celebrity cruises, galapagos islands, celebrity xpedition, ecuador

We awaken to find ourselves anchored in the small bay near the airport on Baltra, where our amazing Galapagos adventure started just 7 short days ago.  Last minute packing is finished and our luggage deposited outside our stateroom door by the requested 6am.  Breakfast in Darwin's is a bit more somber this morning, each of us facing the reality that we'll soon be departing the Galapagos and separated from some of the great friends we've made onboard, both guests and crew. 

After shuttling luggage ashore, the zodiacs return for the guests and those crew members that will also depart the ship at the end of their contracts.  The Balta buses once again meet us at the jetty for the short ride to the airport.   There's a small amount of time for some last minute souvenir shopping at the local airport shops, we collect our boarding passes, clear security and gather in a VIP lounge to await our charter flight departure.  For some reason the flight is delayed, and after a brief stop in Guayquil we arrive back in Quito about 2 hours late. 

Since we arrive late, we only have a few minutes back at the JW Marriott to check-in, collect our left luggage and find our rooms.  We're quickly back aboard the tour coach, with our original tour guides, bound for a local market.  With our late arrival the open market that we expected was replaced by an indoor art gallery.   The artwork, clothing and jewelry here is beautiful, but wasn't exactly what we were expecting.  The gallery is only a few blocks from the Marriott, so our small group decides to walk back rather than wait and return by coach.  Along the way we explore more of the La Mariscal District with its cafes, shops, restaurants and bars - this area is great fun.  With early return flights tomorrow, we wish we had extended our stay in Quito one more night, on the 11-night package, so we could spend more time on our own tomorrow.  Instead, we'll have another early wake-up call, be shuttled to the airport for the final time and board our flights back to the US.

This has been an amazing experience.  The beauty of the islands with their very distinct landscapes and animals has only been out done by the people we've encountered.  From the naturalists that have taught us about the islands to the service people onboard, everyone is truly welcoming, professional and willing to do nearly anything necessary to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  The ground staff in Quito also receives high marks - they handled our group with professionalism and the logistics of the tours and transportation were flawless.  Everyone welcomed us to their country and cities as family and were always willing to share their knowledge and experiences with us.  If you haven't yet, book your trip to the Galapagos now - it's an experience of a lifetime!