I won’t have any pictures to post for this entry. Believe it or not, I was done with photography after completing our tour of Santa Cruz Island. We left Santa Cruz Island May 17th and anchored in the bay outside Puerto Baquerizo Moreno that evening.
The next day, May 18th, we regrettably left the Flamingo I and its able crew for Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to visit a newly opened historic museum just outside of town followed by a final walk and coffee in town with most of our tour members. It was a nice quiet way to wrap things up. We were then transported back to the airstrip and bid farewell to both Orlando and Ivan who took care of us right until the end. We boarded our plane and flew back to the mainland with a short stop in Guayaquil to refuel and pick up additional passengers for the flight to Quito. After landing, a bus was waiting and transported us back to our hotel. We said goodbye to Michael, Jennifer, Stephen and Caroline at the airport as they were staying at a different hotel that night and would leave earlier than us the next day. The rest of us decided to have a final Ecuadorian dinner at a nearby restaurant once we arrived at the Mecure. The food was fabulous, stories were recounted as beer and sangria lubricated our tongues. We returned to the hotel to do a final re-pack of our luggage for the next day’s flight home.
The next morning we said goodbye to Richard and his family as they were continuing their travels to the Cloud Forest for an additional four days of enjoyment.
The rest of us stayed around the hotel or went out for a walk at a local Quito park as our flight did not leave until 11:30 PM. We all had a final lunch at a local square that afternoon. Arrangements were made for a bus to take us from the hotel to the international airport at 6:30 PM. We arrived at the airport, checked in and quickly had a meal. Most of us had different flights depending on where we were returning to so we parted with heartfelt goodbyes. Again, the group had been fantastic to travel with. Anna and I were thankful to have such great travel mates for the Galapagos portion of our South American adventure.
Anna and I had an overnight flight (without sleep) and a three-hour layover in Houston, Texas prior to boarding a flight back home to Calgary. We arrived back home May 20th at 12:15 PM. We had no problems going through customs.
Alas, our adventure was over. Despite saying that, I was happy to return to Calgary. I feel blessed to live in Canada and I have not found anywhere else in the world that I would rather live. Even though this appears to be the end of this particular blog, please come back and visit over the next two weeks as I may upload some videos and other data (I didn’t carry around all of this technology for nothing!).
Until we meet again. Did I mention I will be traveling to Scotland this July 2014? Single malt scotch, more adventure and photography beckons! I hope you will join me.
Morys Musing 
Comments on: "Odds and Ends May 18-20 2014" (1)
Welcome home, Steve. Have read your travel “musings” with interest while working the last 5 months in Nepal. I, too, am now back home – missing the Himalaya and her people – but glad to have the comforts of home for awhile. Thanks for sharing your South American travels – fascinating!