We have been planning this bucket list trip for almost two years. We researched. We bought some new gear. We packed. We weighed our baggage. And now the day has finally come.
As I start this blog, we are 35,000 feet above sea level, just south of Cuba. Quito is our final destination. We will spend two nights in Quito and then to Baltra Island in the Galápagos Islands for a 7 night cruise on board the Celebrity Xpedition before returning to Quito for another night and an all-day private birding tour.
Ecuador is a small country in northwestern South America between Columbia and Peru. Quito is the capital of Ecuador and is over 9,300 feet above sea level making it among the highest major cities in the world. The Galápagos Islands, part of Ecuador, are volcanic islands about 600 miles off the shore of mainland Ecuador. In 1835, Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands bringing back a lot of research that would ultimately become party of his theories about evolution. The Galápagos Islands are protected by a National Park to preserve so many species that are now endemic to these islands. A trip like this is a birder or wildlife lover's dream.
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| A visual of the itinerary for our cruise |
Because this is a nature type trip with a jam-packed itinerary, packing was a bit different. There will be no formal nights or dress code. Instead good wet and dry hiking shoes, swimwear for snorkeling, and camera equipment were our priorities. Since all trips to the various islands will be by zodiac (small boat - the cruise ship never docks), I also wanted to make sure I had the right gear to keep my equipment dry.
We arrived at the Birmingham airport plenty early and enjoyed the lack of crowds that is common in our small local airport. There were no lines to check our bag or to go through security. At security, I had the pleasure of explaining what the air pump for my underwater housing is for, again (it also brought questions on my last trip). My camera bag also got searched.
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| Although, we decided not to make use of one, we did find the level 2 EV chargers in the long-term parking ramp. Level 2 chargers seem a bit of overkill for long-term parking. It has to be more cost effective to just put in a whole bunch of level 1 outlets but they probably get subsidies for these level 2 chargers. Our car only lost about 2% charge over the 11 days. |
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| Starbucks partners with Delta to give you double points any day you fly Delta if you link your accounts so I made sure to take advantage of that perk. |
Our first flight was uneventful. Flight time was only 28 minutes so we barely blinked before we were touching down again. In Atlanta, we came in on the D terminal and headed to our next gate in the E terminal. I don't know if these terminals are just a bit quieter or if it was a quiet travel day but we have never seen the Atlanta airport this quiet. We had a 3.5 hour layover to find lunch and relax.
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| This was the walkway between the D and E terminals. |
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| This was the area outside our gate. |
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| Our dinner being loaded - although we later discovered it was just going to be very light - either a sandwich or cheese and fruit |
The flight from Atlanta to Quito was about 5 hours. We arrived shortly after 8:00 p.m. Ecuador time (which is currently in synch with Eastern Time). Customs was fairly painless and once we made it through all the steps, Celebrity reps were waiting for us on the other side. There were three other couples on our flight that are cruising with Celebrity this weekend (2 on the Xpedition with us Saturday and 1 on the Flora on Sunday).
Once they had gathered all of us, we had about a 45 minute bus ride through winding, very hilly roads to our hotel.
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| As we got closer to the hotel, I pulled out Google maps to see where we were headed and this really showed well the winding roads! |
At the JW Marriott, Celebrity was ready with warm towels, a hot fruity drink, our refillable water bottles that we'll use all week and keys to our room.
Since we are in the penthouse on the ship, we were assigned a room on the Executive floor with access to the Executive lounge.
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| This was our amenity for our loyalty level with Marriott. |
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