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“From humming birds to sea lions - a great holiday”

written by M.Nicholson on 04/04/2013

My friend Judith and I enjoyed a fascinating holiday in Ecuador, with a week on the mainland and another in the Galapagos - and all arranged by a local firm with final arrangements made in the home of Think Galapagos' proprietor! The staff at Casa Aliso in Quito couldn't do enough for us even bringing Judith's forgotten purchases to a different hotel that we stayed in the final night. Our programme on the mainland was tailor made, taking us to the humming birds of the cloud forest and the (distant) views of condors at Hacienda Zuleta, home of two former presidents of Ecuador, as well as a tour of Spanish colonial Quito under the snows of Cotopaxi. Then came the flight to join our yacht in the Galapagos, visiting a different island each day, with its wonderful wildlife, at a time when many of the birds were feeding their young - three varieties of boobies, frigate birds (onc day perching on the rail of our yacht), albatroses, penguins, herons, pelicans, etc. etc., not to mention the giant turtles and iguanas, sharks and rays in the water and sea lions sunning themselves on the beaches. Other passengers on the yacht enjoyed fantastic views of the underwater wildlife too, but, alas, I never learned to swim. The only snag in going to such a remote destination was the distance to be travelled. Changing planes at Panama at least gave us interesting views of the canal, but it was frustrating that what we expected to be a direct flight to Amsterdam took us west to the coast with a long refuelling stop, so that four or five hours into the flight we were further from home than when we took off and had been given nothing to eat!