Fly to Quito - Farewell dinner.

Back to Quito, Ecuador. We packed and loaded our luggage onto the bus and headed to the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island. It is the only road that takes you up and over through the highlands from Puerto Ayora. Along with other tourists, we (and our luggage) caught a short ferry ride across the channel that separates Santa Cruz from Baltra Island. Then it was a short bus ride to the airport to catch the hour and half flight to Guayaquil on mainland Ecuador, and another 40 minute flight to Quito. We spent the night at the Mercure Hotel in Quito, where we stayed before flying to the Galapagos a week earlier.

The highlight of the day was our farewell dinner… it was, after all, the last day our 'tour family' would have a meal together. We took a short bus ride to an upscale Ecuadorian restaurant called Misquilla. The dinner itself was very good, but it was the arranged entertainment afterwards that was a fitting finale to an extraordinary experience over the past two weeks in Peru and Ecuador. Don't remember the name of the group (two acoustic guitars, a female singer, and an electric, stand-up bass player), but they played upbeat, traditional music mostly from Ecuador. The bass player was fluent in English and would regale us with interpretations and insights of what they played. We sat around small tables in a lounge area separate from the restaurant and clapped along. Great fun.