15 Jul 2026
Hello from the sundeck:
(it’s a bit hard to see, but those are stars)
My roommate might be congested too, because she snored for the first time all trip and finally, a little after midnight, I decided I probably wasn’t going to fall asleep and came up here instead.
It’s a bit windier than I expected, but I brought my pillow and blankets from the room and curled up on the cushions surrounding the Jacuzzi.
Not the most comfortable, but also not the most uncomfortable place I’ve slept. I finally gave up when the birds started circling overhead and I feared getting pooped on:
Still had plenty of time to get my luggage outside my room in time for them to pick it up and shuttle it across the harbor:
We had a light breakfast, then left the boat:
Despite not feeling well, I still have a decent appetite- I’m congested, so flying might get interesting, but this feels like just a cold to me. Lame, but I’m glad it held off until the end of the trip so I didn’t miss any dives.
About half our group had lounge access here so Nadeem graciously brought me in as a guest and we all hung out there until our flight:
just a slight temperature difference here…
Farewell, Galapagos, hello, Andes!
This leg was rough- our plane once again made a pit stop in Guayaquil, which meant 2 ups and downs, and while my ears seemed to equalize on the initial ascent, they most definitely did not on the descent. I couldn’t hear anything and my sinuses were getting quite uncomfortable. Not nearly as bad as the last Galapagos trip, but getting up there. I’ll need to sources some additional meds when we get to Quito.
We were supposed to be met at the airport by a representative of the hotel, but we couldn’t find them or the shuttle, so I wandered around and found the soccer game being played on the big screen (England vs Argentina):
Finally, Toey figured out where we needed to go and a short shuttle ride later, we were at the hotel and checked in. I’m so glad I opted to have a room on the back end- I’m definitely taking a nap before my next flight!
I was out. And I slept through the text asking if I wanted to grab dinner with the group 🙁
But I did set an alarm to give me enough time to shower and get to the pharmacy to try to find a few more meds to get me through the next few flights. And when I went to check in for my flight, the upgrade option popped up again, this time for only $200 (and a window seat!), so I decided to treat myself 🙂
Unfortunately, my flight was delayed about an hour and I already had a tight-ish connection in Houston (where I’ll need to clear customs and immigration, and get checked back in for my next flight). I think it could be doable, as long as the delay doesn’t get longer; but the woman working the counter was great! I have a feeling most of her night is going to be spent rebooking people, so I tried to be as flexible as possible. Options to get back home were limited (there are only 1-2 flights per day- if I miss one, I’m stuck for at least many hours, possibly an extra day), so I asked if she could check my international airport to give us more options.
We found a flight with a long-ish layover, but that would still get me home the same day, just a few hours later (and a bit of a longer drive for Matt). Her computer wouldn’t let her book it, so she took it to her supervisor and came back with this ticket:
Um, she upgraded me to first class.
When I upgraded me, it was just for my first flight to Houston- I was a regular economy sardine after that. But this means I’ll have legroom! and lounge access in Houston (free food! and somewhere quiet to spend my layover!)… I’m definitely getting spoiled on this trip!
16 Jul 2026
A little after 1am, we finally started boarding this red-eye home:
I opted for the chicken breast:
but honestly, I probably should have skipped this meal. I mean, I had been hanging out in the lounge before the flight, so I was already well-fed, and they’ll feed us again before we land, so I’ll get a snack, and I really just need the sleep.
Plus, something in the meal did not agree with me and partway through the flight I was awoken by a terrible lurching of my guts. I didn’t have time for my seatmate to get up to let me out, I just leapt over him and sprinted to the bathroom, which fortunately was empty, because within moments of shutting the door, I too was empty. Sorry.
Ugh.
Needless to say, I passed on breakfast when it came around and hoped whatever set my stomach off was out of my system.
Hello, US!
I probably would have made my original flight- being one of the first ones off the plane (and having Global Entry) meant I was through immigration in minutes, and while it took a solid 20 minutes to get my bag, rechecking it and going back through security took all of maybe 5 minutes. I could have made it to the gate before the flight started boarding.
But my ears aren’t entirely ok. They did eventually equalize on the plane (as did something in my nose, which was a very strange feeling), and they’re starting to equalize now that I’m back on the ground, but everything is still a bit muffled.
So I headed up to the same lounge we stayed at on the way to Ecuador (United has like half a dozen lounges here- I like the lookout window at this one):
And hung out until my next flight.
Exciting? well, to me, yes- lounges are still a bit of a novelty, even though I’ve stayed at one for almost every leg of this trip. The only downside of this upgrade is that I’ve got the bulkhead, which means my bag (and my stash of kleenex) has to go in the overhead bin:
I opted to not get a meal on this flight, though I regretted that when my stomach started rumbling like an hour later. I asked if I could maybe get just a little snack and they gave me a stack of Stroopwafels! I like first class 🙂
And in what felt like no time at all, we were landing and all that was left to do was wait for my bag (which did come out first this time!) and find Matt:
Can you find the Julie?
Over all, this was a great trip! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting more of the group- this is such a fun group of people! And while I don’t think I’d dive the Galapagos again, I’m thankful for the opportunity to go back and redeem myself and get some pictures I’m proud of. The boat and staff were incredible, but maybe too fancy for me? I kinda like the buffet-style, eat-sleep-dive on repeat. I mean, we had a couple intense days of diving, but I think I’m more of a warm water, soft corals, pretty fish kind of diver.
And that’s ok.
I’ll definitely continue to travel with the group for bigger excursions, and I’ll alternate with my own smaller trips. Win-win 🙂