From Costa Rica to the Galápagos Islands via Quito

Our last morning at Laguna Lagarto started with a little more bird photography around the lodge before we packed up and began the journey from Costa Rica to the Galápagos Islands.

The original plan was to spend the morning at the feeders and return to San José in the afternoon. Our itinerary had some buffer time built in, mostly in case something like the king vulture session was rained out. Since the weather had cooperated and we hadn’t lost any time, we decided to leave earlier and break up the drive with a lunch stop along the way.

There was, however, one small issue. Our shoes were in terrible shape.

After the vulture hide the previous day, they were completely caked in mud. Andy had tried to wash them and left them out in the sun to dry, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, once dry, they developed a smell that was… difficult to ignore.

The new plan was to wear sandals for the drive and deal with the shoes once we reached San José.

A Pharmacy Stop and Three Final Costa Rica Birds

About an hour into the drive, we stopped at a grocery store for a break. There was a small pharmacy inside, and despite the language barrier, I managed to show the pharmacist the bites that had been tormenting us for the past few days.

She handed over a cream and some fexofenadine, which felt like a promising development after several days of trial and error.

It also seems like every roadside restaurant in Costa Rica has some sort of birding setup, and they all deliver. Our lunch stop turned out to be unexpectedly productive. In addition to a good meal, we photographed three species we hadn’t seen before: an emerald toucanet, red-headed barbet and violet sabrewing hummingbird.

It felt like a fitting final addition to our Costa Rica bird list and farewell to our little group.

Back to San José

Before long, we were back in the traffic around Alajuela and San José.

We returned to the Hampton Inn near Juan Santamaría International Airport, collected the bags we had left behind, and started preparing for the next leg of the trip. The plan was to do laundry, repack, and leave behind anything we wouldn’t need in Ecuador since we would be returning to Costa Rica in a few weeks.

But before any of that could happen, we needed to go shopping.

A Tactical Mall Run

The immediate priority was new shoes.

We had also received an email from our upcoming Galápagos cruise requesting that we wear something white for Christmas Eve, which raised the very reasonable question of who travels with white clothing.

Not us.

We took an Uber to a nearby mall. It was only about two kilometres away, but the drive took around forty minutes because of traffic. Walking wasn’t really an option given the lack of sidewalks.

The shopping itself was efficient. We were in and out in about ten minutes.

Decathlon solved the shoe problem, and Old Navy provided the required white shirts. Just like that, we were reset and ready for the next part of the trip.

Last Stops in San José

After a slightly shocking USD $40 breakfast at Denny’s, we headed back to the mall so Andy could get a haircut and shave before the next leg of the trip.

I had ambitions of getting a pedicure, mostly in preparation for a week of barefoot boat life, but they were fully booked until the end of the week.

One of the staff had just finished with a client and offered to walk me over to a nearby beauty supply store so I could do it myself. She was keen to practice her English and decided to, in her words, “help a girlie out,” which turned out to be both kind and necessary.

Back at the hotel, I attempted what can only be described as a very questionable DIY pedicure. It was not good, but it was better than nothing.

Flying from Costa Rica to Ecuador

We arrived at Juan Santamaría International Airport about three hours early, which turned out to be the right call. Check-in took close to an hour, but having the extra time meant we didn’t feel rushed.

Lunch at the airport was another reminder that airport pricing exists in its own universe. We ended up at California Pizza Kitchen, where the meal somehow reached USD $60. They also had a robot similar to the ones at Din Tai Fung delivering food around the restaurant.

Our Avianca flight from San José to Quito took about two hours.

Immigration Confusion in Quito

Immigration in Ecuador was more eventful than expected.

The officer asked if it was our first visit. When we said no and explained that we had been there before, things slowed down considerably.

He began typing into his computer, then switched to his phone and continued typing there as well.

At that point, we started to get a little nervous. Other passengers were looking at us like we were criminals.

Eventually, the problem became clear. There was no record of our previous visit because we had travelled on US passports back then and were now using Australian passports. I tried to explain, but between limited English on his side and limited Spanish on mine, communication was slow. Eventually, he turned his phone toward me. A translation app was asking for our other passports. Fortunately, we always travel with them.

After a fair amount of scanning and more typing, we were cleared through. PHEW!

Overnight Near Quito Airport

Both bags arrived without issue, though we had to call the hotel to locate the shuttle. It had already loaded other passengers and was waiting at the curb.

The Holiday Inn near Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport turned out to be far nicer than expected and felt almost brand new. The room was comfortable, though we didn’t get much sleep with the early start the next morning.

Flying from Quito to the Galápagos Islands

We took the 6 a.m. shuttle back to the airport and met the Ecogalaxy representative at 6:30. He handed over our boarding passes and helped us complete the required Galápagos documentation.

Before check-in, our luggage had to go through the Galápagos screening process. Interestingly, this step doesn’t require a boarding pass, so we could have done it when we arrived the night before.

They sealed the bags with zip ties, although they only secured one compartment on each bag, which felt more symbolic than effective.

The flight took about an hour to Guayaquil, where we had a short stop on the ground. From there, it was another two hours to Baltra Island in the Galápagos.

We were seated toward the back of the plane, which meant we were among the last to disembark using the rear stairs. Despite that, we somehow ended up first through the immigration line.

Getting from Baltra to Puerto Ayora

After clearing immigration on Baltra Island, we met the Ecogalaxy group and waited for the remaining passengers. The group included a family of six, three couples, and us.

When we visited the Galápagos previously, our ship met us at Baltra. This time, reaching the boat required a few more steps.

First came a public bus ride of about ten minutes to the ferry dock. This dock was definitely not here on our last visit, and there was also a new Baltra sign for photos while you waited.

It took about five minutes to cross the narrow Itabaca Channel between Baltra and Santa Cruz Island. On the Santa Cruz side, we spotted our first sea lion almost immediately.

From there, it was about a 45-minute drive across Santa Cruz to Puerto Ayora.

We transferred into pangas for the final ride out to the ship. We’d been up since 5am so were ready to be on the ship.

First Impressions of the Ecogalaxy

The difference between this boat and the one we had travelled on during our previous Galápagos trip was immediate.

Our cabin was #7, which was on the 2nd level in the back right. It was very spacious, with a “matrimonial bed” (two twins pushed together) as well as a sofa. I somehow didn’t take any photos of our cabin so here’s one from their website.

The main salon featured a lounge, bar, and dining area.

Meals were buffet and the food was outstanding.

The top level featured a sundeck, as well as storage for paddleboards and kayaks. The boat is also fully equipped with wetsuits and snorkeling gear.

Everything just felt smoother, more organised and generally more comfortable than our previous experience.

Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora

That afternoon, we returned to land to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora. We had been there before, so we kept things fairly simple this time. We picked up a passport stamp, spent some time photographing the giant tortoises, and skipped the museum.

Instead, we walked back into Puerto Ayora to buy chocolate for the crew. I also may have picked up a ceramic mug with a galapagos penguin on one side and a blue footed booby on the other.