WOW....What a trip of a lifetime. We flew to Guayaquil Ecuador and stayed two nights at the Hotel Oro Verde ( a Leading Hotel of the World.) I prepaid and received an amazing low price for a junior suite. WOW Again....Huge SUITE in the new wing. We enjoyed our visit in the city and loved walking Malecon 2000 and visiting Cerro Santa Anna. There was so much written about safety yet we never experienced any type of scary situation. We even went to a neighborhood fruit/empanada local hang out and then to a little pub. We chose The Cormorant (Haugan Cruises) ship because we wanted a more intimate travel experience. The Cormorant is a 110 foot stabilized catamaran. It has capacity for 16 people in two suites and 6 rooms. The crew numbers 11. We were assigned "Roberto" as our class 3 naturalist.. The room was huge and also had a lovely balcony, sliding windows in the bathroom and bedroom. I was describing the room to someone who traveled on National Geo's boat and said they had a porthole and tiny bathroom. Our days were spent with between 2 and 4 activities. We snorkeled 2 or three times a day and hiked 1 or 2 times a day. We had the flexibility to track wildlife if needed.. For example, we saw an Orca Whale at a distance.....this just got our group going....we went right from snorkeling to taking the zodiacs on a whale trek....and we found it!!! WOW again! We enjoyed swimming with cormorants, sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas and hammerhead and galapagos sharks. We had no one around and we saw very few other ships in our path. This trip was sooooo "us." We didn't want or need fancy formal sit down dinners. Instead, we spent our days hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and learning. Our meals were taken at a table for our entire group where we carried on and discussed the days finds. We even had a few barbecues on the deck. We were barefoot the entire time! We are so fortunate to have had this experience!!! Our last night was spent at the Courtyard in Guayaquil. Another great property. Now we are home and miss the carefree life of living on the sea and experiencing nature at our fingertips......

ps-I posted some photos under the Photo Gallery section....