Galapagos

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to go to the Galapagos islands.  Blue footed boobies! Penguins!  The Equator! Well, that dream came true, and Doug and I were able to take our A-1, most fantastic, smartest and funniest travel companions with us:  Tera and Ciel.  It took a bit of working out, but we all got the 12 days we needed off and headed once again for the southern hemisphere.  We were to meet in Atlanta for the flight to Quito.  Ciel called and said that her plane was delayed, she was on the tarmac, and would be late.  Arrrggghh! But right before we were to board, there she was sprinting down the airport to our gate.  Right as soon as she got there, Delta announced that our plane would be delayed, so we all cooled our heels for another 3 hours. Heart attack averted.  We did not get into Quito until 1:00 AM (thankfully there is no jet lag).  My forward thinking, best friend of a husband had arranged in advance for transportation from the airport to our hotel.  Luckily Carlos was waiting for us and proceeded to take us on the 45 minute trip from the newly built airport to the Hilton Colon in Quito.  What a nice place to plop into bed.  The next day, we walked over to the museum of antiquities and saw a lot of gold and pottery and got a little weak from the altitude (9,500 ft).  Carlos then met us and took us for a tour of the sites of the city and we were churched out after the solid gold one, but he took us to see the giant Virgin on the dragon that rules the city and the view was spectacular. The Virgin is odd, all patchy aluminum and scary.
The next morning we caught the plane to the Galapagos, via Guayaquil and landed on Baltros, an island that used to have a US air base on it.  The guide for the boat trip picked us up and took us to the dock where we were to get on the tiny boat that would take us to the just a bit bigger boat that would be our home for the next five days.  And guess what?  Blue footed boobies! Everywhere! Diving into the water!  I could have been content to go home then (I really don't like  boats), but I perservered and just made sure that I put on my scopolomine patch for the duration.  What a great invention: not only does it prevent seasickness, but it makes for a sort of otherworldly experience.
And since I was to be in another world for a few days, it was very welcome.  The next few days are sort of a blur, but the birds, the tortoises, the sea turtles, penguins, iguanas and sea lions were so numerous and unafraid that I was left with a renewed sense of wonder and amazement at the adaptability of life.  I was talked into snorkeling, I really am a terrible swimmer, but after the first panic attack, Tera took my hand and guided me to see the sharks, fish, rays, and starfish that inhabit the ocean floor.  Our guide was very patient with me and all of my questions and he made sure that we all saw the things that make the Galapagos the magical place that it is.  The other guests on the boat were there for pretty much the same reason we were, and it made for a lively and interesting group when we met for meals three times a day.  The food was mostly local, with lots of potatoes, fish and rice, a very good introduction to the cuisine of Ecuador. At night we would sit atop the boat and stare at the Milky Way and the shooting equatorial stars.  It was over too soon, much to my amusement (I had so dreaded the boat).
We flew out of the Galapagos and back to Guayaquil for a night in the Courtyard Marriott before our trip to Salinas and the coast.  We were warned not to take cabs in Ecuador, but to arrange for private transportation.  I contacted, through friends, Juan to pick us up at the hotel and take us the 120 miles to Salinas.  He met us the next morning in the most beat up, over used Hyundai SUV for the uncomfortable and heart stopping drive.  He had hit a horse (Surprise!) the day before and his regular vehicle, a Nissan double cab truck was wrecked. That he had hit a poor horse was understandable once we were treated to the Ecuadorean method of driving.  What stop sign?  Red lights are just a suggestion, and left turns can be made from any lane.  If the road is designed for two lanes, there are at least 5 being used at any time. When we finally got to our condo, we were sore, weary and ready for relaxation.  Our condo proved to be confining, and we soon left for the malacon and downtown Salinas which looks like Miami with smaller people and cars.  Taxis were cheap, reliable and safe here, so we took advantage of them.  The next day, Ciel found us a birding guide to take us to the salt ponds for shore birds.  Ben was an expat from Holland and had a little whale museum and a side gig as bird guide.  He met us in his tattered sweater, sandals and socks on the malacon to take 2 taxies ("are you sure you can walk?")  to the evaporation and shrimp ponds. He was surprised that we were able to walk the 5 km and not complain while we saw boobies, flamingos, spoonbills and many others.  He liked us so much that he wanted to take us out whale watching, so we met him the next day on the Chocolateria to spy through his spotting scope wright and humpback whales as well as dolphins. We were sorry to leave him but bought his shore bird book (in Spanish).  Later that night at dinner in an Italian restaurant with the most ridiculous and hilarious English translations of Italian foods Tera and Ciel took to referring to him as the White legged stilt.  The next day, being such gluttons for uncomfortable foolishness, we agreed to have Juan take us up the coast to Montanita, the hippy surfing town in his torturous Hyundai.  The coast was beautiful, and the beers in the town were very welcome.  In fact, Juan had several.  On the way back, he hit one of the many speed bumps that are placed strategically out in the middle of nowhere at about 50 mph.  Since we had no seat belts, we almost hit the ceiling at the same time that the check engine light went on.  When we actually got back to our condo, I was almost a believer in a caring, though practical joke loving god.  Since Juan was supposed to pick us up to take us back to the airport in Guayaquil the next morning, we all went out, had a bottle of wine (which at $30 was more than all of our dinners together) and tried to not think about the Hyundai of Hell and whether or not we would actually get to the airport. Obviously, we did and we all made it home in 4 intact pieces.  What a wonderful trip, one for the record books.