Galapgaos

Kelsey and I went to the Galapagos for part of Semana Santa (April 9-14). I had an amazing time!! Below is the rundown of the trip...

Day 1:
I met Kelsey at the airport bright and early and we caught our flight to Guayaquil (a city in sourthern Ecuador) and then to the island San Cristóbal. The temperature when we stepped off the plane was 91 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to pay $100 cash to get into the islands because they’re a national park. I didn’t have that much in cash, so they kept my passport while someone from our tour drove me into town to an ATM. After that, I went back to the airport, met some other passengers and our guide, and took a small bus to the dock. From there, we took inflatables to our boat, the Millennium. After we got settled in and had some lunch on the boat, we went back to the island to go to the Interpretation Center, which was like a museum of the islands. After that we spent some time hanging out and shopping on the island. Then, we went back to the boat and ate dinner. A few of the passengers and I played poker that night. One passenger Bryan taught me, Kelsey, and another passenger Justina how to play Texas Hold ’Em. I got pretty good by the end of the night. As we slept, the boat went to the island Española. It was really bumpy, but I slept through it just fine.

Day 2:
In the morning, we went to a beach on Española where there were a whole bunch of sea lions, birds, and marine iguanas. After that, we went snorkeling and I saw a whole bunch of fish, a sea lion, a penguin (barely), and a pelican. Then we went back to the boat to eat lunch. After lunch, we went to a different side of Española where there were more animals. We saw blue footed boobies, nasca boobies, waved albatrosses (which were a big deal, according to our guide), tropical birds, a hawk, and more iguanas and sea lions. After that, we went back to the boat and hung out, ate dinner, played some more cards, and went to bed.

Day 3:
In the morning, we went on a hike of the island Floreana. We saw a crap load of animals there: crabs, sea lions, flamingos, blue footed boobies, rays, and sharks. After that hike, we went back to the boat and went snorkeling again. This time was way better. I saw even more fish, sharks, turtles, and sea lions. After lunch, we went to Post Office Bay. People leave letters and post cards in this barrel so that people pick them up and mail them or hand deliver them when they get home. I picked up a post card for Heyworth, IL and a letter for Green Bay, WI. I hope they can wait until May. :) We also went swimming at the beach there. After that, we just hung out on the boat. There were a whole bunch of frigate birds flying with the boat for a good half hour. It was pretty sweet. After dinner, the boat went to the island Santa Cruz, where we spent the next day.

Day 4:
Today, instead of doing the boat activities, I went scuba diving with a scuba shop in Santa Cruz. I saw a crap load of animals: lots of sharks, one turtle, one sea lion, a bunch of eels, a few dolphins, and a whole lot of fish. My first dive was just me and the instructor while the more advanced divers went somewhere else with a divemaster, but on the second dive I got to go with them because my instructor said I did a really good job: I breathe efficiently and I control my buoyancy really well. So, that felt pretty cool. :) After my scuba adventure, I went back to the island and ran into Kelsey—thankfully because I had the only key to the hostal (we stayed in Santa Cruz for the rest of the trip). She had to go back to the boat for something, and wound up being gone for a while. So, I hung out with one of the guys from the scuba shop. After Kelsey came back, he showed us around the island. While we were looking for a place to eat, we ran into a bunch of our friends from USFQ who were there with their volcanology class. So, we hung out with them for a while and then called it a day.

Day 5:
In the morning, we went to the Charles Darwin Center to see the giant tortoises and lonely George. Kelsey had gone with the group the day before and made an excellent tour guide. We actually got to go in the pen with five of the giant tortoises. It was pretty cool. After that, we went to Tortuga Bay, a really sweet beach. I had a lot of fun just chatting with Kelsey and enjoy the scenery. After that, we did some shopping at the little stores in town and ate very well at a cute little Italian restaurant. Then, we just hung out and went to bed.

Day 6:
We flew home. :(