Wed. 26th September 2012
During the previous night we crossed the equator and marked the occasion by all squeezing into the bridge in the dark and watched the GPS count down to 0.000 but did not quite catch it on camera!
Next morning was an early wake up call as Juan knocked on our cabin door at 5:40am for our last outing before heading to the airport. Still half asleep we bundled onto the pangas for a boat ride through the mango swamps and wondering if there could possibly be anything new to see. Juan and his team did not let us down as we saw:
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rays
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white tipped sharks
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huge turtles
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more blue footed boobies
Juan named us the ‘Dream Team’ as we were so lucky in the abundance of wildlife we had seen over the week, the best selection and variety he can remember ever seeing. Only the Hammerhead shark had be elusive, but that was (nearly) rectified by a stamp in our passport at the airport!
It was good to be back on dry land – except we all still feel the rocking motion of the boat!
Back to Casa Aliso (www.casaliso.com) in Quito, a lovely little hotel where the staff are very helpful. It was also good to get a decent hot shower!
Thanks to Rachel at Think Galapagos for arranging our trip and recommending the sailing boat Cachalote (and Casa Aliso). I can thoroughly recommend this company so check out their website at www.thinkgalapagos.com. Nothing was too much trouble and all our questions were promptly answered.
Also thanks to the Cachalote crew who were all fantastic from Roberto the waiter/barman/cabin cleaner to Pedro the amazing chef who fed us very well and enjoyed our singing, also the two panga drivers, mechanic and the Captain – although they turned their hand to any job that needed doing.
Big thanks to Juan our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide and also guitar player/singer.
Finally thanks to the other guests who welcomed us into their group, as they had already been together to walk the Inca trail the previous week. A good group of new friends and great fun. We are grateful for your tips for the Inca Trail, ready for next month when we get to Peru and will look out for that bar in Cusco.