I have been really trying to get this blog out before, it finally is ready, we had such a great time in Ecuador and Galapagos!

It has been a lifetime dream for me to visit the Galapagos Islands, ever since my third grade biology class with Ms. Swanson, she had just gotten back from the Galapagos and she presented us with a slide show of the animals she had seen. I was amazed to see giant tortoises and to see how close she could get to the sea lions… 30 years later, my son had just turned 3 and at his birthday party we met the parents of one of his friends at nursery school, Lou and Sherry they are travel agents and had just returned from a Fam trip on board the catamaran Journey II. They raved about the trip, it was wonderful, really amazing, and more…

We were very skeptical about taking a 3 year old on board a yacht for a liveaboard cruise, but I really wanted to go… we got together with Lou and he explained that they had taken their kid along and everything went fine. We finally decided on a special 3 night cruise deal for february and they gave us a 25% discount for our child. The company Lou works for is called The World Outdoors.

We arrived in Quito and we were greeted with a sign with our names, at first we were worried about the altitude (about 9350 feet), but to be honest we were not affected at all.

The hotel Lou chose for us was a small colonial property in the downtown area called “Relicario del Carmen”. It was just a block from the main square and in the heart of the old town. We also booked a city tour and went up the volcano on a cable car, Lou was great he even recommended we visit the Volcano Park an amusement park just below the cable car (this was a highlight for Mathew, our kid who was not so in to churches and museums). Since the hotel was in the old town we had the chance to enjoy a free day just walking around the city. We also visited the Otavalo market, this was a lot of fun, we even bargained a little but did not really push much since we felt guilty ji ji. We are really sorry we did not have more time to visit more of Ecuador, we hope to be able to come back some day.

We recieved assistance a the Quito airport and did not have to wait inline, this service was included by the Galapagos Journey company. Our flight to Galapagos was on board Aerogal, the plane was an airbus, we did not expect such a smooth flight to the Islands.

Even food was not so bad for an airline meal. Upon arrival at the airport in Baltra (Galapagos) we were greated by Lesvia the hostess and Johanna our guide. We then were boarded on a small bus and ferried across the channel. We then boarded a private air conditioned van to cross the Island of Santa Cruz on our way to our boat. Johanna was very friendly and gave us a brief welcome speach and was eager to tell us about all things Galapagos during our ride. We arrived at Puerto Ayora, the town is much more alive than we expected, too many cars for my liking, this was a bit dissapointing. We finally were taken by a small zodiac to our boat the Cormorant II, which happens to be the same as the Journey II. We were explained that the new management is using the more commercial Journey II for marketing purposes. Our first surprise was that all our luggage was taken care of, delivered to our cabin from the airport and they even had a child sized life vest for little Mathew. The captain greeted us and showed us around the boat and to our cabin. I really expected it to be smaller for a yacht, we did a Greek Islands cruise last summer with Royal Caribbean and our cabin there was about the same size. What really got me was that you could open the windows and turn off the air conditioning, as a more environmental choice. All cabins are located above the water level and have a private bathroom. The boat is very new and well maintained, it even has a jacuzzi on one of the sun decks and outside dining area (hard to believe on a 16 passenger yacht).

15 min. after our arrival the crew arranged a safety briefing, they were very friendly and even made Mathew an honorary member of their team (I think that is what they ment, I dont speak Spanish). Our first visit was to the Darwin Station, we met Lonesome George and got lots of pictures with the turtles. Mathew had a blast when hew saw the turtles he just stood still and stared at one of them for about 5 minutes.

The other Islands we visited on this trip where Hispaniola, Santa Fe, South Plaza and North Seymour, each of them teaming with wildlife. some trails were not so easy but we took turns with my husband to help Mathew. I really cannot say enough about the Islands, they are amazing, I cannot think of another place where you can get so close to the animals and get such great pictures.

I really enjoyed the trail on Hispaniola, we saw so many birds, even caught a couple waved albatrosses even though they should have been migrating. I got a chance to snorkel at Gardner bay while Mathew and my husband where building a sand castle. The water was not warm but not too cold, our guide Johanna swam with us and she helped us spot a sea turtle and white tipped reef shark, at first I almost freaked out but I remembered that sharks in Galapagos are quite harmless.

I just want to tell everyone that this is a trip you should not miss, it was my dream come true and I am so happy I could share it with my family. My kid still tells everyone how he encountered the Giant turdles. I hope this short review inspires others to visit the Galapagos.

Again thanks to Lou, Johanna our guide, Miguel the cook (he made a small pizza and hot dogs just for Mathew) and the rest of the wonderful crew on board the Journey II. We hope we can come back some day.