housekeeping

Freshly home from my annual attempt to run away from my problems.

Quite successful this year.

Before I start digging into all of the details of my trip, I thought I'd catch up

the domestic side of events here at Screaming Pines.

At the farmers market, I got a basket of guacamole ingrediants.

Avocados, tomatoes, a jalapeno pepper, red onion.

Everything you need to whip up a batch of guac.

I roasted the pepper, and should have roasted the onion too, 

but it still turned out pretty good. Enough to eat on as I tried to

empty out the fridge of perishables before leaving on an 11-day trip.

Took advantage of the end of summer clearance (70% off!) for a few items from J.Crew Factory.

Chambray shirt, beach sweater, some cute earrings and a fun pair of red sunglasses.

Hit the stage for a gig with a local rock band.

Fun night to sub in, playing for a private party of dentists.

Getting more use out of the sparkly sandals.

Going through the pre-travel checklists.

What to pack, what entry documents I need to get through border control,

additional documents to get into the Galapagos Islands, and do I have

enough food for the animals to get through the week and a half, so my

pet sitter won't have to stress about that.

Falafel and greens salad.

Got the house paperwork sorted and sent more information to 

the insurance company about what work was done.

Got a mop and gave the floors a long overdue scrubbing.

It's nice to come home to a clean house after a trip away.

Packing up the new-to-me Eddie Bauer rolling duffel bag.

I found it on eBay, and it survived the trip pretty well.

It's a few inches longer than my green bag. 

For luggage, I took the red bag, my Swiss Gear backpack and a

beat-to-hell Longchamp tote that I bought for about $15 on eBay several years ago.

It's even more beat-to-hell now, but it is actually a perfect travel bag.

Roomy with long straps that make it comfortable to carry.

I checked the red bag, and the backpack and tote were my cabin luggage.

The red bag made it through both ends, and the rolling wheels made it

so much easier to haul it around. There was a lot of hauling around of luggage

on this trip, due to the nature of island hopping in the Galapagos.

You need luggage that is easy to move and durable.

For clothing, I packed simply.

Athletic style shorts, a few t-shirts and tank tops, the Timberland chukka boots I've worn

everywhere for the past five years, the equally worn Teva sandals that

have also been all over the world, a pair of water shoes, and one

dress I'd consider "nice" for opportunities to dress up a bit.

I didn't think I'd use the dress at all, but it was lightweight and easy to pack,

so, I threw it in and ended up wearing it twice!

I packed three swimsuits, two one-pieces and a two-piece.

I used two of them regularly and kept the third as a reserve.

Goggles and the snorkel mask and tube; but I ended up just

using the snorkel gear I was given on the boats.

I did use my goggles in the ocean though on a swim during some free time.

Also, I packed a pair of foldable trekking poles that I forgot to take

on the volcano hike and a backpack hydration bladder that I didn't 

really need because the extra-long hike on the itinerary was replaced with the 

volcano hike and I just used my water bottle. And a dry bag.

The dry bag was useful on the boat excursions, the water shoes were more comfortable

on the Tuneles lava stop, goggles for swimming, and lots of sunscreen.

Speaking of sun. The sun is pretty strong at the equator.

I'd brought with me three SPF shirts and some sunblock that was

rated as "reef safe".

I used the sunscreen every day and reapplied throughout the day.

A wide-brimmed hat for extra coverage on hikes.

The sun shirts were used in the water while snorkeling.

Your back is exposed when you're snorkeling, so the shirts

helped tremendously in keeping my back from sunburn.

All in all, I managed to get through the whole week of lots of

outdoors activities without getting a sunburn in a land of strong sun.

Skin care doesn't stop just because you're on vacay.

Lastly, I took with me some cash that was carefully planned into

a budget, and one credit card that I use almost exclusively for travel.

Some cash set aside for entrance in the Galapagos National Park (the park fee)

and two other required fees, a small cash reserve for emergencies, and the

rest of the cash was set out to cover optional activities, food, and any souvenirs.

Credit card acceptance was random in Quito and somewhat rare in

the Galapagos, so before the trip I had been hoarding lots of small bills,

$1s, $5s, and $10s. Larger bills were only useful for big purchases and 

the park fees. Merchants on the islands greatly preferred small bills.

So, the next several posts will be about my trip to the Galapagos Islands.

A place I've been dreaming of visiting for twenty years and have finally

made a reality. 

Hope to see you back again.

🐢🐢🐢