Galapagos - Return Home

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When we checked back into the JW Marriott Quito after the cruise, we were given a sheet of paper with the times for airport transfers depending on your flight time. As I've mentioned in my previous post, we had a 11 PM flight from Quito, so we didn't need to get to the airport until around 9 PM.

We had asked the Celebrity representative if we could have a late checkout and he said that would be no problem. In the morning before we left for our excursion to Mindo Cloud Forest, we stopped at the front desk to ask if a late checkout time was possible. They said it was and asked what time we wanted to checkout. We explained that we didn't have to leave until 8 PM for the airport and they said that wasn't a problem. They told us that when we were ready to leave just come down and checkout and they'd call for the van to take us to the airport.

After our tour we went back up to our hotel room, took showers and packed the last minute items in our suitcases. We went up to the Executive Lounge for some food and met a group of passengers that didn't have flights until the next day. We talked to them for awhile and then said our good-byes and went to get our luggage.

We were still early, but figured we'd wait in the lobby. After checking out, we asked what time the van would be here. If you are ready to go now, we'll call them for you. A few minutes later, we were on our way to Quito Airport. We arrived at the airport and checked in with the airline. It is necessary to pay the exit tax, so we did that and got stickers to put on our boarding passes indicating that we had paid the fees.

Since we still had some water bottles left, we sat in the lobby for awhile and finished our water. Just like back home, you aren't allowed to take bottled water or other liquids past security. It acutally is even more strict in Quito. You can still have the 3-1-1 bag for your personal liquids.

We went through security and proceeded to the gate. Our flight was delayed due to weather elsewhere. At the gate, your carry-on luggage is searched by hand and every passenger is searched with the wand. You surrender your boarding pass when you pass this security checkpoint. No liquids, other than those in your 3-1-1 bag are allowed in the waiting area.

Unfortunately, our flight was delayed for a couple hours. We could get our boarding pass back and go to the rest rooms or shops in the area. Each time you returned, you were searched once again. That got quite old, but we got used to it.

Our plane finally arrived and we began the boarding process. We had connecting flights and would have had plenty of time between them. Now, we would only have enough time to claim our bags, go through customs, recheck our luggage and head to the gate. It worked out fine.

The flights home were without incident other than the initial delay in Quito. We got home on time and returned to our normal activities.

Celebrity Xpeditions did an excellent job from start to finish. From the time we stepped off the plane in Quito until the time we got back to the airport for our departure flight, everything worked like clockwork. They really know how to put a schedule together and execute on it.
This was the most organized cruise vacation we've ever taken in over 20 years. We'd go back in a heartbeat, so if anyone has room in their cabin for two more people, let us know.

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Galapagos - Mindo Cloud Forest (Day 11)

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After breakfast in the Executive Lounge of the JW Marriott Quito, we went down to the lobby to wait for our tour to Mindo Cloud Forest. The pickup time was scheduled to be 8:30 AM. It was almost 9 AM and we were getting worried. All we had was a credit card receipt from Celebrity Cruises for the tour. We spoke with the hotel concierge and she made a phone call. She was able to contact the driver who was stuck in traffic. He was at the hotel about 30 minutes later.

We didn't know what to expect - we thought there would be a large bus with other people since that was what we had the entire time we were in Quito. It turns out we had a private tour in a mini-van. Our guide was excellent - we couldn't have asked for anything better.

Mindo is world famous as a birdwatching destination but there are plenty of other activities to offer as well. Our day was filled with opportunities to see three of the popular natural sites - orchids, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

Our first stop was at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve which is a 650 hectare (approx. 1,500 acre) cloud forest reserve located only one hour from Quito. We parked the van and waited for a guide from the Orchid Reserve to join us.

Just across the street from where we parked is a trail which is very easy to navigate. Along this trail our guide pointed out various air plants including bromeliads, orchids, mosses and ferns.

She spoke in Spanish about the various plants in the botanical garden while our tour guide translated for us. We were able to explore the gardens at our leisure taking time to photograph the beautiful orchids.

Ten minutes from the Orchid Reserve is El Siete Restaurant where we stopped to view the hummingbirds of the Pinchina region. Outside the restaurant are a handful of hummingbird feeders which allowed for up close viewing. We watched the birds for awhile and then went exploring one of the nearby nature trails.

By the time we got back from our hike, the restaurant was ready for us. Inside there are large picture windows that allow for viewing of the forest area. There are more hummingbird feeders so we had plenty of visitors as we ate our meal. We enjoyed our meal and the hummingbirds.

Our final stop was at Mindo Lago which has a handful of rustic cabañas (cabins) around a lake in peaceful surroundings. One of the attractions at this site is the butterfly house. In the evening, there is a "frog concert". It was starting to rain when we arrived at Mindo Lago, but that didn't stop us from visiting the butterfly house. Inside the butterfly house you can walk around the garden photographing and watching the butterflies that make this their home. In addition, our guide showed us the various of stages of butterfly growth since they breed the butterflies that live there. There were only a couple different butterfly species but we still enjoyed the visit.

From Mindo Lago, we had about a 1.5 to two hour drive back to our hotel in Quito. We passed by the sights we'd seen our second day in Quito, such as the Mitad del Mundo (The Equator) Monument. One of the surprising things we saw was the price of diesel fuel in Quito - it was $1.03 per gallon. Back home we were still over $4 per gallon for all types of gasoline. One has to take into consideration that the average wage earner (laborer) only makes $2 - $3 a day. This is a very poor country, but at the same time, it is very beautiful and worth the visit. Perhaps tourism can help Ecuador increase the quality of life for at least some of the people.

If you have the time while in Quito, I would definitely recommend adding the Mindo Cloud Forest to your must see locations. We were happy that we had the full day after the cruise to enjoy this private tour.

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Galapagos - Quito (Day 10)

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Sunday, September 7th, we were back in Quito following our 7 days on Celebrity Xpedition. The transfer by motor coach from Quito Airport took about 15 minutes. We arrived at the JW Marriott Quito where we checked back into our hotel rooms.

We had time to relax before departing by motor coach for a shopping trip to a local craft market. Since our flight on Monday wasn't until 11 PM, we would have the entire day to spend in Quito. We spoke with the Celebrity representative and arranged a private tour to Mindo Cloud Forest. I'll talk about this tour in my next post.

By the time we got up to our hotel room, our bags arrived from the ship. The hotel did a fantastic job with luggage throughout the entire trip. We never had to deal with the bags ourselves. As far as I know, everyone had all their luggage without incident.

We went up to the 9th floor to the Executive Lounge and had something to drink and some snacks before heading out on the shopping activity. We met in the lobby and boarded the motor coaches for a short ride into Quito. The coaches dropped us off by the market and the Celebrity representative said they would return in an hour to take us to another location.

They told us that the crafters expected us to negotiate on price and set us loose. There were several rows of crafters in a covered area. Each aisle had crafters on both sides in small booths. There was just enough room to navigate down the aisles. As we'd walk down the aisle, the crafters would try to get your attention to look at their merchandise. Many of the booths carried the same products. The majority of the merchandise was handmade.

You could get handmade scarfs, jewelry, religious and other items. I found some earrings that I liked. They were only 3 USD. Keep in mind that Equador uses US dollars which makes it quite easy to shop there. I didn't have the heart to negotiate, so I paid for my earrings and went further. We had already done some shopping earlier in the week, so we didn't buy much at the market - just a few items.

Boarding the motor coaches one more time we headed to a more exclusive gallery. There were various art pieces and sculptures. Several of the items peaked our interest, but we really didn't have the room for any large boxes, so we simply walked around the gallery admiring the craftsmanship. Some people were having items shipped home and others were taking the boxes with them.

After an hour or so, we boarded the motor coaches again for our return to the hotel. That ended the escorted portion of our day in Quito. Dinner was at our leisure in the hotel. We had a choice of a chicken or beef entree. We were hoping to meet another couple but were unable to reach them. So, we asked another couple from our cruise to join us. More people started arriving at the restaurant and eventually most of the passengers were there. We had the restaurant to ourselves complete with entertainment. It was an enjoyable meal.

Following the meal it was time to say our good-byes to all our new friends. Some of the people were leaving as early as 4 or 5 AM for their flights home. Most likely we would only see a few people on Monday. It was a bittersweet moment as we said our good-byes. With a small group like this, you really get to know people. It was like saying good-bye to friends we'd known for years. After dinner, we just went back up to our room to relax.

In my next post, I'll talk about our final day in Quito.

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Celebrity Xpedition - Disembarkation

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Day 10 (Sunday, September 7th) was disembarkation day from Celebrity Xpedition. We had breakfast in Darwin's Restaurant, went back to our cabin to get our bags, and went up to deck 4 to wait for our departure. The Zodiacs took us back to the same pier where we had begun our cruise just a week earlier.

When we arrived at the pier dock, there was a sea lion resting on the bench. It was almost like he was waiting for us to arrive and had fallen asleep. People (including yours truly) were sitting next to the resting sea lion and having their picture taken while we waited for our buses.

The buses took us to Baltra airport where we had some time to shop in the local stores before being called to go through security and into a VIP waiting lounge. Once inside the lounge we were able to get refreshments while waiting for the charter TAME flight to arrive from Guayaquil.


The VIP lounge didn't have enough room for all of the passengers, so the airport staff opened another lounge which wasn't currently in use so everyone had a place to sit. It was quite warm in the building since it is not enclosed.

People were standing around outside the building watching for our plane. My husband even took a video of our plane landing. Once the plane landed, the airport personnel did ask people to go inside so that the disembarking passengers could make their way into the airport building.

The plane was serviced and it was time for us to board for our flight to Guayaquil and then on to Quito. Just as we did on the flight to Baltra, we had a refueling stop in Guayaquil. That is where the Xpeditions staff that were on our flight departed for the most part. We all clapped for them as they exited the plane. They really were a fantastic group of people.

Celebrity Xpeditions staff and the hotel staff handled all of our luggage. The luggage was delivered to our hotel room at the Quito Marriott shortly after we arrived back at the hotel. We picked up our additional bag from the bellman and went up to our room.

I'll talk more about the rest of our day in Quito in my next post.

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