Ecuador Confidential: The Elliott podcast is back!

Aren makes landfall in Santa Cruz, Ecuador.

Welcome to the new Elliott podcast. Thanks for joining us!

We're reporting today from Puerto Ayora, Ecuador. We're on the Hurtigruten Santa Cruz II, an expedition vessel in the Galapagos.

We ended our last podcast in Japan. Since then, we've been all over the place, including several destinations in Japan, South Korea, a brief stop back in the U.S., and now Ecuador. We can't wait to tell you about it in this podcast.

But before we do, here's this week's question: When you leave your home country, what do you miss the most? We had an opportunity to ponder that one when we made a quick stop in the States. The answer may surprise you. (In fact, it’s just nuts!)

We are probably smiling because of the caffeine.

We've spent the last few weeks in Asia and North America. As we noted in the podcast, each place had a great coffee scene. Here we are in Venice, Calif., last weekend, enjoying an Americano at the Cow's End. Big smiles, everyone! (Or maybe it's just the caffeine talking.)

The view from Iki Resort on Iki Island, Japan.

We're jumping around a little, but I had to show you the view from Iki Retreat at breakfast. Best meal with a view ever. We’d come back and do this again in a heartbeat. Iki is one of the most serene places in Japan, if not the world.

Please don't forget to answer this week's question about what you miss the most when you leave your home country. Your comments are always welcome.

The Elliott podcast will broadcast weekly on Saturday mornings during our tour of the Americas. We’re looking forward to spending our weekends with you again.