Getting Ready for Ecuador

School’s out for summer, so it must be time for another adventure! We are headed back to South America, to a country we’ve never been — Ecuador! Land of rainforests, mountains, and Darwinian research. Having exhausted all of the currently available (and reasonably priced) Explora locations, we went with Tierra del Volcán for all our planning and guiding needs. We also consulted with our Youth Corespondent to make sure we hit all the cool spots.

Lily didn’t know she was actually scouting for us

Over 14 days, we will have a highlands, islands, and rainforest adventure. First stop is Quito to explore the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

First stop, Quito

From there, we’ll travel south to the Cotopaxi National Park area for some mountain hikes, including Cotopaxi (but not summiting this one).

Non-stop, to the middle

After the highish altitudes and large mountains, we’ll hop over to the Galapagos for some warmer weather, ocean swims, and giant tortoises (the real reason for going).

Giant tortoises deserve a beach vacation too

Finally, we will have some relaxation time in the cloud forest of Mindo where we can go birding and visit a chocolate factory (no golden ticket required)

Up in the clouds

Turtle time