And just like that, our trip is coming to an end. We have documented our journey through Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands and this will be our final story. During the end of our dinner service the night before we were set to depart, the restaurant manager, Michelle, came to say goodbye. She also came to tell us that Pikaia would be opening the restaurant one hour early so that we would have time to have breakfast before our departure.
We gathered our bags and headed to the truck for one last drive through the transition zone, traveling from a rainy mist to the dry desert like landscape and finally arriving at Baltra Dock.
We nearly had a mishap as our luggage was unloaded from the water taxi. I heard my wife start yelling “it’s rolling, it’s rolling!” at the crew. Apparently as they were unloading suitcases, they set ours down on the dock and it begin to roll back towards the water. It rolled off the dock and got wedged between the boat and dock. Just as the boat moved back from the swells, they caught it. It really was a close one.
We finished gathering our things and got in the van to go to the departure checkin at the airport. Pikaia assists with an expedited process to get checked in and through security. We had our tickets in hand in no time and headed to the departure lounge. But first, we needed to grab a couple Souvenirs. There are many more shops in this airport than we expected, all with so much to choose from. We ended up getting two shirts and a small Blue-footed Booby statue.
A short time after we sat down, I heard my name being paged in the airport. I immediately was concerned and wondered what is going wrong. It turned out my checked baggage needed additional screening. After I assisted with that process, I headed back to the gate.
The time passed quickly and it was time to board our flight back to Guayaquil, Ecuador. We arrived back in Guayaquil in about two hours at around 12:30pm.
Our next flight to Miami wasn’t until 1:50am. We decided to head back to the Hilton to rest up and get some food. Our room had a nice view of a nearby Cathedral.
The rest of our journey home was pretty uneventful minus the fact of being exhausted. We made it home the next day around lunch time, ~27 hours from when we left Baltra. As we edit our photos and videos, we may post additional items, but this is officially the last post in the Galapagos Series.
Adam Woods
