im so sorry for being MIA recently - no i didnt drown in the galapagos or get attacked by a giant tortoise - i wanted to wait to blog about the ridiculously awesome time i had in galapagos until i uploaded pics, but i've had some maj computer and camera problems that i wont be able to deal with til im back in the states. so picture-free blog it is unfortunately, but ill definitely add pics once everything is fixed because believe me, you NEED to see the galap pics. so a good group of friends and i went to the galapagos for 4 days at the end of april for our spring break. totally beats panama city and cancun by far. i saw way too many beautiful things and did way too many cool things that would make you way too jealous, so ill just give you a quick recap of the days:
tuesday.
flew from quito to guayaquil and got to baltra island midday. took a 5 minute boat (literally i could have swam there in 10 mins) to santa cruz. next step, was a 45minute bus ride to the other coast. then a quick lunch that included a bread roll and a handful of doritos. then a 2hour boat ride to isabela island - this was by far, the worst boat ride of my entire life. first of all, there were no windows where we were sitting so we decided to crawl into the luggage area that had a port hole and some access to fresh air. if it wasnt bad enough that we were surrounded by a pile of suitcases, i was sitting on a miniature trashcan bc there was no room on the seat. and if that wasnt bad enough, it felt like we were driving over coral reefs and icebergs at 100mph. "feeling seasick" is an understatement. finally we made it to isabella and the views just at the dock were amazing - crystal blue water, cute penguins swimming, gigantic iguanas sun bathing, and one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever seen. we then went to do "flamingo watching" which included looking at 4 flamingos in a dirty pond from 300yards away. we then had a delish dinner at a hostal and went out to a cool bar on the beach to celebrate a friends birthday.
wednesday.
woke up early. did a 4hour hike in Parque Nacional Galapagos that lead us to the Sierra Negra Volcano (its actually more like a reverse volcano - a gigantic hole, if you will - but it is 6 miles long and 5 miles wide; one of the most active volcanoes and erupted in 2005!) and a gorgeous view of all of the island and the pacific ocean. our guide was an absolute nut job and the hike was pretty long, but still probably one of the coolest views i have ever seen. def recommend it! after hiking, we took a boat to islote tintorteras, which is a small island completely covered lava, lichens, and ocean iguanas. i thought i was going to die of heat stroke, but thankfully i survived and we got to do an hour of snorkeling after! after scuba diving in a bunch of magnificent places around the world, snorkeling just doesnt do it for me - buuuuuuuut i did get to see and swim with penguins, seas lions, and two 6-foot sharks - slowly checking off my "To Do Before I Die" list! after taking the typical touristy/corny photos on the beach at sunset, we had a great dinner and hit the sack no later than 10pm - we were super tired and "partying" with the 100 locals that live on the island didnt sound all that exciting.
thursday.
back on that dreaded 2hour long boat ride by 6am, but thankfully this time it was 100x less bumpy and barfy! we arrived on santa cruz island in time to have some breakfast at a water-front cafe and spent some time marveling at the adorable sea lions and precious little blue footed-booby perched on the dock. I LOVE BOOBIES... "see a blue-footed booby before i die" COMPLETE. then we went to find our hostal. after 4 months of traveling in ecuador, i have gotten used to $7/ night hostals without electricity and just a few ant infestations here and there. so when we pulled up to the place we were staying and it was freshly painted, very clean, AND had a pool, we were certain this couldnt be where we were staying. but it was, and my friends and i were like little kids on christmas! after a quick nap, we walked through the Charles Darwin Research Center, where we saw 140year old turtles and unfortunately, my camera stopped working. just perfect. but my friends and i took a combined total of like 2000 pictures so all is good in the hood. and that evening, we walked around the cute market that was filled with little trinkets and souvenirs and yes, i was suckered into buying a coffee mug with a blue-footed booby on it.
friday.
had breakfast at the hostal, walked around the outside rim of two twin-craters, took the 5 minute boat road back to baltra island, did some more touristy souvenir shopping, and then unfortunately, boarded the plane back home.
clearly, it was a quick trip. going to the galapagos is super expensive and most ecuadorians havent even been there, so i feel super blessed to have gotten the opportunity to travel and explore the islands. if you got the time and the moolah, i definitely recommend the galapagos!! and mom and dad, you'd love it there and when you decide to go, i'm coming with.
the weekend in quito after the galapagos was awful. finally april was over and that means 65 degrees and sunny and hardly no rain. so whats the problem you ask? well the following week was my last week of school aka i was stuck inside for 5 days straight writing 4 essays, doing two projects, and studying for one final. thankfully i got everything done in time to leave for argentina on friday, may 6th, and i guess i cant complain since finals week was the first time i've done any work this entire semester (tough life). sorry to rub it in to those of you back in the states!
peace, love, and boobies!
tuesday.
flew from quito to guayaquil and got to baltra island midday. took a 5 minute boat (literally i could have swam there in 10 mins) to santa cruz. next step, was a 45minute bus ride to the other coast. then a quick lunch that included a bread roll and a handful of doritos. then a 2hour boat ride to isabela island - this was by far, the worst boat ride of my entire life. first of all, there were no windows where we were sitting so we decided to crawl into the luggage area that had a port hole and some access to fresh air. if it wasnt bad enough that we were surrounded by a pile of suitcases, i was sitting on a miniature trashcan bc there was no room on the seat. and if that wasnt bad enough, it felt like we were driving over coral reefs and icebergs at 100mph. "feeling seasick" is an understatement. finally we made it to isabella and the views just at the dock were amazing - crystal blue water, cute penguins swimming, gigantic iguanas sun bathing, and one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever seen. we then went to do "flamingo watching" which included looking at 4 flamingos in a dirty pond from 300yards away. we then had a delish dinner at a hostal and went out to a cool bar on the beach to celebrate a friends birthday.
wednesday.
woke up early. did a 4hour hike in Parque Nacional Galapagos that lead us to the Sierra Negra Volcano (its actually more like a reverse volcano - a gigantic hole, if you will - but it is 6 miles long and 5 miles wide; one of the most active volcanoes and erupted in 2005!) and a gorgeous view of all of the island and the pacific ocean. our guide was an absolute nut job and the hike was pretty long, but still probably one of the coolest views i have ever seen. def recommend it! after hiking, we took a boat to islote tintorteras, which is a small island completely covered lava, lichens, and ocean iguanas. i thought i was going to die of heat stroke, but thankfully i survived and we got to do an hour of snorkeling after! after scuba diving in a bunch of magnificent places around the world, snorkeling just doesnt do it for me - buuuuuuuut i did get to see and swim with penguins, seas lions, and two 6-foot sharks - slowly checking off my "To Do Before I Die" list! after taking the typical touristy/corny photos on the beach at sunset, we had a great dinner and hit the sack no later than 10pm - we were super tired and "partying" with the 100 locals that live on the island didnt sound all that exciting.
thursday.
back on that dreaded 2hour long boat ride by 6am, but thankfully this time it was 100x less bumpy and barfy! we arrived on santa cruz island in time to have some breakfast at a water-front cafe and spent some time marveling at the adorable sea lions and precious little blue footed-booby perched on the dock. I LOVE BOOBIES... "see a blue-footed booby before i die" COMPLETE. then we went to find our hostal. after 4 months of traveling in ecuador, i have gotten used to $7/ night hostals without electricity and just a few ant infestations here and there. so when we pulled up to the place we were staying and it was freshly painted, very clean, AND had a pool, we were certain this couldnt be where we were staying. but it was, and my friends and i were like little kids on christmas! after a quick nap, we walked through the Charles Darwin Research Center, where we saw 140year old turtles and unfortunately, my camera stopped working. just perfect. but my friends and i took a combined total of like 2000 pictures so all is good in the hood. and that evening, we walked around the cute market that was filled with little trinkets and souvenirs and yes, i was suckered into buying a coffee mug with a blue-footed booby on it.
friday.
had breakfast at the hostal, walked around the outside rim of two twin-craters, took the 5 minute boat road back to baltra island, did some more touristy souvenir shopping, and then unfortunately, boarded the plane back home.
clearly, it was a quick trip. going to the galapagos is super expensive and most ecuadorians havent even been there, so i feel super blessed to have gotten the opportunity to travel and explore the islands. if you got the time and the moolah, i definitely recommend the galapagos!! and mom and dad, you'd love it there and when you decide to go, i'm coming with.
the weekend in quito after the galapagos was awful. finally april was over and that means 65 degrees and sunny and hardly no rain. so whats the problem you ask? well the following week was my last week of school aka i was stuck inside for 5 days straight writing 4 essays, doing two projects, and studying for one final. thankfully i got everything done in time to leave for argentina on friday, may 6th, and i guess i cant complain since finals week was the first time i've done any work this entire semester (tough life). sorry to rub it in to those of you back in the states!
peace, love, and boobies!
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