January Update

Hi from Park Sierra. Today is the last day we will be here for a while. Tomorrow we drive down to San Diego where we will stay with Darran & Marielle until Monday morning. That day we take the train to LAX and stay in an airport hotel overnight. Early Tuesday our flight leaves for Quito, Ecuador. Our flight arrives very late that night (11:45PM) which is unfortunate because our 8 day quickie tour of Ecuador starts immediately the next morning. It is with Gate 1 Travel. After the tour ends, we have booked an apartment in Quito for 3 days through airbnb.com. Then we will explore Ecuador on our own, probably visiting Mindo, Cuenca, Banos, and other places, until Feb. 8. On Feb. 9 our 8 day Galapagos Islands adventure starts. First we fly to Baltra, from Quito. The islands are 600 miles off the coast. Then we board a small yacht which holds 16 guests and 7 crew. Twice each day we will board Zodiac boats to explore various islands, the main goal is seeing as much of the unique wildlife there as possible. The main activities will be hiking and snorkeling. We selected our boat, the Angelito, because it was recommended by friends who did this trip a few years ago - they just loved the naturalist who accompanies every excursion, Maja. So, we will be doing posts from Ecuador, if we find that adequate WiFi is available. If not, you will have to wait until we get back after Feb. 18 to get our report.