Until Next Time, Galapagos

Weather: Sunny, humid, and 80 in San Cristobal...Dry and cool in Quito

Wowwieee, well despite staying out pretty late last night my body had me up at 7:30am and I didn't sleep well. Guaranteed it was because I was anticipating leaving today and my eventual return to the states. I hung out in my room for a bit, showered, got all my stuff together, and then Anahi had breakfast ready since Paco and Tania had work. My final breakfast was a hard boiled egg and a grilled cheese with some juice. By the time all this was done it was around 9am and I had an hour to just hang out with Mateo and Helena before heading out to the airport. I almost teared up because Anahi was saying how much she will miss me. Then I had Mateo and Helena giving me huge hugs too so I had to get out of there as soon as possible before it was too sad. I got in the taxi and made small talk with the guy in Spanish, and not even five minutes later I was at the airport.

Once I was at the airport I texted Tania, and Paco came to see me. He waited for me to get through the check-in line and once my bags were checked he took me to the air traffic control tower where Tania was working! They mentioned they'd bring me at some point, so it was so cool to finally get to go. It was actually funny because to get to the tower we just walked through an unlocked gate and the door to the tower was open, so we were able to walk right up the stairs. The view was amazing. You could see Playa Mann, Punta Carola, and a huge expanse of the ocean. I spent about 20 minutes in the tower and then I started getting anxious cause I knew they were opening the one gate that exists soon so I had Paco take me back down. I said bye to Tania and it wasn't as sad as I was expecting she told me to stay in touch and have a safe trip home. Once I was back near the gate, Paco started telling me how he thinks I will do great things and I am very calm and responsible. It was so cute and such a nice gesture. I gave him big hugs and went on my way to the gate. We sat for about an hour and everyone was just so sad, I was not feeling any emotions to be honest.

Once we were on the plane and it was taking off, the emotions hit and I got all teary eyed. I realized how much this place has become a home despite the bugs and the unhealthy food options. It has been such a unique and different experience compared to other study abroad experiences. I learned so much both good and bad about the Galapagos and I will always think of Ecuador and the islands as a second home to me. The plane had to stop in Guayaquil so people could depart and board before heading to Quito. We arrived in Quito around 5:30pm and there were buses that took us 10 minutes away to the hotel. Sara and I were roomies for the night so I grabbed the room key and we headed to our room. We were all stunned because

this hotel was absolutely stunning and really nice. It was a EuroBuilding Hotel and by American standards it was far above a Marriot hotel. The entire program except for a few students that went to stay with their host families had dinner at the hotel and my dinner was lentils with veggies, side salad, and some fries. It was absolutely delicious and I was on the verge of tears because it was just so good, and it was nice to have variety in my meal again. We had a fruit cup with a scoop of ice cream in it for dessert. Everything was so delicious and it was nice to be back in civilization. After dinner, Lucy, Sara, and I watched a movie and ordered dessert from room service. I wasn't going to at first but when is the next time I'll be in a position to order room service for only $5?...no time soon! Lucy and I got brownies and they were so good!! It was a good chill night, we went to say bye to Nicola and a few others who were leaving. Saying bye hasn't really been emotional because I'm in travel mode and at this point I'm ready to be home. Eventually I headed to bed, and I was asleep in the matter of minutes because the bed was heavenly.