Family trip to Ecuador/Galapagos

In fall 2003, while looking for ideas of how to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary, I happened upon a reader's letter about a yacht cruise in the Galapagos in 2001 (June '02, pg. 42). I thought this a perfect idea for our family group.

Arrangements were made through Richard Jaussi at Galacruises Expeditions (748 Jorge Washington [between Amazonas Av. and 9 de Octubre], Quito, Ecuador; phone [593-2] 2509007 or [593-2] 2903391, fax [593-2] 2224893, e-mail info@galacruises.com or visit www.galacruises.com).

We chartered the 16-passenger yacht Seaman for an 8-day/7-night cruise in July '04 at a cost of $14,850. Air tickets to the islands were an additional $5,847, with one free ticket for the group.

We visited 10 islands, hiked among the fearless wildlife, swam with the sea lions, saw Galapagos penguins, eyed the huge tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Center, snorkeled daily, sea kayaked and went scuba diving.

I don't think we could have done better than the Seaman. The crew really worked to keep the newly refurbished boat clean; they all were friendly and helpful. The food was healthy and tasty but fairly plain. As we had six grandchildren along, that was fine.

The naturalist, Mauricio, was knowledgeable and had workable English. Everyone worked hard to see that we had a good time, which we did. Some special touches included a birthday party for one of us; a feast of lobsters caught by the crew for our final night; hot and tasty hors d'oeuvres in the late afternoons as we returned from snorkeling, and a soccer game on one of the islands with mixed teams of crew and passengers.

Before and after our cruise we stayed at Cafe Cultura (e-mail info@cafecuttura.com) in Quito. This charming, small hotel was a hit with everyone. It had helpful, English-speaking front-desk personnel and a good restaurant. The hotel is decorated with colorful murals, and in the evenings the two fireplaces downstairs were lit, along with wall sconce candles, giving a very warm and cheery appearance. Cafe Cultura arranged our airport transport.

Members of our group did different things while in Ecuador. Some went to a lodge in the Amazon jungle; others did horseback riding, hiking and mountain climbing. My husband and I organized a car and driver/guide through Robin Slater of Sangay Tours (e-mail robinslater@ accessinter.net). Robin also made our hotel reservations for this part of the trip. We spent several days visiting places along the Avenue of the Volcanoes, ending up in Cuenca, a charming, old colonial city.

We all agreed that Ecuador is a beautiful country with lots of attractions.

ALERT--At the airport we met a young American woman who was in tears. She had gotten out of her taxi at the airport and the driver then drove off with all her luggage! I hadn't heard of this particular type of thievery before.

Anyone interested in more information can contact me by e-mail at nelledmc@sbcglobal.net.

NELL McCOMBS

Ventura, CA

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