Ecuador and the Galapagos – From Spanish Immersion to Island Paradise

After spending 6 months back in the USA, we decided it was time to pry ourselves away from our comfortable routine in Boulder and see more of the world.  We had intentionally skipped Ecuador on our extended travels earlier this year because it is relatively close to the US.  We took advantage of the kids’ Thanksgiving vacation and added more time, giving us 16 days to explore Ecuador and have two vastly different experiences: the first on the mainland studying Spanish and visiting the historic cities of Quito and Cuenca and the second, exploring the natural beauty and animal life in the Galapagos Islands.

We were surprised to learn that Quito, Ecuador’s capital, is at 9,200 feet, which makes this city on the equator surprisingly cool.  We spent a day walking through the cobblestone streets of the old town through big squares and charming narrow streets.  We had an adventurous climb up wobbly metal stairs to a high bell tower at one of the countless churches.  During our two nights in Quito, we tried to get some sleep in our hotel that was in the rocking part of town called Mariscol Sucre, a hot spot that doesn’t quiet down until after 2pm.   Since we are no longer party animals, we will stay in the old town the next time we visit.

We then flew to Cuenca, a historic old city that was a welcome respite from busy Quito.  We settled into a charming boutique hotel and began to immerse ourselves in the task of learning Spanish.  We took 20 hours of one-on-one classes over 4 days.  The boys had fun instructors who quickly learned they needed to get the boys outside the classroom playing in the park and browsing at markets.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Cuenca and treated ourselves to a gourmet dinner at a hotel that served a turkey meal.  The kids loved the dinner and Ryan asked if we could come back for Thanksgiving dinner next year. 

When we were not in Spanish school, or recovering from brain overload, we explored the surrounding area.   The highlight was a hike at 13,000 feet in the national park of Cajas through beautiful rolling terrain.  When we left Cuenca, we drove through the national park and descended from over 14,000 feet to sea level in just a few hours.  The altitude and climate changes present in the small country of Ecuador are simply amazing.

From the bustling, commercial city of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, we departed on the second part of our vacation.  It felt like Christmas morning as we boarded the plane to go to the island paradise of the Galapagos.  We spent the first 6 days on a small catamaran called the Ocean Spray, run by Haugan Cruises.  The boat carried only 16 passengers, allowing us to explore the islands in a very private and intimate way and to get to know our shipmates.  Each day we went on multiple excursions to different islands, each revealing how starkly distinctive nearby locations and animals were from one another.  The Galapagos Islands are young volcanic islands, and many of the newest ones are a moonscape of black lava rock with mangroves growing where their roots could reach water.   Although the interiors of the islands seemed largely lifeless, the coasts were teaming with fish, penguins, manta rays, sharks, birds – and our favorites – iguanas, turtles and sea lions. 

The sea lion babies stole the show as they rolled around the ground like little puppy dogs.  They are often left alone for days as their mothers are out fishing.  It was hard to resist the urge to pick them up in our arms – which of course we couldn’t do since it would cause their moms to abandon them. 

Our Galapagos highlight was snorkeling with sea turtles.  On one occasion there were so many of turtles that we could not move without touching the ones that surrounded us.  We also swam with sea lions, penguins, cormorants, rays and marine iguanas that can stay under water for an hour eating the sea algae and moss.

We loved our catamaran experience and enjoyed meeting our fellow passengers on the trip.  Our guide, Harry, was fantastic and kept us entertained and educated.  On a few of the days the seas were rough and we started feeling a little queasy, but a quick nap or heading to bed for the night solved that problem.

We spent our final 2 days on the main island of Santa Cruz in a tented safari camp.  The camp was very beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves, but we would recommend that friends spend as much of their time as possible in the Galapagos on a boat.  It is a much more convenient way to see a diversity of islands and animals each day.