Going Home-Quito to Atlanta to Las Vegas

Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Atlanta to Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Arrived in Atlanta on time at 5:30 AM Atlanta time (4:30 AM Quito time). Took 1.5 hours to get through Customs and the next security check. Bought bagels with cream cheese at Au Bon Pain and coffee at Seattle's Best and waited for our flight at 9:50 AM.. Diane can hardly keep her eyes open. Jim slept more than Diane on the flight. We left Atlanta on time and landed in Las Vegas at 11 AM. We were picked up by neighbors (thanks Jim and Kathy) and so a wonderful trip comes to an end   We have a lot of fond memories, many good pictures and this journal. This was a once in a lifetime adventure.

Celebrity and Galapagos General Notes

Our cabin is in a great location - mid-ship . The room is similar to the large liners but it still gives you the feel of being on a cabin cruiser. The beds are very narrow and the bathroom accommodates one body at a time. The weather has been perfect. No rain and pleasant temperatures and medium humidity. Actually better than we expected. Other than one rough day, the seas have been relatively calm. The Xpedition crew is fantastic. They all do double duty; wait staff, bartending, entertaining, etc. When visiting new islands, they don't drop anchor until about 630 AM since it is not a very quiet operation. When leaving the ship, the Cruise Director checks you off on the cabin list and it is your responsibility to sign back in upon returning from your excursion. They don’t want to leave anyone behind.   We traveled a little over 600 nautical miles during our week on the ship approximately the same distance from the Ecuador mainland to the Archipelago. As mentioned on the itinerary page, we visited 10 of the 15 main islands in the Archipelago (there are also 3 smaller islands and 107 rocks and islets).

The Archipelago, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 1978, is home to a lot of varied flora and fauna seen no where else in the world. We were very lucky to see many of the birds the islands are known for as well as the marine mammals. We also saw mangroves, many varieties of cacti and flowers many of which are unique to the area.


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