It was bittersweet saying goodbye to our new friends and San Jose. That month on the beach was like summer camp. Amazingly, we bonded with all the families that attended for the month. We will be looking to recreate that dynamic again during our travels.
Our friend Johny helped coordinate a bus to Guayaquil for four families. We enjoyed hanging out a little longer.
We rented a three-bedroom, four-bath Airbnb for our two nights in Guayaquil for less than the cost of a hotel room. It had a kitchen and better internet. The Airbnb felt palatial after living in one room for a month.
A word of advice—check official travel websites before traveling. We had a bit of a scare with Covid testing. When we arrived in Ecuador in December, we had to be vaccinated and have a negative PCR test 72 hours before our flight. That was also the requirement to get to Galapagos, so we needed another test.
We tried for two days to get a PCR test at the beach, but they kept telling us the wrong information. Forty-eight hours before our flight, we were nervous because we could not find a place to get the PCR test and get out results back in time for the flight. It was a weekend, which did not help matters. We found out two days earlier the policy changed to allow antigen tests. Antigen tests are cheaper, and results come back faster.
We were able to get antigen tests near our Airbnb in Guayaquil. The process is easy. We got our results back in three hours. Kind people at the testing site helped me with translation. It is hard enough for us to understand Spanish. It is even harder when the other person is wearing a mask and there is glass between us.
We spent the day and a half in Guayaquil finishing up work projects and other tasks that require internet because we were told the internet in Galapagos is slow and/or nonexistent. Henry got to go to McDonald’s to have a Big Mac. Michael found a wings and ribs restaurant.
We had an early flight on Monday morning. When going to Galapagos, you need to arrive at the airport early because you have to wait in line to get a transit control card. The form can be filled in online before you go, It does make the process easier. We had to show our vaccine cards and negative Covid tests. We paid $20 for each card. Our bags were scanned and zip-tied shut. Since writing this, Ecuador got rid of its testing requirement for vaccinated people. We were third in line, so the process when quickly. When we left, the line was a lot longer.
Originally, our flight was from Guayaquil to Quito and Quito to Baltra, but when we checked in, the Avianca employee changed our flight to a direct flight. We did not even ask him to do that. Our flight left two hours later, but we arrived in Galapagos earlier.
To enter Galapagos, you have to have a transit control card and pay an entrance fee. $100 for adults and $50 for children under age 12. Clearing customs was easy. It only took 10 minutes.
Once we got our bags and filled up our water bottles we hopped on a bus to the ferry to Santa Cruz. The bus is $5 per adult and $2.50 per child (under 12), and it takes about 10 minutes. We saw our first sea lion at the pier waiting to get on the ferry. We also spotted crabs and blue-footed boobies.
The ferry is $1 per person and also takes about 10 minutes. Once on land in Santa Cruz, we could take the bus to Puerto Ayora for $5 per person or pay $25 for a taxi to our hotel. We chose the taxi. It was a 40-minute drive.
We made it to our Airbnb for the month. We stayed at a place called Galapagos Dreams. It was a one-bedroom with a kitchenette. There is a swimming pool and communal kitchen/hangout area. It was perfect for our stay.
