The Adams Family: Family Vacation 2010 - Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands

My family takes a big family trip every year. Right after my Dad passed, my Mom decided that she wanted to build memories instead of buy stuff, so our Christmas gift is a family trip / vacation. It's awesome. We've been to some incredible places (which my avid traveller of a father would have loved), and we've gotten to spend some great time together. This year's trip was to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. My Mom completed her LDS mission in Quito, Ecuador in February and wanted to take us back to her stomping grounds. It was great.

Steve and Tildy finishing packing right before we left on our trip

Steve and I were fairly stressed leading up to the trip. Tildy was only 5 months old, and we weren't really sure how she would do, or what challenges she / we would face. Plus, she needs A LOT of stuff. So three bags, a stroller and a car seat later, Bug drove us to the airport. She did awesome on the two flights to Quito and by the time we arrived, we were exhausted and ready to sleep. Thank goodness she was too.

Tildy was trying to get TWO teeth on the trip

Our first day there we headed over to my Mom's Mission President's home for breakfast. They had an amazing view of the city, and served an excellent breakfast. From there, we hopped in our "home away from home (a bus)" and took a five hour scenic route to Riobamba.

Daxton and Grady lasted for most of the trip to Riobamba, but had to take a break a couple of hours in

Once in Riobamba, my Mom visited with one of her friends and we all had dinner together. It had a beautiful view of one of the volcanos and was 14,000 feet in altitude. The result was a rare opportunity to drive through clouds that rolled in and get some beautiful photos.

After returning to Quito, our next stop was the Galapagos. If any of you have ever considered going, go. If you haven't considered it, you should. It's amazing. Ecuador has done an amazing job keeping it pristine and very "National Geographic." We were only there 4 days, but they recommend 7 - 10... for a reason. There is so much to see.

Grandma and Tildy at The Tick (why would you name your restaurant The Tick?). Food was good, and Tildy was happy

One of our first stops was to visit an old lava tube. We descended into the earth and walked about 1/2 mile through. It was incredible. The end was a tunnel that was high enough for Steve to army crawl through. My Mom is a little claustrophobic when it comes to tunnels and it would have been tough to get Tildy through, so we turned around and walked back.

After the lava tube, we headed out to see the giant land turtles. They are amazing. Grady, my six year old nephew would easily fit in their shells.

The next day we travelled to North Seymour island to walk amongst the wildlife. Daxton and Grady were very excited to see the Blue Footed Boobies. I thought the Sea Lions were cool, and I tolerated all of the iguanas (ick).

Good thing Tildy loves her Baby Bjornn and Steve can still take photos

To get to the island, you have to take a small dinghy to a bunch of rocks and scale them. As soon as we stepped of the rocks, we noticed this sea lion sunning himself on the path.

A baby Blue Footed Booby - their feet turn blue when they become adults

Two Blue Footed Boobies just hangin' out

A momma Blue Footed Booby and her eggs. She let us get surprisingly close to her.

These were everywhere. Have I mentioned that I don't like reptiles?

These birds inflate that red pouch under their beak to attract the ladies

Tildy and I stayed home the next day to give her some much needed rest. Steve had a great time - mostly because he got to swim with the sea lions. Here's a couple of his above-water photos:

Chris posing with the iguanas

I found out the second to last night we were there that there was a Sea Shepherd office on the island. Being a big fan of Whale Wars, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my picture taken in front of it.

We rented a house on the Galapagos called Casa la Iguana. It was a beautiful home, with a wonderful staff to take care of us. The boys favorite part was definitely the pool and the hot tub. We also had a few visitors.

It's called the Iguana house for a reason - the locals know it as the Yellow House

The fam with Jill and Javier, our Galapagos hosts. They were fantastic and if you need a Tour Agency, I HIGHLY recommend them. We bought a giant wooden turtle that we named Javier la Tortuga :)

The staff of Casa la Iguana. The took good care of us, and loved Tildy

The boys in their snorkel gear, getting ready to take the plunge

As we were leaving the house, my Mom discovered that Gloria Estefan was a previous house guest. I think that makes us almost famous :)

After the Galapagos, we headed back to Quito. We stopped at the Equator monument so that we could say we'd visited the center of the Earth.

Tildy loved the Equator tour

Crazy things happen on the Equator. With a little coaxing, I was able to get an egg to stand on a screw on end.

Next trip was to Ottavalo to vista the market. It was amazing.

On the way to our hotel, we stopped at a beautiful volcano crater. While we were there, the clouds rolled in and took over. Amazing.

We spent our last couple of days in Ecuador at the Arasha, which is in the Cloud Forest. It kind of reminded me of the resort in the Poconos in Dirty Dancing - lots of activities, individual lodges, common dining area, you get the picture. The highlight for me was the chocolate making class. We made chocolate from cocoa beans, and I have to tell you, it was the BEST chocolate I've ever had. My Mom, Sister and I are now on a hunt for cocoa beans. Seriously, it was that good. I think everyone else enjoyed the zip line the most (Tildy and I stayed home).