Galapagos Islands - April, 2024

            We managed to roll ourselves out of bed, shower, get ready, pack everything back up and make it downstairs before 3:30AM.  Here are the flights we chose to get back to Tampa.  The American Airlines website kept warning me to note the "Long" layover we had in Miami (one hour and 36 minutes).  Apparently, whoever wrote the algorithm that calculates that has never actually flown internationally into Miami before!!

            Wifey wanted me to note that (surprise!) there are shopping opportunities at the Quito airport (and you don't need to keep your checked luggage under 44 pounds on the way back).  Rejoice!

            We landed in Miami right on time, but the promised long layover was a lie.  We made it onto our flight to Tampa with literally minutes to spare.  Miami, even on a Monday, was a horror show of a 40-minute long Customs line, followed by walking about 2 miles to 1) collect your checked bags so that you can roll them 200 ft and 2) put them on a conveyor belt to go to your next flight.  Why?  But wait, you're not done yet.  Now you stand for 40 more minutes in a TSA line.

            As awful as the experience was, I guess I should actually be thankful.  I read the next weekend that the line in Miami the following Saturday was over 6 hours long!

WRAP UP:  The Galapagos trip was absolutely amazing; the islands and waters teeming with wildlife, the beauty of the stars in the pitch-black night, the crystal clear waters.  Plus the Celebrity team is top-notch and took care of us from the minute we landed in Quito throughout the entire experience.  I wouldn't hesitate to do this trip again, or to choose Celebrity Cruises for the Galapagos Islands.

Final step count for Day 11:

Final step count for this trip:  126,528 (67.5 miles)

Additional miscellaneous items:

• If you are Team Pepsi, you are probably out of luck in Ecuador.  I only ever saw Coke products.  They must have a Coke bottling plant in country.  And I mean the "bottling" part.  All of them were in recyclable glass bottles with pry-off caps.  They had Coke Classic and Diet Coke, or what everyone there refers to as Coke Regular and Coke Light.
• The fridge in your cabin on the Flora has Coke, Orange (Fanta?), Diet Coke and a local Pilsner beer.  Your cabin attendant will refill when you drink them.  All are included in your fare.
• Consider avoiding beef unless it has been marinated or slow-roasted for many hours.  Otherwise, the beef is generally tough.  I have no idea if this is true or not, but one of the waiters said that Ecuador doesn't have much flat land, so the cows have to climb hills to graze, which builds their muscles and makes the beef tougher.  
• How close can you get to the animals?   Within a couple of feet.  Most of them do not care in the slightest that a group of humans are in their midst.