As I pack those last few bits into my backpack for the trip, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be able to travel to one of my life long dreams. The Galapogos Islands have called out to me since childhood when I first learned of them and Darwin's theory of evolution and and natural selection in science class. I did not know that it was a place tourists could visit as when I was a child, it was known to be off limits research station. Cruise ships were permitted to dock, but it took some time to develop the infastructure to support public access to Galapogos National Park. I had not looked into it since then, but then I met two women at my workplace who were both from Ecuador (which Galapogos is a province of), and so of course I asked a thousand questions and before I knew it, I was planning a trip to go to Ecuador and visit the Galapogos Islands. I shared my dream with my daughter who was extremely interested in going with me, and the thought of all those birds to observe was irresistable to my bird nerd girl. Galapogos Islands, Ecuador
My daughter and I have been traveling together for decades. We have also traveled with other people and solo. We have traveled by backpack for many years, but with the rolling suitcases these days, and our upgrading from cheap hostels to proper hotels, our comfort levels have improved and I am so looking forward to this trip. We are spending a few days in Quito, the capital and visiting the Cloud Forest of the Amazon. From Quito we head directly to the Galapogos Islands for three days of touring the islands.
I am hoping to post about the trip from there, but that depends on if there will be time as we have a jam packed itinerary to make the most of the trip! We are celebrating both of our birthdays this year as my daughter turns 40 and I turn 60 (OMG how did that happen?), so wanted a grand adventure to mark the occasions.
Our travel is two long hops and one medium hop to reach our destination. And none of it includes a layover in the United States, by absolute necessity. We both refuse to travel through the US until that absolute nightmare of a lunatic president is no longer in power committing great unjustices world wide.
We head to the airport after supper tonight and fly all night to Toronto, so we are spending part of the day bird watching and getting our nails done and some last minute shopping at the mall. I am so excited I could not sleep last night and have been up since 5:15am. Hopefully that means I will be tired enough to sleep on the plane tonight.
Stay tuned for stories of the adventure!
