we have ever been nervous on a river - even rafting the Grand Canyon seemed safe compared with what we saw here. We also did the traditional zipline over the canopy which was really cool but also nail-biting - the zipline was rather high and they tried all types of positions (upside down, backwards, tandem) with no need to sign a 'release form'! Of course, Keith was way more adventurous that Shawna and tried every position that they would offer!
One morning, we got up super early (like 4 am) to hike into the cloud forest to see the famous and ever evasive cock-of-the-rock bird. After much walking, stopping and listening, we finally got to see one - although it was really only visible through the strong binoculars that our guide brought so we never got any good photos. We did get to see some other colorful birds on this hike more up close. Given the early departure for this activity, it made us realize that we are not hard core bird watchers! Other activities including visiting a butterfly house (beautiful species of all kinds) and hiking to a remote waterfall through a lush cloud forest for a few hours.
Banos:
Keith on Cotopaxi
From Mindo, we headed to Banos, the "Queenstown of Ecuador" in the volcano district. We drove through volcano alley on the way to Banos, stopping for a hike up Cotopaxi (5897m high) to the hut. Given the limited time, we drove up most of the mountain to an area where you could hike to one of the huts. It was freezing cold so Shawna made it about 5 minutes until she decided this was a terrible idea. Keith walked for the 1 hour + to the hut and then skree-ran back down. It was snowing so the visibility was not great but Keith was glad that he conquered it.
Pool at Luna Runtun
After stopping along the way to take a few pictures of the mountains, we arrived at our hotel Luna Runtun later that day. The hotel is nice 'resort' (by Ecuadorian standards) located on top of the hill overlooking the town of Banos. The room was large and nicely appointed with bright, vibrant Ecuadorian decorations. The hotel has two restaurants - a main dining room and a cafe/bar with spectacular views of the valley. There is also a nice pool with great views of the surrounding valley. We ate all of our meals at the hotel - the food was OK but nothing memorable.
On the day after our arrival, we did a ~4 hour hike along the river which is the trail that the contraband smugglers used - the hike was not too strenuous and was gorgeous. The guide pointed out many of the flowers and produce that were growing along the way.
Keith on 3K Foot Zipline
On the way back from the hike, Keith decided to try and prove he's not 40 by doing a bungee-jump off a bridge. This was a little different than the "normal" bungee jump - it's run by a couple of guys who charged $15 to throw yourself off a 135 foot bridge with basic harnesses. The best part is that the rope is a basic climbing rope, not really bungee, so it does not stretch. The way they make up for that is that you pendulum off the bridge, helping reduce the snap. Following the bungee, Keith did a 3000 foot zipline from the road down to the river - the entire ride took 60 seconds. While Keith was entertaining his need for adrenaline, Shawna stood by the sidelines biting her nails and taking pictures.
On the second day, we did another hike up one of the mountains in the area. This hike was more strenuous (mostly up) and was also quite beautiful with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valley, including the impressive, active volcano in the area Tungurahua (which means 'throat of fire' - why would someone live near that?). We hiked with another family (4 girls with their parents) who were from Boulder - we were so impressed at how mature their kids were! Following the hike, we got relaxing massages at the hotel.
Tungurahua Volcano
The next day, we had to get back to Quito where we stayed overnight at the JW Marriott before leaving the following morning to fly back to the states. We were not in Quito long so we did not really see much of the city. However, we did have a great meal at a hip restaurant Zazu which we would definitely recommend.
Overall it was an incredible trip - we would some day love to return to the Galapagos and see it again and of course, spend more time in Ecuador as we barely scratched the surface!
