Galapagos Day 9, Quito Day One

Breakfast is done and we do our final bag pack on the ship. Details to complete. Pay the bar tab, Ouch! Prepare the tip for our Cruise Director, Guide and Staff. Well, that takes care of most of our cash! Now up on deck to watch our arrival into port in San Cristobal Island. Our bags are loaded into the bus to the airport and we have a couple hours to walk around and check out this quaint town.

Sea Lions and other critters wave goodbye to us and we spot a new sculpture made from sea trash to remind us to keep our oceans clean! Local city sights made us excited to walk around and see how they live here! Boardwalks, Local Coast Guard ship, a new fountain under construction that depicts the Galapagos Islands all only a few steps from the pier.

A lazy Sea Lion takes a nap next to a fun restaurant with a sense of humor on their signs. Sculptures and statues abound as we walk among the shops, looking for those last few trinkets and souvenirs.

A local house and the residents on the porch give evidence of the extremely poor lifestyle here. Other sights amaze us as we walk about this small quaint town!

Alas, our time is up and we head for the airport to go back to the mainland. Several more tiled sculptures arise before our eyes showing the artistic side of this wonderful paradise! Even the roof inside the airport terminal shows off its artistic style! Then we say a final goodbye to our great guide Carlos and go into security.

Out on the tarmac, we climb into the plane for the flight back to the mainland where we’ll stop in Guayaquil where we started this amazing adventure and we wait on the plane for we are traveling on to Quito, the Capitol on Ecuador.

I have a window seat and a camera and nothing else to do, so let’s keep taking photos as we travel into the mountains towards our next destination that sits at 9000 feet above sea level. We finally touch down near sunset and take a taxi to our hotel. This time, we have no confusion and go to the correct hotel the first time!

After settling into our rooms, it’s time to find dinner and we are directed to a street of restaurants only a couple blocks from our hotel. Another good local meal and I have energy for a few more night photos. So as everyone else settles in for the night, I find myself out on the streets with my camera and gear looking for good subjects. It’s not difficult as there is a Cathedral right in front of our hotel!