Here are some final notes about this trip:

I’m a mosquito magnet so I did take malaria pills. Despite spraying my clothing to keep mosquitoes away and I put down the mosquito bed netting each night, I was bit by something. Didn’t look like mosquito bites.

I get sea sick so I wore the medicated patch behind my ear, each good for 3 days. Of the 7 nights on the water, only one night seemed a challenge for fellow travelers who did not wear the medicated patch. It was the most western area, the night we rounded the north end of Isabel Island.

Know the difference between wet and dry landings. Wet landings are best with water shoes and legs prepared to be wet. Be sure those shoes are good for hiking. Dry landings are easy in hiking boots or sneakers as you’ll not have wet feet and can walk on! However, any shoes used on Galapagos land must be washed so no soil is brought onto the ship. Our crew did a great job keeping our boots/ sneakers in one area and at the end of our trip spraying them down.

We did enjoy plenty of seafood: fish and octopus, chicken, empanadas, yucca fries, cassava rolls, rice and quinoa, sweet potatoes, avocado, various beans… especially lentils, plantain, bananas and huge blackberries! We had many juices to drink, such as guava and watermelon. The only one I knew for sure was blackberry juice. They farm those berries. They do not farm blueberries so any of those berries were like the wild blueberries in the USA, small!

Ecuador has no mail service! No postcards or stamps to buy. Bills are paid via the bank service or in person. This is the first time I have been in a country with no mail. (Just a note, USA mail is protected in our constitution.)

Some travelers went to Papallacta Hot Springs and enjoyed their day and a couple of us went to Quito Botanical Gardens. There really is so much more of this country to see! A Tennessee couple I met on the plane had amazing photos of numerous hummingbirds. Others talked of seeing more of rural Ecuador. It’s an easy country to enjoy and maybe I will return.

Of course, another easy thing is Ecuadorians use US currency! I did discover though … Ecuador does make a few of their coins to look like US coins, not exactly… but enough to use in country, so be aware of what is in your pocket and use them while in Ecuador.

I mentioned wanting to find a snack …. Here it is:

Here are more photos:

I have many photos, but those at least give you an idea of the variety of animals we had seen. Love wildlife? Then visit Ecuador!