Galapagos! We’re on one of my bucket list trips, and poor Steve is indulging me even though he’s more of an urban guy.

Getting to Galapagos is an adventure in itself. Since it’s off the coast of Ecuador it’s almost impossible to get there from the northeast in one day, so we spent an overnight in Quito and took a flight the following day to Guayaquil, Ecuador and then onto Baltra Island, one of the airports in Galapagos. The requirements to fly to Galapagos include a transit card, available at the airport, and a scan of checked luggage, which is then locked with a zip tie so no additional items can be added prior to departure. The government is very concerned with the introduction of fruit, vegetables, soil or insects to the archipelago. The flight attendants even sprayed the cabin prior to arrival with a World Health Organization approved insecticide. The airport was built after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the US Military to protect the Panama Canal, and remnants of the US Military base are still evident. On our walk from the plane to the terminal a slow moving iguana made its way across the walkway, happy to pose for pictures.

The customs and immigration process in Galapagos (even though they are part of Ecuador and we had to pass through customs and immigration there) requires a form, the transit card, and a Galapagos Park fee of $100 per person. Our cruise line had paid for it, but because we didn’t arrive the day of the cruise the official had no record of it, so we paid (cash only) and were reimbursed by Celebrity a couple of days later.

The checked luggage is off loaded all at once, while all passengers were kept behind a yellow line. Then a canine officer released his dog, who then proceeded to prance over every suitcase, back and forth, sniffing for contraband. And it found some. We were happy it wasn’t in our suitcases. Hell, I was worried I had too many liquids in my plastic bags! I can’t imagine what the poor person with the snatched suitcase was thinking.

We’re always leery of trying to arrive for a cruise on the day of departure, so we came a day early and spent the night at the Royal Palms, a Hilton property on Santa Cruz Island, which meant another adventure getting there.

Baltra has buses to two locations; the ferry to Santa Cruz or the cruise ship port. So we bought tickets for the bus to the ferry ($5 US for seniors, and Ecuador uses US currency which is very convenient), were deposited at the ferry where they loaded our luggage on the open top, and then boarded. The ferry is $1, and crosses a short channel to Santa Cruz. We watched blue footed boobies diving for fish on the crossing.  At the Santa Cruz landing we were taxied to Royal Palms.

The ecosystem on each island is very different. Baltra was scrub trees and cactus, rocky, pretty flat and dry. Santa Cruz is like a different world. Lush, mountainous and very green. We’re here at the end of the rainy season, and while temps in the 70’s and 80’s seem glorious to us, many locals wore sweaters and jackets. The Royal Palms hotel is in the rainforest, with massive ficus trees, bamboo, ferns and flowers. The bright sun of Baltra turned to an overcast cool mist in Santa Cruz. We’ve found the ecosystem of every island different.

After a lovely dinner and a good night’s sleep we had to reverse the process and return to Baltra, where we checked in with Celebrity Flora and began our cruise journey. So, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a ferry and a cruise ship. Next up – Celebrity Flora!