"Quito, Ecuador, and the Magical Galapagos Islands, Part 1" -Time Out #83

Many people know my bride, Debbie, and I have traveled over Planet Earth for many, many years. To this date, we have been to every continent, excluding Antarctica. Check back with us within a few years, and we, hopefully, will have taken in the "White Continent", too, since Ms. Debbie currently has a strong desire to see it soon. And, for myself, of course, my undying motto is "have passport, will travel !".

So, with these absolutes established, I am frequently asked which is the best of the best of the best spots I have ever seen on this wonderful place called our world?

Tough, tough, tough question, Our Town folks.

Answer-------The Galapagos Islands, remotely located in the vast South Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles west of their governing country, Ecuador.

Why?

The better question; Why Not??

Lots of ways to get there and lots of vendors available, operating carefully controlled eco-touring under the very watchful eye of the Ecuadorian government. Our well-researched vendor was Celebrity Cruises, an older company who operates a large fleet of ocean-going cruise ships all over the world.

It is my humble opinion Ecuador truly cares about their little piece of Galapagos paradise, and not just about exploiting the small islands for their pure economic gain. Again, in my opinion, another Latin American country, Costa Rica, also has known for years they have a tremendous asset in their country's beauty, and, thus, have maintained an appropriate degree of protection over their most priceless asset, Mother Nature.

Back to my current story.

Several years ago, we flew Oklahoma City ( OKC) to Atlanta to Quito, Ecuador; a long journey, but believe me, we have done much longer treks, i.e.,to Australia! Once arriving in this small northwestern South American country, we were certainly glad we had taken our pre-trip altitude adjusting medications for several days before departing Our Town. Quito's elevation of 9,350' is one of the highest capital cities on earth, and I certainly think if you are going to visit this beautiful city of 1.6 million people, you should prepare for it by taking the appropriate altitude medication. Otherwise, your trip could be marred with unfortunate altitude sickness---certainly not pleasant! An additional travel/health issue for Ecuador is the requirement for a yellow fever vaccination and the accompanying certificate.. These relatively minor health-related issues should not, however be a deterrent to making this incredible trip. No visa required for Americans, just a valid passport, which almost all American travelers possess today in our modern age.

We were housed in the beautiful, centrally-located, huge, J.W. Marriott Hotel for the initial 2 nights. After checking in, we were able to shop along Amazonas Avenue, easy walking from our hotel, and spent plenty the official Ecuadorian paper money, manufactured in the USA. Yes, the locals throughout this land of small-stature people use our USA dollars to buy and sell all their goods and services. Simply put, our currency is their country's currency! Never have I seen this before or since outside America.

After shopping and a hotel dinner, our jet lag, long travel hours and altitude adjusting, all played major factors in helping my bride and me to totally appreciate our hotel bed and sleep that first evening.

Day 2 we took a 7-hour city/area bus tour, seeing the old colonial city including many beautiful churches, shopping at a large local craft market, and traveling about 7 miles north of the city to tour the famous Half the World Park. Here, we literally stood on the equator, one foot in each hemisphere. In traveling outside the city, we were able to appreciate the beautiful countryside (and locals selling their jumbo size roses everywhere!) in the backdrop of the magnificent Andes Mountains. We had a delicious local lunch halfway through the motorcoach tour, and that second evening, after returning to our hotel and relaxing for a few hours, we were treated to a nice dinner at a nearby local gourmet restaurant. Another busy day had past, so, once again, we were more than ready for that comfortable hotel bed.

Ahhh, the day of the island enchantment, beginning on Day 3. As we awoke, got ready and checked out of our hotel rooms following another delicious breakfast, we were ready to fly off to "Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution Laboratory" hundreds of miles west in the isolated Galapagos Islands.

Part 2, next week's installment, will carefully explain our magical week aboard the luxurious Celebrity Xpedition cruise ship, traveling all through the Galapagos Islands.

This part of the trip will absolutely capture your heart.

It certainly did mine...........