We left Quito in the early morning, after a 5:15 a.m. wake up call. The flight went from Quito to Guayaquil on the coast, a 40 minute flight, and after taking on fuel and passengers we set off to cross the 625 miles of Pacific Ocean to the Galapagos Islands. We were met at the airport by our guides, Rissel and Jaime, from the Letty, and soon we were on board, drilled in life jacket and "Abandon Ship" procedures, and underway.