Just across the street from our hotel in Guayaquil (a city of four million people, a far cry from the sleepy coastal town we had imagined) is an animal sanctuary, so we got to see some recovering monkeys and iguanas.
Upon landing at San Cristobal Airport on San Cristobal island, we had a long, windy walk outside from the plane to the terminal. After the cutest dog finished sniffing all the luggage (a couple bags were pulled. . .don’t know how those stories ended), we grabbed our bags and headed outside to wait for the bus to take us to the zodiacs to take us to the ship.
(If it seems like there was a lot of travel involved on this trip, there sure was. Machu Picchu and the Galapagos are among the most remote places on Earth. By the time this trip is over, we’ll have taken eleven airplane flights, two train trips, 17 Zodiac rides, countless van rides, six taxi rides, as well as other forms of transportation I’m probably forgetting.)
(Editor’s Note: You can’t estimate the number of van rides? Blogger: No, that’s why I used the word “countless.” Besides, I don’t estimate, I rely on facts!)
I like to say that any day that involves a Zodiac boat ride is a good day, and we had three that very first day.
After the first Zodiac, we immediately had lunch and then we found our (very small) cabin. Carol unpacked, while I explored the ship. (Before you cry "sexism," there was NOT enough room for two people to be unpacking with divorce papers being part of the process. She threw me out of the room and I was glad to go).
There was the usual first day safety briefing, and then an overview of the expedition cruise. And then we got ready for our first expedition.
(Not sure why, but this is only the second time ever the photos are in reverse order of how I took them:)
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