Otavalo and The Galapagos

Otavalo, the Galapagos and Quito

It seems like the past weeks have just flown by!  We are now back in Quito for our last day before our flight home and it’s hard to imagine that three months ago we were just getting to know each other in Miami.  It’s bittersweet for all of us, but everyone is excited to move on to new stages in our lives.

The first stop after the last blog was Otavalo, a town with a well deserved reputation for an amazing artisan market.  After a beautiful hike around a volcanic lake, we all spent hours wandering around the market, looking at the weavings and traditional clothing.  All of us came away with at least one thing, hammocks being especially popular.

After Otavalo, we took a 3 hour bus ride back to Quito for the night before our flight to the Galapagos.  \the first two days we spent in Puerta Ayora, one of the main towns in the Galapagos archipelago.  Mostly, this was lazing around on the beach and enjoying the views.  Then we went to a reserve to see the Giant Galapagos Land tortoises, and then it was off to the boat.  Our cabins were very small, but the rest of the boat was spacious and we were even able to watch a movie the second night.

But it was the wildlife that really blew everyone away.  The first day we took a hike at a Blue Footed Booby colony,  It was almost time for mating, and we got to see all the silly mating dances.  |There were also frigates that had these puffed up sacks under their throats that were also luring mates.  That afternoon we went on an amazing snorkel, where we saw a white tipped reef shark, sea lions, and tons of fish.  The second day we went to two islands, one where we saw lots of lizards and birds, and then to an island with an amazing view of the water.  We also went on two more snorkels, and I saw an octopus.

Today we got on a 10 am flight back to Quito, all suffering from various levels of sun exposure.  Tomorrow we’ll be walking around the old part of town seeing churches and a few museums before having our farewell dinner and prepping for our 3 am departure to Miami.  I hope all of you enjoyed following along with our adventures!