Well..........I thought I posted this here........but I guess I didn't. 
We had a great trip - here is my version!
We flew from NY to Quito on a Wed morning - changed planes in Miami. The flight was not bad at all. Dan splurged with the frequent flyer miles and we sat in the "big seats" up front. WOO HOO! My 1st time as a "big seater" - WOW - you actually have elbow room. We landed in Quito about 8 p.m. or so and headed for the JW Marriot. Very nice hotel and many fresh flower arrangements - which I loved. Ecuador is known for their roses and the hotel showed them off very well. You could by a dozen roses (any color) on the street for 1.99 - amazing. Okay…….I'll move on from the flowers…… The hotel staff was very helpful and nice. One night we were going out to walk and the doorman asked us where we were headed and we pointed - and he said "oh no - don't walk that way - walk this way" . Kept us on the safer side of town.
We were in Quito 3 days. Thursday we toured "old town" which was nice. Many churches, museums and people! We didn't hire a tour guide - which we should have so we could have seen more - but we still had a nice time just roaming around. There is a big police presence in the area - the presidents house (or something like that) is in the area and well patrolled. We ate lunch in town FOR SEVEN DOLLARS - and that includes a beer! Being from NY we were in shock at the price.
Friday we took a trip to Teleferico (sp?) - a cable car ride to the top of a mountain - over 13k feet. That was a lot of fun - we spent the entire day there - we did some hiking there too. Beautiful scenery. We had taken a cab from the hotel to get there………now getting BACK to the hotel was a little touchy - but we made it!
Saturday we took a tour to Otavolo market - that was a real treat. Did some shopping (Dan did the bartering - I HATE to do that - I probably am the only person who pays the posted price for things in Cozumel) We got a laugh out of one man who was selling "rats" on a coat hanger - they weren't real - but sure looked like it. We also toured a little town known for their leather goods - I am not a "purse" type of gal - but WOW - I sure could have been if there wasn't such a weight restriction on luggage!! Purses I know would go for 200-250 in the states were 35-40 dollars - they were gorgeous. Dan got a leather belt for 12.00 - very nice. The tour was through Viator who we also used in Sydney. The guides do a great job - we weren't disappointed. We stopped for lunch in the "leather town" - and the food and service was very good. Thankfully no one ordered the guinea pig. I would have been ewwwwwwwwwwed out - but certainly would have taken a picture. All the ladies went to the restroom when we first arrived - I did not go with them. During the meal I decided to go as the ride back was 2 1/2 hours - so I head off and I pass a young male in the hall who I noticed looked at me strange and as I was rounding the corner IN to the MENS ROOM - he manages to get out in English - EXCUSE ME LADY - and points to the sign. We both laughed. I had walked right past the ladies room. smile.gif Of course I passed him on the way back to our table - he grinned and I waved.
Sunday - up early for the plane to Galapagos. The Quito airport is interesting - just like most airports - sometimes the system is just "not quite right" - with a fair amount of confusion over where to go first - we were checked in and tagged to go! There were many groups there - we all had stickers with our "ship" on it. So every one was going around trying to nonchalantly look at buttons. Most of our boat was there - we did a quick stop in Guayaquil and picked up the rest. We did the Peter Hughes Sky Dancer boat - so we were all sporting "sky dancer" stickers. There were 15 on our boat plus 11 crew. One lady had a cabin to herself. We had a great group of people. Every one was very friendly. We had people from France, Poland, Spain, Cape Town, South Africa, Japan, Germany, Egypt, Rhode Island and Montana. Ages ranged from 28-70. The crew was great - we needed a little more English spoken - but we managed. The dive masters, Fabricio (sp?) and William were very good. Excellent dive briefings were given and usually whatever you were told you would see.......you saw. At night after dinner, if you went out and looked in the water, you could see sharks hanging out around the boat - really close to the surface - feeding off the boat's lights - it was pretty cool to watch. The boat is kept in good condition. The rooms were kept clean and snacks were always available in the salon and after dives. Hot towels waited for you after each dive - nice touch.
One of the things I was concerned about was getting from the dive boat to the panga FULLY GEARED in the sometimes challenging waters. The first couple of days were rough and then I got the hang of it - the crew did an amazing job getting you in and out of the panga -
We did a weight check dive Sunday afternoon in the bay - lots of sea lions and bad viz. It was fun though - the sea lions would come right up to you - no fear. Weight good - played with the sea lions - back on the panga and back to the boat for the ride to North Seymour Island.
North Seymour Island……..not my favorite place. My husband, Dan, got a fabulous new camera/housing/strobes for this trip - I call it BIG BERTHA - it is HUGE - I was all for the new set up - he loves to take pics - does a good job blah blah blah - WELL WHAT I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IS………………he can't just "roll in" with that gear. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO………when the panga arrives at the site - you all roll in together - and immediately drop down due to the currents - Dan had to pop back up and get BB. First dive, we roll off, and I GO UP UNDER THE PANGA. My head kept hitting the bottom of the panga - The current was so bad I couldn't get out from under it - PANIC STARTS TO SET IN - okay I get out from under it - but you can't see 4' in front of you - I couldn't see Dan any where - so I try to sink - I couldn't sink - I tried about 10 times - I could see another diver across from me having the same issue - so I knew I wasn't alone - then she went down and I lost sight of all - PANIC OVER TOOK ME - I surfaced (all of 1 foot) and blew up my BC - I had drifted very close to the rock and the waves were 4'-6' - I couldn't see the panga - BEYOND PANIC. (now keep in mind I have 3200 PSI in my tank, a safety sausage, AN AIR HORN, a whistle and a mirror) I go UP in a wave and see the panga - wave wildly at him and he sees me. He comes over to me and by that point I am just a heap of dive gear in the waves. He has to try to tell me to take off my weight belt, bc, fins etc. I was worthless. Sigh. He pulls me in to the panga and I tell him I am okay - just panicked - he radios the boat - and I hear a roll of Spanish and the only word I recognize is "senorita" smile.gif I am in the praying position over the side of the panga - fully prepared to stay that way till the divers surfaced from their dive. He starts up the panga and takes me back to the boat and I get the presidential greeting - From the Captain down - I was so ashamed. Kept telling them I was fine - I sat down and cried. Angry with myself - I had looked forward to this trip for years - and I panicked right out of the panga. I realized that no matter how many dives you have - you can still panic and that's what kills people. I had a long talk with myself - and added SIX POUNDS OF LEAD to my bc. I was bound and determine to SINK. My panga group came back - happy to see my face hanging over the boat waiting for them - and told me I didn't miss anything but bad viz and current - very nice of them. Dan had thought I had went on down with the dive master - since he had to go back up and get the camera (I just didn't even think of that - I am not a photographer and it never occurred to me nor did it occur to Dan that I wouldn't think that way) The dive master said he saw me go back up and knew the panga driver would get me - SO.........my buddy and I worked out a plan after that initial dive. All was good. I know ultimately I am responsible for myself when diving. I did the right thing by just having the panga driver come get me - I was just too flustered - it would have not been a good dive.
Okay - the other islands are a blur till we get to Wolf/Darwin - but with my added weight and asking the DM if I could roll in AFTER Dan got his camera - things went much better. smile.gif We saw hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, turtles, eels, ahhhh - eels - that reminds me of ANOTHER story. We were down on a dive - I was in front of Dan and spotted an eel - was signaling to him to come over and I looked back down and back AND HE WAS GONE - SO WAS THE GROUP!!!! My group had rounded the bend and I didn't. Great. I did not panic though. I could see the other group The dolphin group) and I just joined up with them. I came up with a couple divers and when I surfaced MY panga (the Shark panga) was looking for me. They drove up and hauled me in. The DM was talking about the dive on the way back to the boat and SUGGESTED we come up as a group and grinned at ME. I didn't point out another eel on the trip. tongue.gif We dove with the sea lions and snorkeled with Galapagos penguins - too cute. They are very little.
The boat broke up the ride over to Wolf and Darwin so it wasn't so bad - the dives there were amazing - the current was wicked. A couple of the dives we were instructed to roll off and immediately drop down - grab a rock and hang on. I thought - how bad can it be??? BAD. We had to literally go hand over hand across the rocks to the viewing area the DM wanted us to be at - on one dive I had my arms wrapped around a rock hanging on for dear life and my thighs wrapped around another rock and my fins were still being tossed around in the current - all of the sudden the DM starts signaling - and going wild - there was a 50-60' long pregnant whale shark no more than 20' in front of us - SIMPLY AMAZING. She was having no issues with the current. Wow - what a sight. We all knew we were at the end of whale shark season and didn't expect much - we had 4 or 5 encounters and one was a juvenile - approx 20'. Well worth the current!! Dan got a touch of a head cold and could not do 2 dives at Darwin. I did 2 dives without him - which helped me gather back some confidence in myself. I did drop the extra 6 pounds towards the end of the week - just needed to build my confidence back up. The best diving of course was Wolf and Darwin - we saw some amazing stuff - even little nudi's. smile.gif The ride BACK from there was NOT broken up and it was wicked. SIGH.
I tried to treat my sea sick issues with scopace, meclozine, ginger, NOTHING WORKED. Missed a few meals - but worth it. I still am the proud owner of "known puker" title with my dive buddies.
We did several land tours while on the boat, we had a great naturalist. Great talker and personality to boot! We saw marine iguanas, sea lions, fur sea lions, the Galapagos turtles, birds - but no blue footed booby. NOT ONE.
It was an amazing trip - and when we left I told my husband - been there, done that and bought 2 t-shirts. He said he would like to go back..........now that I have had time to think it over, look at some pics, and remember the sites...............Dan, Big Bertha and I will probably go back.
We had a great trip - here is my version!
We flew from NY to Quito on a Wed morning - changed planes in Miami. The flight was not bad at all. Dan splurged with the frequent flyer miles and we sat in the "big seats" up front. WOO HOO! My 1st time as a "big seater" - WOW - you actually have elbow room.
We landed in Quito about 8 p.m. or so and headed for the JW Marriot. Very nice hotel and many fresh flower arrangements - which I loved. Ecuador is known for their roses and the hotel showed them off very well. You could by a dozen roses (any color) on the street for 1.99 - amazing. Okay…….I'll move on from the flowers…… The hotel staff was very helpful and nice. One night we were going out to walk and the doorman asked us where we were headed and we pointed - and he said "oh no - don't walk that way - walk this way" . Kept us on the safer side of town.We were in Quito 3 days. Thursday we toured "old town" which was nice. Many churches, museums and people! We didn't hire a tour guide - which we should have so we could have seen more - but we still had a nice time just roaming around. There is a big police presence in the area - the presidents house (or something like that) is in the area and well patrolled. We ate lunch in town FOR SEVEN DOLLARS - and that includes a beer! Being from NY we were in shock at the price.
Friday we took a trip to Teleferico (sp?) - a cable car ride to the top of a mountain - over 13k feet. That was a lot of fun - we spent the entire day there - we did some hiking there too. Beautiful scenery. We had taken a cab from the hotel to get there………now getting BACK to the hotel was a little touchy - but we made it!
Saturday we took a tour to Otavolo market - that was a real treat. Did some shopping (Dan did the bartering - I HATE to do that - I probably am the only person who pays the posted price for things in Cozumel)
We got a laugh out of one man who was selling "rats" on a coat hanger - they weren't real - but sure looked like it. We also toured a little town known for their leather goods - I am not a "purse" type of gal - but WOW - I sure could have been if there wasn't such a weight restriction on luggage!! Purses I know would go for 200-250 in the states were 35-40 dollars - they were gorgeous. Dan got a leather belt for 12.00 - very nice. The tour was through Viator who we also used in Sydney. The guides do a great job - we weren't disappointed. We stopped for lunch in the "leather town" - and the food and service was very good. Thankfully no one ordered the guinea pig. I would have been ewwwwwwwwwwed out - but certainly would have taken a picture. All the ladies went to the restroom when we first arrived - I did not go with them. During the meal I decided to go as the ride back was 2 1/2 hours - so I head off and I pass a young male in the hall who I noticed looked at me strange and as I was rounding the corner IN to the MENS ROOM - he manages to get out in English - EXCUSE ME LADY - and points to the sign. We both laughed. I had walked right past the ladies room. smile.gif Of course I passed him on the way back to our table - he grinned and I waved. Sunday - up early for the plane to Galapagos. The Quito airport is interesting - just like most airports - sometimes the system is just "not quite right" - with a fair amount of confusion over where to go first - we were checked in and tagged to go! There were many groups there - we all had stickers with our "ship" on it. So every one was going around trying to nonchalantly look at buttons. Most of our boat was there - we did a quick stop in Guayaquil and picked up the rest. We did the Peter Hughes Sky Dancer boat - so we were all sporting "sky dancer" stickers. There were 15 on our boat plus 11 crew. One lady had a cabin to herself. We had a great group of people. Every one was very friendly. We had people from France, Poland, Spain, Cape Town, South Africa, Japan, Germany, Egypt, Rhode Island and Montana. Ages ranged from 28-70. The crew was great - we needed a little more English spoken - but we managed.
The dive masters, Fabricio (sp?) and William were very good. Excellent dive briefings were given and usually whatever you were told you would see.......you saw. At night after dinner, if you went out and looked in the water, you could see sharks hanging out around the boat - really close to the surface - feeding off the boat's lights - it was pretty cool to watch. The boat is kept in good condition. The rooms were kept clean and snacks were always available in the salon and after dives. Hot towels waited for you after each dive - nice touch.One of the things I was concerned about was getting from the dive boat to the panga FULLY GEARED in the sometimes challenging waters. The first couple of days were rough and then I got the hang of it - the crew did an amazing job getting you in and out of the panga -
We did a weight check dive Sunday afternoon in the bay - lots of sea lions and bad viz. It was fun though - the sea lions would come right up to you - no fear. Weight good - played with the sea lions - back on the panga and back to the boat for the ride to North Seymour Island.
North Seymour Island……..not my favorite place. My husband, Dan, got a fabulous new camera/housing/strobes for this trip - I call it BIG BERTHA - it is HUGE - I was all for the new set up - he loves to take pics - does a good job blah blah blah - WELL WHAT I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IS………………he can't just "roll in" with that gear. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO………when the panga arrives at the site - you all roll in together - and immediately drop down due to the currents - Dan had to pop back up and get BB. First dive, we roll off, and I GO UP UNDER THE PANGA. My head kept hitting the bottom of the panga - The current was so bad I couldn't get out from under it - PANIC STARTS TO SET IN - okay I get out from under it - but you can't see 4' in front of you - I couldn't see Dan any where - so I try to sink - I couldn't sink - I tried about 10 times - I could see another diver across from me having the same issue - so I knew I wasn't alone - then she went down and I lost sight of all - PANIC OVER TOOK ME - I surfaced (all of 1 foot) and blew up my BC - I had drifted very close to the rock and the waves were 4'-6' - I couldn't see the panga - BEYOND PANIC. (now keep in mind I have 3200 PSI in my tank, a safety sausage, AN AIR HORN, a whistle and a mirror) I go UP in a wave and see the panga - wave wildly at him and he sees me. He comes over to me and by that point I am just a heap of dive gear in the waves. He has to try to tell me to take off my weight belt, bc, fins etc. I was worthless. Sigh. He pulls me in to the panga and I tell him I am okay - just panicked - he radios the boat - and I hear a roll of Spanish and the only word I recognize is "senorita" smile.gif I am in the praying position over the side of the panga - fully prepared to stay that way till the divers surfaced from their dive. He starts up the panga and takes me back to the boat and I get the presidential greeting - From the Captain down - I was so ashamed. Kept telling them I was fine - I sat down and cried. Angry with myself - I had looked forward to this trip for years - and I panicked right out of the panga. I realized that no matter how many dives you have - you can still panic and that's what kills people. I had a long talk with myself - and added SIX POUNDS OF LEAD to my bc. I was bound and determine to SINK. My panga group came back - happy to see my face hanging over the boat waiting for them - and told me I didn't miss anything but bad viz and current - very nice of them. Dan had thought I had went on down with the dive master - since he had to go back up and get the camera (I just didn't even think of that - I am not a photographer and it never occurred to me nor did it occur to Dan that I wouldn't think that way) The dive master said he saw me go back up and knew the panga driver would get me - SO.........my buddy and I worked out a plan after that initial dive. All was good. I know ultimately I am responsible for myself when diving. I did the right thing by just having the panga driver come get me - I was just too flustered - it would have not been a good dive.
Okay - the other islands are a blur till we get to Wolf/Darwin - but with my added weight and asking the DM if I could roll in AFTER Dan got his camera - things went much better. smile.gif We saw hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, turtles, eels, ahhhh - eels - that reminds me of ANOTHER story. We were down on a dive - I was in front of Dan and spotted an eel - was signaling to him to come over and I looked back down and back AND HE WAS GONE - SO WAS THE GROUP!!!! My group had rounded the bend and I didn't. Great. I did not panic though.
I could see the other group The dolphin group) and I just joined up with them. I came up with a couple divers and when I surfaced MY panga (the Shark panga) was looking for me. They drove up and hauled me in. The DM was talking about the dive on the way back to the boat and SUGGESTED we come up as a group and grinned at ME. I didn't point out another eel on the trip. tongue.gif We dove with the sea lions and snorkeled with Galapagos penguins - too cute. They are very little. The boat broke up the ride over to Wolf and Darwin so it wasn't so bad - the dives there were amazing - the current was wicked. A couple of the dives we were instructed to roll off and immediately drop down - grab a rock and hang on. I thought - how bad can it be??? BAD. We had to literally go hand over hand across the rocks to the viewing area the DM wanted us to be at - on one dive I had my arms wrapped around a rock hanging on for dear life and my thighs wrapped around another rock and my fins were still being tossed around in the current - all of the sudden the DM starts signaling - and going wild - there was a 50-60' long pregnant whale shark no more than 20' in front of us - SIMPLY AMAZING. She was having no issues with the current. Wow - what a sight. We all knew we were at the end of whale shark season and didn't expect much - we had 4 or 5 encounters and one was a juvenile - approx 20'. Well worth the current!! Dan got a touch of a head cold and could not do 2 dives at Darwin. I did 2 dives without him - which helped me gather back some confidence in myself.
I did drop the extra 6 pounds towards the end of the week - just needed to build my confidence back up. The best diving of course was Wolf and Darwin - we saw some amazing stuff - even little nudi's. smile.gif The ride BACK from there was NOT broken up and it was wicked. SIGH.I tried to treat my sea sick issues with scopace, meclozine, ginger, NOTHING WORKED. Missed a few meals - but worth it. I still am the proud owner of "known puker" title with my dive buddies.
We did several land tours while on the boat, we had a great naturalist. Great talker and personality to boot! We saw marine iguanas, sea lions, fur sea lions, the Galapagos turtles, birds - but no blue footed booby.
NOT ONE. It was an amazing trip - and when we left I told my husband - been there, done that and bought 2 t-shirts. He said he would like to go back..........now that I have had time to think it over, look at some pics, and remember the sites...............Dan, Big Bertha and I will probably go back.
