Yooper1

Just a trip report of our April trip to Ecuador. My husband and I are 30's and rather active. We booked through Columbus Travel with Maria Antoinetta. She was great. Did everything by email. Crazy enough, I had to either pay through pay pal or send a check to miami bank. When I got to Ecuador she called the hotel to be sure everything was ok. Then she called again when we got back from Galapagos-- really great service.

First we went to Galapagos-- stayed the first night in Quito at the Swissotel, which was nice. Then we flew Aerogal to Galapagos. We stayed on a first class boat-- Coral I. The boat was big, but not huge. Even in slightly choppy seas, the boat really rocks. I would not go during rough seas. I think that is the cool season-- like in June/July. Our guide said April was the calm season, and for the most part it was very calm. We did a 4 day, 3 night cruise. We saw sea lions, iguanas, birds, tortioses (not in the wild), dolphins, and sharks (circling around our boat!). It was a great time.

Next, we returned to Quito, stayed downton at Patio Anduliz, which was a fabulous hotel! Best food we had the enitre trip! We were picked up by our biking guides-- Biking Dutchman. We drove to Quilatola Crater and then biked down from the crater. I would probably pass on the crater as it is a LONG drive and kind of out of the way. We stayed at La Cinenga, which was a run down hotel.

Next morning we drove to Cotopaxi park, which was GREAT! We hiked up to the shelter at 15,000+ feet and had tea. Then we hiked almost up to the glacier 16,000 feet. We previously climbed Kilimanjaro and really enjoyed the hike. We rode our bikes down for a few miles then traveled to Banos- which was a great resort town. Stayed at Samari, which was awesome! Great food, spa, nice facilities.

Got up and did some biking from Banos to Tena-- there is a road called Avenue of the Orchids, which was really cool. Beautiful pictures down to the rainforest town of Tena. We stayed at Casa Del Suizo near Tena-- again nice property. We did a very interesting jungle tour and saw Coco, Yams, and visited a native house. Really great experience! The next morning we went rafting with Rios Ecuador- the river was really cold compared to a rafting trip we took in Costa Rica. We stayed the night in Tena at very simple jungle lodge. The next morning we drove back to Quito and enjoyed going on a waterfall hike on the way.

Overall: great trip. We seemed to be wet the entire trip-- nothing seems to dry out on the ocean at night (Galapagos), or in the mist of the cloud forest, or in the rainforest! Overall, great trip, I'd recommend it.

mirsy

We're going in three weeks and will be on the boat for 14 days so I'm concerned when you say nothing drys on the boat overnight. Did you take moisture wicking clothing?

atravelynn

Yooper1,

Sharks circling the boat--how cool! Did you see any wild horses at Cotapaxi? Congrats on getting to the top. Not an easy task as I recall from my hikes around the base and up a little bit. What a great Ecuador trip.

Misry, Is it a Galapagos Travel trip that will be 14 days? I don't recall always being wet in April or August.

mirsy

Yes, it is a Galapagos Travel trip.

atravelynn

I thought so, Mirsy. You could call them and ask about dampness and I know they'd be happy to give you some hints on avoiding it. I recall clotheslines were strung up on the GT boats where we could hang garments such as swimsuits, towels and wetsuits. Maybe other garments could be hung up too. I also recall that things dried out quickly with this method. One guy's swimtrunks went missing, though. Maybe bring with you some extra strong clothes pins.

Yooper1, Between Africa and the Galapagos, you've hit some highlights.