Ecuador
/ Galapagos 2007 Travelogue
Trip
Summary:
Destination:
Ecuador and Galapagos
Travel
Company: ExpeditionTrips
When:
19 May – 03 June 2007
Duration:
16 Days of sightseeing
Photos
taken: Kathy took 2955, Bob took 2249 (total 5204).
Prologue:
Kathy
and I chose Ecuador for several reasons. We like to alternate between
“animal vacations” and “people / cultural / archeology
vacations.” Africa and Canada were animal vacations. Turkey and
Greece were cultural vacations. It's always nice when we can do both
and not feel cheated. Peru was a mixture of half Cultural (Andean /
Inca) and half Animal (Amazon) vacation. This time we’re heading
off to another 50/50 mixture, Ecuador (cultural) and the Galapagos
Islands (animals). The islands, of course, are what inspired Charles
Darwin—a very devout Christian—to formulate his theory of
evolution and write his controversial “Origin of Species” which
rocked both the scientific and religious worlds of his day.
Another
reason for our trip is that a friend of ours from our motorcycle
club, Bob Frazee, traveled with his wife, Fran, to the Galapagos a
few years ago and they had a wonderful time. They took lots of
excellent photos of both animals and people, so I was a bit jealous
of his adventure. I had to see all those animals for myself.
Click
on the photos to see comments I wrote and photos we took on each day:
|
No photos
|
Day 1
|
Sat
May 19, 2007
|
Minneapolis
to Miami to Quito
|
No
photos
|
|
|
Day 2
|
Sun
May 20, 2007
|
Quito
|
Bob:
128,
Kathy:
120
|
|
|
Day
3
|
Mon
May 21, 2007
|
Quito
to Cuenca
|
Bob:
132,
Kathy:
153
|
|
|
Day
4
|
Tue
May 22, 2007
|
Alauci
|
Bob:
155,
Kathy:
140
|
|
|
Day
5
|
Wed
May 23, 2007
|
Alauci
to Lasso
|
Bob:
111,
Kathy:
201
|
|
|
Day
6
|
Thu
May 24, 2007
|
Lasso,
Saquisili, Cotopaxi volcano
|
Bob:
248,
Kathy:
242
|
|
|
Day
7
|
Fri
May 25, 2007
|
Lasso
to Otavalo
|
Bob:
133,
Kathy:
151
|
|
|
Day
8
|
Sat
May 26, 2007
|
Otovalo,
Kotocache, Equator memorial
|
Bob:
122,
Kathy:
106
|
|
|
Day
9
|
Sun
May 27, 2007
|
Quito
to Galapagos Islands
|
Bob:
138,
Kathy:
142
|
|
|
Day
10
|
Mon
May 28, 2007
|
Genovesa
(“Tower”) Island
|
Bob:
123,
Kathy:
269
|
|
|
Day
11
|
Tue
May 29, 2007
|
Fernadina
Island, Isabela Island
|
Bob:
226,
Kathy:
319
|
|
|
Day
12
|
Wed
May 30, 2007
|
Santiago,
Bartoleme Islands
|
Bob:
142,
Kathy:
261
|
|
|
Day
13
|
Thu
May 31, 2007
|
Santacruz
Island
|
Bob:
139,
Kathy:
184
|
|
|
Day
14
|
Fri
June 1, 2007
|
Espanola
|
Bob:
269,
Kathy:
383
|
|
|
Day
15
|
Sat
June 2, 2007
|
San
Christobel
|
Bob:
162,
Kathy:
231
|
|
|
Day
16
|
Sun
June 3, 2007
|
San
Cristobel to Quito
|
Bob:
21, Kathy: 53
|
|
|
Day
17
|
Mon
June 4, 2007
|
Quito
to Minneapolis
|
No Photos
|
What
we did right:
The
hardest part was packing for the trip because of the weather. In the
Andes, it can be chilly and rainy. Some days it didn't get above 70F.
In the Galapagos, it can be hot and sunny. Some days it got over 90F.
So we had to plan a wide variety of clothes: shorts and longs, warm
and cold. For that reason, we felt like we overpacked, although we
used almost everything and I'm not sure what I could have possibly
left behind.
What
we did wrong: