The Galapagos

I left Quito on June 6th and took a flight to the Galapagos, to San Cristobal island. I wasn´t feeling too well. I had a fever and some stomach problems, but with all the paranoia about the swine flu, I tried to hide my fever as much as possible at the airport. On the plane they sprayed lysol on all the luggage in the overhead cabinets. They sprayed our hands when we got off the plane with some type of disinfectant, and when we payed our $100 park fee, they gave us alcohol wipes to wipe our hands. (Ecuador recently had their first case of swine flu the week I arrived in Ecuador. The school made all the americans go to the hospital to get checked. I went and when I got there they asked if I had a fever, cough, sore throat. I told them I didn´t. So they wanted to know what I was doing there. I told them I need a document for my school that said I didn´t have the swine flu. ) I took antibiotics and was feeling better after a few days.

Anyway, I got to San Cristobal Island and meet with my tour group. I booked a tour through EOS Travel, who is associated with Yanapuma. I did the cheapest tour you can probably do, a land based tour for 5 days. You stay at hotels on the islands, rather than on a boat. You get to explore the islands more. There were three other ladies from Quito and my guide, Andres. It was nice to have a small group.

We went to the interpretation center for an overall lesson on the Galapagos. Then afterwards we went to Mann beach for some snorkeling. Apparently the other ladies don´t really swim or snorkel so it was just me. But the beach was loaded with sea lions (lobo marinos). There were a ton of them, right there! So cool. I went snorkeling but it was a little late in the day and the water got a little cloudy. I saw some beautiful fish and a sea lion swam right past me. It was the coolest thing. Then I just chilled and watched the sunset, right on schedule. On the equator, the sun rises at 6am and sets at 6pm, everyday, all year long.

That night in San Cristobal there was a major art-music festival. There were dance and music performances, body painting, and a fashion show. And, Charles Darwin´s grandson, or maybe it was his great grandson, gave a little speech. That´s him in the picture below. The picture isn´t that great but it was him!!

The next day we went to another part of the island to see some turtles! And then later that afternoon to La Loberia, a beautiful beach with more sea lions. After the beach I hung out with my guide. We tried to catch the Ecuador football match with Argentina at a local bar, but it was over. I ended up meeting a lot of his friends which was really cool. I love Island life. They went to another place just to hang out and play guitar. Good times.

The next day we left San Cristobal. The sea lions at the pier gave us a goodbye. And we sailed for a few hours to the island of Santa Cruz. On the way we sailed near Santa Fe to check out some blue footed boobies.

In Santa Cruz we went to the Charles Darwin Center. We saw iguanas and big giant tortoises. We also met Lonesome Geoge, the last tortoise of his species. Attempts at breeding him have failed. He´s about 100 years old. You couldn´t get that close to him though.

That afternoon we went to Tortuga Beach. There was no other way to get there than about a 30 minute walk but well worth it. It was so beautiful.

The next day I joined another tour group to go to Bartolome Island. It was a 3 hour boat ride. There was a beautiful bird that followed us for part of the way. Bartolome is a very tiny island off the south eastern coast of Santiago. The geology there was amazing. It looked like the Mars or something. Here you can really see how the Galapagos were formed from volcanoes. We hiked up to the top of this inactive volcano for a view of Pinnacle Rock. After we snorkeled in the bay where Pinnacle Rock was. We swam with penguins. I still can´t believe there are penguins on the equator! We saw more sea lions, really bright red crabs, pelicans, and other interesting birds. The guide tried to show me an octopus in the water, but I couldn´t see it.

The Galapagos is definitely one of my favorite places. I wish I stayed longer. But I will definitely go back one day. I think I´ll learn to SCUBA dive and go back and visit ALL the islands and see EVERYTHING. I loved it there. I saw wildlife that you´ll never see anywhere else. Island life there is so cool too. The bars and clubs were fun. The beaches were beautiful. I will definitely go back one day. You all should go. All of you!

(Fu, Paul, I heard the diving there is a little rough because of all the different currents there. So be careful when you go. But you´ll love it!)