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Galapagos - 7 years ago

Over fall break my wife and I went to the Galapagos. There will be more posts once the pictures make it to the computer.

Before even getting to Ecuador we had a few adventures.

What not to do

1. Make sure that you call your bank to let them know you are traveling.

2. Do not under any circumstances obtain crucial travel information from a 7 year-old website.

If you heed this advice, you will avoid the internal and silent freak-out my wife and I had on our way to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos.

Here's the story.

Flying from Venezuela to Galapagos, we first had to stop in Panama. Bryce (my wife) attempt to buy overpriced breakfast at the airport and her debit card is declined. No worries, because I brought my credit card. Breakfast is saved and all we have to do is call Bryce's bank and remove her travel restriction.

During our short layover, we can't find wifi anywhere near the gate to call her bank. Still not worried.

We then begin to read an article that Bryce copied & pasted and printed out about traveling in the Galapagos. As we read our stomaches collectively drop.

"The only bank's...ATM...accepts only Cirrus and Mastercard"

NO! My credit card and her debit card is VISA.

"Visitors must present a passport with an Ecuadorian visa, as well as $100 for the park entrance fee and the island tax. You must pay with traveler's checks or cash; credit cards are not accepted"

NO! We had only $160 in cash [living in Venezuela makes it hard to obtain dollars] and I didn't have a way to get cash using my credit card. To make matter's worse, that was the first we heard of an Ecuadorian Visa!

"Traveler's checks are widely accepted on the Island, as are US dollars. Credit cards become a bit trickier: Mastercard is commonly accepted while American Express and VISA usually receive shrugs and apologies."

Two useless VISAs and $160 was all we had for 7 days in the Galapagos.

Frantically we rushed around the airport looking for a way to call Bryce's bank. No luck and the plane was boarding.

Our layover in Quito was 90 minutes. We had an entire flight to think about how we would spend that 90 minutes to get the cash we needed.

What happened next was a rushed adrenaline-filled combination of a nightmare and Amazing Race.

We land in Quito. Go through immigration. Bryce connects to the WiFi as I wait for the bags. The WiFi is weak so she can't call her bank but she found the last transactions which she will need to verify that she owns the account. [We had this problem on our honeymoon so we knew what to do. We also thought we told them to never give us travel restrictions.]

Bags claimed. We go through customs. Bryce and I skip the line because Bryce played the pregnancy card.

No WiFi now, but ATMs galore, as we check in. No one in line! Man at the counter tells us we need to have our bags inspected first! Two windows; one is open! We are getting help when a group of 15 gringos with a tour guide get served by the second casheir. Our cashier stops to help the other. In the meantime, the group of 15 is now in front of us and we also had to pay $20 each for a Galapagos National Park pass [this is a separate fee from the $100 fee once you land in Baltra, Galapagos]. We are down to $120. 15 people in front of us as we get our bags checked for anything organic that we could bring to ruin the biodiversity of the Galapagos.

In line again. No Wifi. 16th and 17th in line. Clock ticking.

We drop off our bags and ask if there would be WiFi at the gates. Yes! High-five.

We go through security. Bryce gets on the WiFi. Contacts her bank. Removes the travel restrictions from her card. Meanwhile I am looking for an ATM. None. But I ask if there is an ATM at the airport. She said yes. I am not worried.

Bryce asks someone else, just to be safe. She said no.

We try to go back to the ATMs galore before security. Security says "no go." We have twenty minutes to spare before the flight boards, but we have nothing to do but wait and hope that the info Bryce printed was out-of-date. [Our first hint was when we read, "Only twenty-six people on the entire island have access to one wobbly internet connection!" Our hotel had wifi for goodness sake.]

Flight to Galapagos. Bryce and I are separated by 10 rows. She asks all three flight attendants if there was an ATM at the airport. One said yes. One said no. One said she didn't know.

We land in the Galapagos and wait in line; everyone is quiet like we are entering holy territory. Everyone in front of us is paying in cash. Our turn. We trying paying with our card. No. ATM? Yes. Oh thank God! We took out the max

It turns out that Puerto Ayora has 4 ATMs that all accept VISA. In fact, everyone accepts VISA (although there is a 12% fee on credit cards). A google search located the page Bryce printed...last updated in 2008. We are glad times have changed.

A nursing mother highlights our walk to one of the ATMs in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz.

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