We were up with the sun on our last day

I was surprised by this day. I’m not sure why. I guess I am a teacher and I tend to believe something when I see it in writing.  This day did not go as planned, but it still turned out pretty great.

On the itinerary, I was given originally it said that we would be able to visit an island called Daphne on this last day.  I thought I was so lucky because many people had told me that the last day of any cruise is basically just spent getting people back to the airport in time for their flights.  I should have listened to everyone!

Instead of going to the airport in two trips because one couple needed to catch an early flight while everyone else had a later flight, we all had to cut our trip short to get to the airport.  So instead of going to one last island we woke up early, had breakfast, and were given a little tour of Black Turtle Cove while our bags were being hauled to the airport without us.

Sea turtle sightings

We did see a lot of sea turtles, but by this point, I was pretty much of the opinion that unless I was swimming with the sea turtle I was pretty much over it. I know, how quickly I adapted, right? We also saw a bunch of baby sharks, but again, we were not swimming with them and I had seen much larger sharks just a day before, so, meh.

My mood was probably influenced by the knowledge that I would need to wait in the airport for five hours instead of seeing another island.  Instead of focusing on the turtles and sharks with my full attention I was secretly hatching my plan for what I would do once I got to the airport.

Our route through the Galapagos. I never found out how many miles we traveled….

After seeing Black Turtle Cove, we got back to the boat, made sure we had everything from our room, tipped the crew and the guide, and then they took us to the airport.

We stopped for a group photo as we were waiting at the dock for the bus to take us to the airport.  I’m pretty sure that this was the only group photo that we took during the whole 8 days that we were together!

Our only group photo! (pic courtesy of Andrea)

When the bus dropped us off at the airport I didn’t waste time saying goodbye to the guide again. Instead, I hustled inside the airport as fast as I could and made my way to the ticket counter.  I DID NOT want to waste away a day at the airport when I had a plan to take a bus from Guayaquil to Cuenca as soon as I arrived on the mainland.  Arriving anywhere during daylight hours is always preferable when you are a solo female traveler!

Happily, using my nicest Spanish I was able to politely as the man at the ticket counter to change my flight from midafternoon to the mid morning flight.  At no extra charge!

Friends, it does not hurt to ask!

Thankfully, I was able to catch a bus from Guayaquil to Cuenca during daylight hours, but that is a story for another day.