Galapagos Islands 2023
Before Covid even started, we had big travel plans... A South American adventure that would complete our last 2 continents and some bucket list items. It started with an idea to travel to Antarctica, and since we had to fly so far South to get there, we wanted to break it up with a stop in the Galapagos Islands. Everything was ready to go, bookings were made, and we were ready to go in early 2020. The worldwide pandemic cancelled all those plans, well at least postponed them for a couple years. After a long time without traveling we were ready to go in 2022, and one month before leaving the entire crew of the Antarctica ship got Omicron and it was postponed again.
Fast Forward to 2023... the testing requirements are much simpler than they would have been in 2022. They just want to know that we are fully vaccinated, and the ships will be ready to go.
It's a long flight down, a little over 4 hours to Houston with Air Canada, and then just over 5 hours to Quito, Ecuador with United Airlines. The United Airlines flight was a little tougher because their entertainment system wasn't working. I had a middle seat so Norine could have the aisle, so no nice "out-the-window" photos of that leg. At least they didn't lose our luggage.
Jan 18
Quito, Ecuador
We finally arrived at the Ikala Quito Hotel around 2:30am, good thing I paid for the extra night and double-checked they would allow very late check-In. It's a nice hotel just outside the old town, but convenient enough to get around.
Our Room 
Our
View
After a bit of a sleep, we got up for breakfast and caught a cab to the old town and their famous Basílica del Voto Nacional. Due to its dimensions and style, it is considered the largest neo-Gothic temple in South America completed in 1909.
The gargoyles are a fascinating collection of animals and creatures from the region.
From the Basilica it's either up or down, Quito, Ecuador's capital, sits high in the Andean foothills at an altitude of 2,850m. We were cautioned not to do too much on the first day while we acclimatize to the high altitude.
We wandered around the Plaza Grande square, and some of the surrounding streets.
A little girl comes up to Norine asking her if she will buy some chocolate bars from her, "for me and my sister, we're very hungry and need money to get food". Norine asks her why she doesn't eat the chocolate if they're hungry, and then buys her chocolate.
The Catedral Metropolitana de Quito's construction began in 1535, and was completed in 1799.
The cathedral had an "El mas grande de sudamerica" miniature diorama depicting the story of Mary and Joseph. We're not supposed to take photos in the other part of the church.
Just around the corner is the Church and Convent of San Ignacio de Loyola de la Compañía de Jesús de Quito, also known in the Ecuadorian people simply as La Compañía. It was completed in 1765. The church was very nice, but services were going on, so we didn't want to disturb anybody. The façade of its main temple is entirely carved in volcanic stone.
These vendors with their white outfits and little wheelbarrow dispensers are wandering around the squares, with a little cart and a hose that serves Ponche in a cup or cone. More than a traditional sweet, Ponche is considered the very essence of Quito. The Punch is made from beer, malt, eggs, sugar and vanilla essence, which together form an ice cream with an intense flavor. Blackberry syrup or red fruits are added on top. Seemed a little sketchy to me, but I'm sure they're great.
The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco (Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco), commonly known as el San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica that stands in the middle of the historic center of Quito. It is the oldest and most significant religious site in Ecuador, groundbreaking was started in 1535 and completed in 1650. It now includes a museum and art displays, brewery (cerveceria), towers (torres del campanario) and an ornate church (Coro Iglesia) that was almost hidden away.
The Church is not only surprisingly beautiful, but we would have missed it if not for making an extra turn after looking for the tower stairs. One end of the hall is the church, the other is an art display of choir stalls made in the 17th century.
The views from the towers were amazing.
After wandering the museum, checking out the historic brewery, and climbing the towers it was time for a snack at the Cafeteria Coffee.
As we were finishing our drinks and pastries it started to rain, a lot! We made a dash through a shopping area, bought a shirt and hid in shops as the rain amped up with thunderbolts and lightning and then torrential rain. We ducked into other party shop and the owner sold us a large umbrella for $5 US. We walked through el Mercado, then gave up and caught a cab back to our hotel.
Locals hiding in a shop with us to avoid the rain
To avoid going out in the rain, we ended up just having dinner at our hotel, it was very good.
Back in our room, we checked our email and find out that our long planned house-sitters have bailed on us, they seemed genuinely happy to be at our place the night before we left, and now 2 days into our trip, they have rented another place, leaving our home empty and our plants withering. You really can't count on anybody these days.
Jan 19
We woke up after a restless night and had breakfast, before walking to the bus stop.
So many police, everywhere, tourist police even stopped and asked us where we were from, and whether everything was OK.
The wiring around this city is a little suspect, but the art installations make up for it.
We caught the Quito bus at Foch plaza and rode through town to Panecillo.
El Panecillo is a 200-metre-high hill of volcanic-origin, located south of the old town square of Quito. Its peak is at an elevation of 3,016 metres (9,895 ft) above sea level. In 1975, the Spanish artist Agustín de la Herrán Matorras was commissioned by the religious order of the Oblates to build a 45-meter-tall stone monument of a madonna which was assembled on a high pedestal on the top of Panecillo. Called "Virgin of El Panecillo", it is made of seven thousand pieces of aluminium.
The views from Panecillo are fantastic.
It's strange, we have seen a few dogs wandering in the city, but up here, they are everywhere. They look well fed and comfortable, but they are laying all over the place.
Back on the bus until it stopped at Parque La Carolina - Patio De Juegos park, so we explored a bit before getting back on.
We wound our way back through town closer to our hotel, and visited Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal, an artisanal market. Lots of handmade items, lots of typical tourist souvenirs, Norine bought some pillowcases and I acquired a handwoven Ecuadorian Monticristi hat for sun protection in the Galapagos... meanwhile, in Quito, it’s raining again.
The rain slowed enough that we could use our new umbrella and walk back to our hotel.It was a very interesting and colourful walk.
We had lunch at the Toy Story famous Pizza Planet and then walked back to the hotel for the night.
Jan 20
It's an early wake up for our ride to the airport at 5:30am. Our Galapagos Ship company sent someone to pick us up at the hotel and make sure we got checked in at the airport.