Goodbye Galapagos

This was my group loading into pangas at 6am this morning. We had an hour looking at wildlife in the mangrove swamp before breakfast - the highlights were white tipped sharks, eagle rays and hawksbill turtles. After breakfast it was time to say our goodbyes to the good ship Beluga and her crew and hardest of all our wonderful guide Juan.

After a day in transit we are back in Quito at 2400m above sea level. The hotel is also a conference centre and wedding venue so it’s fairly empty midweek. The garden is extensive with peacocks and llamas. It’s built in the hacienda style and feels rather “Hotel California”.

Tomorrow we go to the high Andes at 4000m in the hope of seeing condors - fingers crossed!