We left Toronto and flew to Miami on American Airlines. After spending four hours in Miami, we left for Quito at 6 pm. At 8:30 we were back in Miami, for what was said to be a quick instrument repair. This turned into a change of planes, and after luggage was transferred and reboarding was complete we were on our way to Quito again. We arrived just after 3 am, and were quickly transferred to our hotel. The Celebrity representative told us the city tour was to start at 9 in the morning, but we could decide what time we wanted to go. There were eight of us on that late flight, and we decided that we could be ready by ten o'clock. We were very glad to reach our room, which was spacious and well-appointed. Because we were Captain's Club members we were upgraded to the executive level, which offered a few extra benefits, but we were not too concerned about that at 4 am.

We met in the lobby at ten the next morning, and boarded a mini bus for the tour. We had a walking tour of the old city, with some impressive churches and other buildings then met up with the rest of the group for lunch at a restaurant on the edge of an extinct volcano. From there we drove to the "Middle of the Earth" for the obligatory Equator photos! That evening we had dinner at the Theatricum Restaurant where we were entertained by a tenor while we enjoyed a meal with wine.

On Sunday morning we had to have our cases outside the room by 7 am, then we had breakfast and were bussed to the airport for the flight to Baltra. The flight was uneventful and the airport was a very short distance from the port so we were on board right on time. The Xpedition doesn't dock in the Islands, so Zodiacs are used for every landing. Read more