Christy and Scott's Travel Spot

 For those that might be considering a trip to any of the destinations we visited, I thought I'd give a bit of helpful information. BEFORE YOU GO: There are no travel restrictions currently to Ecuador.  There are also no visa requirements from the United States  For us, just a passport and a suitcase is all we needed.  Speaking of suitcases, because of the transient nature of this trip (moving every 2 or 3 days), Christy and I decided to try only to pack a carry-on bag for the whole trip (see below).  The  Plugs  in Ecuador in each place we visited were compatible with US plugs, so we did not need the currency/plug converters that we brought.  Ecuador's official  currency  is the US Dollar, so no pesky money exchange or apps to figure out the price of things in US Dollars.  You should not consolidate your cash into too many $100 bills.  I usually do because they're easier to carry, but I remember walking around on the Galapagos...

 CHRISTY Our last final full day in Guayaquil  and we spent it exploring the city.  We started off with a breakfast buffet Ecuador style.  They have the basic breakfast classic like fruit, pastries, bacon, sausage etc... then they have a type of rice with some sort of stew.  I always try it and it is delicious.  After breakfast we get ready to walk to the craft market. We decide to ask the front desk if it is safe to go to the market if we walk.  Scott seems to remember that we shouldn't head south on a certain street but he can't remember the street, so that's great.  We have also been getting alerts saying the area isn't safe.  We find two other couples that want to go to the market too and we figure "safety in numbers", right?  One of the people in our group is talking to the front desk and she is asking if it's safe to walk to the craft market or if we should take a taxi....the next thing I know the manager is insisting we take a gua...

CHRISTY: Day 6 Today we had to get up early to catch a flight to THE GALOPAGOS!!!  I'm not excited at all.  If you know me, you know this had been a dream of mine since I was young and I honestly didn't think I would ever get here.  The flight was about 90 minutes and when we landed we started hearing about people in the group not feeling well.  One couple rushed to the bathroom after the flight and we waited for a long time in the tour bus until they came back.  We got to our hotel from the airport in like 5 minutes and then we had to get ready for the walking tour.  This hotel was not what I was expecting, it was a very small room with a double bed.  I knew this was going to be tight quarters for the next 3 days but to me it didn't matter, I was only there for the wildlife experience and I couldn't wait!!  Our group was 2 people short because the couple couldn't leave the bathroom.  We walked down to the town which was only like a 10 minute...

  CHRISTY: Today was a nice relaxing day.  I ate breakfast in the hotel while Scott had coffee and then we went off to explore the city and buy souvenirs.  We found this really cool craft market and bought some unique gifts made with alpaca fur.  We found so many great things to buy that we had to buy another suitcase because it wouldn't fit in our suitcases.  After shopping we came back to the hotel and watched some TV.  I decided to get a workout in but after about 40 minutes I thought I was gonna pass out.  Scott said it was probably the altitude being 9,350 feet!  It took awhile for me to feel better but when I did we decided to go find somewhere to eat.  As, we were walking around we stumbled across an Venezuelan restaurant that looked pretty good from the pictures so we went in.  This place was the best place we have eaten at so far!  We tried Arepas and they were delicious.  There are these corn meal tortillas stuffed wi...

DAY 3 CHRISTY :  We weren't caught up on our sleep yet from the days before but we had to get up early for breakfast.  They only serve it at one time and they want you to go with your group.  I guess you could sleep in and miss breakfast, but breakfast is my favorite meal so we got up and went.  During breakfast the guide leader talks about the activities you can do for an additional cost if you want to.  Scott and I decided to try and take a much needed nap.  I honestly thought it would be difficult to fall asleep because it was so hot but the last thing I remember is Scott saying "I don't think I can sleep" and then 3 hours later we woke up in time for lunch.  During that 3 hours the maid came and tried to make up our room and I thought I would never fall back asleep but somehow I managed.  We had a wonderful lunch and then got ready for a 2 hour hike in the Amazon Jungle.  We saw many different plants and flowers and learned a lot about ho...

CHRISTY:It has been a crazy few days. The flight here was long because we had to fly to Miami first and then fly to Ecuador. It also didn’t help that our flight from L.A. was delayed which made us almost miss our flight. We literally ran through the airport terminals past 60 plus gates. They actually held the plane for us! It was only a 4 hour flight from Miami and we arrived in Ecuador at 12:30 a.m. and found our shuttle bus to the hotel. Once in our hotel it was around 1:30 a.m. and we were starving so we ordered room service. I had a beef tenderloin pita sandwich and Scott had an Italian sub. I’m not sure if I was just starving or what, but that was the best $7.50 sandwich I have ever had! At about 3 a.m.I was awoken by a loud siren that can only be described as the purge commencing. Scott was sound asleep so I didn’t want to wake him but I was pretty scared for about 1 minute until I fell asleep again. Day 2 was quite an adventure. We started the day with a wonderful Ecuador buffe...

Now normally, Christy and I would post separately, from our different perspectives. But since it is 1:30 (EST) in the morning and we just got checked into our hotel and it was a crazy day, just a short summary today. Our morning started in Los Angeles but our flight left late to Miami which turned our 51 minute connection time to a 17 minute connection time, two terminals away. Christy said she hasn't seen me move so fast, which I think is rude, but nonetheless they were nice enough to unlock the jetway door for us to get on the plane. Unfortunately all I've had to eat today is kibble from the plane so we ordered room service and are waiting for it now before we go to bed. Tomorrow we meet in the lobby at 8:00 so it's going to be another long day, but I'm looking forward to seeing Ecuador in the daylight!