EcoGalaxy II
April 19, 2023
Getting to the Galápagos started with a delay in Miami after our aircraft struck a bird. Since there wasn’t much else to do while we waited, we passed the time playing Monopoly Draw.
Our group traveled to Ecuador by two different routes. Paul, Kathryn, and I flew through Quito, while Terry and Kris connected through Guayaquil, which was dealing with flooding at the time.
After arriving in Ecuador, Gabriella met us at the airport and escorted us through baggage claim and the visa process before taking us to our hotel for the night.
We stayed at Al Pachaca before our flight to the Galápagos the next morning. The room had five beds squeezed into it, no hot water, and lights that randomly turned on and off during the night. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was perfectly adequate for a place we were only using for a few hours of sleep.
The next morning we had breakfast overlooking the gardens with a view of Cotopaxi in the distance before heading back to the airport for our flight to the Galápagos.
The first day wasn’t especially exciting, but it got us where we needed to be and marked the official start of the trip.
