bengarbo

28DEC2021 – DAY 9: THE ANIMALS

After spending the night on the rooftop of Hotel Iguana, I headed back up to check out the view at dawn. I ran into Brian and we took photos against the backdrop of the town before heading over to the breakfast area to fill up for the day ahead! From the hotel, we walked overContinue reading “28DEC2021 – DAY 9: THE ANIMALS”

27DEC2021 – DAY 8: THE TRANSFER (GO GO GALAPAGOS)

Another bright and early day had us up and out of the hotel by 6:30am. As the bags were loaded under the bus, the excitement of a new adventure washed over us as we slowly woke up. On the way to the Quito airport, we picked up 8 new friends: Melissa, Gina, Cathryn, Jordan, Meredith,Continue reading “27DEC2021 – DAY 8: THE TRANSFER (GO GO GALAPAGOS)”

26DEC2021 – DAY 7: THE RETURN TO QUITO

Today was our last day in mainland Ecuador! We all spent the morning packing up our suitcases and preparing for the long bus ride back to Quito. I packed up quick and walked down to the patio by the pool for a quick once over to make sure I didn’t forget anything from last night.Continue reading “26DEC2021 – DAY 7: THE RETURN TO QUITO”

25DEC2021 – DAY 6: THE CHRISTMAS ADVENTURES

The only thing that separated yesterday’s exhaustive schedule and today’s packed agenda was 3hrs of sleep… but on these kind of trips, that’s gotta be expected sometimes! Even though I woke up at 7:30AM, I was all ready to take on the day! I grabbed a croissant and some slices of pineapple and made myContinue reading “25DEC2021 – DAY 6: THE CHRISTMAS ADVENTURES”

24DEC2021 – DAY 5: THE DAY OF CANYONS AND DANCING

Today was wheels up at 8:00AM leaving Tena and heading for Banos: the adventure capital of mainland Ecuador! I decided to get up at 6:00AM and for some strange reason decided today was the day I would shave off my beard. Perhaps it was the humidity or maybe I was just possessed. Either way, afterContinue reading “24DEC2021 – DAY 5: THE DAY OF CANYONS AND DANCING”

23DEC2021 – DAY 4: THE JUNGLE HIKE

Another 6AM morning, I got up to grab breakfast and began chatting with Esteban who mentioned I really lucked out because the original flight I was going to take was still delayed for entry into UIO and was expected for arrival by 2PM. If I hadn’t done the flight swapping, who knows how much moreContinue reading “23DEC2021 – DAY 4: THE JUNGLE HIKE”

22DEC2021 – DAY 3: THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE

I finally landed in UIO just after midnight and walked off the plane exhausted, frustrated, and mumbling many words I dare not repeat! Making my way through customs was a breeze and I immediately headed for the American Airlines customer service desk to find out when my suitcase would be coming in. Since I hadContinue reading “22DEC2021 – DAY 3: THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE”

21DEC2021 – DAY 2: THE FIRST DAY GONE

After sleeping off yesterday’s frustration on an airport couch next to the loudest snorer this side of the Mississippi, I scuffled over to the bag claim area to grab my bag to recheck it. Being 4AM and having approximately 2.5 hours of sleep, my movements likely resembled a drunkards steps. I checked my bag andContinue reading “21DEC2021 – DAY 2: THE FIRST DAY GONE”

20DEC2021 – DAY 1: THE WILMINGTON CATASTROPHE

Everything started out going so smoothly with an easy luggage check-in and a hopeful excitement to get out to Quito to begin my vacation in earnest! Little did I know how deep the rabbit hole would go on day 1 of my trip… At BOS, after making it through security, I bought a couple ofContinue reading “20DEC2021 – DAY 1: THE WILMINGTON CATASTROPHE”