Ecuador Day 12: Early Morning Flight back to the States via El Salvador, Los Angeles and Finally Home

We had the front desk call us around 2:30 a.m.  I felt like crap and wanted to sleep longer then I realized I was going back to the US and my own bed and motivated me to get ready to go.  I was so done with traveling at this point.  I've been on way too many airplanes, been around way too many germs, got sick (which I still have a cough from) and been around way too many people.  I was done.

I got changed, did my bathroom stuff, made sure I didn't leave anything in the bathroom, packed my bag with the stuff I wouldn't need on the plane, checked my bed, under the bed, the table tops and the bedside table to double check I didn't leave anything behind.  Mom was getting all of her stuff ready as well.  We didn't want to be the people holding up anyone.

We went downstairs, checked out, gave them back the room cards and waited for Amy, Beth and Kaitlin and our taxi to come.  I found out two more of our volunteers were also staying at the hotel as well and had almost identical flights back to the US.  Amy, Beth and Kaitlin were late coming down so the two ladies took our taxi.  Amy was so upset because she specifically called for that cab to come get us.  I honestly didn't know if it was theirs or ours because they also could have called a cab for themselves.  The hotel got us two more because we all were not going to fit inside of just one with all of our bags.

About five minutes later we were on our way to the airport.  At this point every minute counted.  We paid the taxi driver, made sure all of our bags were out and we went inside to find our line.  Our line was really long and I actually was worried we might not get a spot on the plane.  When we got closer to the roped off area of the line, some guy cut in front of everyone and some lady really didn't like it.  She called over some security guy and turns out the guy was waiting in the wrong line and wasted all that time.  Karma.

When we finally got to the desk to check in, we gave her our passports, we checked in our bags this time and hoped that we received them when we got to Seattle.  She gave us our tickets and we were literally the last ones on the plane to El Salvador.  We went through security, which took a little while, walked to our gate and got on quickly.  We found out seats and got situated.  Everything since 2:30 a.m. seemed very rushed.  Our plane left late because of the ticketing delay.  Mom sat behind me.  I watched Gifted and ate breakfast on our way to El Salvador which was almost a 3 hour flight.

The flight was very turbulent as we were getting closer to El Salvador.  During our descent, as we got past the clouds, we could see how rainy it was.  The country was very green and it would be cool someday to actually explore it.  We arrived in El Salvador late and we immediately had to get off the plane (which we had to walk the tarmac in the rain), run through the corridor, after finding out our gate, Gate 10, (because it wasn't on our ticket), rush though security (had to take off our shoes and I had to debag my laptop).  They were boarding everyone and we were a few of the last passengers on the flight.  We all sat together in the middle of the plane.  This plane was one of the bigger air busses so a lot of people were going back to the US.  We all sat in the row that didn't have screens for movies.  We got lucky because no one else got to watch movies either.  They made an announcement stating that they were having technical difficulties with the media onboard and none of the screens were going to work the duration of the flight.  Of course it would be for the longest portion of our flight back to the US.

I got my notebook out and wrote some stuff down in it.  We were served some food and drinks but we mostly slept during this leg of our flight.  I am so glad I bought that blanket because it came in handy while I was sleeping.  I was freezing.  The 5 and a half hour flight was grueling.  I so wanted to be in the US because it meant one step closer to home, food, shower and bed.  Just before our descent the flight attendants brought around a declaration document that we had to fill out.  It was basically who we were, where we were coming from and going to, what we were bringing into the country and how much it was worth and gave them back to them.

When they said we were on our final descent into LAX I got so excited I wanted to be there already.  We touched down, slowed our momentum and made the journey to our gate to get off.  I turned my phone off of airplane mode.  It has been on airplane mode for 12 days.  I was surprised that I only got one text message that entire time and it was from Grammie who said, "yea you are coming home!  I am so glad, seems like you have been gone a long time.  You helped a lot of people!  Had a lot of adventures!  Anxious to hear your stories.  Love ya bunches!"

I could not wait to get off the plane and through security and customs so we could eat before the next plane ride.  We had no idea how long it would actually take but we were glad we had that 2 hour plus cushion.

We had to wait in a huge line just to go through customs.  Once we got through the line and to the actual customs area downstairs, we went to a kiosk to put in our information, it scanned our passport and took your picture.  You were to keep that when you saw one of the officials to go over it with you and welcome you back to the US.  That part didn't take that long.  When it was my turn, I walked up to the official and handed him my documents.  He did some stuff on his computer, handed me back my passport and told me "welcome home!"  I was sure happy to hear those words.

Next step was to get our tickets for Seattle and go through security.  I swear we walked a mile to the ticket office.  I was so hungry I started to get hangry.  Every tiny thing bothered me and we were running out of time.  I did not want to stay here any longer than I had to.  Luckily, the ticket line moved faster than the customs line did.  We walked, what seemed like another mile, to security and waited in line there.  I kept checking the time.  I really wanted some time to get some food before we got on the plane.  I was getting really antsy.

We finally got to the end of the security line and I took off my shoes and took the laptop out of the bag.  I was scanned and then on the other side they took the tub with my computer for further scanning.  I was so upset.  I had to wait at least ten minutes and those were a long ten minutes when you are hangry.  The security worker told me that they needed to check my computer for residue and took it to a station and rubbed it down with a cloth and then stuck the cloth into a machine to tell them if it was dangerous or explosive.  My computer was negative for everything.  They handed me back my stuff, I threw on my shoes, stuffed my laptop into my bag and started looking for food on the other side.

I bought a turkey sandwich and Doritos at one store and found a place that sold Pepsi.  I was so excited to eat this food it was literally killing me.  Between airplane food, snacks, Cliff Bars and the food we ate in Ecuador I was so ready for this turkey sandwich, chips and soda.  I found a place to sit and I nommed so hard.  I heard that our flight was going to start boarding soon so I walked to where Mom, Beth, Kaitlin and Amy were sitting and ate the rest of my food.  A few minutes later our airline started boarding.  I've never flown Virgin Airlines before and it was so colorful inside.  I sat next to mom and she gave me the window seat.  We took off shortly after.

I dinked around with the screen and watched an episode of Family Guy then decided to write in my travel journal for a while.  About halfway through the flight they served us cinnamon biscuit cookies and drinks. The ride was pretty uneventful and there wasn't any turbulence which was nice.  I looked out the window several times when we would pass the recognizable landmarks like Mount Shasta, Hood and Rainier.  A few minutes later we were into our descent into Seattle.  I was super stoked!

We touched down and we were welcomed into Seattle earlier than our arrival time.  We made sure to grab all of our stuff and got off the plane.  We were finally home!  We went to our baggage claim carousel and hoped our stuff made it as well.  After a few minutes of waiting we saw our bags.  We grabbed them and got the heck out of there.  Beth's husband came and got her while we added a new passenger, Dr. Harris.

We waited for our shuttle which came within ten minutes and we were on our way back to Amy's SUV in the Ajax parking lot.

We arrived at the lot, got out with our bags and got into the SUV.  One more step closer to home!!  I called Ben to let him know that we are heading towards Lacey, we were going to meet up with Dr. Harris's husband at the Walmart in Hawks Prairie.  I also had Ben come get mom and I.  During the ride home, Dr. Harris asked us about our experiences in Ecuador, what were the things that went well and what are the things that could go better next time.  It was interesting to hear what people had to say.

Ben let me know he was on his way to Walmart as we got closer to Lacey.  Traffic wasn't that bad, which always surprises me, during this time of the evening during the week...especially on a Monday.  When we got there, Dr. Harris's husband and kids and just gotten out of the store so we got to meet them all.  After a couple conversations and some goodbye's, Amy was on her way home with Kaitlin, Dr. Harris and her family were on their way home and Ben picked us up and drove us closer to the store because mom needed a few things.  I bought pizza because I wanted pizza.

We had to drive out to Rainier to drop mom off, said hi to dad and headed home as soon as possible.  I wanted some pizza, a shower, my clothes clean and bed.  I was going to take a coma.  We got home after 7.  I brought all my stuff in, threw the pizza in the oven, peeled my clothes off, showered, put clean clothes on, all while the pizza was cooking so it would be done when I got out, stuffed my clothes in the washer, sat down and ate pizza.  We watched TV as we ate.  The clothes got done shortly after so I threw them in the dryer.  I unpacked the rest of my bag and set everything on the table for when I go through it the next day since I took the day off from work.

Around 10 p.m. I went to bed and didn't wake up until almost noon the next day.  Wow what a trip!  The next planned trip is scheduled for May 2018 but I can't go until May 2019 when our side trip will be Machu Picchu in Peru!

Next Adventure:  Pumpkin Carving Game Night

Ecuador Day 3: Ecuador to the Galapagos Islands, Tortuga Bay and Downtown Port Ayora

Our wake up call was at 7, when that time came, it was a weird ring.  I answered it and they said good morning this is your 7 a.m. wake up call and I told them thank you.  I really did not want to be up.

We got ready for the day, ate our cereal and bananas, found out our milk was really yogurt (which was a bummer we didn't know Spanish) and also found out instead of the 7:45 shuttle we were now leaving at 8:30 because our flight left at 10:45 instead of 10 plus no one was ready in the other room.  They tried texting us through the WhatsApp but we didn't have it downloaded.  Since we weren't responding they should have called us through the room phone to at least let us know the change.  Mom found out by walking to their room to find out if they were ready to go.  So we both sat in the room for 45 minutes watching Chinese soccer in Spanish and I was on my computer for a little bit.

Once 8:15 hit, we all walked downstairs and tried to get on a tour bus instead of the airport shuttle, ha!  We got on the right bus and was dropped off at the TAME airline check in.  We got  in line and found out we were in the wrong line.  When it was our turn to check in, she said we had to go check our bags in and do customs procedure to travel to the Galapagos Islands.  We were basically declaring why were were traveling there and if we had any evasive species on or with us (fruit, veggies, dirt, seeds, etc.)  The line took forever and I was worried that we came too late to get all of this done.

Finally we got there, paid the $20 for our visa to enter the providence, checked our bags (they sprayed them with a pesticide) and then got in line for our boarding passes.  Since it was getting down to the wire when we got to our gate and they had already started to board, so mom and I just boarded instead of waiting for the rest of our party, it really didn't matter anyway since we were all in different seats all over the plane.  I found my seat and put my bag into the overhead storage.  For some reason we had to wait a bit to leave.  I think they were trying to fill all the seats.  Once we did get to leave, the plane had a lot of turbulence...the whole way there.

I sat next to a woman from Massachusetts who was on her way to meet up with some other teachers for a week to teach children.  I wrote in the travel journal for most of the trip over.  It was going to be about a 2 hour flight.  About halfway through they served us ham and cheese subs and drinks.

About 30 minutes later all the flight attendants opened all the overhead compartments and sprayed insecticide on our bags because of the evasive species threat.

20 minutes later we were in our descent to the airport on Baltra Island.  They literally have an island just for the airport.  It was a small airport and we exited off the plane on to the tarmac and walked to the airport entrance.  It was really windy and about 84 degrees. 

We stopped as a group to take a picture of us with the welcome to the Galapagos Island sign. 

We then went inside and went through customs (I got my second stamp in my passport) and security bag scanning.  We used the restroom and then got onto a free bus to take us to the water taxi.  We had to wait until the bus filled up before we got to go.

It was about a 15 minute drive to the canal.  We had to stop twice for iguanas along the way.  We got out, gave the water taxi guys our bags to stick on the top of the boat, got on and rode across the Itabaca Channel for a dollar.  The boat ride was calming for some reason.  I think it had a lot to do with the really blue water.

We got off on the other side, waited for our bags and got on another bus that would take us to Port Ayora, which was about 20 miles south of where we currently were.  It would only cost us $2 each.  Since we were also last on the bus we got to stand, lean or sit on the steps by the door.  We watched the gorgeous 80+ degree weather turn into 50+ with the elevation that we gained in the highlands near Santa Rosa.  In another 10 miles we would be at our destination and I was getting uncomfortable where I was sitting and I was hoping the weather would get better when we got closer to the port.

When we got to the port, we got off, grabbed our bags and Kaitlin started trying to figure out where we needed to go to get to our Air BnB, Gecko House (and the weather never improved).  We had the address but the addresses are so different here.  We tried asking some of the locals and none of them seemed to know where it was...which was pretty weird since it was a small town.  We walked down a street to see if we chose correctly, we didn't.  We asked an older lady who owned a bed and breakfast if she has heard of Gecko House and she didn't either.  We asked if we could use her WiFi to see where this place was and she wouldn't even do that for us.  The address didn't show up on my geocaching map.  We stood there while some of us took turned running around the area trying to find this address.  Katlin and Beth went to go find out where it was.  In the meantime, we had several people walk by, taxi trucks drive by and mom took a turn walking up and down the road.  Next door two ladies cam out and luckily one of them spoke English.  We asked them if they knew where the address was.  One took out their phone and called the Air BnB for us.  She took it a step further and verified it with the taxi drive that was going to take us there.  Just then Katilin and Beth showed up telling us that they found the address at a slow internet café.  We told them we had some ladies call for us,  We hopped into the truck and we were finally on our way to the Gecko House.

When we got there, we were greeted by Alex, the owner of the house.  He spent time going over a map with us, things to see, places to eat and do.  We thanked him.  I got on the internet immediately to let people know we got here safely.  We chose beds, got settled in, put swim suits on and freshened up a bit before heading to Tortuga Bay (Turtle Bay) before it closed at 5:00 p.m. local time.  Alex had told us there was a trail to get to the path.

It was very rocky and when we got to the end it was really steep for Amy, who had broken her ankle last year in Hawaii.  We saw the entrance to the beach, checked in our group and continued on the mile-long paved path.

We talked about various things along the way.  Katlin and Beth were about 100 yards ahead of us and mom and I walked with Amy because she was struggling with her ankle.

When we finally got there, it was awesome. 

The sand was white and the water was blue...it was a great transition to see.  Mom was disappointed we didn't get to see turtles.  But there was a reason we didn't get to. The beach after 5 was closed to the public so they would not disturb the turtles laying eggs.  It makes sense.

We walked the beach, took pictures of the birds, crabs and at one point we saw a seal.  I thought it was someone's dog but pets are not allowed at the beach.  Beth, Kaitlin and Amy went swimming.  The water looked inviting but it was as cold as it was at home.  I expected it to be warm because of where we were located but then I found out later that this area was coming out of their winter.  I just dipped my feet in.  We wrote things in the sand and watched Kaitlin throw jelly fish at Beth and Amy.

Around 5, we started walking back after everyone gathered at the exit.  We walked the mile plus back catting and wishing that we didn't wear flip flops on our walk.  When we left the park/area, Beth had a kid sing to her (an American song the Spanish kids knew) and we watched some water/ice deliverers fun up the stairs to replenish their supplies at the check in.  We didn't go back down the rocky trail on the way back to our Air BnB because it was really hard on Amy's ankle.  We went the long way around.

When we finally got back, some people took showers, got ready then walked down main street to find some dinner.  We picked a place on the corner called, La Esquina Del Sabor (The Taste Corner).  We were pretty much the only ones there.  Most of the restaurants and store fronts were open to the outdoor elements where birds could fly in and watch you eat.  Very few places had windows and doors.

We ordered our food, most of us ordered chicken, potatoes, beans and rice, Kaitlin ordered fish and I didn't get rice or beans.  We had colas, juice and bottled water.  I took a couple of group GoPro pictures as we waited for our food to be cooked in front of us.  They made everything from scratch in their little kitchen.  When the food and drinks were ready they brought them out and we ate.  This was the first real meal I've had since lunch time before I left for SeaTac.

When we were done, we paid ($8) and walked down to the port where we arrived a few hours earlier.  It looks very different at night.  I noticed my throat started hurting...definitely a sign of getting a cold.  Bummer.  There, we looked at the various shopping opportunities. souvenir and photo ops when we came back down tomorrow.  There were a lot of kids running around playing.  We took a picture of the Galapagos sign and decided to come back down here the next day in the daylight.

Beth, Amy and Kaitlin got ice cream on the way back to Gecko House.  The way was longer than I thought it was.  When we did get back, I was so excited to take my socks and shoes off.  I told a cold-ish shower and got ready for bed.  I was exhausted.  I tried talking to Ben via Facebook messenger but our WiFi connection was pretty poor.  I wrote in my travel journal for a while, downloaded pictures from mom's camera onto my computer and then laid down.

I had a hard time getting comfortable because I was not used to sleeping with just a sheet and just one pillow.  Then I heard Amy snoring and then it started raining hard and loud because the roof was tin.  I got our my ear plugs (so thankful I brought them) and went to sleep.

Next Adventure:  Day 4:  Los Gemelos Craters, Giant Turtles, Darwin Museum, Boat Ride, Geocaching