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 over to spend some time at the beach. There were sea lions and iguanas littered across the entire beach just lounging about. The iguanas stayed sprawled out and didn’t move much, but some of the sea lions seemed to enjoy showing off! Our Galapagos guide, Cristian, split us into 2 groups. One group went snorkeling while the other group went kayaking and then we swapped activities a little later.

I was in the group with Melissa, Sarah S, Cristiana, Gina, Alicia, Sara A, Elliot, Molly, and Kevin who went snorkeling first. We walked along a wooden bridge out to the end of a pier passing many sea lions lounging along the way. At the end, we were given a 5min crash course on how to snorkel and the do’s and don’t’s of swimming through the area! I brought my own pair of prescription goggles I bought before the trip so I could see the sights, the animals, and where I was swimming. We put on flippers, goggles, and snorkels and hopped into the water to immerse ourselves in the subaquatic world of the Galapagos!

Led by Cristian, we began swimming around the open area in a single file line practicing our snorkeling until we came across a group of sting rays swimming along under the surface! Some of us dove down to get a better view and came up quickly gasping for air! The sting rays were massive and glided around gracefully below our feet. As we continued along, we came across a sea turtle resting on the rocks below. The water there was shallow enough we could see the turtle clearly by simply sticking our heads in the water. As a few colorful fish darted by, we made our way to a narrow channel where we could see crabs lining the rocky wall beside us and many more shimmering fish passing by! We emerged out into the open water again, several sea lions passed by in front of us. We made our way back to the pier where we hopped out and took off our gear.

The whole snorkeling experience was filled with so many amazing animals, uncontained excitement, and no small amount of unintended butt photos!

Our half of the group then walked back to the beach where we awaited our tandem kayaks. We paired up and climbed into our kayaks to take off for a view of the bay from above the surface! My kayak buddy was Elliot.

As we made our way around the bay, navigating between boats, birds, and sharp rocks sticking out above the waters surface, Cristian explained about some of the history of Isla Isabela and the animals we saw. Along the way we came across several great blue herons, some much anticipated blue-footed boobies, and a penguin! Fun fact: the Galapagos Penguin is the only species of penguin whose natural habitat is above the equator! We watched the penguin glide around for a bit and saw some baby sharks swimming around on our way back to the beach where we started. The song Baby Shark was stuck in my head for the rest of the day… Back at the beach, we met up with the other group and relaxed by the shore under the blazing sun until lunchtime.

It was just after lunch as we walked back to the hotel when I realized my feet were beginning to swell up from an intense sunburn. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but while we were kayaking, my feet were each resting in a little pool of water in the grooves of the kayak. The water was shallow enough to radiate the intensified effects of the sun while washing away the sunscreen I had been so careful to remember to reapply (I have a long history of forgetting to reapply sunscreen).

From the hotel, we took a quick bus ride to a breeding center for Giant Tortoises and learned about the story of Lonesome George, the last of a subspecies of tortoises who was unfortunately unable to produce fertile offspring before he died at 100 years old in 2012. A sad tale but one that serves an important lesson for conservation efforts in the Galapagos!

While the rest of the group walked from the breeding center to the Endemic Turtle Restaurant where we ended our day, I made a quick detour to a nearby pharmacy. I managed to communicate with the storekeeper using what little vocab I could piece together from College Spanish 101 and Unit 1 on Duolingo a month before the trip. After successfully acquiring the last two bottles of aloe vera, I navigated my way to the restaurant for a nice hearty steak and fries. The restaurant closed at 9:30pm but we stuck around chatting about our first full day in the Galapagos until we were kicked out at 11:00pm!

Back at the hotel just before midnight, I propped my legs up, slathered them with aloe vera, and popped a Benadryl as I settled in for an early night…

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, Molly, Kevin, and Mara. After arriving at UIO, we welcomed our new friends with open arms and did some brief introductions! With our small army of 21 strong, we stood around waiting in the middle of the Quito airport for Esteban to grab our boarding passes. I decided that I would take today to focus on gorging myself on as much food as possible to refuel after the many wild adventures on the mainland as we set out for the Galapagos Islands!

For the flight from Quito to Guayaquil, I sat next to Elliot who immediately pulled out his Nintendo Switch to play Mario Kart. The battery died before we got off of the ground, go figure… We still managed to have a good flight by drinking some smuggled rum which our tour leader told us the night before would not be an issue bringing on the flight. Little did we know it was an issue and the flight attendant asked me to put it away thus brandishing themself as a “vibe killer”. We didn’t like those kind of vibes so we snuck a few more sips in during the flight! The hour-long descent from Quito down to Guayaquil was steep with an altitude change of over 9000 ft!!

At the Guayaquil airport, we waited around snacking on gummies, chips, and ice cream from the mini mart next to our gate. The flight from GYE to GPS (Isle Of Baltra) started with an engaging and entertaining infomercial about the Galapagos and what to expect while we were there. The flight was 2 hours long but definitely felt much, much shorter! As we deplaned on the tarmac, we were welcomed by the blistering sun shining down from overhead! I could barely open my eyes and my sunglasses were packed snugly away in my suitcase…

We grabbed our suitcases and walked a little ways over to the pier where we took a brief 10min ferry over to Isla Santa Cruz, our first ferry ride among the islands of Galapagos! We all crammed into a bus to take us to Puerto Ayora on the opposite side of the island where we had a much needed included lunch at a local restaurant. We were all starving and I decided to be bold and order two meals. When my two burgers arrived, the entire group stared at the two towering mounds on my plate. Realizing I may have just made a huge mistake since we only had 15min before we had to hop back on the bus, I started giving away food. It felt good to play the role of Oprah: “you get some onions”, “you get some lettuce”, “you get some tomatoes”, “everybody gets some fries”!! After giving away about 60% of plate, I inhaled my two burgers and we were off!

A very brief bus ride brought us to the pier where we would take a 2hr ferry over to Isla Isabela, the seahorse shaped island! The ferry ride started off slow and sunny. The back of the boat seats filled in quick while the rest of us had to sit inside. The captain then had to assign our seats to provide an optimal balance of the boat so it wouldn’t tip over once we hit the sea waves! It wasn’t long before the clouds rolled in and the skies turned dark. About halfway through the ride, the constant rocking of the boat had nearly sapped the energy of most of our group. Those sitting outside were cold, wet, and huddled under blankets for warmth. Fortunately for those of us who were forced to sit inside, we had alcohol!! Brian, David, Erica, Esteban Alicia, and myself each took a shot of rum. Even Cristian, our Galapagos tour guide joined in for a drink! The rest of the ride was smooth sailing, at least for those of us on the inside. I can’t even imagine how Nigel, Aliya, and Elliot were faring up top…

Hotel Iguana

When we arrived at Isla Isabela, we all staggered off the boat and made our way to Hotel Iguana to freshen up before dinner. I opened my suitcase for the first time since leaving Quito only to find my animal crackers were everywhere! It was a bloodbath and only a select few survived the onslaught!

Dinner was at a local shawarma place where we were seated on a second floor rooftop overlooking the streets of Puerto Villamil. While waiting for our food, Gina regaled us with the tale of how some special mushrooms changed her life forever! It was a unique story for sure and it was timed perfectly with the arrival of our meals. After scarfing down my two burgers from earlier, chicken and rice (the staple I was getting quite accustomed to in Latin America) was a welcome dish. This was the first restaurant where we were served blackberry juice and oh my god was I hooked after the first sip! I would ask for this at every restaurant for the rest of the trip. After dinner, we were all given a complimentary slice of banana bread before we walked back to the hotel.

The night was still young, being only 10:00pm. Melissa, Nigel, Aliya, Alicia, Brian, Elliot, Sara, Cristiana, and myself went to the rooftop of our hotel to play King’s Cup. Even our tour leader Esteban decided to join in! Never having played King’s Cup before, I was not sure what to expect other than ending up drunk by the end. And by the end that’s exactly what happened. Although, that may be more from me sipping whiskey while everyone else had beer… coulda been anything though! It was a fun night for sure!

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. I didn’t notice anything of mine, but I did find Cristiana’s bracelet and David’s hat. Both were happy to be reunited with their belongings!

After a light breakfast of croissants and pineapple chunks, I loaded my bag on the bus and waited for Esteban’s group announcement! He shared with us a final optional activity for full body massages at a local spa. While every single other person decided to go the spa for a few hours of relaxation, I opted to enjoy one last jaunt around the city of Banos. I wasn’t ready to leave just yet!!

With 3 hours to spend before the bus would take us back to Quito, I wandered towards the downtown streets of Banos to do a little last minute souvenir shopping and exploration. Walking around, I saw some cool graffiti and patterned sidewalks on my way to get some ice cream from the highly recommended Tutto Freddo! After finishing my refreshing snack, I noticed a waterfall tucked in the back of the city along one of the cliffs rising up from the valley and decided to check it out! While not as massive as the other roaring falls we encountered during the trip, it was a welcome sight within the city!

I ended up getting lunch from Fucking Bueno Burger and as expected it was fucking bueno!! Just before I headed back to the hotel to hop on the bus, I saw a wall painted with Banos Bendito e Inmortal which translates to Banos, blessed and immortal which I felt was quite fitting after my experiences there. At the moment I snapped a photo of the sentiment, a dog ran past and photobombed my picture! Something about that just made me burst out laughing. I had a wonderful walk back to the bus where I awaited my rested and relaxed friends!

As everyone scurried onto the bus like commuters at a subway station, I wondered how relaxing those massages actually were?! But soon enough we were on our way and Estaban chimed in with another announcement as we headed for Quito. Although most of us would be continuing onwards to the Galapagos, this would be our last bus ride with Samantha W, Chelsea, Samantha M, Alexandra, and Brandon.

Esteban began by recounting the trip highlights starting with the first day in Quito which I missed because of the Wilmington Catastrophe… He then quickly moved onto the mishaps of the second day with a couple misplaced bags and my whole flight delay debacle before moving on to some of the more adventurous trip activities. I hadn’t thought my arrival was such a key moment, but it was kinda nice to be name-dropped in the trip recap. As he reviewed our activities one by one, the memories of each came flooding back as we momentarily relived our experiences! We had been there for a week and I had already nearly forgotten all about rafting on the river and hiking through the jungle. Perhaps last night’s party was finally catching up to me… or maybe a few days in Banos will do that to you?! Either way, spending a moment to reflect on what we had all been through was nothing short of a bonding experience of its own.

After reliving the memories of our wondrous time in Ecuador, it was time for bus games! Esteban started us off with some Ecuador trivia and gave out some cool trinkets as prizes for correct answers. Afterwards, we played a game which I don’t believe had a name. Esteban split the group into two teams: left side of the bus and right of the bus. He then would name an object and each team had to find one and have everyone touch the item before handing it off to Esteban before the other team could. It started off pretty simple with things like a water bottle, a hat, and sunscreen but things escalated pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were passing around things like chewed gum, a condom, and a bra. Left side bus team reigned supreme by the end! After that, the rest of the bus ride slowed down a bit as some of us played some card games until we arrived in Quito!

Back at the hotel we started in (Hostal De La Mancha), we said goodbye to our bus driver Fernando. Then we went out to an all you can eat sushi restaurant to say goodbye to the 5 friends who would not be joining us for the Galapagos. By dinner’s end we were all teary-eyed and bloated. As we left the restaurant, the rain came crashing down. It was time to call it a night…

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 my way to the bus for a second zip-lining excursion!

The ride over was pretty smooth and when we arrived at 8:30AM, the sun was already shining brightly overhead. This is not the Christmas weather I know… Nigel, Chelsea, Aliya, Sarah S and myself were ready for the scenic zip-line through the trees! We were told there were 6 lines in total, that’s thrice the amount of zipping than yesterday!

After putting on our gear, we headed out and zipped through the first two lines with ease! The path to the third line was about a half mile hike upwards through forest. The vertical climb was quite strenuous, especially under the blaring sun. But we prevailed and at the 3rd line, we were given a choice: cross the gap upright or Spider-man it. Clearly Spider-manning it was the right answer! At the other side, we turned the corner and traversed the 4th line across the river below. Once again we hiked upwards towards the next line where we were given another choice: upright or Superman! Again, the superhero option was the way to go! The views passing by as we zipped along face down were beautiful and serene. It’s not often you get to see this side of nature from above! After reaching the other side, we had one last climb to get to the final line. Though as steep as the climb was, we made it to the top. But not before stopping at the water station to rehydrate. At the top, I didn’t hesitate to ask to Superman it but only because I couldn’t think of any other superhero poses for ziplining. The final zip line was over 1/3 mile long and crossed back over the river. Finally at the other end, the zip line journey was complete, I grabbed a chocolate bar from the local shop as we headed back to our hotel for some rare free time!

Free time on Contiki trips is few and far between since there’s so much to see and do, the schedule is always jam packed with one breathtaking experience after another!

For my brief moment of free time, I took a stroll through the streets of Banos with Brian, Sara A, and Samantha W. We wandered around a few shops and bought some souvenirs before stopping by a café for coffee. Though not being a big coffee drinker, I decided to go explore the town a bit more.

Around 1:20PM, the rest of the group came back from their respective activities (horseback riding and the canyon ziplining I did the day before). We all headed out to lunch at Leprechaun Restaurante where I ordered beef leprechaun (not made with real leprechaun… or so they claim) and a blue Hawaiian margarita! That leprechaun definitely hit the spot and the margarita was so massive that you could hold a Barbie pool party in it…!

After lunch, Esteban said he had a special activity for us to go check out La Casa Del Arbol and the swings overlooking Mt. Tungurahua, an active volcano! So many people were exhausted after the nonstop activities the past couple days. Some of us were still bursting with energy and took a party bus to check out the view!

The city of Banos is situated in a large valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. The bus to La Casa Del Arbol had open sides, party speakers, and a pole in the back! Perhaps not the safest thing to be trekking up the sides of a valley, but that didn’t stop us from taking full advantage of the experience! When we reached our destination, we hiked about a 1/2 mile up to the famous Swing At The End Of The World. This mountaintop was not always a bustling tourist attraction, but used to have just one swing. A single photo captured from that swing of the erupting volcano in the distance made National Geographic headlines and helped spurn this phenomenal view into a viral IG sensation!

At the original swing, we all took our turn swinging out over the edge of the mountain. Fearless as always, I threw my hands up and embraced the thrill, the view, and the once in a lifetime experience!

After we all had a go on the original swing, we hopped back on the bus for a brief ride over to the extreme swing! Yeah, there was an even crazier one! Once there, I put on a helmet and waited in line. Climbing up the tower, I looked out across the city of Banos as I sat down in the contraption that would swing me out over the edge of the cliff for the most breathtaking view of the city below! The countdown hit 0 and I was released, swinging down from above like the pirate ship ride at an amusement park but with nothing but the city below my feet! The moment was pure adrenaline, something I hadn’t truly felt since I had been skydiving in NZ 2 years ago. It was over all too quickly but I will never forget that sight!

On the return to Banos, we hopped into the party bus and some of the girls showed off their moves on the pole in the back as we zoomed back down into the valley! Even Elliot partook of the pole! The entire ride back was full of nonstop laughter and merriment. But the fun didn’t end there… no, we got dressed up into our nicest outfits for dinner and a Christmas party at one of Banos’ top clubs!

We got dinner at Nativo Gastro Bar where I continued my streak of margarita pizzas! I was sitting next to Samantha W who ordered a tiki head drink. Her drink came last but it was absolutely worth the wait for the aesthetic alone. The waiter brought over a plate with a giant tiki head on it, hooked up a couple tubes to the back and about 30 seconds later, the mouth popped open and smoke began to pour out! Once our entire table was covered in a fine layer of smoke, the waiter removed the tiki head revealing Sarah’s drink! And naturally, Nigel asked for the tiki head so he could take a closer look… though what he really wanted was to pretend he was the headless horseman with the tiki head sticking out of his shirt!

With dinner concluded and spirits high, we made our way to the club where we partied long and partied hard. We started off the wild night with colorful flaming shots before immediately hitting the dancefloor with the local crowd and getting lost in the sea of drunk festivities! Drinks were shared and drinks were spilled, but not a single drink was left undrunk. Around 1AM when the chaos finally began to die down, Cristiana and I decided to be responsible and make sure everyone we came with was still around. With what little focus we had left and a bit of searching, we managed to gather up all of our friends who didn’t turn in early; everyone was accounted for! Having had prior experience drunk navigating foreign city streets, I led the group back to the hotel where we continued the party on the patio by the pool with my party speakers. Around 3AM as yawns became a frequent sight, everyone shuffled back to their rooms and I followed suit to catch some z’s.

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, after 20 short minutes my face was smoother than it had ever been in over 6 years! I had made a mental note to never bring my razor with me on another vacation ever again! Something about being beardless just felt wrong… Afterwards, I packed up my suitcase, grabbed some breakfast and made my way to the bus where I got some compliments on my new face!

On our way out to Banos, we stopped by Devil’s Cauldron (Pailon del Diablo) a phenomenal site! From the bus drop off, we took a brief hike over to the viewpoint. But to get there, we had to traverse a wobbly suspension bridge with a downward gradient, descend down a windy dirt staircase, and walk across a slippery stone walkway!! The path to the viewpoint was well worth the struggle. We arrived under perfect viewing conditions to see the double rainbow cross over the lower path below as the roaring waterfall came crashing down on the other side of the stone wall just barely out of arms reach. Though that didn’t stop some of us (namely me) from trying! After having our fill of the cauldron, we made the return journey back up to the bus. Crossing the suspension bridge a second time seemed a bit more daunting for some members of the group who were hesitant to cross the first time. I crossed quickly to resist the urge to shake the bridge back and forth which I guarantee would’ve freaked out some people who were talking their time crossing at a pace they felt comfortable with. Back at the bus, I was awarded the title of group daredevil. A title that would live up to its name in the days to come!

After reaching Banos, we settled into our hotel briefly and then made our way to the downtown area where we were sized up for wetsuits to go canyoneering! Upon arriving at the drop off zone wearing our wetsuits, we were given an all too brief crash course on rappelling. With only a few moments of practicing hand placement and foot spacing, we were off. Walking down a narrow, crudely marked trail along river’s edge, we had to hop across several gaps in the trail as we passed through several patches of light brush. At the first waterfall, we scaled several boulders to get up to the top of a waterfall! From there, our tour guides attached ropes to our harnesses and we went for it! Rappelling down a 50ft waterfall a couple small hops at a time. As a made my way down the waterfall, I slipped and fell on my butt. I couldn’t help but think about the song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba as I got back up to finish the descent. That will teach me to lose focus on my center of gravity! One by one the rest of the group made it to the bottom. Once everyone made it down, we continued along the river to an area where we sat down in the shallows and slid down about 20ft over another waterfall!

And then came the third and final waterfall! This one came as extra experience because we all completed the other 2 so quickly. We were all so excited, but no one was prepared for what we encountered! As we approached the edge of a 120ft cliff, one of the tour guides told us to wait single file as we each would get a turn jumping off the cliff with the waterfall below. Cristiana went first and quickly disappeared as she made the jump. As we were standing so far back from the edge, none of us could really see exactly what we were getting ourselves into. Alexandra and Erica were ready to turn back but were urged to finish the activity by the rest of the group! I was up second and as I spotted the edge of the 120ft cliff, my eyes lit up and I saw my opportunity and knew what I must do! After being attached the ropes and being given the thumbs up to go, I jumped and for a few seconds, I relived my glory of skydiving in New Zealand. Once the rope caught and j was suspended, I took the opportunity I had seen mere moments before and flipped myself upside down as if I was Spider-man hanging from a web. I was lowered to the ground and turned back upright as the waterfall gushed over me! At the bottom I unhooked the carabiner from my harness and went to go cheer on the rest of the group with Cristiana! Every jumper that came down grew our cheer squad a little bit and eventually once everyone had made the jump, we climbed back up to the top along a steep path using only rope handrails to to ascend. What an exhilarating experience!

Around noon we made it back to the hotel for lunch. How was it only lunchtime after all that? I ordered a cheese pizza from the little restaurant attached to the hotel. What I got was a margarita pizza. Close enough, right?! After that, I was hooked… not a single cheese pizza was ordered the rest of the trip! But no sooner had we finished stuffing our faces with food were we already off on the next bus ride out to go ziplining!

Only a few of us signed up for this one. After a quick bus ride across the city, Alicia, Elliot, Sarah S, Brian, Nigel, Jamie, Erica, David, Shelby, Aliya, Sam W, and I arrived at Parque Adventura and grabbed helmets and harnesses. One by one we laid down on a blanket and were clipped in for the first zip line across the canyon. This was the Superman experience! I stayed back in line to take videos of everyone else as they crossed the canyon by cable with arms out wide. When my turn came, I held my phone tight and got the first of many POV ziplining videos! Crossing the canyon went by much too quick but that was just the beginning!

Once I got to the other side, the rest of the group was already moving on through. The next challenge was to cross a swaying suspension bridge with steps ~3ft apart. One step at I time, I traversed the bridge and threw my hands up and cheered on the last step! Next came the cliff. Similar in height to the waterfall we jumped off earlier, the climb was a vertical ascent using only rebar handles jutting out the side of the cliff. I scaled up the side with ease, looked down upon my progress and caught up with the rest of the group before the reaching the top.

At the top, we took a quick breather, drank some water, and zip-lined back to the other side past a gorgeous sunset disappearing beyond the canyon!

As night drew in, we made our way back to the hotel where we cleaned up before heading out for salsa lessons. Salsa the dance that is, not the chip dip! The lessons walked us through 6 steps before combining it all together. Just before dinner, the salsa king and salsa queen were chosen. Congrats to Nigel and Chelsea!

After the lessons most of us danced our way down the sidewalk to a local family’s house where they had prepared a massive Christmas Eve feast for us! They opened their home and shared with us their culture, their stories, and their favorite music! One of the delicacies found in Ecuador is cuy: guinea pig. And Nigel partook of that without a moment of hesitation! The rest of the spread included various rices, chicken, pork, veggies, fried plantain, empanadas, and many bottles of wine! That night we feasted! And as dinner conversations and the meal came to and end Nigel took the guinea pig’s head, filled it up, and slurped it down! After that we danced the night away until 2AM and then continued the party til almost 4AM back at the hotel before turning in for the night. A day filled with canyons and dancing is not a day to be taken lightly!

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 more I would have missed. I was so happy to be here with yet another fun and supportive travel group!

After breakfast, we loaded into the bus and made our way to Sacha Waysa, a local community among the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle! It was here we spent most of the day immersing ourselves in the local culture and engaging with the local inhabitants. We started off with a nature hike through the dense jungle brush led by a couple of the locals with machetes. One must always remember to carry a machete when traveling through the jungle. Any other knife wouldn’t do! As we followed behind our fearless jungle guides, we had to watch our footing as we descended. The ground was wet and muddy from the rains the night before. Luckily no one fell, although a few people did have some close calls.

Reedy stalks for making Panama hats!

Once at the bottom, we continued along the path carved for us by the guides and they showed us some pretty cool plants and explained how they natives use them in their daily lives. There was a long reedy stalk that when whacked really hard opened up to reveal plaited palm leaves. These are used in the making of authentic Panama hats

“Magical Shrinking Leaves”

(which ironically are produced in Ecuador). Another plant we were shown was what our tour guide referred to as “magic shrinking leaves”. I do not recall if this plant had any substantial purpose beyond being super interesting and mesmerizing to watch, but

Highly nutritious ant leaves.

when the plant receives a small touch, the leaves retract and appear as if shrunken. One other plant we were shown was a leaf that ants make their home inside. Our guides told us that the ants, while very tiny, could be eaten and provide an unexpectedly high amount of nutrition for their size. Half of our group immediately started licking the leaves!

After having some fun with the local flora, we continued on our way to a hidden waterfall. In the sweltering heat under the canopy of the Amazon jungle, we all jumped straight into the pool at the base of the falls to cool off. It was at this moment that I realized I had worn the completely wrong outfit for this hike. My long sleeve cotton shirt clung tight to my chest and quickly became waterlogged as I swam to the edge of the pool. I spent the next 5 minutes taking off shirt and swam back out to the area behind the waterfall while we all took a breather before our inevitable ascent back through the jungle towards town.

Once everyone had their fill of swimming in the jungle waters, our jungle guides led us back towards the town. Along the way, our guides stopped by a small stream and gathered handfuls of soft grey clay to draw symbols on our faces that matched the “auras” they felt we gave off. Apparently mine was ‘the jaguar’. In addition to embodying our auras, the mud also provided a rejuvenating face cover under the sultry sun. Just before we returned to town, we stopped by a hanging vine to embrace our inner Tarzan as we each swung along and attempted our best George Of The Jungle yell.

Back at the main building in town, lunch had been set out for us and we chowed down. There was roast chicken soup with a yuca broth (which tasted like Matzo ball soup), heaps of white rice, fried yuca, and various fruits. I gave the yuca a try and was not a fan …at least not at first. Yuca is a common root vegetable a bit less flavorful than potatoes. I had yuca several more times throughout my trip to Ecuador and learned to appreciate the filling starch.

The finished product: chocolate covered banana!

After lunch, we walked over to an open hut and were given a history lesson on Wayusa Tea, an herbal beverage commonly consumed in Ecuador. We were each given a cup to drink while watching a local family partake in some traditional dancing before we were coaxed to join in. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to peruse their local handicraft shop for some handmade souvenirs. Then we were brought over to another hut to make chocolate. We were given an actual bucket-load of raw cacao beans and 20 minutes to remove the shells from as many as we could. At the end of the 20 minutes, we placed all of the de-shelled beans into a grinder and took turns crushing the beans into a chocolatey paste. As far as raw chocolate goes, this paste was insanely bitter. After being mixed with some sugar, the chocolate paste was drizzled over many banana slices and we enjoyed some sweet fruit!

Hopped up on sugar, we then took on the local schoolkids in an unregulated 18v18 soccer match. What was expected to be a complete and utter decimation of the puny schoolkids by us large, towering, and imposing adults ended in an almost humiliating defeat. If not for Samantha M, who pretty much steamrolled 5 of the small kids on her way to the goal and an unfortunate self-goal by the youngest member of their team who likely had no idea what he was doing but was just happy to have the ball, the game would have ended in a tie at 1 all. The schoolkids had earned the first goal early on which prompted Samantha M to go full berserk mode. Our third goal came towards the end of the game and scored by none other than our tour guide, Esteban in a final drive to show off his sick skills!

With adrenaline pumping and spirits high, we took some time to slow things down with a memory game for the schoolkids. Back in the lunch hut, we went in a circle stating our names and where we were from. Esteban would then point to one of us and ask the kids either “what is his/her name?” or “where is he/she from?”. If one of the kids recalled correctly, they got to pick a prize from the pile of school supplies we bought for them. At the end, there were many smiling faces as the kids were beyond excited to be getting new notepads, pencils, bookmarks, etc. We then said goodbye to the kids as they headed back to their respective homes and we hopped back on the bus to head off for our next activity: caving!

What is caving? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like: spelunking through a dark, damp cave with nothing but your wits and a headlamp. We walked in through the large cave entrance. One moment we were out in the bright sun and the next we were surrounded by darkness as we ventured into the unknown guided by only our headlamps to light the path. As we trudged single file through the ankle deep water further into the cave, we had to communicate to the person behind us about the hazards informed by the person in front of us. Whether it was a sharp rock, a low ceiling, or even an underwater drop off, communication would be instrumental in ensuring everyone made it through unscathed. After what seemed like an hour (but actually only 10 minutes) of proceeding through the darkness, we arrived at a large deep pool alit by several battery operated lanterns. To cross the pool, we had to tight rope walk across a length of rope sitting just below the surface, holding onto nothing but a second rope above our heads. On the other side, several of us decided to plunge into the pool and cross again! Continuing along, we made it to a narrow hole in front of a waterfall that was constantly filling in with water. Naturally, we were each given the opportunity to dunk ourselves within but not before being warned of the risk of not resurfacing! Almost all of us took on the challenge! Kudos to Brian, Elliott, David, Samantha M, Nigel, Chelsea, Cristiana, Alicia, Sara A, Brandon, Sarah S, and myself. After we all successfully resurfaced, made our way up the rocky hill past the waterfall and emerged back into the light of day… but not before having a run in with a couple of bats!

Once we emerged, we walked down the path towards the bus, got on and headed back to the hotel in Tena to prepare for dinner. The restaurant had a nice pool but unfortunately everyone was exhausted from today’s full agenda, so my attempts at inciting a pool party ended up a bit short with only Brian, Elliott, Sara A, and Alicia being interested. After the failed pool party, we returned to the hotel and sat outside similar to the night before but instead of dancing along to 90s pop music, we just chatted for a couple hours and turned in for the night (at 2AM). Tomorrow we would be making our way towards Banos!

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 had snagged the last seat on the earlier flight when I was still in MIA, my bag would be expected to arrive after 1:00AM on the next flight. However, due to the departure delays on the flight I took, the next flight (with my bag on it) was also delayed leaving MIA. I decided I didn’t want to wait around another airport for several more hours and looked into having my bag shuttled to my next destination when it arrived. The lady at the baggage claim counter didn’t speak much English, so I had a hard time trying to explain that I wanted my bag sent to the hotel in Tena where I would be staying for the next two days. I will never know if my words were fully understood but I’d like to think I did good job explaining it using the little Spanish I learned in college, my travel itinerary, and several diagrams I drew on a blank piece of paper!

At this point, I figured I had done all I could do and left the airport to hail a cab. After a 40min drive, I rolled up to Hostal De La Mancha. As I entered the building, I was greeted by Nigel, Aliya, David, Erica, and Elliot with a couple peanut butter whiskey shots. These guys knew how to make the situation better! They were also the only ones who were still up at 2:00AM after their first day exploring downtown Quito. After a few brief introductions I wouldn’t remember and would have to chat about again in the “morning”, Nigel, my roomie for the trip, showed me our room and I immediately dropped off my bag and booked it for the shower to wash off 2 days of travel grime and whatever else was on those couches in the Wilmington Airport!

Just before I dozed off for bed at 2:30AM, Nigel informed me that we needed to be in the lobby by 6:00AM for mandatory Covid testing. So I slept for three and half hours and made my way to the lobby at 6:00AM on the dot since I didn’t have a suitcase to pack up. After having the inside of my brain swabbed for the sample collection, I grabbed breakfast and introduced myself to everyone. We boarded the bus at 8:00AM and Esteban, our tour leader, mentioned we would be making a slight detour back to the airport to grab my suitcase! I was speechless and so very grateful! Esteban walked with me inside the airport as we made our way through some executive offices to a meeting room in the far corner of the third floor. Once my suitcase was handed to me, Esteban and I walked out of the airport, back to the bus, and we made our way towards Tena! It seems the crudely drawn diagrams I used to explain to the baggage claim lady weren’t needed after all!

En route to Tena, I pulled out some playing cards and we got blackjack going in the back of the bus! About halfway between Quito and Tena, we stopped in a little town for lunch. The place we ate at gave us all a free shot of rattlesnake tequila which hit harder than anything I had ever had before. It went down easy, but man did it burn up the insides worse than the cinnamon challenge! We finished the remainder of the bus ride to our hotel in Tena, dropped our bags off, and headed over to the launch area for white water rafting on the Rio Jatunyacu! I hopped in the raft with Aliya, Samantha W, Sarah S, Chelsea, and Shelby! The 6 of us along with our rafting guide led the charge down the river from our starting point. Navigating past multiple large boulders jutting out well above the water’s surface and around some rather tight turns, only one person fell in along the way! With Sarah safe and secure back in the raft, we finished off our ride with a rendition of “We Will Rock You” by Queen using our oars to show the other rafters our might! We made to a muddy bank after just over an hour of rafting through class 4 rapids! Just before we banked our rafts, we all hopped in the river to cool off as a reward!

After drying off and heading back to the hotel, we all got ready and headed out for our

first big meal of the trip at a 5 star restaurant called The Marquis featuring Cookie Brown (while that may sound like the name of a stripper, rest assured Cookie Brown is 100% pure sloth)! We even got to feed Cookie Brown almonds! After washing up, I gorged myself on a massive T-Bone steak while Cookie Brown climbed around the ceiling above me! After dinner we stopped by a liquor store and I bought some whiskey for the fun-filled nights I knew were ahead of us! Arriving back at the hotel, I set up my portable speakers and DJ’ed for the group! Throwback pop music was definitely the right call! With the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys, along with a few Disney hits, the vibe got going and eventually the girls took to their feet for the Cha Cha Slide to close out the night!

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 and then proceeded through security (apparently the few of us who stayed at the airport had left the gate area sometime before we got to the couch area the night before…). I bought a large bag of fruit snacks to help sugar jump my day and sat at Gate 6 and waited… and waited, and waited, and waited and eventually 9AM came around and boarding was completed successfully!

But wait! We were told after being seated on the plane that the other flights that regularly leave at that time would need to go first and our flight would have to be cleared with the air traffic controller. After everything, had they not done that yet? At 10:30AM, we hit the skies and then… the turbulence. Lots of turbulence. An announcement came on pretty early, its going to be a bumpy ride they said. Like the last day hadn’t been bumpy enough…

The flight landed in MIA just after noon. A wash of relief came over me upon entering the Miami airport, albeit a day late. I proceeded to contemplate what to do about my Covid test which was past the 72hr window for acceptance on an international outgoing flight. After much pondering, I made the executive decision (that only I could make) to leave the airport in search of the nearby Covid test site. It seems luck was on my side as the building was not more than 100 paces from the airport doors. After paying an exorbitant amount of money (175 smackaroos) to get a 30min rapid response PCR test, I sat in anticipation for the email to inform if I would be stranded alone in a Miami hotel for my vacation.

Lady Luck struck again (though less to do with luck, and more about good social distancing and sanitization practices), the test came back negative! Out of the sweltering heat and back into the airport, it was back through security yet again. And holy mother of whatever security gods are out there, but I got through security in less than 5min. That doesn’t seem humanly possible, but it happened. Once back in the airport, I grabbed a personal sheet pizza from a concession stand and went back for an extra slice!

Around 3PM at this point, I decided to call American Airlines again to request if I could swap to the 5:56PM departure to UIO in place of my 8:50PM flight and they came through! Luck was in the air today! Where was this when I needed it yesterday…! I meandered over to my gate an hour before boarding and they provided me with a seat number 17F, an emergency exit seat. Immense leg room with a small chance of responsibility. I’ll take it! Soon enough, the planed boarded… and there we sat. The luck had run out… An hour and a half passed while the ground crew loaded all of the bags into the underbelly of the plane. Why they hadn’t done that earlier is anyone’s guess. Wheels up and in the air a bit later than expected, but still earlier than the other flight which wouldn’t be boarding for at least another hour.

Before the day is through, it should be noted that the real hero of this endeavor over the past 2 days was none other than Charles Garbo, who through more than a handful of phone calls and no small amount of extra support and reassurance, helped me get through this overwhelmingly stressful situation. Thanks for everything, dad!!! I owe you an extra large hug next time I come to visit you!

While I may have missed the first day of my trip to Ecuador and getting to know the members of the tour group, I had no doubt things would be alright once I met up with everyone. I had such an epic time on my last Contiki tour that I knew it would all be worth it once I joined up with more soon to be travel friends!

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 of croissants and a bottle of water at a small store and wouldn’t you know they only charged me for the water… Free croissants, sweet! I went to go sit down to eat my free grub and proceeded to get hit by a plastic baseball… some kids were hitting around a baseball with a foam bat! I thought to myself “kids will be kids” and shrugged it off. I got hit again and started to wonder why security hasn’t asked them to stop. The ball hit on the next toss nearly went down the jet bridge which opened up a few minutes prior. Mildly irked the ball was not lost down the jet bridge, I finished my second croissant as boarding for the plane began. Soon I would be on my way to MIA as the first leg of my trip out to Ecuador! …Or so I thought.

The plane took off as expected with no issues and only smooth sailing in sight. At some point, there was an announcement made on the intercom about an unusual amount of turbulence, nothing I hadn’t experienced before so I thought nothing of it. A few moments later, the announcement that started the next 48 hours of hell came across the intercom. We were to make a “diverted landing” which was specifically stated multiple times as “not an emergency landing”. Wilmington, NC (ILM) was the destination. After touch down and unboarding, I waited in line at the counter to figure out how I would get down to MIA for my connecting flight when another announcement was made. Apparently the plane we were on was diverted due to a mechanical malfunction… Wonderful! After the proper checks were conducted and the plane was cleared, a notification was made that an unclaimed bag was left in an overhead bin and an additional inspection would be needed. The flight was listed with a 5hr delay expected to reach MIA at 10:10PM. I was supposed to get into UIO at that time, not MIA…

I called American Airlines customer support who were quick to help me reschedule my flight to UIO for 9:25AM the next morning with an arrival of 1:36PM. Another delay pushed the flight of ILM to 12:30AM while a new plane was sent from MIA to bring us to MIA… go figure. Annoyed but keeping a positive outlook, I went to grab food from the only restaurant on this side of security. They were out of pizza, burgers, wings, and only had two staff members for taking orders and making food for an entire flight’s worth of frustrated travelers stranded in ILM. After waiting for 45min, I finally got my 3 chicken tenders and some fries. Man, was that not filling…

I walked back to the gate and caught the end of the new announcement: the plane that was sent from MIA to bring us to MIA did not have a sufficient flight crew to fly us… WTF! They brought a plane but no crew… who does that…? Apparently American Airlines… Oh, and another notification came in, the flight is delayed until 4AM… no, wait 9AM, was I ever going to be able to leave Wilmington, NC?

The gate attendant said they would issue hotel vouchers for everyone and to come back in the morning. Unfortunately, the 24hr requirement for providing a negative Covid test would be up by then and there was no onsite Covid testing at the Wilmington airport. I decided to stay put… and I wasn’t the only steadfast traveler. We were the few, the proud, the ones willing to tough it out overnight in airport seats. Call us crazy and you’d be right!

I called American Airlines again to see what they could do about the 9AM flight leaving ILM which would miss my connection in MIA heading to UIO by 1.5hrs. They offered another flight over 24hrs later. Wonderful. I spent the next couple hours researching options that wouldn’t require missing the first 1.5days of my trip to Ecuador. I had been in contact with the most reliable person in my life throughout all of this: my father! He came in with the save just before midnight, a flight leaving MIA at 8:50PM set to arrive in UIO at 12:51AM, which while not the ideal answer I was hoping for, it would save me 12hrs. After all of this, I remained excited for my vacation. I needed this! I also needed a drink… it had been a day… yeah, it had definitely been a day!